924Board.org

[SoCalLove]

Hi,

I'm thinking about getting a Porsche 924 or a Porsche 944 for my first car and my daily driver. Anywho, I know that this forum may be the wrong place to ask this and that the information may be a bit biased but any information would be greatly appreciated.

Anyways, which do you think would make a better first car and daily driver? Also, how hard would it be to make these cars run low 14's for the 1/4 mile?

Thank you so much!

[Eturbo924]

If you want a fast 4 cylinder Porsche get a 951 or maybe a 931. 944 turbo or 924 turbo.

If you want a very reliable daily driver get a new car.

That said you will spend tons of money to make either a 924 or a 944 run that kind of time in the quarter mile. These cars are not made to win drag races. Get a mustang if you want that. They are for corners! Want to have fun at an auto-x get a 944 or 924.

If it were my choice between a 924 and a 944 I would ponder a few things. Entry cost, maint cost, things that can go wrong, power, brakes, handling. Not nessesarily in that order.

Ok... 944 definately has the advantage in power, smoothness, more modern any year 944 is newer than 924 unless you are un Europe and or talking 924S. But the 944 also has drawbacks. It is much more expensive to work on, has rubber centered puck clutch issues, leaking power steering racks and pumps, hydrolic clutch slave cylinders that fail, mixting of oil and coolant, timing belt ... if it fails you are talking big money and cost to change all those belts is big money also. There are other issues that are common to 924 and 931

The 924 is more user friendly when it comes to maintenance. No power steering, no slave cylinder (931 has it) not problem with belt failure. If it does fail... get a new belt... retime engine and away you go. Clutches can last well over 100K miles on 924s. If properly taken care of a 924 engine can last and last. That is not to say 924s do not have issues. They have hot and cold start issues... electrical gremlins just like any old car. It is all what you are willing to put up with.

If you have to have a Porsche for daily use get the newest and best condition one you can afford. Go and get a proper inspection also. Best to know and run away from a car then to buy it and then have a lemon!

Just my 2 cents. Oh and I have had both 944 and 924. Also had 928S4, and two 911s in the family.

Eric
www.geocities.com/eturbo924
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1982 924
1992 968
2003 C4S
Parts Parts Parts and More parts.
E-mail me for parts you need!
Drive Fast!

[Lizard]

I would recommend that you get about a $500 car as a starter car, esp if you are not working all the time to be able to afford to fix things that break

if you do buy a porsche 924 plan on buying a new fuel pump (about $200) right away, and spending alot of time on the electrical chasing down gremlins, as well as soon as you buy it I would recommend that you replace the fusebox! they get broken pins inside and prevent things from working correctly, you will also need to clean all the grounds and probably add a new ground to the engine block to chassis,
as well with the 924 it is NOT by any stretch of the imagination a quick car (imo neither is the 931 or 944) it is also very dated and doesnt have any real bolt on mods, you cannot get alot of horsepower from them,

if you get a 944, you need to see if they have records for the timing belt and waterpump,
it they dont you will need to do the pump belt all front engine seals, balance shaft belt and all bearings, this is something that a novice should NOT undertake, this will run around $2k at a shop to have this work done, as well this work will need to be done every 30k miles, or 3 years which ever comes sooner, there are SOME bolt on mods that you can get for the 944 however they are NOT cheap and dont add any more resale value to the vehicles.

all the 924/944 lines do not have any BOLT on body kits and the body panels that you can get require ALOT of custom fitting that will cost ALOT at a shop.

I would recommend that you have your parents go with you and that you test drive AT LEAST 3 924s, and 944s, both early and late 944s,
then I recommend that you also go and testdrive a mustang, camaro, and a couple of other american muscle cars,
the 924 feels like a go kart but it NOT a straight line performer infact alot of family sedans can beat it in a straight line.
also the 924 is not a stop light drag car if you drop the clutch on these cars you will break things, you will be looking at tranny clutch and more.
these cars are a blast on a twisty road, but again are NOT quick cars, even if you spend thousands.

and remember that you will NEVER get any of the money you put into the 924 back, UNLESS you part it out and even then it is unlikely!

I am glad to see that you are interested in the 924, however heed these warnings and remember that we do NOT wish to hear people complaining about how slow or not up to snuff the cars are (search for member timstar and you will understand). this is an excellent forum board, however you must be somewhat mechanically/electrically inclined.
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3 928s,

[SoCalLove]

Thank you so much for the replies guys. Well, I must be honest and say that I'm not a person that knows a whole bunch about cars or that grew up around a dad that was a mechanic. With that said, I would really like to learn and was hoping that this may be a good car to learn on. My uncle rebuilds old Porsche's and he said that he would be happy to help out if I ended up getting one.

