Porsche 944 - Am I Insane?

kdouglas

Ok, im 21 years old, have a full licence for just under 3 years and same length of time of no claims experience as a named driver on my mother's policy.

Considering options for new cars and it's between something nice, new and reasonably economical (05 1.1L 206 is on the cards), or im very tempted to say to hell with newer cars and get a Porsche 944, probably around a 89/90 model, been looking at some online and they are within my budget, but at 21 years of age, insurance is the main issue that im having problems with, got a call back from an insurance company a little while ago with a quote of a little over €2100 for fully comp, but i've looked at so many sites this morning for insurance quotes I cant remember what details I entered on their site, so Im waiting on more details via email. The other quote i've gotten so far was 3600 with XSDirect (and an excess of €4000), so how the 2100 quote is so much cheaper im not sure, hence why im hesitant until i see more details via email.

Is it ridiculous for someone of my age to get such a large car (2.5, 2.7 or 3.0L engine), i'd probably only keep it for a year or so which makes repeat insurance costs less of an issue to consider but I really want a 944, they're beautiful cars.

jameshayes

I always knew you were crazy!

TwoShedsJackson

If you don't mind paying that in insurance, then why not, but why would you buy something like that and only keep it a year? And have a lockup for it, don't go parking it at the side of the road in Tallaght for example.

kdouglas

im only really planning on keeping it for a year or so because i figure the cost of petrol is going to continue rising and its not the most economical of cars

High&Low

How much would fully comp insurance be for a fully licensed driver on the 05 peugeot?

There may be a few other costs associated with the upkeep of a 20 year old car, plus extra petrol and road tax.

If I was 21 and could afford it, (even if it meant a few extra sober weekends) I know what I would choose...

BnA

kdouglas wrote: »

Ok, im 21 years old, have a full licence for just under 3 years and same length of time of no claims experience as a named driver on my mother's policy.

Considering options for new cars and it's between something nice, new and reasonably economical (05 1.1L 206 is on the cards), or im very tempted to say to hell with newer cars and get a Porsche 944, probably around a 89/90 model, been looking at some online and they are within my budget, but at 21 years of age, insurance is the main issue that im having problems with, got a call back from an insurance company a little while ago with a quote of a little over €2100 for fully comp, but i've looked at so many sites this morning for insurance quotes I cant remember what details I entered on their site, so Im waiting on more details via email. The other quote i've gotten so far was 3600 with XSDirect (and an excess of €4000), so how the 2100 quote is so much cheaper im not sure, hence why im hesitant until i see more details via email.

Is it ridiculous for someone of my age to get such a large car (2.5, 2.7 or 3.0L engine), i'd probably only keep it for a year or so which makes repeat insurance costs less of an issue to consider but I really want a 944, they're beautiful cars.

Depends on how much driving you do. I think that would be an expensive car to run. If you're doing small enough miles then I'd say go for it. But if you're commuting 20 or 30 miles (or more) to work every day, I'd say it would work out fairly expensive.

I have looked at 944's myself (what haven't I looked at). But because I do a good bit of milage I would only buy it in conjunction with something like a small van that I would use to munch the miles during the week.

--amadeus--

If that €2100 is fully comp then that's a decent price. Personally I'd go for it, how often in your life will you be 21?!

That said you don't have to either mental or sensible, you can have both! For example
is under £5k and has a 1.6 engine. Or a Mazda MX-5. Or a Triumph Spitfire. Or a classic TVR. If you go over 30 years old then VRT is €50 & road tax is €49/year which makes the additional running costs easier to bear.

mike65

Dr Mike65 recommends a long cold shower and a lie down in a darkended room.

Mike.

kdouglas

my drive to work is only a couple of miles, most my driving is done on weekends, normally rack up about 200 miles a week on average

amadeus: good idea, but if it's not a 944 then itll be something newer, its about the only car of that vintage im interested in

Porshe prices for spares and repairs..

Thats what put me off. I was nearly going to do the same as you:)

Henry Ford III

If you can afford it go for it. 944's are lovely.

p.s. If the budget worries you have a look at something little more sedate. What about a Pug 205 GTI 1.6?

pburns

Didn't the Top Gear guys buy cheap Porsches and attempted a London to Brighton run? (Attempt being the operative word)

Love 944s but can you find a decent one for this money? And are you relying on a car for a longish commute?

