I love Porsche automobiles. However, being a cable-guy/secondary school teacher means that I’ll never have a sweet new one. I have frequently seen mid-1980s 944s for sale for well under $10k though, and I’d like to know about them. Any dopers ever driven one?
No, but drooling over a review of one second hand they seemed to be nice to drive but slightly underpowered, a few more bhp than a Honda Civic IIRC. I don’t think anyone would look down on you for having a 944 though, its not like a 924.
No, but I remember that Top Gear did a test of cheap old umpteen-hand sportscars some time ago and all three cars kept breaking down. Their advice was simply, “Don’t do it.”
I can’t speak for their mechanical integrity, but I have always liked the way they looked.
IIRC, the 944 had a 4-cylinder engine, which certainly would account for a certain feeling of being “underpowered”!
In high school, I preferred the looks of the 944 to its culturally ubiquitous siblings, but I’ve come to appreciate just about all the Porsche body types now. Except, of course, the 914. I’m not stupid. 
I owned a 1990 Porsche 944. Looked exactly like the one in the pic. My basic and pad answer to people asking about porsche, is you have to ***want ** * to own one. It had no more power than the modern 5 cylinder jetta’s but it was a porsche.
They are balls expensive to fix, and must be maintained to the highest level if you own a second hand one. Other than that, if you own one, you should want to own one…
I loved it. I ended up trading it in for a 3 series beemr.
I would get another one in a heart beat. Never a new one, I like the 2000 911 Carera…
I had a 1985. That flat four runs forever, and the car still had guts after breaking the 200K mile barrier.
Tons of other things broke down, though. Over the life of the car, which was bought new by my dad and later sold to me, the car went through five radiators. Yes, I said five.
In my experience, there were a lot of annoying little things that went wrong with the car over its lifespan. The dash got regular Armor All, but still managed to crack in a number of places. And I’m not talking about tiny cracks, either. They’d be more accurately described as fissures. My dad and I also had some electrical problems (I’d describe them here, but my mechanic fixed these problems, so I’m not entirely sure what was wrong.) The trunk release, power windows and some other switches in the car all broke at different points.
If it were me, I’d bring a mechanic with you when looking at any 944s. I’d ask specifically about cooling system problems and any electrical shorts, etc.
Heh, I remember that show too. If you’ve got two mates to buy a 924 and 928, it would make for a day out to talk about. An expensive day out, but one to talk about regardless.
The 944 had a torquey (for its day) 2.5 litre 4 cylinder engine. The 944 turbo was a big improvement and it’s accel and performance was a tick slower than an early 90’s Mustang Gt with a 5L V8…both of which can be taken down by modern V6’s and their 6 speed gearboxes and traction control.
I had a 924, which is similar. The 944 was more powerful, but I assume it was generally the same as far as handling. The 924 was fast (compared to my non-overdrive MGBs) and handled very well. Visibility out the front was excellent – quite a nice surprise after years of looking through the gun-slot windscreen of the Bs! Lots of room in the back to carry loads, especially with the seat folded down. If the 924 had been sold as a VW as originally planned, or an Audi, it would have been hailed as an excellent low-cost sports car. But being badged as a Porsche, it suffered by comparison. The 944 is basically a beefed-up (and better) 924, so it was painted with the same brush.
Having also had a 911, I have to say I’d get another 911 before I’d get a 944. It was a much more fun car to drive.
Flat four? Did yours get an engine transplant from a 914?
Yeah, I thought the 944 basically had half of the 928’s V8, which would be an inline four.
The 924 used the same (VW) engine as the Audi 100. I’ve assumed the 944 engine was a development of that.
The 2.5 was half of the 928’s 5.0, but I believe it was properly counter-balanced to offset the vibration that is inherent is large four cylinder engines. At 2.5 litres, it was large for a 4- cylinder engine, but surprisingly well tamed on the vibration side of things.
I don’t know what you’re all talking about but it’s making me…warm. 
Thanks, all. You make this place worth at least the $15 I pay!
I owned a 1986 944 Turbo for about 14 months from 2001-2002, during which time I spent about $5,000 getting various things fixed. Half-shaft broke, speedometer quit working, turbo cooler failed, etc., etc., etc. Now, admittedly I was using it harder than the average person, but although it was fun to drive, it just spent too much time in the shop. This despite the fact that my mechanic had given it a clear bill of health before I bought it.
Now, if I had had my own garage and the time and aptitude to do all my own work, it might have been a different matter. But since I didn’t, I got rid of the thing and bought a new Nissan 350Z, which has been far more reliable and quicker on the track, too.
The only down side is that everyone is far more impressed when you say you own a Porsche than when you say you own a Nissan, even if the former is a 16-year-old POS and the latter is a faster, better-handling, and better-looking car.