CurBrwn79

Not hung up on a "S", and yes all 89 were brought up to "S" specs. 88-89 turbos had more HP. The "S" version came with bigger brakes & M030 adjustable suspensions. Completly open to a 88 Turbo, actually found one with 56k miles for $13,9... Also, 88-89 cars had air-bags, reason I am not looking at 86-87 cars. I do see you point and it is very valid.

ZV

The '87 cars should have airbags too unless I am remembering wrong.

TaylorSea4

One MORE thing. Fourteen and a half grand for a car that has a mystery ailment causing an emissions test flunk? Sounds a bit over-inflated to me. And maybe someone else can help on the whole aftermarket upgrades price formula. Isn't the rule of thumb something like a seller can add 20% of the parts total and none of the labor?

And yes, the '86 was the only 951 without airbags and ABS. That stuff adds weight anyhows. The higher spec engine could be easily matched for the savings you make by staying away from an overpriced "collectors" S.

Don't gemmie wrong. My bud runs a HOT 951S. It's a damn fast car, even though it's not stock.

IceShark

I would say if you can get them for 13K that would be a good deal. Add more as you see fit. Do you want the tracked car with the upgrades but wear and tear? While it is not as great an issue with the 951S, wonder if anything has been done about the rod bearings? #2 can be a problem even with the better oil pan. Do you plan on spending money upgrading the car? You really want a roll cage in the car?

Is paint original and in good shape? How about dash cracks or seat wear? All these things enter into the equation. Like you, I would be concerned about why the low mileage stock car can't meet emissions and the Porsche mechanics can't figure it out. That should be fairly easy for them, though, now not a lot of current Porsche mechanics are all that familiar with the 944 series. They are in the 15 year old class so the young pup mechanics don't see or train on many of them.

Jake951

The last 944 market survey in April '05 Excellence magazine reported the following selling prices:

'88 Turbo S
poor = $8303
fair = $9440
excellent = $12638

'89 Turbo
poor = $9075
fair = $10318
excellent = $13813

YMMV!

CurBrwn79

I completly agree, if they come down to $13k, im in the money. The tracked car has the following replaced: rod bearings, control arm, water pump, clutch at 60k, new rotors, new pads, timing belt, front oil seal, oil pan. Paint in a 8/10, interior is 10/10. The 2nd car has hydro carbon issues...don't know much about that...a private shop may know how to trouble shoot the issue rather than a porsche dealership, most don't like dealing with older cars, atleast not in GA. The 2nd car has had the 60k service done, clutch replaced at 30k, interior and ext a 9/10-almost perfect, control arm replaced. The upgrades on the higher mileage car is nice, but not why I am interested in the car. Whatever I buy, I will probably put atleast a chip to start off with.

docwyte

I specifically wanted the S when I was looking. I knew I was going to track it and I figured Porsche did their homework with the upgrades. The S comes with all the extra coolers, bigger brakes, better suspension, bigger turbo, etc. Plus with their more limited numbers, it's better for resale.

I've literally done nothing to track prep this car with the exception of safety items, race pads and brake fluid. Whereas on the "regular" 951, I might've wanted to upgrade the suspension, brakes, added coolers, etc...

$14,500 does seem like a lot for a car that won't pass emmissions. I certainly wouldn't dream of buying that car until I knew what it was going to take to make it pass, then use that to negotiate the selling price.

GOBOGIE

I'm sorry Jake, this is in no way intended towards you but Bruce Anderson (who writes the market updates for Excellence) is so inaccurate on his prices it's not even funny. Many a threads have discussed this issue and his unrealistic prices for an excellent car!

You get what you pay for so remember that when you are searching for a low priced '88 951 S or an '89.

jyoon

if you haven't already, i would check autotrader.com. the porsche-classifieds seem like a different population of owners than autotrader and priced quite differently.

CurBrwn79

I agree. Has anyone had any experience with porsche-classified.com?? The cars on that site seem way out of line on $$...22-25k..

GOBOGIE

Curt, what is your intended purpose for this car? The low mileage cars in the high teens and low twenties and are most likely garage queens like mine. This is not the car to buy if you want to put a chip in, as it will immediately lower the value of the car for when you go to resell it. If you're looking for something to drive on the weekends, autox, and track then you will be definately looking at the turbo S's that are below $15K, as these have already depreciated to the point where putting a chip, rollcage etc. isn't really gonna kill you if you need to resell it.

I have recently (I watch the used car sites extremelly close) seen some $12,500 - $13,500 cars over the last couple months in the 90k mileage range that didn't look all that bad. Paint was 7/10 and interior was about the same. Most had been chipped and were definately not original hence the lower prices.

If you want a low mileage (under 75K) car, all original (no chip, etc), 9/10 in and out your gonna pay $16,000 and up. There are some low mileage turbos on E-bay right now going for some pretty high cash. I just saw an '87 with low mileage (all original), 9/10 if not better and the bid went up to nearly $14,000 and it didn't meet the reserve.

Keep looking and eventually you'll find what you are looking for. Everybody around here wants the low mileage '88-89 turbo S's for low $$$ teens! Asking if anybody knows where they are is like asking a college kid if they know where the free beer is... odds are they've already drank it or aren't gonna tell you anyway because they're saving it for later :-)

docwyte

Indeed. I knew I wanted the car for track days and auto-x, so I specifically wasn't looking for a garage queen, as the first time I hit the track, I'd ruin it. I also didn't want to have $16k into a track car. Mine isn't perfect, but it was damn close. I'm not sure I agree that putting a chip in the car instantly lowers it's resale factor tho.

An all original car is gonna cost ya, if you don't need that, you'll save some cash. I found mine on autotrader.com, one night I was all depressed with the fact that the only cars I was finding were complete basket cases for $10k, so I just searched the entire country for 951's. My car popped up a 6 hour drive from where I live. Talked to the guy, made a deal, flew in, he picked me up at the airport, looked over the car and drove it home...

GOBOGIE

Hard to believe but it's true. The moment you chip a garage queen/low mileage/all origanal car it's never the same. All a buyer has to do is look at the box to see if it's been pryde(SP?) open with a screw driver (like most people do it) and if they are looking for an original car (even if you put the original chip back in) your in trouble.

I looked at two different cars claiming to be original prior to purchasing mine 3 years ago, only to find these exact sings of an aftermarket chip at some point in the cars life. The one guy fessed up and told the truth, where as the other guy didn't even know himself that it had an aftermarket chip at one time. I walked both times.

I'm not against chips or anything like that, I just like original cars and that's where the high money for our cars is... original cars!

ventoGT

Curt--there are 2 shops in Norcross that constantly have 944s flowing out in their parking lots getting worked on. Performance Imports will jump at the chance to deal with servicing your car FWIW....

Mighty Shilling

FWIW, we got our turbo S for $15,000.00, with 45K on the dial. reupholstered, (the PO didn't like plaid), silberossa, and gorgeous. Love it.