I have a chance (actually several) to buy an 85 944 (red of course) that is in great shape for $4000. I thought the $5000 he is asking was a great price, but when I checked on Kelly's Blue Book (kbb.com), I only get a private party price of @ $3000 and that's if I max out the options. Is this a good buy or should I hold to KBB's price?

Glenn in TN

 

There are a lot of things that play into the price of a 944. I take it the car is a NA and not a turbo since it is an 85, so that will generally lower the price. Full maintenance records really should be included, if they are not, be very very careful of what you buy, in fact make sure you spend a couple hundred bucks to get a pre purchase inspection done at a porsche shop. These cars can bury you in a heartbeat. When was the timing belts, waterpump, and rollers done last? When was the clutch replaced? Those 2 items will run you about $3500-4000 to have a shop do it, and these cars are notorious for breaking timing belts. If it is on the original clutch, i will guarantee the rubber center has started to come apart, and probably will need to be replaced in the near future. On an NA it isn't too bad, about a 16 hour job plus 500-600 in parts. How many miles are on the car? The blue book is closer to the actual value of the car, than what he is asking. I had a customer that just purchased an 84 IIRC (early model anyway), for about 4500, and has spent $2k with us in the last week fixing problems that he was not aware of (And not preventative maintenance either). In contrast, i bought my 86 944 turbo with 155k on the clock for 3500.

 

There is a shop in Memphis that can change the timing belt, water pump, and some other belt for something over $900. They can do a clutch for @ $1000. He also gave me some ideas to try to determine the shape of the clutch.

There are 3 944's in the Memphis area that are asking $5000. One is on Ebay (Item number: 4567169123), one is in east Memphis (local paper last week -- automatic - not really what I want), and the nicer one (looks) is just a few blocks from my house on autotrader.com (within 25 mi. of 38135 zip code). The later (nicer) said he will not go below $4000. The ebay car is at $600. There is another in ebay that is @ 100 miles away at $1500.

 

Whatever you buy, like i said just be careful and have a PPI done on it. I can assure you that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap porsche as well (ESPECIALLY a 944), but you don't want to pay too much either, so it is a very gray area. I have always said you can not afford a 944 unless you can do all your own maintenance work....in that i mean, you will pump far more into fixing things if you are paying for labor, than the value of the car is worth. I think the general consensus is $1k a year in parts for maintenance, but there are always going to be the guys that pick up a 944 cheap, and have to do nothing but put gas and oil into it....those guys I envy. If the money is no big deal to you, then go for it. I would be very skeptical of a place saying they can do a clutch on a 944 for 1000 bucks, when the parts are 500 alone, and the book rate is 16 hours, but again, if you get it in writing, then its the shop's problem...they must have a very cheap labor rate Good luck in your hunting!

 

I drove the "nice" one that is closest this afternoon. It didn't drive as good or was as fast as I thought it would be. I was also very disappointed in the back seat room. I don't usually set the drivers seat back very far, so after I drove it, I climbed back. I am only 5'9" and 180#, and I couldn't fit in the back. My knees stuck out in front of the front seat. So I'm not sure this is the car for me. I have young kids, but my 12 year old daughter probably won't fit back there (although she would love to get it when she turns 16!)

I may try to drive the ebay car tomorrow if the guy will email back. Thanks for all your help.

 

The back seats are basically child seats...small child at that. Truth be told, a 944 will get beat off the line by most minivans out there, they are not fast. What they do well though is rip through the corners due to the 50/50 weight distribution. As well, there are really not many mods for a NA 944 to increase the performance, without breaking the bank, you are looking at picking up maybe 10-15hp in mods, thats it. A turbo on the other hand can be quite fast with little work