924Board.org

[yOnKiNaToR]

Hi, I'm new to this board and interested in Porsche 944's and 924's.
I found an '88 924S black 5-speed with 100,000 highway miles on it. yet to test drive it though. $4,500. based on your experience does that sound like a good deal if the car is in good condition? I'm looking for a 951 but i'm only 16 and the one in town that is for sale is 5-6,000 bones so it's a little out of my price range.
also, i cannot find torque specs on the 924, and 924s anywhere. anybody know?

[jcope]

That is probably an OK price. I paid $3900 for an '87 that had 53K miles on it.

You should know that these cars are pretty high maintenance, if you want them to look and run right. I have had 3 924s (a 77, an 81 and my 87), and none of them were cheap to run. I REALLY recommend you take it to a GOOD mechanic for an exam. Because they are not cheap to fix, previous owners may have used substandard parts and cheap mechanics in order to save some money. You'll have to face the consequences of that.

I am pretty anal about making sure things run exactly right, and I am not the king of mechanics. So factor that in when I say that, including the purchase price, I've put in close to $10K in about 1-1/4 years of use. Some of that wasn't completely necessary, but I wouldn't be surprised if you end up topping $6-$7K within a year or two. All my money was restoration and maintenance, no enhancement to the engine or suspension or cosmetics.

The up side is, I really enjoy this car, more than any other I've owned or driven. It has good power, it handles well, it is pretty fun to work on. Also it is pretty unusual to see one on the road, and I think they look great. Women like them. Most of the people on this group seem to agree. Hardly anyone complains.

I wouldn't let any of them catch you neglecting it, though. They'll probably start hitting you up for parts.


FYI:
I've replaced the clutch ($1200parts&labor), leaking engine seals, the timing belt, motor mounts (around $2K parts&labor), the ECU ($500part), and a leaky seal in the gas tank around the sender to the guage ($200 p&l). I've had to fix some other minor things (rear view mirror, windshield, wiper arm and blades), but these were mostly elective. It needed tires and an alignment. It had the water pump (and probably the timing belt) replaced soon before I got it. All this on a car that has less than 70K miles. I'm learning how to work on it myself in order to cut the costs.

The car is pretty much perfect now. And you won't get it from me for $4500. Good luck.