Help! Miata vs 944...
 

Hey guys,

I'm a longtime German car nut - I have a 964 C2 and an E30 M3, bought both cars back when no one was interested in them - but now the values have gone up so much that I can't help but drive them less and worry about them much more.

So, I am looking for something RWD, manual, and fun to drive to work 'n' back. I drive about 50-55 miles round trip, 5 days a week. To work, it's mostly downhill through a windy canyon road, averaging 40-55mph, very little traffic. On the way home, same road, but uphill most of the way and more traffic. It's mostly double-yellow, one lane in each direction, so minimal passing opportunities, and combined with the uphill and summer tourists...

Whatever car I get will NOT be driven in the winter, I have an AWD/4WD truck for that - so it will see about 7k miles per year.

I came across a very decent 944S with 100k miles on it, fair price, good to very good service history. This seems like a well taken care of car, although not showroom grade.

For a similar price, I can get a ~2003 Miata with 50k miles on it.

Being a German car guy, I really hate to pass on the opportunity to own a revvy 16v RWD manual German machine.

But... As a guy who does my own wrenching in my home garage, I don't want to bury myself either with upkeep.

I know the Miata will be cheaper to maintain and operate. But... Porsche!

Help me, dammit. This may be a Heart vs Head choice, I don't know.

Thoughts?

Thanks! :D

Obviously biased answer here. I'd go for the 944. The Miata is nice but........ Upkeep on the S isn't any more expensive (probably a little less) than anything else you have.

given what you have, and what you seem to be lacking (a convertible) the miata is the clear winner here. fun, great fuel economy, easy to find upgrades for, simple design. the 944 will feel heavy, underpowered, sloshy, and old by comparison.

Just bought a 944S to replace my light weight, 67S hot rod that I have owned for 37 years...944 is nice but feels fat & sluggish. I was contemplating Miata, 914, BMW 2002 & E30 to replace the 911 & decided to stay with Porsche since I can't show up at a Porsche event in a Miata. I don't want to work on a mid-engine car either.

944 is nice on the road, quiet & feels solid but definitely not the visceral road machine my 67S is. Trying to grow up a bit. If you don't need an air conditioner then a 2002 is very nice daily driver. I've had several & am thinking about them again.

You are on a Porsche forum asking this....lol!

That being said I had a similar drive to work. Had an 87 944S as well, great commuter car, also got 22-26mpg regularly. I have never been a fan of convertible cars, just to loose and flexy for my liking. The S is a great machine, well built and very reliable. Its no question in my mind...

Great enthusiast community. Lots of aftermarket parts. Great handling. Plenty of power. OBDII.

Miata.

Owned 3 944s, two of them turbo... and 2 miatas... one of them an anniversary edition:

The miata is fun... simple and easy. It's light switch gear selector (NA and NB) makes it feel less of a car and more an extension of you. You wear a miata, you drive other cars. You own Porsches for different reasons than you own Miatas. It won't feel as special as a 9XX, but it will be reliable... and fun none the less. Honestly, hard to lose in this situation.

Do you need the cargo space? The 944 can haul a surprising amount of stuff with the back seat folded down. The Miata, not so much. With that said, the Miata will be 15-16 years newer than any 944S you find... no further explanation needed. Another thing, do you fit in a Miata? The 944 is pretty forgiving if your tall and doesnt feel as cramped. My experience in a friends Miata was i felt like we were touching shoulders.

Unless you needed to raise capital, i would sell the E30 and keep the 964. Air cooled pricing has become absurd and who knows if the prices will ever come down; personally i think they have leveled off, but they probably wont ever drop. I would see it as a good fortune you picked up both cars when the prices were reasonable! If you sold the 964, it would not be an easy one to replace if you ever changed your mind.

With that said, i am looking for a 964... if you decide to sell it let me know :).

Put down the pipe.......

As long as you find a Miata the same colour as your purse, go for it.

lol

I'm kidding...to each his own.

However, it DOES remind me of a moped though. Fun to drive, but you don't want the boys to see you on it.;)

one thing to keep in mind is that these 2 cars are not in the same class. the miata is a sports car. the 944 is really a GT (by definition not a sports car, because it has a roof and a back seat). they are built for different things. consequently expecting the 944 to behave like a sports car is illogical, as is expecting copious amounts of storage in a sports car.

i've had both kinds of cars, and enjoyed them both for their own reasons. today, i have no use for a sports car, and prefer the GT, as that is what i would use the most. that's why i bought the new targa GTS. lol - i do catch myself looking at the new fiat spyder though

I love the looks of the Miata but have never sat in or driven one. I already know which way I would go though as I had a bad experience in a MG Midget when I was much younger than I am now. Got in but it took nearly 20 minutes to get out, but then you might not be 6' 2" and 200+lbs! I couldn't imagine commuting every day in one.
My 944s on the other hand may be a bit awkward to get into at 60 years young but once in there is gobs of room and I find are very comfortable even on 10+ hour trips.
I beg to differ on the 944 not feeling like a sports car, my '83 is the sportiest handling car I have ever driven bar none!

