944 for a 17-year old - Page 2

lowside67 · 11-04-2009, 01:52 PM

Buy yourself an E36 (92-99) BMW 325/328IS. They have more power than an NA 944 and are certainly more reliable and cheaper to own. My first car was an E36 318is and while I wish I had had the 6 cyl, the car was absolutely flawless for the 2 years I owned it. My E36 racecar pictured in my sig had 180,000 miles on the chassis, and 80,000 miles on the motor and was strong as an ox - I had only very minor issues throughout my time with the car and that was with beating on it every weekend!

-Mark

mike10562004 · 11-04-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V2Rocket_aka944

ive had an NA since i was 15, for the most part it has been reliable but thats probably because i replaced most everything that could break at once for about $8k lol.

i second that a upper radiator hose lead ..

to clutch slave..

.to master.

.to thermostat..

.to guage.

.to water neck...to nothing else lol i was like

but now shes up and i love her

Cole · 11-04-2009, 01:58 PM

We had a whole fleet of 944 cars as student cars at a preformance drivign school. I have seen no evidience that they are really any more expensive or less reliable than any other car for the money. Take care of it and it will treat you well. Ignore it and costs can pile up.

We had a Toyota and Mazda sports cars too and those things sucked up as much or more cash than the Porsches.

Any 20+ year old car is going to need some love. Learning to take care of it SHOULD be part of the learing process as a young driver. That way you fully understand how things work and what you are paying for when having cars worked on later in life.

For a new driver I would find an ABS/Airbag car. Stay away from the turbo only because of its quirks. You will become a better driver learning to master a N/A power curve first. Not so much a power issue as it is the quirks of a boosted RWD car. I'd rather see you start on a 300hp NA car than a 200HP boosted car. They are just more predictable and easier to become good at. Then step into a boosted car.

944lover · 11-04-2009, 02:10 PM

Wow, thanks for all the advice guys! it's great to have found these forums, they're awesome. I'll definitely expand my search beyond turbos, but I definitely will get a 944. and mike10562004, I hope you didn't get the wrong impression. when I said I didn't like the hondas with spoilers, I meant that I hated the kids that are ***holes and cut you off the road and think they're hot crap. I'm not a pretentious kid, I just grew up around porsches and love 'em.

WizPorsche944 · 11-04-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowside67

Buy yourself an E36 (92-99) BMW 325/328IS. They have more power than an NA 944 and are certainly more reliable and cheaper to own. My first car was an E36 318is and while I wish I had had the 6 cyl, the car was absolutely flawless for the 2 years I owned it. My E36 racecar pictured in my sig had 180,000 miles on the chassis, and 80,000 miles on the motor and was strong as an ox - I had only very minor issues throughout my time with the car and that was with beating on it every weekend!

-Mark

E36 Reliable ????? I had one and it was the biggest POS I have ever owned.

sdstimson · 11-04-2009, 02:44 PM

If you can afford a turbo as opposed to an N/A, then I would look into getting an S2, I got mine when I was 15, and now I'm 18 I still love it I drove it for three years everyday with relatively low maint. cost (assuming you can do the work on it), but I also recently fixed up an N/A for a daily driver as I have a longer commute to college now and to save the miles on the S2, so if you can afford an S2 I would definently go that route.

mike10562004 · 11-04-2009, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 944lover

Wow, thanks for all the advice guys! it's great to have found these forums, they're awesome. I'll definitely expand my search beyond turbos, but I definitely will get a 944. and mike10562004, I hope you didn't get the wrong impression. when I said I didn't like the hondas with spoilers, I meant that I hated the kids that are ***holes and cut you off the road and think they're hot crap. I'm not a pretentious kid, I just grew up around porsches and love 'em.

yeah i know sry if i sounded like a jerk i know what you ment lol

what i hate is kids with 17" rims and a body kit with no performance mods on a slow car lol

mike10562004 · 11-04-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WizPorsche944

E36 Reliable ????? I had one and it was the biggest POS I have ever owned.

my friend has a e30 318i and that sucker has 160k and it sees the redline every time he drives it maybe its a good car or hes just lucky

Porschephile 924 · 11-04-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole

We had a whole fleet of 944 cars as student cars at a preformance drivign school.

Master Drive when it had the Performance Division?

Cole · 11-04-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porschephile 924

Master Drive when it had the Performance Division?

Yep.

Porschephile 924 · 11-04-2009, 06:20 PM

I took Masterdrive for my driver's ed. about a year or 2 ago, I applied for a part time job as an instructor. saw a pic of all the 944's with the "Masterdrive" logo on the side... thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was offered a job, but for some reason turned it down... Cole, do you still work with Master Drive?

StoogeMoe · 11-04-2009, 06:38 PM

Well, you won't get any more chicks with a turbo, so get an NA.

Like the others have said, this can't be your primary transportation. Be prepared to do most of the maintenance yourself, so have time and money available. And there's a Rennlist law that no NA can cost less than $6k to get it all sorted out, so buy the best example you can find, so you can start enjoying it right away.

Cole · 11-04-2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porschephile 924

Cole, do you still work with Master Drive?

No. I was a head instructor and ran the performance schools for many years. Mark, the general manager daily drives a 951 and Ron one of the owners is also a big Porsche guy and has a 951 track car.

