Porsche 944 - The cheapest car on the road!

Advantages: Great handling and reasonable running costs
Disadvantages: Can attract unwanted attention

...The extravagant claim in the title is based on the fact that these cars no longer depreciate noticeably, and can be driven on classic insurance. They are also very long lived and generally reliable, and don't do too badly on fuel. Essentially you can run an old Porsche for a fraction of the cost of a new Mondeo! The text below describes the features, weaknesses, and benefits of the 944 model variations. First a bit of history. The Porsche 944 was introduced in 1983 based largely on the earlier 924 model. However the 944 included many changes and upgrades compared to the earlier model, the most obvious visual clue being the flared wheel arches to cover the wider track of the new model, the air dam and the rear spolier. Perhaps the biggest change however was in the engine department. The 924 used a VW derived 2 litre engine, but...

peteshone 10.05.2005 (23.02.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Porsche 944 Coupe

Porsche 944 Review

Advantages: Fun to drive-decent gas mileage
Disadvantages: expensive to maintain

...I have had two 944s over the past few years. This little review is to forewarn any prospective 944 buyers as to what they might be getting into. I loved these cars. They are fun to drive and somewhat entertaining to work on. If you don't know anything about auto repair or don't want to learn you better have a very good paying job or a sugar daddy. These cars are not cheap to maintain. If you plan on letting a Porsche Shop take care of your maintenance you better just buy a new car. Labor rates on these cars are extremely high and Porsche OEM parts are out of sight. If you are thinking of buying a 944 you definitely want some documented maintenance history on the car. These models have rubber timing belts and have Zero valve clearance. This means if you break a timing belt the pistons crash into the valves virtually destroying...

thill944 26.08.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 944 Coupe

After 25 years, they've gone soft on the 911

Advantages: Perfomance, handling, looks, value
Disadvantages: None so far

...After a couple of month's ownership of my new 911 Coupe, it's time to put pen to paper. I've owned Porsches for nearly twenty years, 924, 944, 944S, 911 Carrera 2 (964) 911 Carrera 2 (993) and this one, 911 Carrera 2 (996). Because Porsche were smart and reduced prices (twice) over the last eighteen months, my new car cost no more than my last one did in 1995, and the spec is much better. The downside was that it was 6 months from order to delivery through the main dealer in Guildford. Historically, the 911 has had the air cooled six cylinder 'boxer' engine, which sounds like nothing else on the road. Due to new EC noise emission laws, Porsche could not develop the engine to comply, so the new car has a water cooled version of the same boxer layout. Somehow, it has lost the 'edge' in terms of throttle response, and certainly...

pwebb 16.03.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 911 Carrera 3.6 Coupe

Supercar at home in town or country

Advantages: Looks, performance, build quality...
Disadvantages: Not a friend to the green lobby

...the passenger door, which is quite cute. You can fit a couple of saddles or a bale of shavings on the back seats which is pretty good for a supercar. Mind you, to be fair, we used to get a bale of hay in the boot of the TVR... The Porsche boot is perfectly adequate but your golf clubs will need to go on the back seat. I cannot say that the 911 Turbo is cheap to buy or run but it provides pretty good value for money in its class. Servicing and repair costs are not on the Ferrari scale and over the lifetime of the car, the Porsche probably works out cheaper than a TVR as you do not spend so much time in the garage. I'm afraid that I've never got into the "what type of wheels has it got" thing, bit I am informed that they are very nice too... The Porsche gives you a feeling of safety both as a driver and as a passenger. Build, wheels and brakes...

catshark88 15.05.2007 (10.07.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe

Thinking man's 911.

Advantages: Looks, practicality, modern feel, classic insurance, brilliant track car.
Disadvantages: Previous owners will have been poseurs so mechanics often neglected.

