Four cylinder transaxle cars
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By BeerBurner
#168189
I hit 200k miles in the 944 today and she's still running strong! Pictures are of how she sits right now, dirt and all.
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We only have one sub-200k mile car left in our fleet of four cars... :)
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N_Jay, Scott at Team Harco, amdavid and 2 others liked this
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By fpena944
#168285
BeerBurner wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 4:51 pm I hit 200k miles in the 944 today and she's still running strong! Pictures are of how she sits right now, dirt and all.

200k944_2.jpg
200k944_3.jpg
200k944_4.jpg
200k944_1.jpg

We only have one sub-200k mile car left in our fleet of four cars... :)
Any major repairs along the way?

Our Cayenne should hit 200k probably a year from now. My 911 would have hit it by now but since it's not being used as often it'll take a while to get there.

Goes to show these are usable and reliable vehicles when treated properly!
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By BeerBurner
#168290
Indeed they are! My mechanic (whom I rarely see and periodically drop in on just to let him know I'm still alive) says that the reason mine is so reliable is because I drive it versus letting it sit for weeks at a time.

There have been a couple major issues over the last 22 years and ~117k miles.

As for repairs, right after buying the car, I had to replace the struts, control arms, and the clutch broke (the clutch disk itself was fine but Porsche, in their infinite wisdom, thought building a clutch around a rubber puck instead of the normal spring center was a good idea). I didn't have that much DIY experience so that was an expensive fix.

A few years later, the head gasket went at about 100k miles. Also painful, but I got it replaced with what was supposed to be a better one.

After that, I became much more adept at working on the car. The timing/balance shaft belts are still more temperamental than they should be (replace every 4-5 years with an initial retensioning at ~2k miles and every 15k miles after that) but I've done the job over a dozen times (on my car and others' cars) so it's about 4-5 hours for new belts and 60-90 minutes for a retension. Learning how to do the belts is, IMHO, the single biggest thing to make 944 ownership cheap. :)

In 2012, I had the AC redone because I didn't have the tools to tackle that job and the expansion valve (which is what was bad) was very hard to get to. I think that was about $1.2k and the AC has been great ever since.

In 2019, I refreshed the major suspension components. My shocks/struts were worn, as were the tie rods. The OEM Boge shocks/struts were out of production so it was significantly cheaper to buy adjustable Koni Yellows all around. I modified the old strut housings for the Konis, replaced the tie rods, replaced the castor blocks (I scored a NOS set years ago for $5!) and rebuilt the ball joints (turns out they didn't need it but I was already in there) and the whole thing, including alignment afterwards, was about $1,200 or so.

Everything else has been basic stuff with the afore-mentioned need for finicky timing/balance shaft belt maintenance which, thankfully, is now cheap and easy to do (less so if you have to pay someone).

Now that I'm able to do most of the needed work, the car costs me an average of about $200/year in parts but every 3-4 years I have a more expensive year.

BB.
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By Wade B
#168541
Congrats! She's still looking good! Keep up the good work. (And I love the 931 header panel :thumbup: )

My odometer has quit working twice (of course) and I haven't repaired it since it quit at around 285k, I estimate well over 300k on mine. And I agree with your mechanic, driving them, along with maintaining them, is the key to longevity.
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By fpena944
#168555
Aww you guys are making me miss my S2. This one had I think 140k before I traded it in back in 2008 for the 996 I still have:

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By Wade B
#168978
fpena944 wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 8:16 pm Aww you guys are making me miss my S2. This one had I think 140k before I traded it in back in 2008 for the 996 I still have:

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Yeah, I know what you mean Fernando, these cars can grow on you.
I got my '86 944 in '94. Then also got an '86 928S in '99. The 928 had always been my dream car, and I really loved mine. Drove it lots more than the 944. But I only had it a year until an accident totaled it. When I got back in the 944, it felt like a favorite old pair of jeans. Much more light and nimble, lighter feel of the controls. Didn't really realize how much I'd missed it 'til then. Shortly after the 928 incident I ran across a great deal on an '89 951. It intensified my love affair with 944's. I still love 928's, but will likely stick to my 944's.
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By sh944
#184035
My first 944 (an '84) was by far and away my favorite. I currently have my 987 Spyder and an '82 928 but I still get a hankerin for a 944 variant as those cars are very understated when they are properly sorted. Most likely, I'd look for a 968 coupe if I do it again, but we will see. I am spending more time with my Harleys these days but I still get nostalgic.
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By amdavid
#184049
sh944 wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 11:37 am My first 944 (an '84) was by far and away my favorite. I currently have my 987 Spyder and an '82 928 but I still get a hankerin for a 944 variant as those cars are very understated when they are properly sorted. Most likely, I'd look for a 968 coupe if I do it again, but we will see. I am spending more time with my Harleys these days but I still get nostalgic.
I'm guessing the sh in your username stands for ShouldHave944? :burnout:
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By sh944
#184068
amdavid wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 12:57 pm
sh944 wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 11:37 am My first 944 (an '84) was by far and away my favorite. I currently have my 987 Spyder and an '82 928 but I still get a hankerin for a 944 variant as those cars are very understated when they are properly sorted. Most likely, I'd look for a 968 coupe if I do it again, but we will see. I am spending more time with my Harleys these days but I still get nostalgic.
I'm guessing the sh in your username stands for ShouldHave944? :burnout:

Close... "ShouldaHeldontomy 944"...
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