ughugh

Well i've been reading, and almost every post i see something is broken... so honestly, do you guys like owning these cars or do they break all the time? i mean, i LOVE the 944 body style, but im starting to get worried about the parts... is it expensive if i just buy the parts and do the work myself??

Darwantae951

First off, welcome. These cars aren't as bad as you see here, this is just the place people go when they have issues.

I, for one, love my car and, with doing the work myself, have saved a ton of money.

Spend the time looking for a well taken care of example and you should be fine.

P.S. I (personally) would rather buy a well documented, high mileage car than a low mile garage queen.



-Darwin

GloriaRedStang

These cars are durned reliable if you find a good example. Don't be scared, just be cautious. If you're careful and find one in good shape that has had all maintenance done on time you will be rewarded with a great automobile owning experience and you will never look back.

If you cut corners hoping to get lucky, you probably won't. There are lots of 944s to choose from so take your time and find the right one. They're out there. Get a PPI, and when you finally find one to buy, also budget for a copy of the Haynes manual and bookmark this site and clark's garage. And don't defer maintenance.

genikz

Don't be discouraged by all the negative posts around here...we all tend to focus on the negative more than the positive, but that's human nature.

I absolutely love my car. After I spent a ton of money (I bought a junker), it has been very reliable and easy to maintain. I haven't really had to work on any major service in over a year and I beat the crap out of my car. I drive it to and from events, flog the snot out of it, then drive it home.

It has yet to leave me stranded...and I've probably only put $300-400 into non-performance maintenance items.

cegan09

I've never even driven mine and i love it. I bought mine as a project and a learning experience a year ago, and that project almost starts again

find a well maintained one and you will be fine. Working on them yourself isn't that hard.

Tom R.

doning the work on these cars is no worse than changing the plugs on a third gen Z28, or changing the opti spark. if you can do that, you can do just about anything on a 944.

ughugh

yup plenty of work done on the old '81 Z28 and '04 SS, just wasn't too sure about the whole foreign car thing, and working with "high tech" stuff

yellowline

Mine deserved (actually demanded) a 25th birthday present.

I just had the car off the road for 4 months, and in that time, I replaced:

-Water pump
-All front seals except the front cam seal, best not to mess with it if it doesn't leak
-Belts
-All new rollers for the belt system
-Fuel lines, including the tough to get rear one above the transaxle
-Rod bearings
-Rennbay injector seals
-Oil pan gasket
-Oil filler o-rings
-Oxygen sensor
-CV repacking (for the fourth time ) and 2 new boots for ones that were developing cracks
-Clutch and clutch hydraulics...also includes smaller optional things like a new guide tube and RMS
-Trans axle shaft seals
-New reference sensors and replaced PO's taped connections with factory plugs
-Resealed the oil cooler, so I wasn't concerned about the quality of the job I did three years ago in 15 degree weather.

Optional things that make the car nicer, but weren't really needed:

-951S front sway bar I had around...had good bushings for it, and didn't want them oil-soaked
-All new front control arms and bushings
-4 Yokohama summer tires
-New steering rack boots
-Deleted the AC plumbing underhood, so it's easier to work on

I can't justify splurging on a white expansion tank, though.

m73m95

I like replying to posts, but there really isn't a need to say anything else lol. Everyone already said it.

Easiest thing I've ever worked on....short of an old VW Beetle. Everything is well thought out, and made to be replaced/worked on. Germans built it....what have they ever done that didn't work?...... uhhhh...nevermind....

For being 20+ years old, they're pretty bulletproof. Maintain it like the book says, and drive it like you stole it.

hardtail15

i was alot like you before i bought my 944 (september 07), in the sense that i mostly worked on american muscle cars. since then i've done:

replacement head,
timing/balancing belt,
clutch job,
coolant hoses,
power to manual steering conversion,

I've probably spent under $1000 on all of that because i have a parts car.

you've got to remember when working on these cars that they actually make sense and are porsche engineered. although fairly easy to work on its very different from american V8's, imho.

alordofchaos

wait, we have "high-tech" stuff on our 20+ yr old cars?
How many other 20+ yr old cars do you see that are being driven daily, driven hard in some cases, that are as reliable/fun/safe to drive as the 944? though we sure do like to complain/joke a lot about them breaking. For every "this just broke" thread, there 100's of other guys out there running just fine

Like the others said, we post here mostly when something breaks, and you are better off spending a little more for a car that needs less work than spending less for a car that needs more work.

FWIW, I bought my '86 with a new clutch about 3 yrs ago for $4,200. Total repairs = $40 for two cans of Foxcool (freon replacement for AC), $0 to clean a ground at the door switch to solve a battery drain problem. Total maintenance was oil & filters, air filter, spark plugs, and a battery.

I did by the Arnnworx "full kit" for $250" and plan to do the belts, water pump this year (I actually planned on doing it last year, just never got around to it) but that's more for peace of mind than anything else.

There was a thread a couple of years ago, some guy had hit something ridiculous like 350k miles on the original engine and clutch, and there are a lot at 200k + that are running very strong.

kandyinmyvan

I even enjoy mine sitting in the driveway on jackstands without a tranny.

Mamooguy

I post questions here as much as the next guy. Why? Because this site is a fantastic resource! I can't even imagine how much hassle and money the advice has saved me.

So yes, there are a lot of dear-Jesus-my-tranny-just-came-alive-and-strangled-my-dog type panicky posts, but there's also a ton of love for these cars. However I will say that no matter what, they're 20-year-old cars (more or less) and regular repairs are unavoidable.

ekeeton

I'm one of the guys who's "running just fine". For over a year now I've been driving my 944 about 350 to 500 miles a week (long commute). I've had very few issues. A heater hose split and peed out the coolant. The headlight motor got wet once and continuously recycled for a while (in the middle of the fricking night when it was raining of course). And my alternator suffered from ED (Electrical Dysfunction. No little blue pills, just got myself a new/rebuilt one.) That's the extent of my excitement. Other than that I change the oil and filters, replace the tires, and try to keep it clean.

Not much need to post to get help from the forum about. Also, since I'm not a poet I can't really describe the satisfactions, joys and thrills of driving this little puppy.

Don't get the wrong idea from reading about problems, these cars are very reliable, very well engineered, not too difficult for an average home mechanic to work on, and like to be driven often and hard. Plus they're a pretty good value if you take the time to find one in good condition. (Which isn't hard.)

cylan

This forum seems like an endless stream of problems with our cars, but I guess the truth is that when they're not on a jack, we're all too busy driving them around to post