Front engined Porsches have always played second fiddle to the legendary 911. When I say front engined Porsche, I am focusing on the 924, 944 and 928 models, not the more recent Volkswagen Touareg-in-drag or the Panamera, which, as Jeremy Clarkson so eloquently stated, “looks like an Austin Maxi.” The 968, or the later iteration of the 944 is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the 944. Here’s a low mileage, honest, one owner example for sale at a very reasonable price outside of Philadelphia.
1983 Porsche 944 on Craigslist Philadelphia
The seller states:
Selling my antique porshe 944.car in very good shape,has all original.Its a 4 cyl 2,5L engine,5 speed transmission, 40000 original miles.Was driving only in sunny days and always garage kept it.New tires,brakes and fresh oil change.Only one original owner,never had accident or any paint job-all original.I asking $7000 or best offer.
With the owner willing to negotiate on price, this Porsche represents quite the value in its present condition and is a great way to test the waters into Porsche ownership without losing your shirt. Cars like these make me rethink my purchase decision on the Cooper S and if I had the extra cash and space, a 944 like this would help scratch my long time itch of wanting to own a Porsche.
-Paul
Careful. This car doesn’t benefit from the much-improved dashboard introduced for MY 1985.5, and although it looks nice with low miles, the price is at the top of the market for early 944s (even the notoriously optimistic “Excellence” magazine lists $6500 as top money for an ’83). It seems unlikely that this “antique porshe” has had its timing belts changed either (should be done every 3 years/30K miles) and this is an important service item. Although the entry price is cheap(ish), it’s a Porsche with Porsche parts prices and servicing requirements…
Dallas raises several very good points.
The later 944’s had MUCH nicer interiors, and the odometers had the 6th digit – so you could a little more confident that it hadn’t rolled over already.
However, that may be less of a concern on this example – which appears to be in very good condition and has a claimed single owner history. (Regardless, I’d request the CarFax and documented maintenance history.)
Even later non-turbo 944’s (with reasonable mileage) are in the $8K range. For example, here’s an ’87 with the same mileage (in excellent colors) for $8500:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/541689-fs-1987-944-a.html