you are right to be cautious. the FAQs and Clark's garage are generally
good sites.
1. I do all my own work - so in my case maintaining at one point 4 944s
was
not an expensive proposition.
2. there are two EXPENSIVE repairs on a 944: broken timing belt and
clutch.
If you change the timing belt per recommended interval and don't mess up
(I
saw one where the guy's mechanic put the belt in upside down and destroyed
the engine making a nice car into a parts car) - then you will not have a
timing belt failure and the car will run about 350,000 miles. If the
timing
belt breaks you will have about $1000 in parts and about 8 hours labor to
remove and rebuild the head.
the clutch will fail at about 12 plus or minus 3 years due to
deterioration
of the rubber insert - if the clutch was replaced with a model that has
springs instead of rubber you are immune to this failure. Replacing a
clutch on a 944 costs about $600 in parts and about 24 hours in labor if
you
have done it before.
3. I gave my 944 to my brother with over 250K miles on it about 8 years
ago-
he is still driving it, no unusual problems - we've changed a hose or two,
PS rack and maybe some other minor stuff.
4. the 86 will be easier to work on and has a number of improvements - 87
would be better.
6. price on either car is about double what it should be - the last 83 I
was
associated with was bought for $500 not running, took us less than a grand
and a week's work to get it on the road, and a bit more for new tires.
the
86 I bought most recently for a daughter was $3000 and I figure I overpaid
-
I was in a hurry.
"Clodius" <drewwhatley@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:a3752762-3935-4eec-bb00-c466a47e6f66@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I'm in the market for a new car, after my old one was totaled (not my
> fault), and I'm seriously considering one of two 944's available
> locally. I'min Texas, so winter wear isn't really a concern for local
> cars.
>
> What I'm wondering is the reliability and costs inherent in these
> cars. One of them is an 83 944, with 55K miles, and what I've read
> about it claims that it has full repair papers. The other I'm looking
> at is an 86 with 90K, and no other great info besides pics. Price is
> between 5 and 6 thousand on both.
>
> I'm not very mechanically inclined, but willing to learn, and I don't
> have a ton of money.
>
> I've read a 944 FAQ which details the common problems in these cars.
> I'm wondering, if the 83 really does have full repair papers, like
> new belts etc. How long would it take to require new ones, and how
> expensive would common repairs be.
>
> I will have this whole summer to learn all about this car, and about
> cars in general, so I'm really wondering if a 944 I purchase very soon
> would last till August with few problems. The reason I'm concerned is,
> to be honest, I'm new to the whole ****sche community and looking
> through all this is kind of overwhelming. I know these cars will be
> silky smooth and enjoyable to the Nth degree, but from what I've seen
> in all these ****sche forums I'm just a bit concerned that I'll
> purchase it, and then a month later, even with detailed repairs, this
> or that will blow and I'll be stuck with a $1500 repair bill that I
> can't pay.
>
> Sorry if this comes off as overly pessemistic and cautious, but any
> help concerning the overall reliability of these cars would be
> greatly, immensely appreciated.
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