[ChrisRL]

Yes, +1 behind Alan, it's probably the fuel rail. If your starter turns over strongly, it's probably nothing to do with the battery, it's your fuel system and/or fuel line between the pump and the fuel rail. Usually this is always full of fuel but sometimes a little of the fuel leaks back down the line.

So when you start there's no fuel reaching the injectors. Turn the key, hear the fuel pump start to fill up the hose with gas again, and then when the gas reaches the injectors the car will start.

You can get what's called a battery tender or float charger, Harbor Frieght has them for under $10 and what they do is to keep your full battery topped up.

However, if you try to start the car and you can hear the starter turning over cleanly, then you have enough battery power, just no fuel to the engine (assuming you are getting good ignition).

Things to do to get a clean start, first time, every time, and a trouble free run?

a) replace all your fuel hoses. Especially the two hoses that go between the sidewall of the engine compartment at the back (near the battery) and the fuel rail. But everything else that's rubber and that lives in an engine compartment will get hot, then cold, then hot... it's these heat cycles that kill rubber hoses over time - so even if they look okay, replace them if they haven't been replaced fairly recently;

b) check your fuel filter is clean and clear;

c) do the required maintenance for your car. For most of us, this means a water pump and gasket change, a thermostat and O ring change, the timing belt and rollers change, the balance belt and rollers change, and a front engine seal change, when we first buy the car, and then between 30,000 and 40,000 miles after that, depending on which philosophy of maintenance you choose to follow;

d) ignition and tuneup means a new distributor cap and rotor, new spark leads and plugs, oil change and new filter, new air filter - you might not need all of this done since most people with any kind of car will know to get this kind of maintenance sorted, otherwise your car probably wouldn't start or drive at all - but most Porsche folk will at least seriously consider redoing them all while they're there the first time, and then refresh as needed;

e) flush all the fluids - oil, transmission oil, coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid if you have power steering - note that the power steering fluid on our cars is ATF (automatic transmission fluid) and NOT power steering fluid;

f) check both axles to see if the rubber and wiring is okay - rear CV boots, steering rod boots, brake pads and sensors all round, rotors all round, wheels and tires. There's a small wire going from the power steering rack to the main chassis cross member under the engine - this is the ground wire for the horns. Check that everything is clean and clear.

This should give you a clean and clear baseline from which to proceed.

A lot of the common gremlins associated with buying a new-to-you 944 without comprehensive paperwork from a trusted source should be covered above, but don't take my word for it - this is the Internet, and with sites like clarks-garage, pelicanparts and rennlist, there's no excuse for not knowing, at least in theory, how all of this fits together.

And yes, you could in theory send your car to a garage and have them do it.

However, take it from a lot of us - these cars are getting old, and the mechanics who actually know how to deal with them are themselves getting old. The young ones poke their heads into a computer and follow what the computer says. I don't trust them at all.

A lot of the so-called Porsche specialists tend to be snobs. They want to work on expensive new Porsches with rear engines, because they can make a lot more money per hour from that kind of clientele. So they'll tell you they won't work on front engined Porsches. Believe them.

But isn't the reason you're here on this list because you want to get to know a really great car very well? And eventually do most, if not all, of the work on it yourself?