Porsche 944 S2 (?) convertible buying advice please..
Discussion
Afternoon folks,
In the next year I have been planning to buy a 944 to add to the fleet.
It will be mainly for my girlfriend to use and as such she had said she would like a convertible.
I have seen a 92 with 130k miles that might work. It's a little early for me but if the car works out I may well bite the bullet!
Are there any convertible specific things I need to check for (sills as bad as the hard top?) etc and what price bracket would you say I'm looking at based on what little info I've given!
Many thanks in advance for your help.:
In the next year I have been planning to buy a 944 to add to the fleet.
It will be mainly for my girlfriend to use and as such she had said she would like a convertible.
I have seen a 92 with 130k miles that might work. It's a little early for me but if the car works out I may well bite the bullet!
Are there any convertible specific things I need to check for (sills as bad as the hard top?) etc and what price bracket would you say I'm looking at based on what little info I've given!
Many thanks in advance for your help.:
Great car. Buy the best you can find/afford. Sills are critical, otherwise everything as the other models. I allow about £700 a year for maint & bits from our local independent. Make sure the bottom ball joints & exhaust are ok (not cheap, but then not much is...it was a very expensive when new!)
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As mentioned sills, get an endoscopic camera and shove it through the door vents into the sill cavities, there is no such thing as surface rust, its rust, watch out for under the rear diffuser, mine was pretty crusty.
They can be pretty wobbly with scuttle shake, make sure you drive them with the roof down as well as up as it is worse with the hood down.
Engine wise, read up and dont buy a ropey one, will cost a lot to sort, mine had 3 grand lavished ont he engine by the PO, new cams as the sprockets were worn and a load of other stuff, these are very old cars now.
Clutch is a pain to do, make sure its not slipping
Gear linkages can be horrible, easy enough to sort but fiddly
They can be pretty wobbly with scuttle shake, make sure you drive them with the roof down as well as up as it is worse with the hood down.
Engine wise, read up and dont buy a ropey one, will cost a lot to sort, mine had 3 grand lavished ont he engine by the PO, new cams as the sprockets were worn and a load of other stuff, these are very old cars now.
Clutch is a pain to do, make sure its not slipping
Gear linkages can be horrible, easy enough to sort but fiddly
Hello all, thank you so much for the excellent advice.
Since I first posted we've moved on a bit in terms of what we're looking for.
The convertible idea is out of the window, mainly for practical reasons but also cost. The s2 is seen was suspiciously cheap and a few background checks on it made me worried.
I went to Anglia classic car auctions to view a really nice 1owner 2.5 that I really would have liked but it went over budget, several times!
So. What *think* we're now looking for, a later model (87 on?) 2.5 as standard as possible in a dark colour with a good history.
She has now had a good look around the one we missed out on and is firmly set on a 944 though!
Personally I'd like a turbo but she has only been driving since March..
Since I first posted we've moved on a bit in terms of what we're looking for.
The convertible idea is out of the window, mainly for practical reasons but also cost. The s2 is seen was suspiciously cheap and a few background checks on it made me worried.
I went to Anglia classic car auctions to view a really nice 1owner 2.5 that I really would have liked but it went over budget, several times!
So. What *think* we're now looking for, a later model (87 on?) 2.5 as standard as possible in a dark colour with a good history.
She has now had a good look around the one we missed out on and is firmly set on a 944 though!
Personally I'd like a turbo but she has only been driving since March..
Good Lux's are heading briskly for £4k these days and S2's more expensive still.
The advice is always to buy the best one you possibly can as a 944 can fairly easily produce bills for more than it's worth, and there is no such a thing as a cheap Porsche.
Getting a good 944 for £3k isn't impossible, but you may well need to spend a long time hunting for your ideal car at that price. And prices are going in one direction at the moment, making your job harder.
Have you thought about a 924 instead? All the benefits of a 944 but with a more slender body, lighter weight, less aerodynamic drag and arguably better to drive as they have slightly different suspension geometry. A late 924 Lux has the same 2.5 8v engine as the 944 and will cost you a lot less.
The advice is always to buy the best one you possibly can as a 944 can fairly easily produce bills for more than it's worth, and there is no such a thing as a cheap Porsche.
Getting a good 944 for £3k isn't impossible, but you may well need to spend a long time hunting for your ideal car at that price. And prices are going in one direction at the moment, making your job harder.
Have you thought about a 924 instead? All the benefits of a 944 but with a more slender body, lighter weight, less aerodynamic drag and arguably better to drive as they have slightly different suspension geometry. A late 924 Lux has the same 2.5 8v engine as the 944 and will cost you a lot less.
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