There is an 86 944 Turbo that looks like a clean car. It has 165k mi. Is that about the end of engine life? I would like to get 30-40k mi out of the car at least.

My last RX7 turbo crapped out around 107k mi. So, I'm not a big fan of turbo any more but I do love the 944 Turbo's looks and this is selling for $5k only.

 

Also, what are common issues with 944 turbo?

 

My car has 178000 miles on it, The headgasket has been changed, it was giving a bunch of oil leaks at first so i changed all the gaskets (cam housing, oil pan, cam cover, etc) Alot of rubber hoses went bad for coolant, also because of the fact that its a 18 yr. old car you got to expect stuff like that even with lower mileage. Its getting harder and harder to find 944 turbos these days at least in so cal. I settled for one with high mileage because if your looking to rebuild the engine it doesnt really mattter. For $5k i would say it would be worth buying it and if the car has been maintained well it will last you another 30k.

 

Thanks for the reply. I went to look at the car and it was not in the condition I wanted. The engine felt a little weak and it was definitely not as fast as my old RX7 TT nor did it corner as flat. I think I'm going to continue to look for something more reliable and newer.

 

Check Rennlist forums for good 944 turbos for sale. Usually you can get a monster for about $10k

 

You need to make sure that all of these parts were replaced recently:
Timing belt/Rollers
Water pump
Clutch
Head gasket
A-arms (new ones or rebuilt)
Also know that 86's had a different offset than any other Porsche (besides 911's 78-86 and earlier 944's) So wheel options are going to be few and far between (I would personally have some color matched fuchs on mine).
Check out its options, one with Limited Slip would be nice. These cars can easily hit 300hp and can be very fast if put together properly. Good luck, let us know if you buy it.

 

Check out this steal on rennlist:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...8&page=1&pp=15

330-350rwhp car for $9500

 

For an 86 thats alittle high but not far off the average for this year

 

Also, the rod bearings should probably be changed by about 150k miles

 

wow, can't believe this thread is alive again.

 

Seems like alot to me. I'd rather spend a bit more and get a car with lower miles and some history...

 

It depends more on the maintenance history than the mileage. A well-maintained high-mileage car is better than a low mileage one that needs a ton of stuff right away.

 

I agree, miles should be a secondary consideration. I've owned a 200+k mile car with excellent compression and leak down also. They're tough if maintained well, but the delta between a really nice example and a parts pile is so small, why bother with a bad example?

 

944 turbo if maintained well will clock in excess of 350K miles. I had 220K miles on mine and it was running like a dream. Oil consumption was within 1.5 litres as per user manual. All I’ve changed was a head gasket. Oh, and it was chipped.

 

Exactly!

cars this old you dont need the mileage..what you need is maintenance history....unless your a collector..cheers!