Back in the 1980s I never thought that a Porsche, any Porsche, especially a brand new design that would surely have to be the hottest car that they’ve ever made, would be affordable. Or, affordable to buy, I should say, I don’t know if they’re ever really affordable to own and maintain. This 1986 Porsche 944 seems affordable at $3,800 – just $600 over Hagerty’s #4 fair value. This example can be found here on craigslist, or here on the CL archive, in Loveland, Colorado. They’ll also trade it for an older Chevy truck..
For a guy who was driving a dented-up 1974 Dodge Tradesman van with a sloppy three-on-the-tree in the early-1980s, these new front-engine Porsches were as exotic as it got. The 911s, 912s, and 914s seemed so ancient next to a 928 or a 944. Isn’t it funny how those things come full circle? Now you can’t touch even the formerly-lowly 914 for 2-3-4-5-6-7 times this amount, or more, depending on its condition and configuration. But, a Porsche with an engine in the front?! Now their biggest seller is a front-engine, 4WD SUV.. Ha, I love it, the purists of yore have to be pulling their hair out. As is usually the case, companies have to get money where they can and today people want SUVs, as evidenced by Maserati, Bentley, Jaguar, etc. jumping into the fray.
The 928 is the one that I really wanted with that Pacer/fishbowl-like rear window and V8. A V8 in the front end of a Porsche?! The Gods must be crazy! Those are the “new” Porsche models from the 80s that are really starting to take off. A car like this 944 is still quite affordable to pick up and tinker with, and just drive on weekends or for errands. Porsche made the 944 from 1982 to 1991 in non-turbo and turbo configurations.
The seller says that the “odometer reads 106,000 miles but Im guessing thats not original miles as the odometer quit working a long time ago.” Yes, be prepared to “tinker” with this car. And, you can see that the seats and dash are covered, in my world that means that they’re in rough shape. Sometimes they’re covered to protect them, but that seems to be the exception to the rule. There is no mention of the interior at all other than the speedometer isn’t working so expect the worst. That’s always a safe bet when buying cars online.
This car “Runs great. 5 speed. It has the larger 4 cyl engine..Non Turbo model.” This car should have a 2.5L inline-four with just under 150 hp, or about 70-100 hp less than a turbo model would have. You can see some scratches on the paint in this photo and overall the paint looks pretty tired. With Hagerty’s #3 good value of $6,400, I don’t know how much real work that a person can have done on this car and stay under that amount. Is an inexpensive Porsche ever cheap to own? Or would you just keep your Chevy truck instead?
I would take the Chevy truck too
But that’s just me
I knew a guy that had one of these new, and he loved it. I just never got the excitement
Yep there is possibilities with this. Price wouldn’t make buyers remorse so bad if it turned out to be a heap.
I really like old Chevy trucks!
The 944 was worlds away an improvement over the 924, & in their day, could be had for about the price of a nicely equipped Camaro. I’ve driven both, & for my money, I’d go with the 944.
I’ve driven a number of different Porsches (including a couple of these), and wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them. I’m not sure to this day if I felt that the cars weren’t that good, or if I’d set my expectations too high.
Agree with Rabbit, the 944 is a good driver, and better than most other affordable enthusiast cars from the ’80s. Their balance on the road is very good, in large part because of the good weight distribution from the front engine / rear transaxle. The weight at each end also tends to make them ride well and not pitch too much, which can be a problem with some cars with a short wheelbase. I have come close to buying one but never got there. Maybe one day….
the cheapest porsche will be the most expensive car you ever own.
Never liked the 944. Sure its cheaper than the 911 or the 356. But back in the 1980’s I never cared for this model of Porsche.
I’d stick with a Chevy truck too, particularly an early 70’s Carryall (now called Suburban). I grew up with a 71 Carryall, that took us kids on many camping trips to different lakes here in Northern California. Great memories! As for the Porsche, I’d pass. To get her up to speed would go beyond what she’s worth. I had a great friend in high school who’s Dad had a 928. It was dark gold with a disco plaid interior (that’s how she referred to it). That was her car, and she hated it and embarrassed by it, for some reason. So I was always HAPPY to drive! Really fun and well balanced car. I’d pass on this 944.
I have a White ’85 944 with 70K original miles with a blown head gasket waiting for me to get to it. It’s a 5 speed, very nice black interior, 4 new tires and an absolutely perfect rust free body !!! I have a friend who has had two of these and he told me that they are a blast to drive. I’m looking forward to getting it back on the road.
How about a SBC in the Porsche? Bam! Problem solved. (Drops microphone, walks out of building)
The 924’s came with an Audi engine and VW transmission. The 944 was all Porsche to prove the point that Porsche builds quality sports cars and to fix the bad reputation the 924 produced. The engine is one half of the 928 5.0 liter. I’ve owned 944’s and 911’s and the 944’s can out handle the 911’s all day long. The 944 was voted the best handling car in the world from 1983-1986. Yes it smoked the other Porsches as well as every other exotic made. The seating position and ride height are lower than a 911 which makes the 944 more fun to drive.
If I remember correctly – the 924 had the Audi engine, the 944 had the 2.5 Porsche engine.
The 944 S2 had the “bigger” 3.0 engine.
I had both 944s for company cars.
I kept thinking half my senses were muffled in those cars, as they never generated any real exciting feedback.
What company gives 944’s for company cars? Except Porsche?
If I remember correctly – the 924 had the Audi engine, the 944 had the 2.5 Porsche engine.
The 944 S2 had the “bigger” 3.0 Porsche engine.
I had both 944s for company cars.
I kept thinking half my senses were muffled in those cars, as they never generated any real exciting feedback.
I had one! A money pit!
Girl’s kitty are few and far between driving a broken down clunker of a truck….
The 924. It may be small but it’s a 🍯 of a ride…all the girls would want a 🛸
My 1988 Supra Turbo would run circles around it!
So true !