Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi all, I’m new on here and I’ll introduce myself properly in a day or two, but I’ve got a couple of questions if that’s o.k? First a bit of background, I’m 35 and have only been driving a car for 2 years as I’ve always had motorbikes. I’ve been a Fireman for the last 7 years and having only a motorbike was fine up until a couple of years ago but then they changed our shift patterns at work and wanted us to be more flexible i.e sometimes working at other stations which in turn meant that I had to ferry my fire kit around. So I had to stop being a rebel and pass my car driving test, although to my surprise I really enjoyed driving and so I bought my first car a 2001 Peugeot 206 glx and although I really like my 1st car I have always for as long as I can remember liked to be different and after watching an episode of wheeler dealers all about the 924 my mind was made up I WANT A PORSCHE!!!
After trawling the net for a few days I quickly decided that I actually wanted a 944 (just my personal preference as I don’t want to offend any 924 owners) and so I decided to ring a close friend of mine who used to be a Porsche technician to ask his advice on what to look out for and to my surprise he told me he was selling his. I had completely forgot he had one as at the time of him buying it I wasn’t interested in cars and with him being a mechanic he was always changing cars, However like the vast majority of Porsche owners this car he kept as he completely fell in love with it. Unfortunately he tried to start up his own garage business which didn’t work out and so he picked up a few debts and so for practical reasons he is letting it go.
I have a budget of around £3000.00 and really fancied a black one with a cream interior and air con and my mate Anthony’s is a white one with a red leather interior and no air con 1988 (E) 101,000 genuine miles and in very good condition inside and out although he said he’d let me have it for £2500.00. Slowly but surely the colour scheme has grown on me but the air con thing is the dilemma as I can’t stand being too warm in the summer and my Peugeot has air con.
So here are the questions, 1. Should I snap his hand off? 2. Would it be possible to get an air con unit from a breakers yard and have it fitted? 3. If it is possible to do that, would it be practical cost wise?
Sorry about the length of this post but I can talk for England as I’m also a stand up comic. Looking forward to getting to know you all, thanks in advance.
Andy Bruce.

Hi Bruce,
Personally I don't like aircon. It's more weight, More complexity, More to go wrong, & whatever else your doing on the car you can bet that it's in the way. Worst of all it uses HP! Horses should only be used for pushing the car along. In cars of this age I'd say keep it simple. Open the sunroof.
Next £2500 may be ok depending on the condition. That's all that matters with these cars. If it's had lots spent on it then it could be a good car. There should be a history file full of receipts for the parts he's got for it. If not then it's too expensive. If this is going to be your daily drive then expect to fork out at least 1K a year on spares & repairs. That's an average. You will get good years & bad. Insurance is ok so long as you can get a classic policy. You should check first as you are not experienced! There great cars but the only real downside is when something breaks. You have to identify what it needs. Then wait for the parts to come. This means you can be off the road for a week at a time. But they are usually pretty reliable.
Have fun & don't rush into anything! Join the club first & go out in some members cars. Then you have a bench mark to judge others by.

The last A/C installation that I heard about in a 924/944/968 was to a 968 version and cost circa £2000 to do it properly!!!! so I would really recommend buying a car that already has A/C if it is really that important to you. Unfortunately the only variant that has A/C as standard is the Turbo which will be a much higher budget for a good one. There are Luxes and S2's around with A/C but they are quite few and far between so you will be really limiting your choice.

If your mates car really is in good condition then I would buy that one. The simple rule is always buy an old car depending on condition regardless of options, mileage or colour.

Hi mate.
I'd have a look around at other cars too.
There is a lot of choice at the moment and most will come in for less than £2500.

hello there, go look at a few cars, its a buyers market at the moment, also don't blow all your budget as there's bound to be a few issues with what is after all a 20 year old car, important points are recent clutch, condition of sills, recent history is more important than the 1st or 2nd services, and buy on condition, i doubt if you will find a black one with cream interior and air con no matter how hard you look, happy hunting and don't be afraid to ask questions

Firstly Hi & welcome.

A/C was something I wanted but it's a rarish option especially on early non-Turbo cars. Funnily enough I found a 924S with it & a zillion other options but the condition of the car was crap... & it'd been resprayed, for which take as rubbed down with half a house brick & blown over
Mine hasn't got A/C & in the first 18 months did 38K as my daily driver for work booted & suited. Providing it has a sunroof & an oval dash (contentious!) then you'll be OK. Ventalation is great when moving & not bad static.

I eventually ended up with a white car, with red burgundy interior. but in good nick with obvious signs of being cared for (N rated Conti's, Porsche oil filter etc.) buy on condition & TBH unless you're 100% what you are looking at then get it checked out. Either by a known 944 specialist or a club member who has had experience. They can be monster money pits if you buy a dud.

Sound advice!

Hi and welcome to TIPEC,

I agree with all the previous statements. You might want to try the following link to purchase a 944 Buyers Guide. I purchased my 944 S2 about 6 months ago and found this guide a massive help on what to look out for. It's full of photographs of problem areas already mentioned on this thread.

http://www.pmmbooks.com/shop/2/index.htm

Personally I would forget the A/C. Even if you found a 944 with A/C fitted, it would more than likely not be working. You'll probably spend massive amounts trying to get it fixed. That said, I did read an article in 911 and Porsche World with a guy who retro fitted A/C to a 968. Massive work judging by the photos. Dash out job etc.


Ben

There is a freebie on the Hartech site.
http://www.hartech.org/buyers.html

TBH I found the buyers guide typically contained no more than an intelligent comb of the internet could manage.

stand up comic thing is good as you need a sense of humor to drive a 206

re the 44 , id wait and get one with all the options you want . buyers market and all that

But spending forever waiting for the holy grail to come along is a waste of time. We've had others come on here & want the impossible.
Nowt wrong with that providing you like walking/public transport/driving(*) an inferior car.

*Delete the applicable

A/C on RHD cars is fairly rare, some Turbos have it and a few more S2s but it still isn't as common as today where it's in every shopping trolley.

if my options were riding in a shopping trolley or a 206 id be in the trolley straight away lol but ive found patience is best when picking a car you want (rather than an a to b thing you need) . i wouldnt wait for air con but interior and car colour to me is important