I am contemplating buying my daughter a 1989 944. It has 140K miles and from what I understand, has a good body and a great engine. The guy selling it has 3 Porsches and want's to sell his "daily drive".

So far, all I know is that although the body is fine, it needs a paint job. It has a manual transmission and I'm unsure whether it's a Turbo or not. He's asking $2500 for it. The husband of a co-worker wanted to buy this car, but already has 3 project cars. She says that he reports it is well worth the $$.

My Daughter: She just turned 16, is still learning to drive and is car crazy. She is head over heels about the early Chevelle 396 and 427's. She also likes the Cudas and Duster's. Basically, most early vintage muscle cars gets her attention. She is also a Porsche enthusiast. She has only driven my RX-8 in a parking lot, so will still need extensive training on a stick shift. She accompanies me to car shows and the auto shop at times. This would be her first car....

If I go forward with this, I will have a PPI done. Any other feedback, suggestions or comments?

Thank you in advance.

 

Well, the 944 is one of the safest cars out there. I don't know about it as a 1st car, I do plan on not being devestated when my son has a minor accident in his first car. But, then this is your kid, so you know her. Most important thing on the 944 is regular maintanence. The other good point, if it's not a turbo, is the 944 is not so powerful that a novice driver would have trouble with it. On the down side, on the open road, you can get her upwards of 115mph pretty easily.

 

I am currently rebuilding an engine and tranny to put in my '84 944 for my daughters 16th b-day. I can't think of a better car for a 16 year old to have, as long as you can do the maintenance on it. If you are relying on others to do the work, it can get expensive. 140k miles is nothing on a 944, my '84 has 300k and is still running well (I just think it would be best to start my daughter with something totally fresh), so I wouldn't worry about that, but maintenance records are a must. Let me know if you want a detail of things to look for.

Its a good safe car, without a huge amount of hp to get her in trouble, and has excellent suspension and brakes, plus, it has limited passenger room. Perfect for a kid, if you ask me!

Regards,

 

Thanks for those responses. I may have lost out to the people who told me about this. They said it was too good of a deal to pass up. I'm still going to keep looking for a Porsche, however. I believe it may be the ideal car for my daughter. The muscle cars are just too much bulk for her to try and handle as a first car. I appreciate the responses and information.

 

the 89 944 is a great car. it's what i have. last summer i completed an extensive rebuild on mine. this year i've been amassing many things for a 951 conversion...front end, brakes, etc. in two weeks my 87 951 engine arrives and i'll be busy tearing it apart. i recommend caution with the 89 944 because parts for it are a lot more expensive than the other n/a models. however, if you need a freshly rebuilt engine...late in the summer mine will be available. i have a pic available right here....

[IMG]local://upfiles/858/B7ACE39AD380475388A4C9B9DABFBCCB.jpg[/IMG]