944 for a kid's first car?

[jkarolyi]

Ditto on my 924...bulletproof, but this was in 1990-95. I imagine they are really wearing out by now.

944s are great cars to drive when they are well sorted. But there's a reason they sell for so little these days...

[Dave L]

The late cars have an auto tensioner so it does help but with all 944 you must look after the timing belt.

FWIW my 944 has been great, other than routine maintenance I have replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders, dealt with a cracked starter solenoid but thats about it. I have also replaced shocks, springs, sway bars, every fluid in the car, wheels, tires, more wheels and more tires but thats a different issue. I belive the issue and bad reputation of the 944 is created as a result of people who can afford to buy the car but then put nothing into maintenance. The next owner then ends up with a basketcase or endless "deffered maintenance" which really doesnt make for a fun car and hence the "944s are bad" reputation gets built. Unfortunatly the 944's low price may be its demise. I think the 914 is the same, great car but just try and find a decent one now.

I have had my S for 3 years an 8v for just a year (rear ended and writen off) and I really like the cars. I could buy a boxster or a 911 but I find the 188hp is adequate and I like being able to not give a second though to loading up 4 tires in the rear driving 3 hours to an AutoX, compete and drive back while not breaking the bank. I have also used my 944 for work, driving 1000+Km per week, and found the car comfortable and perfectly suited as a daily driver.

Looking for a 944 I would suggest that maintenance records are a must have, Aside from the ussual used car things I would pay particlular attention to the timing belt, power steering leaks, and clutch.

I have also had 2 e30s and think they would be a decent first car as they are still fun and mechanically are fairly simple. You still have the timing belt issue and its still a nearly 20 year old german car, they arent '07 Corollas!

[SCWDP911]

What about the older 2002's (BMW), if you happened to come across a deal?

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by rammstein

One nice factor of the 944s that gets forgotten is the fact that they are galvanized. I've been under a few, all in the Northeast, and NONE of them had any rust to speak of.

Kinda nice knowing that at least you are buying expensive parts for a car that's not rotting.

Are the Bimmers good in this respect? I sure do dig the older Bimmers too.

my first e30 was given up due to rust, the second had some light rust but also had 330,000Km on it. Both 944s I have owned are rust free.

[Aerkuld]

I'm already starting to think about the car I'll help my 13 year old stepson out with. I was thinking about something with minimal seating capacity working on the basis that the fewer people he can get in he car the fewer people there are to encourage him to do something stupid. I also want something fairly underpowered but that he won't mind driving. I did consider my 944, but let me tell you this...

The 944 I have DID require a lot of work when I first got it as it had been badly neglected being owned by a high school student previously who hadn't taken care of it. Once it was to the point where I was on top of things it still needed regular attention, but maybe one Saturday every 8 to10 weeks. The timing belt issue is possible to work around with a much less expensive tool, but you do MUST do the timing belt every three years or 30k miles. Everything on the car is fairly simple to work on, but it won't be maintenence free by any stretch. The good news is that parts are fairly easy to get hold of and there are plenty of used parts around. The tires are also fairly inexpensive. It is a good car and would probably be quite good for a new driver being fairly 'cool' yet not being that fast. It is relatively easy to look after, but it DOES need looking after!

Having been through all that, in my situation I don't see my stepson being prepared to put the time and effort into maintaining a 944 and I have enough to do without doing all the work on it myself. On top of that he wants to be able to take his dirt bike to the track, so I'm leaning towards a late '90's 4 cylinder Tacoma. Limited seat space and hopefully it will be dog slow but practical. Probably not a 'cool' car for your daughter though!

[CarreraDan]

I think I would go with a 944 or 318 over the 80's 300D--and I have one as a semi daily driver. The secret to the old Benz's is to find one that has been lovingly taken care of most of its life and not had someone skimp on the maintenance. From what I have read this is getting harder to do. Mine sat in a barn for a few years under a cover but before it was put away it had always been serviced at the dealer. I have had to put about $2k into it on things like brakes, suspension, tires, etc but I am getting just under 30 mpg in town with it so it has started to pay me back in gas savings and the car was free. Parts are surprisingly cheap compared to the Porsche if you know where to get them--not at the dealer.

A lot of people think the 300D's are good first cars because they are slow and heavy, but personally I would rather have something with ABS and airbags for a new driver. If your turbo is in proper working order the 300D's aren't as slow as people think and even with a new suspension the handling isn't that great (I don't know how recoverable it would be if she started to spin/slide--I don't plan on finding out with mine). A local wrench had a late 80's 944 with a rebuilt motor in your price range if you want the number.

[Tim Hancock]

FWIW, my daughters (17 & 19 yo) both drive 924s. One is the old '77 95 hp model and one is an '87 924S (same engine drivetrain as a 944).

You probably would not want to mess with the old pre "S" 924s as they are goin to mainly be rust buckets (fenders, doors and hood were not galvanized) and are not worth anything to speak of, however the 924S and 944 are solid decent cars once they have been gone thru maintenance wise. Most of the sub $5000 cars will all have been owned by 2nd & 3rd owners who treated them poorly and did little maintenance.

