I am thinking of buying a 85 1/2 944 non turbo. It has had the timing belt replaced along with the clutch and transmission gone through recently (he has the reciepts). It has 110,000 miles on it and I can buy it for 3600. Is this a good deal. Is this year a good car and reliable. I haven't looked at the car yet but am told it is in good shape yet. Is there anything I should look for on the car? Any info would be helpful, Thanks.

 

Get a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) done by a qualified shop in your area, and make sure they do a compression test (a leakdown test would be even better). Porsches can bite you hard if you don't know what you are getting into, so its best to start with a professional opinion. If you are near the KC area, let me know and I can do the PPI for you.

A 944 of any year can be a wonderful car and can be troublefree for many miles, if properly cared for. Make sure you look at as many of them as you can and you will start to get a good feel for what they should feel like, and which ones are bad. Its usually pretty obvious, even without any mechanical background or knowledge. The cars just feel "right" or "worng".

Regards,

 

What is the comppression supposed to be?

 

What should the leak down read, I also have one of those?

 

I looked at the car today. Here are some of the things I found wrong. It has a little bit of what I would describe as wheel hop when you down shift to 2nd. The paint and body are in decent shape for the age. It has an exhaust leak but it looks like it's a gasket not rusted. It could use some minor cosmetic work on the interior. The timing belt has been done recently, the clutch is new, the injectors have been seviced, water pump and belts are pretty new. Could use four tires. I work with the guy and have known him for a while so I am confident he is not hiding anything. He pointed out all the flaws he knew of. I think I can get it for 3400. How does that sound? I am going to do a comppression check next week.