I'm 16 and trying to get a 944 as a first car. I can drive a stick and my parents are on board as far as owning a Porsche, paying for insurance, they plan on paying for most of it (5k), and having it in their name (various reasons, taxes, insurance, etc.)
I have done extensive research on the 944 and compared it to the 924 and 911. I want a 944, no preference as far as auto/manual or normal/turbo/s2. I do however want a '87+ for safety reasons, primarily ABS and airbags. The current prospective car is a black, manual '87 944 turbo (951) with 95k on it, it is located only an hour or so away from where we live. Which reminds me, we do NOT have any local Porsche dealers, but I am unsure of the existence of nearby import specialists. Anyway, here is what I'm struggling with:

-My parents will be paying for most of the maintenance that will be done on the 944. I, the responsible and morally mature young man that my parents have raised me to be, will feel guilty if within the first month, year, or even two years will have run up a maintenance bill that equals or doubles the purchase price of the car. I know Porsches can be spendy but exactly how expensive? (Can you guys tell me what you spend on routine maintenance annually (only things that are required to keep it running and in decent condition, no upgrades.)

-I've only been searching for a 944 for about a month, is it too soon to buy? Note: we now have 2 cars, 3 drivers, and 4 people who need to be places in my family, we need another car. I really think that this black turbo could be what I'm looking for. It has service history, only 94k, the color I would like, in what appears to be good condition (according to the pictures in the listing). I have yet to contact the seller on whether or not it has the safety features that I insist upon, when problematic components have been serviced (water pump, timing belt, etc) But this listing is the closest to my town that I have found, and I have spent hours on end scouring the internet for porsches that meet my criteria. I DO plan on inspecting the car myself, taking it for a test drive, and having an adult friend/porsche enthusiast give it an inspection before purchase.

(by the way, I live in Iowa, so there aren't many 944's in here, and even fewer for sale)

So tell me my fellow Porsche fans;
-how smart is it to get a 944 as a teenager?
-what is your annual maintenance bill?
-what else do I need to look for in a porsche?

P.S. I'm not by any means a gear head, nor is anyone in my family.

 

1. Not one of the smarter things you could do at your age.
2. A minimum of $1k a year, doing much of the work yourself. At least 2-3x that if you have to pay a shop.
3. It isn't what you need to look for in a porsche, it is what you need to own a 20 year old Porsche....a good paying job and a second car (it will spend a lot of time on jackstands).

I have seen too many 944's destroyed because the owner couldn't afford to keep the car maintained properly. They are cheap to buy, and expensive to maintain. This goes for any 20 year old Porsche, whether it be a 944, 924, 911, etc. Not meaning any offense to you, but I work on these cars for a living, and I know how much the bills can rack up. For example, when you purchase the 944, the first thing you do is the waterpump and timing belts. They are an interference motor, and are notorious for breaking timing belts, which is why you do it right away. $500 in parts, and about 10 hours of labor, so plan on $1500 for that. Then there is the possibility of the clutch going. If it hasn't been replaced yet, at 95k, you are going to need it soon. About 18 hours of labor on the clutch, and around $800 in parts, so plan on about $2500 for that. If you plan to skip the timing belt, and then it breaks, usually those bills run around $3000 to rebuild the head and front end (thats if there is no damage to the pistons). These are just the big items. It is the small stuff that nickles and dimes you to death.

My advice is to skip the porsche, buy something new that gets great gas mileage and is dependable. As a high school / college age guy, you will find there are a lot better things to spend money on than your car. If you haven't figured that out yet, you will in a few years. Get something that will get you through high school and college, and then when you get a good paying job and can afford to have a 20 year old porsche as a toy, then go for it. They will still be around in 10 years.

Looking through some invoices for customers with 944's over the last year, the average amount spent by those customers in a year is about $2800.

 

Yeah, what you're saying is pretty much what I've been thinking, but not wanting to admit because I have loved Porsches since a very early age, and now that I can drive I was hoping to get a cheap one. But alas, there is no such thing as a cheap porsche, is there? That has become painfully clear in the last 4-5 days of researching maintenance expenses. Thanks for your honesty and I'll file away all this information for 5+ years from now.

I'm still happy to hear what everyone else has to say.

 

well this isn't my thread yet had the same question
you sure put that into perspective porsche

another thing is 5k for a 944 seems extremely cheap,because im from canada and we destroy our cars here and sell them for way too much money!!