Off topic. 944, Best year? Options

[RolinkHaus]

Thinking of buying a 944. Any advice is appreciated. What is the best year? Obviously, looking at turbo models. I know this vehicle has a crazy timing belt schedule.

[theer]

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Timing belt is crucial to do early & often, but not terribly hard to do (Lot's of guidance out there). The clutch on the other hand is a gigantic PITA job, so adjust accordingly for a car needing a clutch.

The 1998 Turbo S and 1989 Turbo are essentially identical (there was no Turbo S in '89). They have the increasingly rare "AOR" transmission, which had improvements to handle the higher horsepower (hardened bits inside, as well as factor LSD and external oil cooler). These are popular for the LS1 conversion crowd (which includes me).

There were big changes mid '85, so you'll see 85.1, 85.2 references or 85.5 for the later style. I prefer the esthetics of the later style interior (dash, etc.)

The Turbo first came out in 86, so they are all the "late" style interior.

In '87 there was a big change in the offset of the wheels (to allow for ABS?). The variety of early offset wheels is limited, but they overlap with early 911's. Late offset wheels are more plentiful (including cheaper aftermarket), and overlap with Boxster etc.

944 is a great little car. Both my sons had/have one (non-turbo) as their high school DD.