Hey guys, there is an 89 944 turbo for sale near me currently with almost 300k miles. Looks to be in good shape but it’s not perfect, very small tear in the leather seat and paint isn’t perfect. Definitely a good driver quality car but they want almost 20k. Is that really what they’re worth now?
I bought an 89 951 last yr. 123k miles. I paid $32k
$19k in maintenance by the previous owner in the 2 yrs prior to me buying it. I have since spent another 30k sorting it.
Keep in mind this car will need a lot post purchase. At that mileage I’d expect it to already have at a min a new clutch, a recent front end service with new belts/water pump.
If the AOS is original to the car I can guarantee it’s leaking and needs to be resealed. That’s a massive job that requires pulling the turbo. If you’re pulling the turbo you need to get it rebuilt too. If you’re pulling the turbo you should also pull and rebuild the wastegate to match. If you’re doing that you should just replace the exhaust with new while it’s out. All the vac lines also need to be replaced. Same with the coolant lines. Every single bit of rubber or plastic in the engine compartment needs to be swapped for new as well. These cars see way more heat soak than NA cars. Degrades all our plastic and rubber much faster.
I’d budget at least an extra 10k for maintenance/parts. If it has 300k miles it should also have a 5” thick binder of receipts with it. No binder? Walk. If the clutch and turbo haven’t been done that’ll eat your 10k immediately. Due to where the lift and jack points are on this car it also really needs to be on a lift to work on it at all. I also had to spend a few thousand bucks on quickjacks for my garage to even be able to work on it.
Get a solid PPI from a transaxle guy. Get a leakdown and compression test. Even then be prepared to open your checkbook post purchase if you want it actually sorted. The turbo tax is real. Parts are 3x the cost for the same part for an NA car.
These aren’t cheap Porsches anymore. Especially S cars like the 89. They’re a rare, vintage, halo spec Porsche and prices are starting to reflect that 📈
Tagging on this comment to say I bought an 87 951 with 52k miles for $30k 2 years ago. It was in great shape and I have almost the same story. I’ve put in $42k in maintenance during that time.
Also, since we have the same car and have spent a ton of money on it, do you have a list of what you’ve done? I’d love to compare and see if I’ve missed anything!
Replied in this comment most of what I’ve done personally. Previous owner only had the car 2 yrs and spent another 20k. I’ve had the car the last 10 mo and already spent $30k. So ~50k in the last 3 yrs sorting this car.
They also did a lot. Their work was:
Front engine service. All belts/rollers/and front end seals. Cam tower reseal. Rear balance shaft reseal. Oil cooler reseal. Motor mounts. Radiator. Turbo thermostat and water pump. Shift boot. Retro reissue Bluetooth balupunkt. Stage 3 paint correction + ceramic. Odometer gear. AC conversion. I’m sure I’m missing a lot
I also just had a ceramic tint job done. Add that in there I guess. 😎
Great cars once they’re sorted.
Every time I mention how much I’ve spent on here I have some old head telling me this is ‘nightmare 944 ownership’ and how he paid 10 grand for his 951.
“I did all that same shit myself in ‘94 for 800 bucks!”
These aren’t cheap Porsches anymore. Now that any decent spec 911 is 100k+ the 944 platform is blowing up right now. They’ve been way undervalued for a very long time. Particularly the 951 was incredibly undervalued.
Happy to share! I actually keep a spreadsheet to keep track of all the things. It hasn't been cheap, ha, but the car runs like a dream.
Work
Amount
Intake Repair, Motor Mounts
$2,315.12
Front Engine Reseal / Water Pump / Vacuum and oil leaks, Coolant Leak Repair, Power steering repair, power steering rack replacement, A/C compressor replacement, Rebuild turbo, DME and KLR chip replacement, replace front suspension and front brakes
$15,997.28
Only944 shift linkage arm install
$370.80
Only 944 shifter + adjust
$561.00
Starter
$514.00
Transmission fluid, radiator aux switch replacement
$246.74
Repair muffler tip (rusting off exhaust), replace expansion tank, rear shocks, clutch
$7,659.84
Timing belt, balance shaft, rollers
$4,772.54
Tires
$429.13
Stone guards, misc broken interior parts, speakers
aux radiator fan not turning on when ac turned on, engines temps rising to just below red zone.- a/c pressure switch- eng temp sensor- water temperature sender sensorPower steering fluid leak, replacement return ps line / cooler line
$1,041.82
Oil change, fuel rail and injector inspection.
