Fallen out of love with my 944 - what's it worth - do I fix.

[Corranga]

So..

I have an 89' 944 S2. It's not really fair to say I've fallen out of love with it, more that it doesn't suit my need as I need usable back seats.

It's baltic / dove blue with linen leather, and around 154k miles.
Completely standard other than a quickshift kit and headlight wiring loom.
It's currently sitting on Boxster twists, but I have the correct set of D90s available.

Good Bits:
Sills have been replaced well (at a cost of £1440) within the past couple of years.
Car is always garaged.
Seats have just been restored.
It's mechanically strong. Head gasket done recently, including a proper skim.
Decent service history, 17 or so stamps mainly main dealer and specialist.
Recent caliper rebuild (they look great).
Just had belts done.

Bad bits:
Cosmetically, it's not great. Rust starting around some windows and on arches. The paint isn't great either.
The windscreen is broken.
It has no MOT (though I'd say will fly through one if the windscreen was replaced).
Some cracks on the dash.
It's in Dundee which might as well be the middle of nowhere for most people!

My thoughts:
It's hard to tell what these cars are worth, they are rare and prices are all over the place.
Mine has the advantage of being structurally solid, and mechanically sound, but obviously the disadvantage of having no MOT.
Windscreens are expensive things though, and the frame underneath it has some rust which it would make sense to sort when the screen is out, so I don't want to just pull the screen out and not get it done, but someone taking it on might want to sort the other rust out and have the car painted or something whilst it's out...

Your thoughts.... ?

Chris

[white944]

If you really want to sell as-is, it's probably worth £2-2500. I paid £2500 for a very similar S2 not long ago but it didn't need a £500 windscreen replacement.

[flt505]

Hi Chris -

Can you not claim a new windscreen on insurance? Or replace it with from a scrapped vehicle - even so it's worth considering the options as it seems you have a very tidy and usable vehicle...

Dave
CT

[996driver]

Hard to give a price as it depends so much on what someone is prepared to pay.

Before I bought mine (1986 2.5 Lux) I was following one on Ebay that was a 1987 2.5, no MOT, head gasket gone and very poor paintwork and interior. It sold for £1700 which might give an indication if yours is similar age but better running order

[LozS2]

I can't help thinking the estimates above are a bit on the low side. That said if you can find a secondhand screen and someone who can repair rust for a good price, and therefore get an MOT, you could have a car worth between £4K and £6K (I'm no expert, this is just based on prices I've seen lately).

When you say the paint is not great, do you think a good mop might sort it? Or does it need a respray? If you can sort then paint out inexpensively it would be worth doing, maybe you could get £6k to £7k for it. Maybe I'm being optimistic but I've noticed prices going up a lot over the last 6 months. It's not uncommon for average cars to be put up for £7k, that said I don't know if they are selling for that. Something like bodywork and paint issues, and definitely not having MOT, will seriously affect the value.

Your biggest problem is whether you can get a buyer in your area. I've noticed before that 944s can be found for good (low) prices up your way. Do you have any way of getting the car more central? Or maybe if you do get it sorted take it round to some shows to get it seen by people that might be interested. Or keep it because you'll have a great car.

I hope someone jumps in if I'm wrong on the prices. I wouldn't want you to spend money and then lose it.