Description
For sale is my 1986 Porsche 944 Lux, with Slate Grey Metallic paint and a full leather burgundy interior. It's on 170k miles and I'm the 17th owner.
Overall it is in fantastic condition and presents far better than its age and mileage would suggest. The bodywork is remarkably straight with no dents or major dings, the paint maintains its metallic shine, the interior is very clean - with the unfortunate exception of some discolouring to the driver's seat bolster - and the original Teledial wheels are beautiful. The 2. 5 8V engine pulls well, sounds nice and doesn't consume a noticeable amount of oil.
It benefits from a huge binder of service history and documentation dating back to the 80s, including all of its original Porsche booklets showing the original delivery details and spec list. Included in this service history are some very important 944 jobs:
- Very recent timing & balance belt, waterpump and thermostat replacement, and at the same time the sills and lower front wings were stripped to bare metal to repair any spots of corrosion then resprayed (the sills had been replaced previously). This work totalled over £5k and was carried out to a high standard by a very highly regarded classic Porsche/ Volkswagen specialist.
- The fuel filter and the notoriously fire-prone fuel pipes were replaced in 2020.
- Gearbox replaced with a stronger S2 unit, with replacement clutch.
- Engine mounts and lower front arms replaced.
- One of the jacking points was repaired and the whole body undersealed in 2020.
- Stripped odometer gears replaced and the trip reset mechanism removed (as this is what's known to strip the odometer gears).
Some more good points:
- Turned 40 years old this year and is therefore registered as MOT exempt, and will be tax exempt from 1st January 2027.
- Well specced with metallic paint, full leather seats and air conditioning (unfortunately this doesn't work currently, nonetheless a very rare option).
- Largely unmodified with a couple of useful exceptions: double-DIN bluetooth head unit with a reversing camera, and a short-shifter kit.
- Mostly crack-free dashboard, though there are a couple of splits starting around the demister vents.
- One of the previous owners documented much of the work they carried out on Youtube. I can share their channel name with the next owner as part of its service history.
- Digital clock and MPG gauge are both working.
Ultimately though, it is now 40 years old so there are some bad bits:
- As mentioned, the AC doesn't work. In 2020 the compressor was refurbished and the condenser replaced, with the system converted to run on R134a refrigerant from R12, however the history also shows that shortly after the compressor spindle seal failed. I haven't verified this so I would recommend further investigating, but I imagine the compressor needs replacing or repairing and the system regassed.
- It unfortunately does suffer from the notorious rear glass hatch delamination around the frame. As pictured, it is currently sealed with black gorilla tape which blends in well and is hard to notice, however ideally the hatch would be dismantled and resealed.
- Front fog lights and rear heated-windscreen aren't working - all other lights are working and interior lights have been replaced with LEDs.
- Slight noise from the steering column when turning at slow speeds
- Tyres are getting old; they have plenty of tread and are free from cracking (a testament to keeping the car indoors out of UV) but I would recommend their replacement if the car goes into more frequent use.
Overall this is a fantastic example of a well-loved 944 and it hasn't missed a beat in the 1. 5 years I've owned it - I would have no hesitation driving it anywhere. It pains me to be selling it but due to some changes in circumstances I won't have a place to keep it securely long term, and it deserves better than sitting unused on the street.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