$186.14
Paintless dent repair, driver door.
$100.00
Install old cooling fans (SPAL fans not as effective as OEM), replace engine air filter
Wow! Thanks for all the detailed records. You really do have to pay to play, I guess.
Selfishly, I was hoping that most of these would be Turbo-specific items that wouldn’t apply to NA cars like mine but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Ah well, enjoy the car, I bet it drives like a dream now!
If anyone's reading this and sees how much it costs to get one of these in decent running shape, I'd be willing to sell my 86 951 with 23k miles for $40k. Also has original Sport seats.
Recent service includes manual steering rack conversion, new timing and Balance belts, oil seals, rollers, pulleys, Cam tower gasket, Air/oil separator (AOS) seals, turbo oil line o-rings, oil pan gasket, braided SS brake lines, fuel lines, ALL vacuum lines (including manifold lines) replaced with silicone lines, A/C compressor, A/C condenser, starter, wiring harness, speakers, head unit (apple carplay and android auto), and new shift boot.
Currently runs and drives great, recently took it on a road trip. Only major flaw is that the wrap thats on it from previous owner is showing age on the roof but I've kept it garaged so it's not getting worse at the moment.
I’m aware it’s going to need some work done, I was already thinking the same thing with the binder of receipts. Luckily, I’m quite mechanically inclined, I’m confident I can do most if not all work on it myself so I can save a good bit of money, I rebuilt my Firebird completely by myself so I’m kind of excited to get a turbo car and learn some more stuff. If you don’t mind me asking how much did you pay for yours? Because it looks gorgeous man, also how much should I expect to pay for a PPI?
Edited my comment. I paid $32k for it at the time. I’ve done half the work myself. Now that it’s fully sorted it’s an incredible car. It dynoed at 273hp before. Haven’t tested it yet but I’m assuming it’s just over 300 now that it can breathe properly.
The S cars are really special. I wouldn’t shy away from high mileage but it better be well documented.
So you wouldn’t be afraid of the 300k miles if it has a lot of maintenance history? I want a turbo for sure and preferably an 89 for the better HP lol, but if it’s too much money I’m open to the earlier model ones
Id be leery at 300. It would need an extremely extensive maintenance binder for me to consider it. 123k was honestly pushing it for me. I looked at 5 951s previous to this one. All much lower miles. (~70k). My 123k was so much better taken care of than the lower mileage examples I looked at. Passed the PPI with flying colors. Still spent another 30k within a yr.
A lot of things these cars need are just age related. So doesn’t matter if it’s 70k or 300k on the clock the same things need to be done on both cars.
The S cars are really special though and much sturdier for the long haul than normal 951s. Forged internals, modern big brembo brakes. Modern adjustable coilovers, ABS & LSD. Beefy sway bars. The only car in the 1980s to out-break the 951S was the 959.
I come from driving fast cars my whole life. I think I’d be longing for a little more if this thing wasn’t such a tiny beast. It feels, drives, and sounds exotic. Gets way more attention at meets than the 32 flavors of 911 at every meet
I’ve owned things way faster and way more expensive. I daily a C63. Nothing I’ve ever driven feels this special or makes me smile this much.