Also - I wouldn't sacrifice or curb my social life for a fancy car - not at 21!

Good Luck whatever you do - most meatheads your age are trying to live out their 'Fast-and-Furious' fantasies with clapped out Glanzas.

kdouglas

trust me, im definitely not a fast-and-furious loving idiot like alot of others my age, but i do appreciate a fine car

to be honest i dont drink much anyway, so its not like id be giving that up just to own this car

Plug

The tax will be 2000 yoyo for that thing and then the insurance and then getting it serviced well then thats another deal altogether.

E92

Plug wrote: »

The tax will be 2000 yoyo for that thing

Only if it imported after July. For the benefit of everyone, anything registered after July only , new or used is going to change. Everything else will remain the same. Of course this is what's happening at the moment;).

meathstevie

If you think you can afford it go for it man. Now is the time for that sort of thing. Years down the line when you settle down you're probably not going to have the time and money for it.

TheBazman

I wouldnt let your age stop you - you will obviously do your research on the price of the car and the cost of insurance first. However I would say that just build in extra for running costs. I think you may have a few unexpected costs over the course of a year running a car that old (Porsche or not!)

thetaxman

Hope you know a good mechanic, the 944 has a terrible reputation.

Chaz

thetaxman wrote: »

Hope you know a good mechanic, the 944 has a terrible reputation.

On what basis? Fact or something you heard?

I have a lovely 944 for sale, here, listed on the Porsche Club Ireland:

http://content.us.porsche-clubs.porsche.com/PorscheClubs/pc_ireland/pc_main.nsf/web/BBFE9DBE29091476C12573DB003F4140#pagetop

Sad to see the car go, just a bit small for what I needed. Lovely motor and more than happy to meet and show the car to you (assuming your in Dublin or somewhere that we can reasonably meet if interested).

thetaxman

My father had one back in the early 90's. Maybe his was a one off, but it spent half its life in the garage.
Your car seems to be an excellent example.

Chaz

thetaxman wrote: »

My father had one back in the early 90's. Maybe his was a one off, but it spent half its life in the garage.
Your car seems to be an excellent example.

It is :-)

What people tend to forget is that its still an engine, needs oil, plugs etc, all just like most other cars. Perhaps one or two things to be wise about, not rocket science. There are also many independent guys that service 944s and others with ease, once again, just a car, with an engine.

I fortunately do some of the work myself, but yes, buying one thats decent is worthwhile. When I bought this, it was the most expensive and nicest one that I could afford. I could have got something for half the price, sure - but then looking for surprise bills and costly repairs.

WHITE_P

Chaz wrote: »

On what basis? Fact or something you heard?

I have a lovely 944 for sale, here, listed on the Porsche Club Ireland:

http://content.us.porsche-clubs.porsche.com/PorscheClubs/pc_ireland/pc_main.nsf/web/BBFE9DBE29091476C12573DB003F4140#pagetop

Sad to see the car go, just a bit small for what I needed. Lovely motor and more than happy to meet and show the car to you (assuming your in Dublin or somewhere that we can reasonably meet if interested).

sweet car !!!:D

unkel

kdouglas wrote: »

im very tempted to say to hell with newer cars and get a Porsche 944

Say to hell with newer cars!

But not without thinking it through. The insurance quote you get is pretty good and you know the tax. You do a fairly low mileage, which means that the MPG you get isn't really that important in the scheme of things. Do your sums though before you make a decision

kdouglas wrote: »

im only really planning on keeping it for a year or so

Why? As I said, fuel consumption is only a minor factor in total costs. These kind of cars are hard to sell. Would you be able to afford to buy another car in a years time and wait for months to get money back for the 944?

Another consideration is that (as E92 explained) performance cars already registered in Ireland might go up in value (or depreciate less) because they no longer compete in the second hand market with cars being imported

kdouglas wrote: »

i do appreciate a fine car

Now you're stating the obvious

Anyway, whatever you do, keep us informed and good luck!

WHITE_P

two grand to insure a Porsche at 21. Go for it !!!

Although as many others have said, if you can't maintain it yourself find a good reasonably priced mechanic to look after it. From what I've heard about them they need to be looked after meticuiously. service every 6000 miles and they do use a drop of oil so get used to checking the dip stick every week.

