I'm thinking about buying a Porsche 944 Turbo?

Question

I have about $4,000 and I'm working on growing that sum to something larger. I've read that the timing belt has to be changed every few years and that I'm going to have to maintain the car since it's from the '80s, but other than that I'd love to get this car. I've heard that this car's value is as low as it will be and will soon become a classic. I also discovered that it was made out of Audi/VW parts. Can I use Audi/VW parts on this car to reduce the costs of buying Porsche parts? Is this a good idea?

Thanks.

Answer 1

there good cars and fun to drive but be prepared to pay a little cash, check and see if it still has the original clutch you still may be able to see meat on the disc but that means nothing, check to see if the rubber disk is cracked. the have an exceptional limp home feature for when the clutch fails you can hardly tell, depending on the miles, check the clutch and CV joints for wear if you do it your self your looking at any where from 400 to around a thousand. the cheapest clutch is around 400 on sale and the can go up to 1000 or higher, CV joints i have found from 65 to $100 a piece and surprising you can find parts at your local auto parts store. i my experience they aren't any harder than working on a for or Chevy if you have a good mechanical background but if your worried about money and the cost of parts maybe this isn't the car for you, i would suggest looking at a few web sites to get an idea of what you will be spending. overall i love mine and will probably always own one. good luck, as for using the Audi and VW parts they already are when you pull the parts out of the car they are already stamped with their emblems not Porsche the cost is going to depend on where you buy them.

Answer 2

The 951 (944 Turbo) is a great car. But there are a few red lights that jump out as warnings in what you've written: While prices on this car have come down and offer some pretty great overall performance at a pretty attractive price, this is a car that originally sold for quite alot when it was new, and parts and service prices will continue to reflect that. This is not a car to purchase if you have a very limited budget.

And while the 944/951 shares common styling and some chasis components with the 924 - which was originally designed by Porsche for Audi before being marketed as a Porsche (and therefore uses many Audi parts), the 944/951 was designed as a Porsche (and it is pretty much all Porsche parts). You may save money on some parts by looking for OEM vs OE (ie, looking for a Bosch alternator, rather than a Bosch alternator with a Porsche logo); but this is not going to be a major difference in price.

As to the long term value of the car: The car is most likely still in decline in terms of value, as the front engined water cooled models are not, and probably never will generate any interest among classic car collectors. And even if there was such a chance, there were quite a few of these cars made (among these cars, only the 924 Carrera is genuinely collectable, sought after, and demands premium pricing).

To sum it up... these are great cars, and have fantastic performance potential. But they can be expensive to own, and should not be undertaken on a budget (or as someone's only car).

Answer 3

I think you need to grow that sum a lot larger before you think about buying a Porsche of any kind, let alone a Turbo. I'll just start off by saying that any 951 you can buy for as little as $4000 is going to be a complete project car and unless you can do all the work yourself, will cost thousands more to bring around to a decent condition. I'm not sure where you are, by in the midwest a solid well looked after 951 will run $8000-12,0000, with the TLC needing cars fetching about half that.

They're great cars when they are looked after, but too often people can afford to buy them but forget it's still an exotic and still costs like one to maintain. The initial purchase price is only the start of the money you'll put into a Porsche, so if just buying the car is going to leave you high and dry, you need to save more money or maybe think about another car.

The best advice I can tell you is to look for a nice early 944 N/A in your price range, but even then expect to pay a few thousand in maintenance/repairs right away. You're correct about the belts, and if you buy a car with unknown belt history plan to spend about $2000 right away to get that (t-belt, water pump, balance shaft belts, rollers, pulleys, idlers, etc) because if any of those fail, 8 valves x $100 each = $$$.

Very few if any VW/Audi parts can be used on the 944. Parts prices aren't terrible (unless your used to domestics) but it's the cost of labor that really brings the bill up. For example, the front end service (t-belt, water pump) takes about 15 hours, 20 hours for a clutch, you get the picture.

I'm not trying to put you off buying a 944, but I just want your first experience with the marque to be a good one. they're great fun and very reliable if well looked after, but the problem is that there are so many rattle traps or piles of junk that will just turn into a money pit, so you have to know what your getting yourself into ahead of time. Understand it's going to be a real labor of love, expect to spend about $2000 a year to keep her running the way she should, have a shop who knows Porsches check the car out before you buy it so you'll know exactly what you're getting, and I can't stress enough to have a few thousand in addition to the purchasing price of the car saved up for repairs right off the bat. Trust me, you'll need it. Good luck and I hope this helps. BTW- There are tons of 944 buying tips all over the internet, I believe pelicanparts.com has a pretty in-depth guide which would be a good place to start.

Answer 4

The LEAST expensive thing you might be doing in getting your Porsche is buying it...there are VERY few VW/AUDI parts which swap over(except for switches, sensors, etc). A Turbo version also invloves a lot more complexity, more expensive tune-ups, so if you only have the $$ to buy it, and not maintain it properly, it's like someone giving me an aircraft for free...if I can't afford to RUN it, then I'll stay away from it.

As an owner of both a earlier 911, and MBZ coupe, let's make 1 thing clear. Cars are NOT and NEVER will be good investments. The rare example of being about to get something like a Superbird, 300SL, etc are like the lottery.

I recommend SAVING that money, and get some more for a 968 Coupe...much more refined, faster, and RARE when comapred to a 944. The 968 was the best iteration of the 924/944 series.

I think there was a 924S offered in the states 1986-87(which had the 924 body placed on the 944 chassis/engine, etc

Answer 5

I agree with what everyone here has said. You need to have money to own that car. I bought one this past spring for $2000 body is good but the interior is rough. We bought the tools and stuff to do the timing belt which shouldn't be a problem for us, we're mechanically inclined and have a friend that used to have one of these cars who is willing to help. Then the clutch went, which is going to be another $800 and then the license plate needed to be renewed at three times the cost of my old car, and the insurance -even just for liability is higher because its a sports car.
I am all for buying disposable easy to work on cars. If you want something reasonably fun to drive buy a Mustang of some sort (we have a 99 Cobra). You should be able to pick up a 90's mustang for about $4000 and the junk yards are filled with tons of spare parts, they tend to attract the type of driver that totals cars (not saying you're that type, just saying parts will be easy to find). I've also heard that Mitsubishi's are fun to play with, I had a Mitsu engine in my old Duster that I finally sold with 189,000 miles on it, I never put more than regular maintenance into that car.
My advice: "Aspire to own a new Porsche one day."
I hope I will.

Answer 6

It's a great car but it's a very high maintenance automobile. Unless you can devote an average of $150--$200 a month to maintenance and repairs, you won't stay ahead of this car. You have to be making a decent salary to support this car. And no, it doesn't matter if some pieces are sourced from Audi, because Audi parts are just as expensive.

Also you will need a repair shop that fully understands these cars. Just because Hans speaks German and works on Mercedes, doesn't mean he knows diddley about Porsche 944s.

Answer 7

Not only does the belt require frequent changing, special tooling and procedures are indicated. Not only will costs of upkeep be higher, legal fees and fines will be an expense. Let the turbolauder cool before shutdown and dont get the boost up on a cold engine and it should last a long time. Nice ride.

Answer 8

if your going to buy a Porsche buy a Porsche not an Audi.