Hi, i'm new and have been considering a 944 as a daily driver. I've heard that the 944 turbo is significantly better, and that those made after 1985 have a roomier cabin/steering wheel. So, that narrows it down to a Post-1985 Porsche 944 Turbo.
First of all, as with any used car, i've become concerned that mileage is an issue. with about 150,000 miles on the average 944, will i become entangled in one repair after another? I've worked as a mechanic on 60's to 70's MGB's and am therefore more mechanically skilled than your average bear. I am willing to do much of the mechanical work myself.
Will anything major break? My father once bought a riceburner out in california, used, only to have the transmission blow out on a steep hill in SanFran. I'd rather not replace a Tranny in my daily driver, because that's expensive.
I've heard people say that the 944 is a good daily driver, and i've heard those who say that it isn't.
my price range is less than 5000, before repair cost.
Should i buy a 944?
~if there's an admin here, if you could please move this post to the "OT or Chat" section, as mentioned in the forum rules, it would be appreciated.

 

I have an 86 944 that i had bought with 90,000 on it. I have pretty much spent a small fortune on it. Some stuff was just regular maintenance, new tires, new shocks/struts/bushings, timing belt and water pump but also the balance belt and gears needed to be replaced too, struts on the hood and hatch, the suroof has never worked on it, i bought the gears and havent had the time to install yet. I also had an issue with overheating that cost a small fortune (1,400) and it still runs pretty hot on the 3rd line not matter what we do. Now my automatic damper plate needs to be replaced, the part is $1,200 and a massive amount of labor. Dont get me wrong, i love the car (my wife does to) but i am deciding weather its worth to throw any more money at it, i paid $2700 for it over 4 years ago but i only put 8000 miles on it since i have owned it. Its a beautiful car, only a few small rips in the seats, i wanted to get the seats done one day. I would suggest getting a good look over on it before you but it, it can cost you some serious money in maintenance. I understand that its over 23 years old but i am getting a little discouraged with the constant repairs to the point that i don't really want to drive it any more.

 

I am going to be tinting a 07 Porsche 911 Turbo in the near future. I was wondering if anyone has any recommedations on how to approach this car. So far Ive heard not to used metalized tint due to GPS, etc. Any recommendations?

 

A 944 is a great car and if in good condition and well maintained, pretty close to bulletproof. I have several friends that drive them, if not every day, three or four days per week -- it's their main go-to-work car, etc.
That said: 1) a 944/968 is an old car and any old car will give problems unless a lot is renewed and unless it is routinely checked and serviced, 2) it is a Porsche and while it is one of the least expensive Prosches to own, it was designed by engineers who assume it would be well maintained (as opposed to Chevys, etc., where the designers assume it will be neglected), 3) owners tend to set a higher standard for a Porsche: you might let a 25 year old Chevy deteriorate into a "beater" and tolerate a lot of stuff not working, but on a Porsche it has to be pristine.
So you put all this together, and a 944 as a daily driver is not a cheap car. Its not expensive, either, compared to either current Porsches (counting the cost of acquisition, a new Boxter would cost more, etc), but it will be more expensive by far than, say, an Old Camaro or MG-B: maintenance and service costs for this car will be far out of proportion to the original pruchase price: you can get them at a low cost relatively, lbut you can't drive and amintain them at low cost.
No meaning to offend, but if $1400 is "a small fortune" or even an amount that would be a major concern if an unexpected expense, I would not count on the car as a daily driver. It may not cost much to buy an old 944, but it will cost at least that much to put it in good condition (either buying one in the shape I would want for daily driving, or spending to bring it up to that, one way or the other I would not think it possible to get one for less than $10K).

 

No offense taken but $1400 to repair an overheating car is not cheap, neither is a part on the rear of an engine(automatic dampner plate) that costs $1,200 plus another $1,000 in labor at a minimum. There are numerous other expenses that you may consider maintaince but the way I look at it, its not a cheap car to use as a daily driver, to me and i am sure many other people in this world a daily driver would need to be reliable and fairly inexpenive to maintain, I am glad your pockets are so deep that you dont think twice about spending $1400 to repair an overheating car but I do. I was just trying to explain as you did about a repair that would normally cost $200-$300 being $1,400. I was being honest in my answer, I am thinking twice about doing the dampner plate repair and just selling the car as there are a few other what i would consider minor problems that could cost a few $ to also repair. My car was checked by a mechanic and I have the maintaince records for it since new, there was one owner and I purchased it with 89,000 miles but also as you stated, its and older car and things will go wrong. I paid $2,700 for mine, put about $4,500 into it in the last 4 years of ownership and its not a daily driver and if I was to repair it with the dampner plate for another $2,200 my total minimum investment would be$9400 and if i was to sell it, i would be lucky to get $4,000 for it. I now have 98,000 on it.

BUT ALL THAT SAID, ITS A BEAUTIFUL CAR and people always remark about it.

 

$1400 to repair overheating, and $2200 for a rear seal, are expensive repairs, but that is the whole point I was trying to make -- they are par for the course with a Porsche: you can buy a 944/968 for a reasonable cost, but these repair costs -- maybe two to three times what you'd expect on normal cars, are par for the course. If you do the work yourself, even, you will discover it takes more time and the parts cost much more than if the car were, say, a Camaro or a Supra.
So, if you really want to drive a 944 daily, you pretty much have to accept that this will be a continuing problem, and that in fact the day will come when you face that $8000 expensive of replacing a short block or transmission to keep the car renewed.
Very likely, the lowest cost way to drive a Porsche as a daily driver is this: buy a bottom end Boxster (not the S) used, and search 'til you find a low mileage, three or four year old one in really good condition. Service and pro-actively check it yourself and be fanatical about that. Sell it after about three - four years of use and do it again.

 

thanks for the responses!

 

Are 928's any better with repair pricing/reliability? a thousand here or there is not much of a problem for me, and except for insane repairs, (removing an entire motor to access the turbo on an audi wagon isn't fun... not my experience but wh/ever.) i should hope to do the mechanical work myself. I obviously plan to have it as a daily driver or use it 4-5 out of 7 days of the week. Do not have a heated garage. Thanks, guys.

 

928s are, in my experience, just about the most difficult -- and that means expensive -- car to work on made in the last four decades, even considering the V12 XKEs which were notorious for that. You often have to remove a lot of stuff to get to the stuff you want to repair, etc., and parts are expensive.

 

hah! there's no way around repair costs, i guess. uhhm, thanks, yet again!