And don't get carried away with the power !!!:)

SouperComputer

Are you crazy, no. But this worries me.....

my drive to work is only a couple of miles, most my driving is done on weekends, normally rack up about 200 miles a week on average

TBH, personally I would not be using this car for short trips on a daily basis. The cliche that the most engine wear occurs at startup/when cold, is a cliche for a good reason!

Power wise, the 944 is pretty tame (read VERY tame) on the grand scheme of things, so no worries there, but its good fun to drive and have a nice feel to em that you just wont get with a modern car.

Id say go for it but only if you can afford to maintain it regularly and properly. So either taking it to someone who is a little familar with it (they ar fairly basic cars), skilling yourself up or a combo of both.

Follow the usual rules for cars that can cost big money to take care of. Only look at good examples that have regular, documented history. It doesnt have to be a main dealer, just receipts to show that he car cas been cared for.

HTH

unkel

Good points from SouperComputer

You need to have a maintenance budget when buying a car like that and more importantly, you need to have someone to do the work if you can't / won't do it yourself. And I don't mean a main Porsche $tealer

And of course an engine wears more when cold, but let's compare these two cars:

Car 1. Does a commute of 2 times 2 miles a day, 5 times a week. Plus one trip at the weekend of 200 miles

Car 2. Does a commute of 2 times 20 miles a day, 5 times a week. Plus one trip at the weekend of 200 miles

My point is that the engine in car 2 wears more! It has to do the same as car 1 plus a few more (granted, low wear) miles

hawkmoon269

SouperComputer wrote: »

Power wise, the 944 is pretty tame (read VERY tame) on the grand scheme of things, so no worries there, but its good fun to drive and have a nice feel to em that you just wont get with a modern car.

You honestly think so? Well, I guess it's all relative.

I'll tell you one thing, the Turbo version isn't tame in any way. Took one of those for a test drive once.... f**k!!

Mind you, the turbo version would cost a good bit more than a standard 944 to insure.

KDouglas, my first ever car was a Nissan Micra. As a 21 year old with provisional licence back in 1995, it cost me IR£1,600 for Third Party, Fire & Theft insurance. Allow for euro conversion and inflation, that works out more than your 944 quote!

So on that basis, your insurance sounds cheap!

Masada

good god KD, what are you thinking, Id rather have the mondeo.,
i know some people will swear by them on here but the bottom line is, its an old car and it will be likely to have some problems, they wernt known for having bulletproof reliability to begin with added to the age and wear on the car over the years.,
also an engine of that age is gonna have a high MPG compared to similarly sized engines from recent years and parts, even service parts will be expencive., Personally if i was gonna have a porsche it would have to be one of the proper ones, the 944 was designed to be the "poor mans porsche".,
you'd be able to do a lot of the servicing stuff on one of them yourself though, its just like an AEG only bigger and more complicated.,:p

--amadeus--

I am very surprised to hear people saying that these cars aren't known for reliability, or have a bad reputation. They are - particularly by modern standards - mechanically simple and as long as you put regular maintenance into the car and take care of the consumables it shouldn't be any less reliable than a modern car.

I currently run a 1968 Lotus Elan+2 as my regular driver and it has never let me down. Before that I had a 1964 Jag Mk II, which I bought with a faulty fuel pump. Once that was fixed it never let me down. Before that I had a 1974 911. Guess what - apart from when I stupidly didn't believe the fuel gauge (D'oh!) - it never let me down. In four years of using a classic car as a regular driver I have been stuck with a non-starter / called the AA precisely zero times.

Buy well, maintain sensibly and a 944 will give you years of happy motoring, quick, stylish and practical. What more could you want?

Chaz

The 944 Turbo, as with many Turbo cars are more difficult to drive, especially when there is no traction control.

The S2 (or any other of the Normally Aspirated) 944 is very easy to drive, has enough low down tourque that you dont have to drive it hard to get some joy out of it and enough up top if you wanted more. Its not blistering quick (although not slow either) - however as I will qualify myself as a petrol head and having driven Porsche 911's and that kinda class car, the car is the most neutral handling car I have ever owned or driven. You really have to try way to hard or do something really stupid to upset a 944.

As for a daily drive, the 944 is more than capable for that. Easy to drive, loads of low down grunt, reasonable on fuel and fairly quiet apart from the commonly known 'diff sing' that they produce. Mine has electric windows, 8 speaker sound, lovely bucket seats and makes for a very usable vehicle. Then, if you want, it loves being driven more enthusiastically, without complaining and will put a grin on your face every time that you do. Its a very rewarding car.

