Porsche 944

Point taken. That fucking sucks, the hatchback version looks great, and the virtue of having a classic porsche is pretty appealing. I like fucking around with old 80s shitboxes, but it sounds like it's way too much of a shitbox to be fun.

Get an E24 for a cheap 80s Euro project that looks cool, is super stout, and easy to work on and find parts for

Not OP but my takeaway from this is that if I want a fun 944 I just have to factor an ls swap into the price.

Thanks for the advice mane. I think maybe in the future i'll buy one for the virtue of it looking cool, and according to porsche forums being reliable as long as shit like timing belt mentioned before in the thread being maintained, and just an overall good service record.

ferrarichat.com/forum/porsche/332995-944-reliable-daily-driver-beater.html

this is a good thread to read desu

Yeah they're pretty garbage. There actually was a guy here like a month a go who bought one and he said this was a terrible decision.

The 944 is insanely expensive to keep running. And parts are getting harder and harder to find. The non turbo is also a slow POS car. It will never be fast. Also enjoy your 30k mile major services.

get a 928 instead mate

>They are dirt cheap because they are garbage, and people have come to understand this.

Explain the miata

>aren't going to find some super underpriced car that's secretly good.
What, even a 50s Packard?

miata isnt garbage, just slow and still wildly fun to drive.

providence.craigslist.org/cto/6014209152.html

honestly there's a bad sign when they say it's worth all this money they put into it and they're selling it for a pittance

my loss is your gain!!!!!!!!!

The miata is a "sports" car for poor people or race teams. It's not garbage, it's pretty reliable, parts everywhere, and it's cheap to run.

The 928 does nothing well. It's slow, handles like shit, is expensive, insurance is high, repairs are expensive, and takes to mods like shit.

They've just had all their fun with it, probably flogged the shit out of it on the track of course but chances are good it would be an acceptable DD plus infrequent flirtations with death, You'd be buying it for the V8s reliability not its redline.

That's an lt1 swapped 944. All the problem areas have been removed.

If you find one, take it to a Porsche shop for a PPI. Owned a 944 for a year, I did my own maintenance and replaced some older parts, but the only thing that outright broke down on me was the clutch master cylinder. Set aside an extra 2k for possible repairs, but if you find one in good condition and treat it right, it will be good to you.

>How fucking retarded am i for wanting to buy one? they're so cheap there HAS to be a catch right?
Overpriced if new, so used for you. But it becomes a money pit if you need dealer services. New porsche have quite a few problems. Even using 3rd party means OEM parts prices rape you.

But the prestige continues. Porsche had a record year. As a reward, every employee is getting a +9000 euro bonus regardless of position. Thus, even custodial staff each get +9000 euros.

>lt1
>problems removed

lt1 is a hunk of shit

Expensive parts unreliable and they have all been horribly abused

Want some first hand experience?

Bought mine for $800 and ive completely rebuilt the engine/electrical system. Sunk about $400 extra into it, and so far so good.

Dont expect corolla level DD, but its reliable with preventive maintenance.

Parts are super easy to find - dont buy into the memes. Some parts are rarer than others, but theres always a cheaper alternative part.

I'd say do it if you already have a DD

>I've rebuilt the engine/electrical system for 400 dollar

fucking what

Rebuilt is a loose term

>luxury sports cars
The miata is the new fun shitbox of the car world, it's not a porsche.

It's like the MR2, it's omg mid engine mang, but when you get down to it it's still a 2,0L I4 toyota engine in a pretty standard body.

One day I hope to own an MR2

You're literally retarded

As someone who really, REALLY wanted it
it's a massive money pit.
Like imagine all your money
gone
and you still drive a half working 944 that could shit the bed every mile.

I was like you but now my mr2 is on a trailer on my way to me.
Rage your dream user.
Rage your dream.

(what mr2 tho)

not that dude, but holy fuck i want a late 80s aw11

because people think they are a hairdressers car. works for me, since it means you an get a somewhat decent one for under 1k where i live

God-tier car, obviously not as dependable as a Japanese shitbox but still DD-able if you have some form of back up. Got one earlier this year, currently driving it routinely from home to college and back and there hasn't been any inherent issue despite the absurd gas prices.

