Has anyone ever owned an '86 or '87 Porsche 944 Turbo (aka 951)? I'd like to know any experiences with this vehicle. I am considering buying one, but not as a daily-driver. I'm curious about reliability and maintenance costs: both of which are, from what I've researched, not an issue on one with proper maintenance (i.e., buy one with maintenance records). Turbo 4, decent power, excellent weight distribution (front engine, rear transmission), somewhat different; all add up to an intriguing car.

It's like getting inside your favorite Hot Wheels car

Literally one of the best handling cars ever produced. Extreme fun in the mountains.

Common complaints in the 944 are:

1.) rear transaxle ring and pinion failure. If your buying one, check the amount of "play" it has when you are on the gas V/S off the gas. See if you feel any "slack" in the rear end.

2.) Check the wheel bearings. Listen for roaring.

3.) make sure the turbo spools out with no lag, check around it for any oil leaks.

Above all, the 944 is an excellent car in turbo form or not, very few problems are present in them and they perform for a looooooooong time problem free.

I loved all of the one's i have had.

http://thegodz.20megsfree.com/format/justmytoy.jpg

An INCREDIBLE driving experience. Dooo it. Dooo it. Dooo it.

http://www.rennlist.com
Make sure yo get a leakdown annd compression test done before you buy

I think i'm going to scratch the idea of a 944. The mileage will be too high for my price range, which brings a high possibility of needing to rebuild the turbo, or other numerous repair items. I think I will stick with looking for another '95-'98 240sx 5-speed.

I've been looking at '95 Jaguar X6's, they are selling for CHEAP, but it's just not my "cup of tea" They have a high reliability rating, believe it or not, and quite a powerful I-6. But I need something more fun ...240sx handling fun. The search for a 240 is not easy, I miss my old one already She found a good home though.

your going to miss one heck of an experience.

Take a corner in 75 miles/hrs and feel the "G". I am getting mine 5 days

Maybe when I'm a little older, I'll have to wait. Maybe LS400Dom will let me borrow his

Trust me, that would do me no good, I don't need anything else to get me even more excited about a car, I can only imagine that would make me recklessly find any 944; I get obsessed about most cars as it is.

Post some pictures when you get yours, I'd like to see it. The 240 is no slouch in the corners at .89G with stock 16's. Right now, it's perfect for me.

I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.

944's are excellent cars!
I have a 1985.5 944 and love it.
Wish it had the turbo power.
Handles so well through the turns.
rennlist.com is a great site that I frequent almost daily.
Lots of information.
http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html
Here is another site with good information.
Make sure you at least drive one before you decide on
the 240...no comparison!

my 928S was nothing but problems and was very hard to maintain.

Yep, sounds like a 928 to me


I miss this one. I built as a restore project. hasn't been gone too long.

My pops actually had a 88 Turbo when I was around 15. I used to love that car!! So fast, so light, so agile. I drove it once or twice and could not believe the way it felt, the steering, brakes, shifter , clutchall had a perfect feel/weight, and the car was as easy to drive as a Civic!

My fathers synchro for second gear went when he had his. He picked it up in 94-95 with something like 40k and put 40-50k more on it. I think only minor stuff other than the synchro went, altenator, spark plug wires, general maintence crap.

I used to love the front end of that car with the headlights closed and the foglights on!! Really MEAN.

If you can find a clean one, get it a true sports car!!

my two friends both had 944s and were quite car savvy...
and they were ALWAYS broken in one form or another... all KINDS of problems from mechanical to electrical

i'd get a 87 RX-7 T2 just for a fun car... its more reliable than the 944 and it handles better to boot

That's actually impossible.

http://people.cornell.edu/pages/dbm9/Porsche_944.htm

I was going to ask about the 928 in the thread since I was driving next to one and it sounded mean as hell, but it looks like the topic was brought up, they're that bad huh?