On Mar 20, 1:39=A0am, "William Noble" <nob...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> you are right to be cautious. =A0the 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
wa=
s
> 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. =A0If the
ti=
ming
> 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
deterioratio=
n
> of the rubber insert - if the clutch was replaced with a model that has
> springs instead of rubber you are immune to this failure. =A0Replacing a
> clutch on a 944 costs about $600 in parts and about 24 hours in labor if
y=
ou
> have done it before.
>
> 3. I gave my 944 to my brother with over 250K miles on it about 8 years
ag=
o-
> 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
w=
as
> 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.
=A0=
the
> 86 I bought most recently for a daughter was $3000 and I figure I
overpaid=
-
> I was in a hurry.
>
> "Clodius" <drewwhat...@[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 =A0the 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.
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com-
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> - Show quoted text -
I've read the FAQ and visited Clark's Garage site, and have read
through them in detail.
I've got a Carfax re****t on the 83, which doesn't show any large
mileage jumps, and I think I could talk him down to apx 5K. You said
that the price was double, and from searching Autotrader nationwide,
it is a good thousand or so higher than average. However, I've not the
time to drive 1000+ miles to get one at a cheaper price. On a closer
inspection, the "private seller" I may be buying from may have simply
gotten one of these cheaper ones and drove it down here, and fixed it
up some (New belts, mounts etc.) and is making a decent bit of profit
from the sale. I'm relatively ok with this, as I really don't have the
time to dedicate to finding and retrieving a car cross country.
I'm having a mechanic take a look at the car tomorrow, and if
everything checks out ok, I'll probably purchase it, hopefully for
5,000. It seems that I'm paying about 1000 so I don't have to travel
cross country and replace the belts myself. It feelsworth it to me to
get a car that I'll learn about and work on for, hopefully, the next
10 years. =3DP
Once again, thanks tons to y'all for giving me all this advice,it's
been immeasurably useful.
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