1988 Porsche 944 Turbo- Ocean Blue Metallic over Grey Script, 5-speed, M030, 1-owner that has been LOVED, amazing documentation, current on all service

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1988 Porsche 944 Turbo- 1-owner with INSANE documentation…

This particular 944 Turbo has quite an interesting story, please take the time to read all the way thru as I want any potential buyer to fully understand this car.

In December of 1989 a school teacher, PCA member and then 924 owner stopped into his local Porsche store, Eero Porsche in Anchorage, AK for a service visit and was smitten by this gorgeous Ocean Blue Metallic 944 Turbo. Now being a teacher, he knew this car was outside his budget, especially seeing the list price of $41,350! Luckily for him the dealer had this car in inventory for over 2 years and was HIGHLY motivated to sell it, (shocking that selling a Porsche in Alaska in 1988 might be challenging…) so a large discount and a generous trade offer for the 924 cemented the deal and for the next almost 30 years the two of them would be a team.

Being a teacher meant that the owner had his summers free and he and his wife LOVED to travel by car. Living in Alaska meant the driving season was short, so they had this car shipped to the lower 48 for their summer adventures. In 1992 they moved to Seattle but the 944 continued as their summer road trip car. This car has visited every State in the Union except Hawaii, every Canadian province and nearly every summer they would take trips ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 miles. The rest of the year the car saw limited use, but each summer a grand tour was planned, with several Porsche Parades thrown in the mix! The owner became a fixture in our local PCA region and while many of us were constantly trading cars, he knew this 944 Turbo was the only car for him.

 In the summer of 2017 the car was again pressed into a long trip, this time ferrying the couple all the way across the US to Nova Scotia and the various eastern Provinces. Upon returning from the trip the owner dropped the car off at his trusted 944 mechanic with a list of “to-do’s” based on the most recent 6,000 mile trip, sadly he never saw his car again as he passed away prior to picking the car back up. His widow was brokenhearted, so she entrusted the car to the mechanics care until she could make a plan for it. Approximately 18 months later he approached me as he thought I might be the right person to get the car up to speed as I could fully appreciate the car, its history and how much it meant to the original owner and his wife. I have this weird sense that cars have a soul and I really wanted to be a part of this process, so I agreed to take the car on. Here is what I started with:

  • 199,525 miles- Timing belt and roller, intermediate shaft seals, balance shaft belt and tensioner, new water pump, new thermostat, coolant flush, new AC clutch, recharge AC system

From this point I endeavored to put enough miles to do the initial timing belt re-tension and also find any other items needing attention. I quickly added 1,400 miles in the next 90 days and then did the following:

  • 200,936- Re-tension timing belt, new oil pressure sender, replace dash light bulbs, new window switch, oil and filter, new cooling fan switch and gasket, new battery

I continued driving the car as I wanted to get it totally dialed (it doesn’t hurt that I LOVE driving it…). The next round:

  • 202,740- New motor mounts, Rebuilt CV joints (L&R), reseal the oil pan. I also just installed a set of OE 17” 993 Cup wheels with Bridgestone Potenza’s.

As of today, I have personally driven the car almost 4,000 miles and as such I am very familiar with the car. Here is a very honest pro’s and con’s list of the car:

Pro’s-

  • A true, 1-owner car with IMPECABBLE documentation starting with the original window sticker, every single service invoice, even a log of EVERY gallon of gas that has flowed thru the tank! The binder is 2 inches thick, all chronologically in order showing every detail, there are NO unknown items on this car!
  • Gorgeous color combination of Ocean Blue Metallic (Nautic Blau) over Light Grey Porsche script cloth!
  • Nicely optioned including ABS (very rare on non “S” Turbo’s).
  • Not messed with, modified and hot-rodded in any way. No chip, no bigger turbo, etc. The only modification from as delivered is he did update the suspension to the OEM M030 setup including springs and Koni adjustable shocks.
  • EVERYTHING on the car works as it should: Air conditioning (ice cold!) , all power accessories, dash lights, lighting, original radio, cruise control etc.
  • Interior is excellent! The car had sheepskin seat covers on it from day 1 (come with the car) as well as a carpet dash mat. While I dislike both of these items, they protected the light grey seats and kept the dash crack free!
  • Clean Carfax, never been in an accident, very straight body. Doors close with the correct “ping”, rear hatch is solid, etc.
  • Runs and drives very well, I would drive this car across country today. Suffice it to say I have tested its capabilities and it will still achieve the factory posted performance….
  • Car comes complete with absolutely EVERYTHING it was delivered with including: all original books/manuals/folio, original air pump, tool kit, jack and handle, never used spare, sunroof pouch, 2 original keys, 2 wheel lock keys, 2 alarm keys, leather key pouch, etc. It also comes with a spare DME relay, your next oil & air filters, koni shock adjustment tool, sheepskin seat cover, dash cover and more. I also have the 4 original “phone dial” wheels that come with the car.
  • Car has always been loved, serviced well above standard, kept in a garage and owned by someone who appreciated what they had. They always say, buy the owner not just the car!

Con’s-

  • The car has 203,000 miles. The good news is they are mostly highway miles AND I know they are actual as there is a log of every gallon of gas! So many of these cars have 4,5,6+ owners and they are prone for the odometers to break, so how many claimed lower mileage cars actually have this mileage or more? With that said while it has been fastidiously maintained over the years (as verified with the service history) it has never had any major mechanical work, i.e. the motor and transmission have never been opened up. I see zero concerns with that, but it is a potential reality.
  • Paint- the paint on the forward wear surfaces shows 203k miles of highway use, with LOTS of chips! I would say the leading edges of the hood, nose, headlights and bumper show the brunt of this, but it is also evident on the lower rockers and the windshield (OE but not the original, it isn’t cracked but has plenty of road wear). The paint looks fine from a distance or on the sides, roof or back, but up close it shows the miles for sure. Call the paint a 5/10.
  • Other Wear items- The steering wheel is fairly worn on the rim, the right front foglight has a crack in it,
  • Current foibles- The car has a few problems that have frankly vexed me. The most irritating is an intermittent vibration. I changed the motor mounts, swapped wheels and tires, checked balance belt tension and it is still there. It isn’t consistent but sometimes I swear it has to be balance belt as it seems to center around 3,200 rpm, but then it will come at another rpm an othertimes not at all… Driving me crazy, maybe you can figure it out! It also has a small oil leak and coolant leak. If you let it sit overnight, it will leave a coolant drop about the size of a dime and an oil drop maybe the size of a quarter.

That’s about a thorough an explanation I can give of the car. I have enjoyed my time with it and oddly this is less about the money and more about finding the right custodian for this car. I hope a mechanically minded enthusiast can keep tinkering as a I view the car on ongoing project and maybe clean up the paint as I think the car deserves it.

If you think you might be the right next owner, let me know and I can give you a very detailed run down.