When I really think about it, the attraction of a Porsche definately overcomes the fact that it's not really a straight line performance car. So, I guess I'm already over the fact that I won't be posting any spectacular times but for some reason I would still love to get a Porsche. I guess the fact that it's just so unique and exotic is very appealing to me. Anywho, I don't really want a Mustang or some American Muscle Car because since this is a daily driver I really need something with good gas mileage and I've heard that the 924/944 gets surprisingly good gas mileage.

You guys mentioned a lot about replacing parts but after all that is said and done, does it need to be babied a lot? I know you have to replace parts every 30K miles or 3 years, but are their things that you have to do on a week to week basis that doesn't apply to normal cars? Anything that may require more skill and experience than someone like me? What I'm trying to say is that do you think a Porsche 944/924 will make a good first car? Plain and simple.

I'm really sorry for all of the questions and if I repeated something that you already answered please tell me. I didn't get to read your posts a second time because I have to leave soon so I may have missed some stuff.

Thank you.

[timstar92404]

like everyone said both 924/ 944 na aren't fast compared to modern cars.

I think thats why the 924/ 944 cars are pretty cheap to buy (for a porsche), you can get a 88 /89 944 for 6 grand.

I think its because they don't have powerful engines. If you're not racing I think the later 944 is quick enough but lots of riced up hondas and acuras are faster.


If I had the money I would buy a 944 S2 , which has the same engine (pretty sure ) as the 968, think around 200 hp and its not turbocharged.


I have a 924 n/a its slow even new vans can out accelerate me but its still a nice old car and fun to drive. Also pretty cheap to maintain if it is in good condition for an old car.
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78 924 sold.
85.5 944

[timstar92404]

I don't think a 924/ 944 needs more maintenance than any other car but they are old most 20 years or older so obviously parts don't last forever.

if you get a car in really nice condition thats inspected and you keep up on the maintenance then it will be like any other car.

but if you buy one thats beat up and then it could cost much more than what you paid for the car just to get it in good condition to drive.
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78 924 sold.
85.5 944

[Khal]

G'day, welcome to easily one of the best forums on the 'Net...

[Viking]

I haven't had any problems with my 924 that I couldn't have had with another car. I spent at least as much money on rebuilding her as buying her in the first year. (9 months in the garage to get rid of the parts that were about to fail, and fix an engine that had a compression loss.)

So far this year, I've had to replace an alternator that died and two lightbulbs, I've done an oilchange and fixed an oilleak (nothing a little brute force didn't solve). And I've driven about 20 000 kms. (8 200 of it on a roadtrip from Norway to the Black Sea in Bulgaria.) I use her daily and she's dependable.

But expect to replace a lot of things that break in succession, unless you pick the car apart and replace the parts that are about to fail.

Listen to the car when you buy it, and be sure to try several and the different types, so you can learn what is different between them, and how they should handle and sound. Mine has never broken down without giving me some sort of clue that something is wrong well in advance. Some whine from the transmission is normal, other sounds should be investigate, unless it's the "roar" of the engine with increasing RPM.

And do check the price for insurance on the more powerful ones before you testdrive them, so you know if you can afford to buy it or not .... the 944 turbos are hard to "have" to walk away from......

[Khal]

I should add that I'm not completely mechanically incompetent and I feel I could fix/replace most things on my car myself.

The problem is that I don't have a workshop to do it in!

And I don't really need a car. So when a problem crops up, unless it's something stupidly simple, I just send her to the mechanic... which costs money.

My point is, although the 924 is relatively simple mechanically, that does not mean it's easy to work on. You still need the proper tools and facilities to do mechanical work.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking 'cause it's 20+ years old that you can fix anything with shifting wrench and a pair of pliers... you can't!

They're low -awkward to get under -and small -not a lot of working space. And you usually have to pull ten things out to get at the one thing you wanna work on

And you don't wanna get stuck in that trap when you need the car tomorrow to get to work or you're gonna get fired, etc...

Which is why I said I don't think they're an ideal first car.
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'80 924 Turbo

[Neil924]

Welcome, if you want to learn, then get a 924, you can learn and drive it for a year and if you feel good about what you have learned and want more power goto a 924S/ 924 Turbo {931} or a 944/ I wouldn't goto a 944 turbo {951} because that's a big ste up in the cost department.

I wasn't a mechanic at all when I bought my car now I feel that I can take off the head, adjust a few things and feel safe putting it back together.

