My 944 is a great
car. Room for 4 (2 kids can sit front or back since it predates airbags). Nice quiet cruiser on the highway. Good AC. Large removeable sunroof. Great handling (can invoke under or oversteer), nicely weighted steering. huge hatch area to swallow up Costco runs too!
To its detriment, it stirs no passion. Having had aircooled porshes' first, I always discounted the 944. But it really is a great car for the reasons I listed above. For me, though, being a great car and being a Porsche aren't the same. In my heart, I am an aircooled guy.
If you must have that flat six wine, the 944 will never fill the bill. If its just to have a porsche badge in your garage? well, figure out your budget and don't rule out a early Boxster either.
You don't mention budget and how you will use it.. but do your homework on the 944. Check out
Clark's Garage Home Page to learn more.
Finding well sorted, reliable, "everthing works" 944 is not always easy. I looked at about 6-8 examples before finding an '87 with under 40K miles and one that had its rubber centered clutch already replaced. AC converted. An dash with no cracks. I paid more than most would, but for nearly 4 years, its been very reliable. I've considered selling it to get another 914, so if you are interested, let me know.
The 944 lives on the pile of "deferred maintanence" ownership. Clutch fails? shops want about $2k to replace (parts are about $500-700 and book time to replace is 10-12hours!) Need the WP/Belts/Rollers done? shops charge about $2k (again, $500 for parts and the rest is labor). And if you only paid $2-4K for the car, well, you see the challenge.
IMHO, a 944 is a $10K car.. spend it upfront on a good example or on the back end constantly fixing/upgrading it. on the other hand, SC' are now fully $20K cars.
My brother had a 944S2. Drove it on occasion as well. imho, THIS is a great 944. Enough power to be fun. Some modern updates like ABS and Airbags. Smoother front end styling than the base models. 944T and 968 both add their own complexity to be "faster" cars.