What you think of this UnMerc 944 Turbo?

[Conor]

Asking for a friend.. obviously as its too rich for my blood.

Anyway, a friend of mine is looking at this 944 Turbo.

Only thing is the service history is missing and mileage is 61k ish.

The main thing is that there is only one MOT test entry from Novembrr 2021.

What would that be? An import or something that's sat untested since before online MOT results were published online.

Anyway, obviously it's a walk away situation.. just curious about the single MOT entry.

 

[00slk]

I quite like the 944 Turbo, my neighbour has been looking for one, a Series 2, most have been walkaway models. Still if the right one comes along I'm convinced I'll convince him to buy it
He is an ex TR2, Lotus Cortina, E-Type and many other unaffordable now cars man.

 

[Conor]

I quite like the 944 Turbo, my neighbour has been looking for one, a Series 2, most have been walkaway models. Still if the right one comes along I'm convinced I'll convince him to buy it
He is an ex TR2, Lotus Cortina, E-Type and many other unaffordable now cars man.

Cool stuff. Yea they are nice looking cars alright, very different really. I wonder how they drive.

 

[Blobcat]

Asking for a friend.. obviously as its too rich for my blood.

Anyway, a friend of mine is looking at this 944 Turbo.

Only thing is the service history is missing and mileage is 61k ish.

The main thing is that there is only one MOT test entry from Novembrr 2021.

What would that be? An import or something that's sat untested since before online MOT results were published online.

Anyway, obviously it's a walk away situation.. just curious about the single MOT entry.

Missing a link…

 

[LostKiwi]

Cool stuff. Yea they are nice looking cars alright, very different really. I wonder how they drive.

Friend of mine had one (and another had the S2). They handle superbly and are relatively quick by modern standards but I seem to recall the turbo version defined the term turbo lag (first defined by the Saab Turbos).. A bit "put you foot down and one thousand and one, one thousand and two and we're off". Could make them 'interesting' in the twisties....

 

[Frontstep]

The car is the star and that comes first second and third, you don't drive paperwork.

I have had cars where the paperwork was great, the car was awful.
I have also had it the other way.
You need to check any car thoroughly paperwork or not.

Then see what can be done about paperwork.

 

[DSK]

The 944 Turbo is epic no ifs or buts.

Without the full paperwork it’s not worth top dollar but due to the age, it should be self explanatory what level of maintenance has been done on it. With the rarity it’s certainly worth inspecting closely and potentially get a Porsche specialist to give it a once over if serious.


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[Chrishazle]

Sounds like your friend should register as a guest on the PCGB forum and ask questions there. The 944 turbo is a rare car, IIRC only about 150 made in RHD form. Also IIRC it's effectivly an S2 as I think they only made the turbo in S2 (3L) form, much better engine than the original 2.5l and later 2.7LS (both of which I had in the past before I bought my beloved 968 tip coupe then cab!!). There are plenty of Porsche specialists around London who could give the car a once over, also a Porsche main delaer given the VIN should be able to bring up any service history (at Porsche main dealers) from about 1995 onwards when they computerised their records.

Main problem area on 944's is sills. There's a vent duct in the B pillar bottom of the door area where you can get a borescope in to see, corrosion in sills is common and fixing it can be £2k per side. I've also seen an S2 with bad corrosion front and rear wings - don't think Porsche invested in corrosion protection until the 968 in 1992.

Could be a worthwhile investment in a rare and probably appreciating car - but be ware applying right foot especially if it's damp and tyres are not the best - I lost the rear of a 944 lux (2.5L non turbo) big style that way!!

 

[Conor]

Oh I forgot to add in the original post the reg is: H251NRF

I'm curious as to why there is only one test from November 2021.. any ideas? Would it be an import?

Is there a way to tell if it's an import from freely available info or do you need to buy a report?

 

[Conor]

Oh and thanks all for the input so far.

 

[00slk]

Oh I forgot to add in the original post the reg is: H251NRF

I'm curious as to why there is only one test from November 2021.. any ideas? Would it be an import?

Is there a way to tell if it's an import from freely available info or do you need to buy a report?

Maybe a Jap import?

 

[Conor]

Maybe a Jap import?

Yea that's what I reckon alright.

 

[00slk]

Yea that's what I reckon alright.

Very easy to tell a jap import, brake and clutch pedal badly worn, seat fabric threaded and add another 100,000ks to the speedo mileage
Oh and there is usually a grubby film in and around door shuts etc.

 

[Conor]

Very easy to tell a jap import, brake and clutch pedal badly worn, seat fabric threaded and add another 100,000ks to the speedo mileage
Oh and there is usually a grubby film in and around door shuts etc.

Is this for real?

I always thought that jap imports were typically low mileage? .... or you saying that it's because, say, they are high mileage like anything else, but by the time they reach our shores, they are clocked?

Any jap imports i've seen in the flesh have been pretty damn fresh.

Grubby film? Err.

 

[00slk]

Is this for real?

I always thought that jap imports were typically low mileage? .... or you saying that it's because, say, they are high mileage like anything else, but by the time they reach our shores, they are clocked?

Any jap imports i've seen in the flesh have been pretty damn fresh.

Grubby film? Err.

My cousin used to work in Hong Kong at a testing station at the time used Jap cars started flooding into New Zealand. He was saying there's nothing wrong with a Jap import and the mileage ate fairly true, but they can run for anything up to 4 hours a day in traffic, which causes huge clutch plate wear, small vans will have totally worn our drivers seats from the driver getting in and out.
When I was working in New Zealand we had many Jap imports in for brakes, clutches and steering component wear, most had around 30,000 km. They also had that telltale sign of black film. I guess most are properly valeted nowadays.

 

[Conor]

My cousin used to work in Hong Kong at a testing station at the time used Jap cars started flooding into New Zealand. He was saying there's nothing wrong with a Jap import and the mileage ate fairly true, but they can run for anything up to 4 hours a day in traffic, which causes huge clutch plate wear, small vans will have totally worn our drivers seats from the driver getting in and out.
When I was working in New Zealand we had many Jap imports in for brakes, clutches and steering component wear, most had around 30,000 km. They also had that telltale sign of black film. I guess most are properly valeted nowadays.

Oh that's very interesting. Thanks for that info.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Haha…. Japan import? Take a Geiger counter to it in case it came from near Fukushima

 

[Frontstep]

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[LostKiwi]

To tell a Japanese import the speedometer will be in kmh, radio will have weird frequencies and generally the number plate will be of the square rather than rectangular format.

 

[Chrishazle]

Also possibly a slight difference in the rear lights - certainly the case with 968's, not sure about 944's.