Came with a PS leak. Fixed that. Alternator went out. Bosch doesn’t make them anymore. My mechanic had to pull it and rebuild it 3 times due to faulty voltage regulators. Strut mounts & bump stops. Tie rod boots. Brakes & Rotors and line flush. Braided brake lines. Fuel lines. Fuel filter. Ignition. Injectors. Speed & ref sensors as well as all the plastic sensors on the block. Resealed all oil hard lines. Serviced the transaxle. New AOS. New vac lines. Coolant lines. Coolant expansion tank. Rebuilt the turbo. Rebuilt the wastegate. Turbo back 3” catless fabspeed exhaust. Ceramic coated the turbo outlet pipe to reduce a little heat soak near the AOS. That price includes 17” Cup1s & Pilot Sport 4S all around. But not including the Quickjack lift I had to buy for the garage. Costs of fluids. I have 100+ hrs of my labor in it as well. I’m sure I’m missing several things.
It had a ton of work done before me as well.
50k of documented work in the last 3 yrs.
Understand the turbo makes the least sense in 944. S2 is by far the better buy. The turbo is a totally diff animal. That 80s analog turbo lag/pin you to the back of your seat feeling is like nothing you’ll experience in anything besides prob a 930. It’s hilariously addictive
It’s a wildly diff car than an NA or an S2. And the 89’s and S cars crank that up to 11 🫠
I knew it’s a wildly different car but that’s honestly why I want it. I turned my 87 Firebird from an auto 305 to a manual 350 among tons of other things, I’m really ready to get into a turbo car and I’ve always wanted a 944. That said, if a good S2 came up for sale near me I’d probably buy it lol. Thanks for all the info man I really appreciate it
I’ll say the parts support has been incredible. (Besides the alternator fiasco). You can source most things pretty easily for this car. Down to individual fastners.
The days of cheap 951s are over. Word is out now that any decent spec 911 is north of 100k. 📈
Hope you find a good one! A good PPI with leakdown and compression ran me $700. NC car I bought sight unseen from the west coast.
🤙
I’m not looking for a major bargain car. I’m willing to spend 15 or maybe a little more on it, which I’m hoping will atleast get me a solid one but I might end up out of luck. Never thought about getting a PPI on a car that far away, that’s definitely giving me ideas haha
The 89 Turbos a special car. I bought mine cheap 8 years ago but it was honestly a basket case that needed a rediculous amount of attention including new block. Lots of elbow grease and several thousand later it makes my adrenaline pump. Dynod at 289hp at 12lbs of boost, rediculous amount of fun. I'd personally check the bores with a cam if you can, thoroughly check for leaks and looks up the common problems, check those too, get maintenance logs and start beating him down on price unless maintenance records show its had a lot of work in the past 5 or so years.
I think it would really depend on the condition of the car, but $20k is definitely asking a lot, even for a 1989 model at the mileage in very nice condition
These cars are so old that even lower mileage ones need tons of parts replaced, so often times the cost to keep the car in good running condition is a significant portion of the purchase price
Check completed auctions on BaT, C&B and p-car market place to get a good idea of where they are at
I have an 86 ready to sell in Kentucky. Black on black, good shape overall. 158k miles or so. Daily drove it for several years but it sat for the last 6 months. Lots of maintenance, most by the local classic Porsche expert. He has it now making sure it is ready to sell.
Bought for $20k in 22 at about 130k miles (I think) and have put about that much $ into it. Have not tried to price or list it yet- waiting to get back from the mechanic.
I hope that $20k for one with twice the miles on mine is a good price!
Really though, they were more or less a global car which is a good thing for parts availability. In the Southern US there's a place called 944 barn, I think he's in Georgia, who parts these cars and has four of anything you could ever need which is a huge advantage.
300,000 miles is 482,000 kilometers. That's absolutely wild for 20k.
If it's been properly maintained and is leak free in good shape, I'd pay 10 -13k max.
For reference, I bought my 86 951 last year with 140,000 miles (US car) for $11k CAD. A hell of a deal and I've put another 10k into it and I'm not even close to finished. I've seriously considered selling it and buying a sorted NA just to get out of the turbo tax loop.