As for being poen minded, these guys are the world MOST open minded people when it comes to Porsches. They have heard every question and problem and a lot of them have had 924's for a long time and also a lot of them have had different models of Porsche's, so they can compare things and get them right.

If I buy another older Porsche, I would get a 944 due to the power and "newerness" of them.

[macBdog]

In my experience you don't choose a porsche, it chooses you. Thats what happened in my case.. id seen pictures of 924s and worked out that a 924 would be good for me. Then when I saw my car in the flesh it was

love at first sight.
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1979 931 with a 350 chev
1973 911E with EFI

[944s2guy]

Unless your talking about a 931 (924 Turbo or 87-88 924S) the 924 and 944 are like comparing apples to oranges - the only thing they share in common are the basic body shell.

The basic 2.5 liter 944 has more power at 150hp, more than even a 924 Turbo at 148hp +turbo lag (and remember Turbos need replaced or rebuilt at some point). If you want power and money is no major concern buy 944 Turbo, 944S2, or 968. A stock S2 puts out 208hp (mine is chipped for 230hp), at 230hp it will outrun a standard Boxster (non S) with no problems, and will certainly keep up with most modern cars, and will outhandle almost any car on the road. Same goes for the 968 (236hp) and 944 Turbo. A 95hp non-turbo 924 can't match these cars, not even handling wise. This is not a slam - so please no slams back.

The 944 belt and rollers being replaced every 30K is not really that big of deal and most shops (not the dealer) will do it very resonable these days. The key to the 944 is routine scheduled matienece and NEVER ignore them or you'll pay big bucks to fix the problem. But these days you can pick up used engines and parts pretty cheap for the 944. I seem to be able to find more 944 parts than 924 stuff anyway? And more places stock 944 parts. You can also run bigger & modern rims on a 944, which you can't on 4-lug 924.

But the 924 has some good points too. Cheap! you can buy good running cars very cheap. Lower upkeep costs, etc. I love the 924 too! But it seems the 924 has some known wiring issues that don't seem to be problem in the 944, along with fuel dist. problems, etc. So it's hard to say if 924 would be cheaper in the long run???

A basic 944 or 924S might be your best bet, good power, better suspension and brakes, more rim choices, more available parts. Nice 924S and early 944's can be found in good shape at a fair price - yep, the car will find you anyway, you'll know....

Just my 2 cents.

Some one asked if the S2 and 968 shared the same engine. Answer is no. They are both 3.0 liter 16-valve engines based on the same design but the 968 has a vario cam system and puts out 28 more hp in stock form. The 968 also has a 6-speed tranny whereas the S2 has a 5-speed. Other than the engine, tranny and body they are 100% the same. The 91 S2 like mine did come with the newer 968 style rear wing.

80 924 Turbo S (being restored)
83 944 (sold)
84 944 (sitting)
91 944S2

[Chrenan]

A few words of wisdom:

"There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche."

I paid $1200 Canadian for my not-too-bad condition 1980, I have thrown a lot more money at it in parts over the last few years. But, for me, and for many members on the board the 924 is a hobby. Part of the fun of the hobby is not just the driving, but the tinkering, fixing and replacing of parts.

Would I want it as a daily driver? No. I have a nice reliable new car for a daily driver and that suits me fine. If I couldn't afford a new car, I'd get an older piece of Detroit iron so I could get parts (or repairs) anywhere when it breaks down.

As a hobby car, the 924 is great, fairly easy to work on and it fits nicely in a small garage. It is fun to drive, it is not fast, but very agile with great feedback through your butt and hands that you no longer get on new cars.
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1987 951 - M193 Version for Japan

[Benino]

If you are going by price and want a car to learn on, I'd say 924. There is a local independent VW parts store near me and I can get 95% of what I need from them. They wouldn't be able to get most 944 parts. I don't find that parts for the 924 are that hard to find. My N/A was my first car and I had never worked on cars before. I've learned a lot since I got it. This car doesn't need any more maintenance than say a VW rabbit. I find it to be very reliable. It is an old car, so of course you will have to replace parts as they wear out. I like 944s and intend to get one someday, but there is more maintenance needed there, and parts are more expensive for the porsche 2.5L. I'm not sure if it was mentioned ealier but the 924 2.0L is a VW/Audi engine. Just make sure it has a good transmission and clutch, and I think you'll be fine. You can get CIS injection parts from a local junkyeard from a lot of 80s european cars.
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1980 Porsche 924 N/A USA
1980 Porsche 924 turbo USA
1987 Porsche 944S USA

[SoCalLove]

Thank you SO much guys! You have been a huge help. All of you brought up really good points and I'm definately going to be thinking about this decision more.

I let you know if I end up getting it. Thank you!