Suppose you look at the options, you can buy an 'appliance' to get you from A to B or you can get something with character, soul and some individual feeling to it. And yes, most people stare at the car, its a Porsche afterall :-)

BnA

While we're talking about 944's.

I'm leaving myself open for a batin' here, but.....Is it just me, or do they look fantastic in white ?

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/images.action?R=200740295934507&channel=CARS&adcategory=&largeId=646885819

ondafly

@Kdouglas - if you are serious about picking one up - I'd suggest reading the 944FAQ over and over, so you know everything about the car. Then try posting on Porsche owner websites and asking on those for peoples opinions who live and own them.

http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html

Chaz

BnA wrote: »

While we're talking about 944's.

I'm leaving myself open for a batin' here, but.....Is it just me, or do they look fantastic in white ?

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/images.action?R=200740295934507&channel=CARS&adcategory=&largeId=646885819

Agreed, do like them in white too.

kdouglas

Chaz wrote: »

On what basis? Fact or something you heard?

I have a lovely 944 for sale, here, listed on the Porsche Club Ireland:

http://content.us.porsche-clubs.porsche.com/PorscheClubs/pc_ireland/pc_main.nsf/web/BBFE9DBE29091476C12573DB003F4140#pagetop

Sad to see the car go, just a bit small for what I needed. Lovely motor and more than happy to meet and show the car to you (assuming your in Dublin or somewhere that we can reasonably meet if interested).

that is quite nice, was having a look at it yesterday, wouldn't mind chatting to a 944 owner, mind if i pm you with a few questions?

kdouglas

vtec wrote: »

good god KD, what are you thinking, Id rather have the mondeo.,
i know some people will swear by them on here but the bottom line is, its an old car and it will be likely to have some problems, they wernt known for having bulletproof reliability to begin with added to the age and wear on the car over the years.,
also an engine of that age is gonna have a high MPG compared to similarly sized engines from recent years and parts, even service parts will be expencive., Personally if i was gonna have a porsche it would have to be one of the proper ones, the 944 was designed to be the "poor mans porsche".,
you'd be able to do a lot of the servicing stuff on one of them yourself though, its just like an AEG only bigger and more complicated.,:p

nah, the mondeo is lovely, but getting a bit sick of it, still very much considering the 944, gonna spend some time thinking about it and working out the figures of course

im not averse to working on things myself, but id likely get a reputable mechanic (who has experience working on the 944) to do any work for me

from what i've read, the engine is reliable once it's maintained and serviced regularly

meathmannn

944 Turbo, as was said, like all early turbos got some bad press, mainly due to lack of maintainance. But if you look after it then it's a great toy.
All this range (if I remember correctly) are galvanised and therefore can't rust.

Have you considered the older model 924? it's 2 litre with a non turbo model thats easy to play around with due to the availability of VW and Audi spares that are interchangeable.

Do you want one that's ready to drive or do you want a project car?? (if you do drop me a pm, I can point you towards very cheap 924 if you fancy giving it some TLC.)

Chaz

kdouglas wrote: »

that is quite nice, was having a look at it yesterday, wouldn't mind chatting to a 944 owner, mind if i pm you with a few questions?

Sure, im not a 944 expert but might be able to answer some stuff.

kdouglas

meathmannn wrote: »

944 Turbo, as was said, like all early turbos got some bad press, mainly due to lack of maintainance. But if you look after it then it's a great toy.
All this range (if I remember correctly) are galvanised and therefore can't rust.

Have you considered the older model 924? it's 2 litre with a non turbo model thats easy to play around with due to the availability of VW and Audi spares that are interchangeable.

Do you want one that's ready to drive or do you want a project car?? (if you do drop me a pm, I can point you towards very cheap 924 if you fancy giving it some TLC.)

924 is nice alright, but its not a 944

not looking for a project car at all, dont have the time for it to be honest, thanks though

meathstevie

I suppose if you compared them with anything you'd have to look at the non-quattro Audi GT from those days. And what could be fundamentaly wrong with a car of that quality that is looked after ?

Arrivederci

Hello,
roughly how much would you be talking to keep one of these going for a year? (I mean regular servicing, tyres, any extra work that may need to be done etc. not tax, insurance or petrol) Anyone got any figures?