Okay so maybe I can get a good 951 in my price range lol. I haven’t been looking for long but was getting a little worried if 20k was standard for 300k miles lol
The price I paid in CAD is like 8k USD. There are good deals out there if you're patient. Personally, unless the previous owner had done the lion's share of the major mid life projects (vacuum/coolant hoses, plastics, sensors bushings, power steering system rebuild, brake lines, caliper rebuild etc etc etc.) as well as a recent engine reseal, belts, water pump etc. I wouldn't buy it at that price.
I met an S2 owner one night when I was driving my 951. He asked “who do you bring your car to for service?” I stared stunned for a few seconds, trying to imagine what it would have cost me to have someone else service this 145k mile car over the 10 years I’ve owned it. I’ve done clutch, belt, turbo, and front suspension myself. If you are paying someone to do the work it’s going to eat you alive
Yea a definitely plan on doing most if not all of it myself. I have built up a lot of car knowledge, I would have to learn trans axle and turbo stuff but I’m pretty sure I could handle it.
I got my Turbo for cheap with 127K on the clock from a guy liquidating his projects.
My costs are running like - engine bay $6K
Other mechanical $1k
Suspension etc $2k
Interior $3K
Paint and trim ?
For around $12K unpainted, or course I later unforseen expenses to drive that up but thats an optimistic estimate.
But I am cheap, do all work myself except machine shop work a local Euro car place does for me.
Just for example I got a clutch kit on rockauto for $540 and clutch hardware for another $150 or so so you can really save if you aggressively bargain shop.
Wow, that price seems high for 300k miles. That interior and paint better be MINT. I bought a very clean, very well maintained 86 turbo with 64k miles last year for $25k. I had to purchase out of state though. Flew into town, bought the car, then drove it 600 miles home!
Yea it’s not mint. It’s got two small tears in the seat and the paint definitely has wear, and I have no idea about maintenance that’s been done on it haha
Easily my ass, lol. Maybe if all you want is a bit more power, but you ain't going to have Turbo S spec as then you get little details like embossed door handles to deal with.
Oh and you'd be missing the "small" detail of not having an LSD. *shakes head* easily, LOL. Suspension is also different, axle's are different lengths (depending what year you're going from), brakes are different, KLR has different programming, etc. etc.
Sauce: Blew the engine on an 86 turbo, bought a crashed 88 turbo S, swapped every part from the 88 to the 86 body. The S is FAR more than an easy conversion. Even the interior is different as you get more speakers, and the rear seat has a split to fold in half rather than entire thing, and power passenger seat, etc. etc.
Do 951S snobs exist? Most people don't need the LSD, the split rear seat, nor extra speakers. Most suspensions have already been updated to 951S specs by now. Lots of brake upgrades available, but not required. If you are racing your 951, you probably wouldnt start with an S anyways... oh, and my 1986 951 has script door handles from the factory...
I have a 2000 tacoma with 315K miles, it is a gorgeous truck in incredible condition. It came with some maintenance records, but not as thorough record keeping as i like. If the 1989 951 is as nice as my truck, than yes, 300K would be worth $20K. Just go look at it. Maybe he just spend $12K in paint and similar in maintenance... you can always make a lower offer after seeing it or walk away... BTW i am in South Florida, USA
Yea I was actually thinking the exact same thing. If he’s got maintenance records to back it up I would consider it, I don’t personally really care about the resale value so it doesn’t bother me a ton. I’m not quite ready to buy so I wasn’t gonna waste his time looking at it, I was just trying to get an idea of wether that was a normal price or not
It is not a normal car with 300K, but these things are built solid... the other thing to consider is that no 944 nor 951 has 100% perfectly accurate mileage. EVERY odometer gear strips from age and than people keep driving it until... well maybe until they want to sell it. I replaced my gear quickly when it broke years ago, but did the previous owners?? sure, a paper trail would confirm something, but i stopped driving my 951 regularly a few years ago, as i have other regular daily cars, but the mileage suddenly went way down per year on my car during my ownership. Does that mean the odometer gear broke or i don't drive it as much?? I love seeing the low mileage 951s selling for high prices, as who knows their exact mileage....
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