Porschephile 924 · 11-04-2009, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoogeMoe

Well, you won't get any more chicks with a turbo, so get an NA.

Like the others have said, this can't be your primary transportation. Be prepared to do most of the maintenance yourself, so have time and money available. And there's a Rennlist law that no NA can cost less than $6k to get it all sorted out, so buy the best example you can find, so you can start enjoying it right away.

and if it does cost less than $6k, we'll fix that so it costs more...

For what it's worth, I have daily driven a 944 of some variant for the past 7 years. I have a ski rack for a 944 and I get snow tires and drive em all winter. MAKE SURE YOU MAINTAIN THE CAR, it'll be reliable for a daily. but it WILL break. so having an alternate available to you is a great way to go.

yellowline · 11-04-2009, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WizPorsche944

E36 Reliable ????? I had one and it was the biggest POS I have ever owned.

You haven't owned a 944 long enough, or tried to put on >50,000 miles.

As for the OP: a 951 is not a daily car simply because one day, you WILL have baked wiring that fails. Or have to remove part of the exhaust for some reason, which has welded itself together after 20 years of turbocharger heat. You will not be fixing those issues quickly.

11-04-2009, 01:52 PM	#16
lowside67 Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 1,048	Buy yourself an E36 (92-99) BMW 325/328IS. They have more power than an NA 944 and are certainly more reliable and cheaper to own. My first car was an E36 318is and while I wish I had had the 6 cyl, the car was absolutely flawless for the 2 years I owned it. My E36 racecar pictured in my sig had 180,000 miles on the chassis, and 80,000 miles on the motor and was strong as an ox - I had only very minor issues throughout my time with the car and that was with beating on it every weekend! -Mark __________________ Rennlist Member Mark Uhlmann

11-04-2009, 01:58 PM	#18
Cole Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Colorado Posts: 412	We had a whole fleet of 944 cars as student cars at a preformance drivign school. I have seen no evidience that they are really any more expensive or less reliable than any other car for the money. Take care of it and it will treat you well. Ignore it and costs can pile up. We had a Toyota and Mazda sports cars too and those things sucked up as much or more cash than the Porsches. Any 20+ year old car is going to need some love. Learning to take care of it SHOULD be part of the learing process as a young driver. That way you fully understand how things work and what you are paying for when having cars worked on later in life. For a new driver I would find an ABS/Airbag car. Stay away from the turbo only because of its quirks. You will become a better driver learning to master a N/A power curve first. Not so much a power issue as it is the quirks of a boosted RWD car. I'd rather see you start on a 300hp NA car than a 200HP boosted car. They are just more predictable and easier to become good at. Then step into a boosted car. __________________ Cole Ford 951 Swag here

11-04-2009, 02:44 PM	#21
sdstimson Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cameron Park, CA Posts: 142	If you can afford a turbo as opposed to an N/A, then I would look into getting an S2, I got mine when I was 15, and now I'm 18 I still love it I drove it for three years everyday with relatively low maint. cost (assuming you can do the work on it), but I also recently fixed up an N/A for a daily driver as I have a longer commute to college now and to save the miles on the S2, so if you can afford an S2 I would definently go that route. __________________ 87' black 928 s4 18' rims, muffler bypass 90' 944 S3: 968 engine conversion, test pipe to magnaflow, 18' two piece porsche bbs, cold air intake, full konis/ rear coilovers, racing dynamics strut bar, weltmeister rear sway bar,s2 lsd, drilled rotors, CPR splitter, 968 wing, Euro fogs 86' 951 konis, k26/8, drilled rotors, flowmaster, custom chips and intake. 300hp 85' 944 NA lowered, flowmaster, and rear coilovers

11-04-2009, 06:20 PM	#26
Porschephile 924 Wax On, Wax Off Rennlist Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: 5280 ft above the sea Posts: 15,074	I took Masterdrive for my driver's ed. about a year or 2 ago, I applied for a part time job as an instructor. saw a pic of all the 944's with the "Masterdrive" logo on the side... thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was offered a job, but for some reason turned it down... Cole, do you still work with Master Drive? __________________ 1988 944 Turbo S Gone but not forgotten: 1987 924S

11-04-2009, 06:38 PM	#27
StoogeMoe Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Poconos PA Posts: 986	Well, you won't get any more chicks with a turbo, so get an NA. Like the others have said, this can't be your primary transportation. Be prepared to do most of the maintenance yourself, so have time and money available. And there's a Rennlist law that no NA can cost less than $6k to get it all sorted out, so buy the best example you can find, so you can start enjoying it right away. __________________ 1986 944 NA Guards Red all original 92K mi. - minty 1983 944 NA Platinum Metallic w/LSD 48K mi. on rebuild, 181k total - the track monster 1984 911 Carrera Coupe (gone, but not forgotten) "If you're not living on the edge, you're not living."

11-04-2009, 02:10 PM	#19
944lover New User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Wow, thanks for all the advice guys! it's great to have found these forums, they're awesome. I'll definitely expand my search beyond turbos, but I definitely will get a 944. and mike10562004, I hope you didn't get the wrong impression. when I said I didn't like the hondas with spoilers, I meant that I hated the kids that are ***holes and cut you off the road and think they're hot crap. I'm not a pretentious kid, I just grew up around porsches and love 'em.