Porsche 944, 968

AG · 11 February 2004

Does anyone have any experience with Porsche 944, 968?

I am going to replace my daily beater 95 Civic Si with either a used 944 or 968 soon, I am getting really tired driving Civic daily, make me want to drive my NSX everyday.

How reliable are 944, 968?

My budget is around $5000 up to $15000 if I get 968.

Is there other used car in this price range that is as good for better? RX-7, NA Supra, 928?

andyray1983 · 11 February 2004

All this is only an opinion:

944/968/928 - Still a Porsche, and must be treated as such. Does not respond well to abuse. *Can* be reasonably reliable if maintained agressively, but light years away from the Civic SI you are replacing.

RX7 - If you're referring to the last gen (FD), it is no where near reliable. Beautiful cars that handle wonderfully, but they need constant care & feeding. (eventually I'm going to get myself one, I love them....)

Supra NA - for a daily driver I think this is the best bet in your list. Very reliable. Get a five speed and go to town.

You also might consider.... (some might be a little over your budget)
* Subaru WRX
* Acura CL
* Lexus SC300/400
* Acura RSX

Good luck!

jlindy · 11 February 2004

928's are not in the same category with the 944/968. The engine is basically twice the size of the 944. These water cooled engines with everything run by vaccuums tend to have many many problems over time. I had an 87 928 S4 that was always in the shop.

The 944 is supposed to be much more reliable. They are supposed to be fairly cheap to make fast too.

bangbang001 · 11 February 2004

I used to own a 1990 944 cab 5spd and a 1993 968 cab tiptronic. I loved the 968 and had no problems with it at all. I would get the 968 since it is rare. I also didn't have any problem with the 944.
Just make sure the belts have been changed.

94 X

Big_nate · 11 February 2004

I don't have any personal experience but I saw a piece on the 944/968 in the feb issue of Sports Car Market magazine. It was written by a guy who ran a Porsche only shop for 20+ years and he definitely came down on the side of VERY high maintenance required by highly skilled people. I'll see if I can find the article and quote you some specifics.

Nate

tucsonsx · 11 February 2004

Before purchasing a 944 be sure to learn all about the current production water pump requiring grinding the block for installation, the oil cooler that is very efficient at mixing the water and oil, and my personal favorite the rubber clutch ( in the interests of fairness many of these problems were corrected in the 968 but then again not too many people who owned a 944 had the stomach for any more by then). The plethora of Audi/VW parts is also special. The 928 at least was all Porsche and my personal favorite of all the Porsches. You can get a feel for what owning one is like by reading the NSX/355 post including the link www.nsxfiles.com/stories.html ( chap.50 ). The 928 is no place for beginners or tender wallets.

NSX-Stalker · 11 February 2004

I had a 928 for several years, a 87 S4. A really sweet car and a head turner. Very rare, like the NSX. But the cost of ownership is very high. Had a rear muffler bypass which made that V8 sound so sweet above 3500 rpm. I wouldn't do the 928 again, unless it was a very well maintained GT and I was making twice as much money. The 968 is a good car, but finding a good condition coupe can be tough.

Had a 944 for several years and never had any problems, but I did neglect the car as well. Traded it in for a 93 Rx7.

NSX-Stalker

PKim · 11 February 2004

I am going to replace my daily beater 95 Civic Si with either a used 944 or 968 soon, I am getting really tired driving Civic daily, make me want to drive my NSX everyday.

Your in So Cal, why are you not driving the NSX daily?

I have had a 928GT 5 speed, I'm sad I got rid of it. I had it for 3 years and when I got it it needed a new clutch, other than that all I did was change the oil. No problems with the car. V8 was awesome and now with kids, I could of put them in the back seat unlike my X.

Paul

chriswtx · 12 February 2004

the 944 and 968 are both very reliable. My friend put 180,000 miles on his 87' 944 and tracked at least once a month. The 968 is just a better 944(bigger engine). Both are good daily cars.

The Supra/na is also a great car, a litter cheaper on the parts and labor, and a better ride on the highway.

I dont think you can go wrong with any of these. Just pick the one you like the most.

RRT968 · 12 February 2004

I happen to have a 968. It's my daily driver and has been for five years. Up to six months ago I would say it was the most reliable car I have ever owned but then the block cracked but $7000 later it runs fine. I have the cab and it is nice to put the top down and drive. I will be selling it soon to buy either an nsx or an esprit. I would recomend the 968.
CT

steveny · 12 February 2004

P cars are not very reliable. I'll just leave it at that as everyone has pointed out most of the problem areas.

CokerRat · 12 February 2004

I know two good friends with 944s. One has an '85 944 which he has owned for 12 years now with no major problems. Another has an '87 944T hopped up on steroids which he has owned for 5 years now. No major problems AND he outruns stock Vipers from a rolling start. They don't sound like maintenance nightmares to me. Now '89 Jag XJ-S V-12's on the other hand...

MKIII Supras are nice cars too. I'd take the 944 if it was my decision.

AG · 12 February 2004

Thanks everyone for your feedback and helpful info, this really made my decision much easier

>Your in So Cal, why are you not driving the NSX daily?

yes, I am in So Cal, I definitely would love to drive NSX daily, unfortunately, I have to drive a lot of miles everyday and park at several different parking areas, one of the parking area is always very crowded with almost no space bewteen cars, definitely door ding guaratee, maybe even nice key job.

If I go with 968 or 944, I probably would still get door dings, but it is definitely much smaller target than NSX, so key job is less likely, even if it happens, it will not hurt me as much.

If everyone out there would respect other's property, then I will not mind enjoy driving NSX everyday.

nicholas421 · 12 February 2004

steveny said:
P cars are not very reliable.

i thought Porsche came in first in JDPowers reliability study

steveny · 12 February 2004

nicholas421 said:
i thought Porsche came in first in JDPowers reliability study

Must be they did not test any of the Porsches I owned.

NSX-Stalker · 12 February 2004

When I owned my 928 I used a local mechanic who only works on Porsches. We would talk about various models when I was in for my usual bi-monthly repair.

As with all cars their reliability is going to be partly related to design as well as past maintenance history. Part of the problem with the 928 (as well as all cars that are expensive for general maintenance) is that a lot of times the required maintenance has been neglected because it was so expensive. The 928 also varied in design over the years and reliability was not consistent. As some have testified they've had Porsches of all types that were reliable cars. My old mechanic would be the first to agree that a blanket statement that Porsches are not reliable just isn't true.

My 928 was actually not too bad. It had 105k on it however so a lot of the things I fixed I did so because I'm fastidious about my vehicles and wanted everything up to par. It only left me stranded on day during my ownership, on my wedding day.

944s and 968s are cheaper to maintain then 928s certainly. The motor for both is essentially the 928 V8 chopped in half. Also because of many models to choose from it's not that hard to find one that's been taken care of and will provide years of fun, problem free driving.

NSX-Stalker

Porsche 944, 968

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