SOT: Looking at picking up a 944 Turbo, any thing to worry about with an '89? Options

[sportlicherFahrer]

Looking at getting an '89 944 Turbo for around $4K. As far as I know, it needs a basic tune-up, a drivers window motor, and a rear hatch seal. Are there any trouble spots with these cars that I should be weary of? Anything to listen for on a test drive? It's my brother-in-law's car, so I'm somewhat familiar with the history of the car and can get some honest answers on anything someone might suggest.

Oh, and don't worry. The 914 is gonna keep its DD status. The 944 is for the girlfriend.

[i love porsche]

ill tell you one thing..an 89 turbo for 4k is a steal, the 89 i believe has the M030 suspension and the boosted hp (its the same car as the 88 turbo S)
first thing to do is change all the belts and the waterpump, the last thing you want to do is skip a tooth, do that before you drive it...after that..just take care of what it may need..but it sounds like a great deal

[seanery]

An 89 Turbo is a great car! Very desirable year for the 951.

If you are serious about THAT car, which is WAAYYY cheap, then I would definitely pay for a thorough PrePurchase Inspection. $4,000 is less than 1/2 what my insurance company gave me for my 86 when it burned 3 years ago. The 88 Turbo S and 89 Turbo are much more desirable than my 86.

If it checks out, jump at it, it'll be a blast to drive.

My next Porsche will either be a 944 S2 Cab or a 356 coupe.

[mrhurtalot]

they have been known to explode.













nah just joking. i have no idea. but good purchase!

[Andyrew]

Yup.. Sean is on the money..

Your talking about a 10k car in great condition..

If its lost a timing belt, consider the engine toast..

Its got the trick suspension, bigger turbo, and a couple of other things..

Were talking serious hp here.. If its got any mods to it, take it back to stock, I wouldnt let my gf drive one with a chip in it.. She has too little experience. BUT if your gf has experience, and is a responsible driver, then its a sick ass car.

BTW.. it will smoke 95% of the cars on the road today with a simple chip in it.. (330+hp with just a chip? ya boy...)

[Andyrew]

trouble spots.. excellence had a 5+ page article on what to look for...

but.. wastegate could be shot, heater control buttons break under the dash, causing heat all the time, sunroof mechanism can be a gremlin. sun visor clips break, all the time.. if the clutch is toast, its a 2k job at a mechanic.. it takes all day, engine and trani have to come out. PITA job.

if its your BIL's car... and it runs and drives, and has a history of the timing belt and water pump being changed in the last 40k miles (I would change it and get it professionally tensioned.. btw, the tool is $$$$ to do it.. but if your going to buy the car, that will save you lots of $$) THEN..

I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[jasons]

Yeah $4k is a steal for an 89 turbo. I'm not sure the MO30 is standard, but I know it has the big brakes.

As stated above, the big things with any 944 are:
Timing Belt, Balance Belt, Tensioner Rollers, if you don't know its been done, do it first thing. Ask me about a broken timing belt. No Fun and $$$$. It was even worse for me, since I have an S2 and twice the valves to bend.

Clutch, I'm not sure if that car has the rubber center clutch(bad) if it does, expect it to take a premature crap some day. Clutch job on a 944 is no picnic. Expect 12-16 hours for a Porsche pro at $100/hour. We haven't even got into the parts total which approaches $1k if you want to do it right. When my clutch went out, I did it myself for the $1k parts total.

Water Pump. If the car needs belts, just do the water pump at the same time.

Oh, and don't worry. The 914 is gonna keep its DD status. The 944 is for the girlfriend.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chairfall.gif) That table may turn when she leaves your 2.0 Djet ass standing still. An 89 turbo with bolt on mods can play with almost any car on the road.

[slivel]

Yup.. Sean is on the money..

Your talking about a 10k car in great condition..

If its lost a timing belt, consider the engine toast..

Its got the trick suspension, bigger turbo, and a couple of other things..

Were talking serious hp here.. If its got any mods to it, take it back to stock, I wouldnt let my gf drive one with a chip in it.. She has too little experience. BUT if your gf has experience, and is a responsible driver, then its a sick ass car.

BTW.. it will smoke 95% of the cars on the road today with a simple chip in it.. (330+hp with just a chip? ya boy...)

I wouldn't consider the engine "toast" if the timing belt broke. I've had it happen to mine and I had to replace all eight valves - hardly reason to junk the engine.

[sportlicherFahrer]

Oh, and don't worry. The 914 is gonna keep its DD status. The 944 is for the girlfriend.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chairfall.gif) That table may turn when she leaves your 2.0 Djet ass standing still. An 89 turbo with bolt on mods can play with almost any car on the road.

It wont always be a stock D-jet car. I do have a "fun" 6 planned that will take care of the 944.


Andyrew - Do you know what month/year that issue was?

[woobs]

Include with the above advice:

Check the ball joints in the alloy lower control arms...They are expensive to replace as a unit and the "ball Joint" kits don't seem to last very long...
Many little electrical gremlins now plague these ageing cars...(that's what you get when you rely on computers and sensors to control everything)wires get old and brittle, connections corrode...etc...

4K is real CHEAP for a 951...But they handle great and are fun to drive.

[buck toenges]

I had a '89 944 turbo for about a year. Sold it to a fellow in Detroit for a track car. I sincerly doubt you can get 330hp with a chip alone. I went with a vittesse kit that included a bigger turbo and some soldering of the ecm in order to get 311 wrhp. It was kinda of a pain. Good car but it just didn't do it for me. Front end was gorgeous but I got a lot more joy out of my 993 cab or my 914 3.2. The 944 turbo was faster once turbo spolled up but I didn't care for it.
$4G for a '89 should be a steal. Play with it and sell it for more. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)