Yeah.. I don't understand the "not feeling like a sports car" thing either.. Da'hell?

I was only in one Miatia, an instructor's car with a roll cage and hard top. I'm just shy of six feet with long legs and thought it a bit tight with shoulder to shoulder seating, like a in Cessna 150. It went well, like a go kart but seemed toy like, JM2CW.

i wouldn't buy an NB or NC, but i would buy a miata over a 944 every time, no questions asked.

i'd buy an 1.8L NA with a torsen every time. or the new ND, it looks and drives FANTASTIC

<-owner, 944 turbo and 1.6L miata

it's hard for a lot of people, especially people under 30, to imagine what a true sports car feels like, as they really aren't being made much anymore. they have all ballooned up to sports exotics, sports sedans, and sports coupes.

by definition, a sports car is a 2 seat convertible, with no intrinsic value beyond fun. it can't have a big trunk, be able to carry the kids to school, or anything like that. it is purely for sport. it really has noting to do with performance figures, or anything tangible. it is more an esoteric issue, and how the car makes you feel.

a 944, while a good platform for a GT, is not a sports car. even in convertible form, it still has a back seat, and is way too big and heavy.

that being said, it is a good GT, which for most people, is the better choice. it has storage capability, ample room, and reasonable enough handling and power to be fun for most people. after 40 years of driving mostly sports cars, i have now chosen a GT for those same reasons. i could still have a sports car, and would enjoy driving it, but i would rarely get a chance to truly enjoy it. more often than not, i have to sit in traffic, or carry more than a sports car can carry.

that being said, a supercharged 968 cabriolet can be a bit of both. with 300hp, it is plenty fast, and the trunk is surprisingly large, with even more room in the back seats. i know somebody selling a really clean one, if you are interested.

my issue with the 944 is that it is technologically limited, the design is old looking, and they are getting long in the tooth, making reliability an issue. that being said, they are probably easier to get into, and do carry with it the porsche mystique. no miata will ever do that.

very personal choice

well we can agree on something flash, the 944 isn't a very good sports car. it is a fantastic GT car though.

while you may be getting old and long in the tooth, and thus picking GT cars these days, i have been getting smaller and less practical the older it get. i find i need less and less the older i get, and i just don't give a **** anymore about impressing anyone. i really only keep my 944 around for two reasons:

1. she was my first love. when you look back on your dating life, you remember your first girlfriend? remember how you felt about her? sure, looking back you know it was stupid, you know it was never going to last, you know right now the women you date/marry are totally different in every way, but, when you look back on naivete of youth, the misty glasses of nostalgia ... thats the 944 for me. my first girlfriend. that first set of tits you felt after than band concert. if you could bottle that up, that is my 944 to me.

2. road trips. just got back from a roadtrip out to montana in the 944. fantastic car for roadtriping. storage for days, comfortable suspension, fast, turbo (for the mountains) and actually reasonably reliable (at least this time).

there is an emotional component here too. i started doing road trips in this car 5 years ago and have since done almost the whole USA in it. why would i buy anything newer, i'd have to start over.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...pstmmxp3fw.jpg

Here is the on line dictionary definition of "Sports car": a low small usually 2-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving.

I think you would be hard pressed to say the 944 does not fit that description and if you are tempted to push the "2 passenger" bit I challenge you to try and sit back there! I have and it is NOT a viable back seat, trust me!.

Notice there is no mention of it being convertible.

not hard pressed at all - 2 passenger!! that means no back seat. period. no wiggle room there. i know plenty of people who haul their kids around in those seats, and in fact have to pass on convertible because they need those seats. that need and use rules it out.

that's also the online dictionary. it is not what is classically known as a sports car, unless it is convertible. car manufacturers started calling cars sports cars back in the 70s that were not sports cars, because they stopped making sports cars, but still wanted to sell cars, and calling it a sports car helps mollify egos. yes, i'm that old.

the 944 is a GT, pure and simple. in fact, were it not for some measure of performance, in its earliest form, it could have been classified as nothing more than a hatchback economy car. that was not accidental either. the marketing done at the time was aimed straight at the guy who needed an economical, utility, fun car. it worked. that's why it stuck around so long.

by the way, not calling it a sports car is not a slam, and nobody should get their panties in a bunch over it.