944 Turbo at auction

[kingston12]

I was interested to see this come up for auction after following the build when it was done:

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1991-porsche-9...

I have coveted the idea of a decent 944 Turbo for ages, but after missing out on them at £6k and then seeing the prices balloon, I went cold on the idea.

I doubt I'll go for this one either, but it certainly looks like a pretty perfect example.

Edited by kingston12 on Wednesday 14th February 15:07

[blade7]

400 hours to paint it was it done by a 90 year old and his dad? Pity they couldn't mask off the chassis number straight. If I was spending £20-30k on a car to actually drive my money would go on a 997 C4S or modified TT-RS.

[kingston12]

blade7 said:

400 hours to paint it was it done by a 90 year old and his dad? Pity they couldn't mask off the chassis number straight. If I was spending £20-30k on a car to actually drive my money would go on a 997 C4S or modified TT-RS.

I didn't understand the 400 hours part either - I know this was done as a showpiece, but how can it possibly take that long? At normal bodyshop rates that alone would have cost more than the guide price of the car!

I also didn't quite understand why the current owner had to spend another £7k to get it up to scratch if it had just recently won a restoration prize against other cars that had also been through a no-expense-spared restore by OPCs.

Still, I assume that it has to be one of the best there is, and I have seen lesser examples sell for over £20k. That still doesn't make it a good investment if 944 Turbo prices have gone as far as they are going to go.

[blade7]

I'd expect this car to have exceptional bodywork, but I think the restoration/competition was all about how the car looked. So it doesn't surprise me that a 150k mile car that had practically stood for several years also needed a £7k mechanical overhaul.

[supersport]

These competition cars often show off the skills of their restorers only too well, quite a few are expensive dog's dinners.

[blade7]

Restoring a 944 body & mechanically from the ground up doesn't make financial sense, unless it's a long term keeper. I looked at plenty 11 years ago and it still took me a year to buy one.

[EGTE]

There certainly won't have been any profit in that restoration!

Looks a very good buy, to be honest.

[Desert Dragon]

I think you'd be better off buying one of these pre cat cars which have not had loads of paint hiding all the bad bits. Much more honest cars IMO

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C958712

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C954857

So which is the real SE? Answers on back of post card

All of them too expensive IMO

[EGTE]

WOW.

[blade7]

Desert Dragon said:

I think you'd be better off buying one of these pre cat cars which have not had loads of paint hiding all the bad bits. Much more honest cars IMO

Catalytic converter was optional for UK cars, my 91 turbo never had one. Off to submit an advert to that mag now, a snip at £30k.....

[Desert Dragon]

blade7 said:

Desert Dragon said:

I think you'd be better off buying one of these pre cat cars which have not had loads of paint hiding all the bad bits. Much more honest cars IMO

Catalytic converter was optional for UK cars, my 91 turbo never had one. Off to submit an advert to that mag now, a snip at £30k.....

I bid that for the 47k mile 89 car and was turned down. Wanted a 944 turbo but with hindsight I'm not disappointed he turned me down. They can be a pain to run at times if you get a bad one compared to a trusty air-cooled and this one had been stored for 8 years or something.

[blade7]

It's a widely held belief that the 944 turbo was restricted by Porsche because it was faster than the 930. No doubt the 930 is nicer to look at and polish, but I think if someone pays £25k+ for a 944 it then becomes just a polishers car too.