Porsche 944: Good deal & what to look for.
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From: Wherever Sucks the Most
Car Info: 2003 WRX, 2008 Camry
Porsche 944: Good deal & what to look for.
I'm posting this for a friend of mine that's interested in the Used 1986 Porsche 944 seen here for $3500...
The car's in relatively good shape with a scratch on the hood and 130,000 miles. He's still trying to get more info on the car and wants to know what to ask and what to look for.
Anyone have any expertise in buying a car like this and what to look for in parts condition etc?
Does $3500 seem like a good price, assuming everything is in good working order?
If he convinced the seller to get the car inspected by a Porsche dealer and/or European mechanic, how much is he looking to spend on that?
Anyone able to pull a CarFax on this if i get the VIN in the near future?
Any advice is greatly appreciated in this matter.
-Eric
The car's in relatively good shape with a scratch on the hood and 130,000 miles. He's still trying to get more info on the car and wants to know what to ask and what to look for.
Anyone have any expertise in buying a car like this and what to look for in parts condition etc?
Does $3500 seem like a good price, assuming everything is in good working order?
If he convinced the seller to get the car inspected by a Porsche dealer and/or European mechanic, how much is he looking to spend on that?
Anyone able to pull a CarFax on this if i get the VIN in the near future?
Any advice is greatly appreciated in this matter.
-Eric
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,256
From: Blue-faced in a red state
Car Info: 04 Silver WRX Wagon
Man I love 944s. The S version is teh saucey. It will probably set him back $200-250 to have the car fully looked at. But for the price being sold for, I dont know if the current owner would be willing to go through the trouble of lending it to your buddy for a check-up.
He might want to google some Porsche forums. Perhaps there are year specific bonuses / concerns on these cars (I know that that is true for my bug, but then again we are talking 45 yo, not 20!!)
He might want to google some Porsche forums. Perhaps there are year specific bonuses / concerns on these cars (I know that that is true for my bug, but then again we are talking 45 yo, not 20!!)
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944's
Well the first place to look is in Excellence Magazine. They release buyers guides for these cars that have pricing guides, etc.
What is important to note is that is it a Porsche and parts will not be cheap. It will be a money pit. Be prepared to dump cash into it, be prepared that it will always need something. The NA cars are more reliable if not under powered relative to the Turbo's. The early S models had some problems, etc..
If you are serious go to rennlist.com and read 944 forums and ask questions. Don't jump into a purchase. There are tons of NA cars out there. Only the S2 and the Turbo's are relativly rare.
The 944 is a great handling car. There are plenty of aftermarket parts but it is 15 to 20 year old car. I personally love it. But I would not own it again unless I had plenty of spare coin and several other cars to drive on a daily basis.
Good luck.
What is important to note is that is it a Porsche and parts will not be cheap. It will be a money pit. Be prepared to dump cash into it, be prepared that it will always need something. The NA cars are more reliable if not under powered relative to the Turbo's. The early S models had some problems, etc..
If you are serious go to rennlist.com and read 944 forums and ask questions. Don't jump into a purchase. There are tons of NA cars out there. Only the S2 and the Turbo's are relativly rare.
The 944 is a great handling car. There are plenty of aftermarket parts but it is 15 to 20 year old car. I personally love it. But I would not own it again unless I had plenty of spare coin and several other cars to drive on a daily basis.
Good luck.
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From: rightBehindYou, HI
Car Info: 1973 Huevo Ranchero
my advice- stay away.
unless your friend has a passion for expensive parts and labor(unless he's doing it himself) my friend has one and she is sick of all the expensive parts- unless your friend lives in an area where parts are easy to obtain... then...
i dunno- i never liked buying used european cars much less selling em.
aloha from the summit of Mauna Kea
unless your friend has a passion for expensive parts and labor(unless he's doing it himself) my friend has one and she is sick of all the expensive parts- unless your friend lives in an area where parts are easy to obtain... then...
i dunno- i never liked buying used european cars much less selling em.
aloha from the summit of Mauna Kea
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From: The Hunted Forest
Car Info: Mazda Protege '02 (Wishing protege has AWD and a H6 twin turbo)
Originally Posted by Salty
Thanks for the advice!
Anyone else have anything to say? Any advice is greatly appreciated on my friend's behalf.
Anyone else have anything to say? Any advice is greatly appreciated on my friend's behalf.
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 66
From: Mass
Car Info: '99 OBS
My best friend has a 1986 944 Turbo. He's been very pleased with it thus far and stock it's just as fast as my WRX (he has a few mods thrown on there for some pretty hefty extra power). Parts will be expensive, of course but who cares, you own a nasty porsche. If you want to learn alot about the 944, check out www.rennlist.com. Their forums on Porsche's, especially 944's are very informative.
I hope this helps.
btw.... according to my buddy the picture you have above is not of an 86, it's the older body style meaning 1985.5 or older.
good luck!
I hope this helps.
btw.... according to my buddy the picture you have above is not of an 86, it's the older body style meaning 1985.5 or older.
good luck!
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