Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

hi petrolheads .lookin to join the 924 /944 club but all cars I like are automatic . any pitfalls on this age car I should be aware of.

Mines an auto. It's a great car to drive, I love it, but my gut tells me that the 944 is a drivers car and a manual is the way to go....

Whilst all the autos are 8V & pretty torquey the box is an old fashioned 3 speed so will slug the performance. If your desperate for an auto then fine but I suspect a manual would be a lot better drive.

I guess it depends on how you like to drive. If you want to cruise around, then no problem. But if you want a more involving experience then a manual might be a better bet.

I agree with tr7v8, I have a 2.7 auto and the box really does take edge off the performance which is shame as the chassis and handling is really great.

As much as I like my car, if I was starting again I would go manual. Having said that, I do like it a lot and wouldn't rule out an auto to manual conversion in the future! (currently way down the 'to do list')

I was.going to jump in Porsche ownership with a 928 S4. Even though they have bags of power the fact 99% of them were autos put me off. That moved my choice over to a S2 manual. Just enough power to be an enjoyable driver's car. Auto boxes are.slick these days, they weren't back in the day.

I drive a 968 Tip which is probably the most disliked 968 you can buy, but I wouldn't change it for a manual.

My recommendation is to test drive one and decide yourself, not that this answers your question.

I'm with RDO on the 968 tip being a cracking drive... Full auto or in tiptronic mode it's a great delivery from the four speed box. It's an unsung diamond and prices are keen for this model compared to the manual equivalent.

In tip coupe format there's only 30 or so left on UK roads...

Down sides are the gearbox pinion bearing can fail which is evident as a jet engine whine when coasting down from around 70mph. This can need a full rebuild of the box which Hartec can do but it could be about £1000 for that. IIRC these usually failed by around 80,000 miles or so.... Micro switches can fail in the sector lever as I had in mine but these are an easy fix. Other big item is the rubber drive doughnut which degrades over time and is a pretty penny (£1500 from OPC) for the part needing either engine out or box out to fix... I recall its a similar effort to replace the clutch in a manual though...

As has been said, drive a few first and gauge what suits you best.

Good luck

It's not clear from your post but do you have to have an auto or are you able to drive a manual too?

I once drove a friends very early Auto and I found it an absolute hoot and very simple to drive. Keep your foot to the floor from rest and without doing anything else you will soon be bombing along at a very naughty 130mph +. Yes it's an old fashioned 3 speed and if you are used to a modern auto it will feel very slow and 'lurchy' when changing gear but you really need to drive one and make up your own mind