[Dave Colangelo]

So im looking in to making a 944 a daily driver, before I ask any questions a bit of a back story is in order.

Back in high school a friend of the family had a beat up 924s that did not run and he was looking to get rid of. In short, he gave me the car to save him a bunch of trouble. It has a fried ECU which took about a month for me to figure out at the time. Once I got the car working I used it as my DD in high school. I only drove it about 3 miles to and from school as well as to my friends houses locally and what not. The car never left a 20 mile radius from my house, this was mostly because it was not in great shape. As we all know there is a difference between running and road trip worthy. It never left me stranded despite its condition and was a great fun little car. I still have it but it needs a full over hall. Because I was a noob at the time I never had FOES done as I had no idea what it was. The timing belt is very old to say the least. The engine could use a full rebuild, the interior is less than attractive, and the body is all there but dented and chipping paint. All that being said it simply can not be used as a DD its just not reliable enough in its current state.

Any way, last May I bought a 1978 911SC Targa, I love it. Its in great shape minus some dings (one was my fault) but mechanically its solid. In the summer its a great car with the top off, however in the winter, the heat does not really work and the window to top seals are far from perfect. As a result it gets stored for most of the winter but once the nice weather hits it more or less is my DD and i have not had any issues yet.

Ok so to the point. I am in college (junior year) and have been driving the old family minivan at school because the 924s is not road worthy and I dont have a garage to keep the 911 in down here (Lehigh university, Bethlehem PA). On that note Bethlehem is a bit shady and I dont want the 911 to get stolen on the street. The minivan is kind of my dads but has been more or less given to me at this point, the other day I brought up the idea, to my dad, of selling it and getting a more fuel/size efficient car. I simply dont need all 7 seats to drive my self to and from school and around to run errands.
Now that the option to replace the van has become real I have been considering cars. The key factor here is cheap and usable. The first thing that came to mind was a decent shape 944. I know they can be had for 2K-5K in nice shape. I have never really owned any thing but a Porsche as I consider the van my dad's not mine, so I feel some what obligated to get a 944 and I loved my 924s so much. I would be using this car to run daily errands, and drive back and fourth to school, and work this summer.

So here are my questions

Who here uses there 944's as a DD and do you have any complaints about it?
I know what im getting in to but how long would a fresh fan belt and water pump last in reality?
Is any one in either the NYC/Westchester area or the Bethlehem PA area selling there 944 or want to trade for my Minivan(to appease the wife)?
I do all my work my self, and always have, but I know I cant do FOES cause of tooling and stuff, what is the average price from a good P-Car mechanic on that?
For people that do there own work what is your average annual upkeep costs for a DD 944?


Remember I am young and have a very big tolerance for uncomfortable suspension, AC that does not work (as long as I can pop the top off) and little things like that. However I am looking for a car that has nice paint and a nice dash and seats to impress the ladies.

Regards
Dave