Also, parts are cheap as fuck if you live in Europe. And if you want something even less inexpensive to repair, although also less reliable and powerful, consider the 924.

>>"they aren't good cars even when they do run"
>often considered the best handling car of the 80s
Choose one.

People talk about the 944 all the time, but how is a 914 in terms of ownership and maintenance?

I know a guy who owns one, they're obviously as unreliable as you'd expect a budget 1970s coupe to be but pretty easy to work on considering most of it is made of VW parts. They're also easily the most hipster-ish and charismatic cars in the classic Porsche lineup.

Not as bad as a 944 but tougher than any other aircooled VW. Access is tight in spots, the parts aren't that cheap, and some of the adjustments are super finicky.

>if the engine and transmission are in good shape

>and if there is no rust/body damage

>then you only have to rewire the entire car and replace all the electronics with parts shipped from Germany.

Totally reasonable. Great bargin.

'93 AW20 with tha tarbo
Preferably white, but I've accepted that when I actually get my hands on one I'll get it painted however I want.

I'm torn between waiting to find one in good condition, or paying like 3k for one of the ones that's been treated badly and giving her a new home. If I have to repair it anyway I wouldn't feel as bad about not keeping it totally stock.

I drove past a red AW11 today, was in terrible condition but still beautiful.

>there HAS to be a catch right?

Parts don't get cheaper cause the car is old.
But the amount of stuff that fails rises.

So you're paying more on maintenance and repairs than you would on a new Porsche, for a car that's slower than a Kia econobox.

I DD a 968 Cabriolet. It's fast. It's fun. It gets compliments constantly. It's comfortable. I've rebuilt engine, brakes, and drive line since I've owned it. Over a decade of driving. Averaged out to around $1000 in maintenance costs per year. At this point it's only cosmetic stuff to replace.

So yeah get one if you can afford to work on or pay to have worked on until its back to manufacturing specs.

>DD-able if you have some form of back up
so a project car.

Honestly- if you can't afford to maintain a high performance car, then you drive a generic American or Japanese economy car.

Daily driver means it's your everyday every drive car.

I've owned one for years right now.

You need to be either willing or able to wrench. Buy every tool in the book the day you buy one.

Research the difference between the Early (pre 85.5) and late (after 85.5) cars and pick which one you'd like.

The NAs are simplistic and fun but slow. You lose out on upgraded suspension, a more powerful engine, a better looking front-end (other than the S2) upgraded brakes, and bigger wider tires stock. You will end up spending the difference or more LS swapping or trying to meet or pass turbo specs with an NA -- keep this in mind.

Turbos can easily be chipped and put down ~250-280whp.

Buy a running one, preferably the best example you can find, which will not be cheap -- this is where people fuck themselves by looking at cheaper un-maintained cars.

Do all the preventative maintenance the day you buy it. Waterpump/timing belt, new plugs/wires, new battery, etc.

They're fun cars and get a lot of attention on the road and gas stations. Very DD-able as long as you have alot of time/patience and saved cash to keep it going -- they aren't hondas that can go 300k on just gas and oil.

Have you guys noticed how the 1970s-1990s transaxle Porsches all seem to fall into a sort of a Project Management Triangle? As in, instead of having to choose two out of three in the "Fast, Cheap and Good" scheme, you have to choose between these three:

>Good performance
>Reliability
>Affordability

The 924 is by far the most affordable Porsche and, since it was mostly engineered with sturdy Volkswagen and Audi parts that are widely available on the aftermarket, you can at the very least expect some reliability, but the performance is nowhere on the pace of its successors.

The 944 is still pretty affordable and the handling is easily amongst the best for a 1980s car but relying on it as a daily drive without any form of back-up is pure madness.

Same goes for the 928, it's even more powerful than the 944 and, despite being slightly more expensive, you can still find one in decent condition for less than 10k, but don't expect anything but pain when the rare and expensive engineering intricacies and the incredibly obsolete engine computer dies down on you.

The 968 is easily the most well engineered out of the four, it has superb performance (especially the Club Sports version) and, being the most recent, it is also easily the most reliable, but you're certainly not going to find one in proper working condition for less than 10k.