Part two >

Now that the Porsche 944 was my focus, I scoured the Web (see the Links page for the helpful sites I used) for information about the 944, the company and owners' feedback. Ninety-nine and nine-tenths percent of the information I found praised the Porsche 944 (as well as other models and the company). The sites' authors were Porsche-philes...fans of the cars...devotees of the automobiles. As any avid Net surfer will know, the fan sites on any topic seem to contain the richest information, and you thrive off the enthusiasm!

I lived at Autotrader.com following the listings for 944s. Just as I started the research, there was a foreign car mechanic's shop that was on the way to my girlfriend's place in the neighborhood, and who also had a few cars on his lot- Volkswagen, a few Volvos, Mercedes-Benz...and a maroon Porsche 944. The cars were in so-so condition- you could think the mechanic's shop was the focus, not selling the cars. This was the first 944 I sat in. Neato, I thought! After reading about the car, I finally sat behind the wheel of one. It was a 1988 n/a, the mechanic said. It was dusty inside and out, likely from no one seriously considering buying it, but it had a lot of potential for someone, just not me. The mechanic gave me a "verbal" maintenance history, which was fine but didn't help psychologically to justify spending $6,000, the asking price. He said he'd clean it up and I could test drive it if I was serious. I never went back. But thanks to him, I now knew what the cabin of a Porsche 944 felt like!

The research said to expect from a seller a complete maintenance history (ideally by a Porsche specialist) on the car you have an eye on, as 944s can be expensive (more so than the average car) to repair. (I'd say records for the last 50,000 miles are significant enough...or even 20,000. Also, what vibe do you get from the owner- solid feedback and enthusiasm about the car?) The records, in theory, will provide peace of mind with how well (or not) the car was taken care of, could help in negotiations and give you a heads up with what will need to be done and when! For example, the 944s will theoretically run, run, run if you do routine maintenance, and a major part of that routine is the 30,000 mile servicing- new belts all-around, especially the timing belt and a new water pump and rollers/tensioners to name the basic elements. This service could be as much as $1500. I bought my car with 88,500 miles, and the records indicated this stuff was done at 85, 294 miles! This is just one of the solid elements in place for purchasing the 944 shown above!

The second 944 I sat in showed up on Autotrader.com as being six miles from my place. WOW! "1986 944, champagne, manual, 100k miles, great condition, complete records, $6k," the ad read. Cool, another chance to get more info and to compare the condition of the models. But a very significant event happened on my way to see this second Porsche! I bicyled from my work (elementary schoolteacher) to the garage, but two blocks before the garage a guy was polishing an already shiny black 911 in his driveway. I stopped to chat for advice and admire his car. The owner said it was a 1978 and he bought it slightly used in '78, and I didn't see a scratch on it! "Recaro seats, short shift kit, rebuilt engine," he said-- it all looked in superb condition! I took advantage of this owner's knowledge and told him I was looking for a 944, and could he offer any advice in hunting for a Porsche. He told me two important things. The first was that I'll save myself some money in the long run if I find and buy a Porsche that was well-taken care of, meaning a few thousand bucks more than my $5-6k range -- like $8 or $9k. Hmmm. The second thing was his recommendation for a Porsche mechanic on the other side of town and to be wary of the shop I was going to that had the second 944 I was about to inspect. (He said he didn't like the way they handled an insurance claim in the past.) Bingo, I thought. I have a Porsche mechanic ready to go. Now, getting them a car to work check out! Back to Autotrader.

Part three >