- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
3.0i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
NA
- Fuel
NA
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
NA
- Ancap Safety
NA
Used car review: Porsche 944 1987-1991
Park your dream in your driveway
There can't be too many true motoring enthusiasts out there who haven't, at some stage, dreamed of parking a Porsche in the driveway.
The marque's mystique hasn't happened by chance; Porsche cars over the years have been tremendous to drive and their used-car value backs up the desirability of the later models and the collectability of earlier ones.
It's natural, therefore, to think that for those of us on wages and with mortgages to deal with, a Porsche is utterly out of the question. But that's not entirely the case.
A 911, even a mid-1970s example which is the cheapest of them, is still a pretty expensive toy. But if you can get your head around the notion that a Porsche doesn't need to have its engine slung out the back to qualify as the real deal, then there's definitely light at the end of the Porsche-ownership tunnel.
There are three models available in decent numbers that can get you into the Porsche family for less than $15,000.
Sound impossible? It's not, but of those three, one model stands out.
The also-rans start with the 924, Porsche's 1970s entry-level model that suffered an image crisis for being a joint-venture vehicle developed with humble old Volkswagen.
Then there was the 928, available in its earliest incarnations for well under our notional $15,000 budget. But it loses out thanks to its weight, which takes the edge off the driving experience, and the staggering cost of fixing it should it go wrong in any intrinsic way. The 928's reputation also has suffered because it was designed to replace the 911 in the '70s, but wasn't even half the car the 911 was. Which leaves us with the 944.
An evolution of the 924, the 944 was sufficiently different to convince people it was a new deal. Once you drove it, that became apparent.
Like the 924 and 928, the 944 used a front-mounted engine and water cooling. And while it used an engine ranging from 2.5-3.0 litres in later versions, it remained a four-cylinder unit.
Large-capacity four-cylinder engines don't normally feel sporty. Porsche did its best to change that with balance shafts to smooth the engine's vibration and a specification that ensured it revved hard.
With its rear-mounted gearbox, the 944 has all-but-perfect weight distribution. It's this that makes it such a sweet handler.
The steering is communicative and, while the long linkages mean the gearshift can feel a bit vague, it's vastly better than an early 911's notoriously hit-and-miss change.
Mechanically, 944s are pretty strong, which is good given that most will have covered more than 160,000 kilometres, with some even touching 300,000.
The main mechanical issue is if the timing belt was recently changed. The handbook says every 80,000 kilometres for a new belt, but the trade says closer to 60,000 is safer.
While the engine is pulled apart for the timing pump, change the water pump as well. Check the front of the engine for oil leaks.
CV joints in the rear drive shafts can give trouble if the car's a high-miler, so that's also worth checking.
It's not common, but we've heard of 944s that have got so hot under the bonnet that the plastic fuel rail has melted and caused an engine-bay fire. Why anybody would make a fuel rail from plastic is the bigger question.
Inside, make sure all the electrics work and don't be surprised if the dashboard is cracking up and the carpets and trim have faded.
The small plastic cogs on the motor that open and close the sunroof can strip, and check the drain tubes at the rear of the sunroof. These can come adrift, letting water stain and shrink the headlining, making it sag over time.
Finally, check that the heater can turn on and off. If it can't, the culprit is likely to be a small vacuum switch that will need replacing.
What to pay
The best buys are those with a post-1986 build date. At that point, Porsche freshened the car up a little with a much better dashboard and some other fine-tuning. Those in the know reckon about $15,000 is the starting point for quality examples. Don't, however, rule out a privately offered car with a price of about $12,000 and a desperate seller. Oh, and you want a car with a manual gearbox.
The competition
The Porsche badge on the bonnet speaks volumes in cars like these, and there's no getting around that sort of cachet. But we'd also look at a series four Mazda RX-7 Turbo and maybe a V6 Alfa Romeo GTV.