.... You can of course keep costs down by using indepent specialists, and in fact Porsche prices are from my experience good value, but they are just not simple cars to maintain. Remember what a previous owner hasn't spent, is money that you will have to once the V5 is signed over to you. I fell for this myself and this is partly why I am writing this review. My own car has cost me £2000 to get it to where it today for the simple reason that the previous owners have been more interested in looking good in it than ensuring it is mechanically roadworthy. As a result, although it had been regularly serviced, some major mechanical assemblies that should have been replaced sooner have been ignored. Most notably, the previous owner drove it for 18 months without a functioning handbrake. And I made the (incorrect) assumption that this would be...

cherry_chariot 31.07.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 944 Coupe

911 Heaven

Advantages: True Drivers Car
Disadvantages: Doesn't suffer fools

...Over the years I have owned two 911's, so I thought that you might like to know a bit more about these road rockets and what they are like to own. Both of mine were supplied by my local Porsche dealer, it is very important with these cars that you buy them from a reputable source - particularly older models - there are a lot of horror stories out there and it is easy to be bitten if you are not careful. There have been many variants of the 911 over the years so it is vital that you read up on them (there are loads of books available) and that you know what you want and match it to your budget before you start. Finally, service history is crucial with Porsches. Don't touch one that doesn't have FPSH in the description. Aside from anything else, you will find it difficult to sell-on later. All versions of the 911 have a factory...

tagheur 06.11.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Porsche 911 Carrera 3.6 Cabriolet

The Turbo Rides again

Advantages: Great car
Disadvantages: Price

...a real race car. In fact, Porsche were one of the first to experiment with Turbo powered engines. They evolved and did their research with the MaClaren Formula 1 team in the early and mid 80's. Winning many races and a few championships before being outlawed in the sport. They made the successful transition to the road and soon appeared in cheaper marques such as Ford and Audi. In fact Renault were one of the main pioneers. Still Porsche were the only ones to have true success at a higher level. As far as racing goes , the 911 Turbo is ideal for certain racing on closed circuits and is has many of its own championships and race meetings around the world. Internally, the Porsche is essentially a 2 seater. There is a back seat but its not even worth trying to sit on. Its more of a parcel shelf. The interiors are...

andycharger 06.06.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 911 Carrera 3.6 Coupe

Porsche 944- the unsung hero of sports cars

Advantages: Fast, practical, bags of character, immense fun to drive, looks gorgeous, superb build quality
Disadvantages: Weird boot

...I've always fancied the 944, it's got the looks (butcher than the 924, but without the gimpy headlights and ridiculous bottom of the 911), the performance, the fact that it'll go round corners fast without killing you thanks to perfect 50/50 weight distribution, front engine and rear wheel drive. So, upon finding one for sale for a mere £2800 only 10 miles away, it was with baited breath I went to meet my hero, in the form of a white 1989 2.7 Lux.. ...and happy to say, have found it to be not only a car brimming with character, fast, gutsy and bags of fun to drive, but actually remarkably practical and reliable. Enough boot space to cart the weekly Tesco's run back in, and on the reliability front it seems to compare very favourably with my friends far younger and "more sensible" purchases. So far cost me about £200 over two...

electricjames1977 27.05.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 944 Coupe

Not bad for an old girl

Advantages: STILL Drop dead gorgeous after 20 years, fun to drive, cheapish to run
Disadvantages: Parts & servicing CAN be a tad expensive

...The words budget and Porsche, are rarely found in the same sentence, particularly when discussing 911s. Yet in the case of one Porsche it is actually true. Because for the price of a tatty example of perhaps the most undesirable of 911s, such as the 150bhp mid '70s 911Lux, you could be in the driving seat of a superbly balanced and more powerful Porsche 944. With prices ranging from £1500 for early cars and topping out at around £8-9,000 for late low mileage and mint Turbo examples, the 944 was available in many different guises and is affordable on almost any budget. At the very bottom of the budget we have the 1982-1988 2.5 litre 944Lux which is not only the cheapest 944 to purchase, but also the cheapest to run. Examples are available for not much more than a couple of thousand pounds or so, but unless you are building a track...

Slideways 07.11.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Porsche 944 Coupe

911 AGAIN!

Advantages: Lots of cool songs
Disadvantages: probably cant buy it anymore its 7 years old !!!!

...Another review for me on 911 - as you might already know from remember this band or reading my previous review 911 were a boyband in the 90s and made up of 3 members Lee, Spike and Jimmy with Lee being the main singer. Moving on was their 2nd album and in my opinion was their best album from thier 4 that they made before splitting. This song contains 12 songs, in which only 2 were not written by 911 and co written with John McLaughlin (who is now famous for writing so many great songs for many great bands and artist including Westlife and anyone remember 5ive). Those 2 songs that were not written by 911 were Dont Walk Away which was written solo by John McLaughlin and How do you want me to love you, which was a cover version. The other 12 songs are "All I want is you" which was released by 911 in 1998. This is quite a slow...

lorraine_lorraineuk 03.04.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Moving On - 911