944 Turbo's and 944S's are nice when well sorted, but will cost more money initially to fix up and potentially later if they need repairs.

Common fixes needed which I have done on both my 924S and my 944 turbo (both of which I bought cheap with high miles in need of work).

-Timing/balance belt replacement along with most of the rollers and water pump while you are in there.
-Power steeering rack re-build ($80.00 kit from Rennbay)
-AC compressor rebuild then re-charge with 134 (A company in AZ has bearings and seals for these old Nippondenso compressors)
-New clutch

Both daughters learned to drive in the '77 and the youngest still drives it daily and it has NEVER broke down in the 3 years since I fixed it up for them to use.
The oldest daughter has driven the 924S for the past 2 yrs and after going thru the car and fixing the standard issues, it has NEVER broke down either.

The '77 has probably 200,000 plus miles on it's original engine AND clutch. And the '87 924S has about 160,000 miles on it.

If you have the time to baseline the cars yourself, they make solid dependable cars. If you forego the initial fixing, then you are probably going to have problems.

A few pics, one of which shows my wife and I with our 911SC and the girls each with their 924's at their first PCA event. They got a kick out of being able to attend with their own cars.





'87 924S on left, '77 924 on rt


'77 924 on right, '87 944 turbo middle

[CarreraDan]

Just had another idea, have you considered a Miata? Great handling, not too much power, easy to work on, very reliable from what I have heard, limited seating for friends, cheap parts. I have seriously been thinking about picking one up as a track car, big problem is I don't fit too well as I am over 6' tall.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

I'm already starting to think about the car I'll help my 13 year old stepson out with. I was thinking about something with minimal seating capacity working on the basis that the fewer people he can get in he car the fewer people there are to encourage him to do something stupid...

We used to squeeze at least 6-7 people in a Pinto every single day back in high school for our lunchtime fastfood "run". We were "pre-stupid"...I didn't make "stupid" until college

[SCWDP911]

Daniel, Yeah, I had an 89 Miata a few years ago. They are pretty decent running LITTLE cars.

Tim, great pics. Thanks for your opinion and sharing of your experience.

[gprsh924]

5 fit in a 924S fairly easily, 6 is tough

4 is commonplace

[scottmandue]

Agree with what the other 944 owner have said... great car... very safe (several stories over on the 944 BBS of people walking away from accidents) but rather needy as far as maintenance. If you and/or her don't mind working on the car a few times a year it is not a bad car and certainly different than the same same cookie cutter cars her friends will be driving.

How is she with driving a stick? The trans-axle on my car is a little tricky... but mine is a early car, linkage may just be worn... or you could get her an auto.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by KC911

We used to squeeze at least 6-7 people in a Pinto every single day back in high school for our lunchtime fastfood "run". We were "pre-stupid"...I didn't make "stupid" until college

LOL, but that's nothing. We got six people in my Mini on a luchtime pub run when I was in college. That's an original Mini too, not one of these fancy shmancy BMW things. On the other hand there was no way we were going to be speeding or racing anywhere with six people and 40bhp.

To someone elses point a Miata crossed my mind too. Probably a very good choice.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Agree with what the other 944 owner have said... great car... very safe (several stories over on the 944 BBS of people walking away from accidents)...

I would think that having the engine and transaxle attatched to each other via the torque tube and both ends bolted to the car probably makes the passenger compartment pretty safe in a hard front or rear collision. It's going to provide a reasonably stiff structure to distrubute the impact over most of the car I'd have thought.

[scottmandue]

IIRC Pokey got punted off a freeway off ramp by a truck in his 944... slide backwards through the "welcome to long beach sign"... flipped the car upside down... and walked away.

Kids, don't try this at home!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yea, AND the City made him pay for the sign!

[sketchers356]

I have to say that if she is a car nut then it might make sense.

If she is doing it for other reasons, she is better off elsewhere. Fact of the matter is that a newer car would be better in most of the aspects that are important for enthusiasts. What does a 944 have over a newer Honda that matters to someone who doesn't drive it like we do?

Anyway, good luck, it does sound fun.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by v8_ranch

What about the older 2002's (BMW), if you happened to come across a deal?

Any 30+ year-old car is problematic, but, man did I love my old 2002Tii.

I know this is going to sound odd, but my 15 year-old will drive my Toyota Tacoma, which will then go to the boy when she goes to college. They both drive it now, learning the whole manual trans dance.

Depending on how she does in school (she does great now) will determine her next ride

[Rot 911]

Another vote for the Miata.

[porsche4life]

The 944 is my first car...and I will agree with the maitenance issues it seems like i am doing something minor every weekend...It doesnt have enough power to get me into much trouble and 4 passengers is pushing it when you and all your friends are over 6ft...I love my 944 but if i had it to do over i would get something a little more dependable...Perhaps a jetta or golf