I am now a Porsche owner! Picked up a 1987 944 automatic. Has some issues, but is a great candidate for restoration! Story below if you wish to read it...
*story mode, skip unless you like reading*
So, I was getting ready to head down and see my son about 2 hours away for Christmas on Christmas eve. Before I went to bed I see a 944 for sale CHEAP on Craigslist, and it happened to just be in the same small "blink and you miss it" back woods town my son lives in! I started wondering if the universe was trying to tell me something, I mean this is a town with 2 gas stations, a McDonald's and a Sonic... That's the whole town.
I start chatting with the guy, and it turns out he doesn't live there, but his wife's family does. They have a house they inherited there, but only stay there when visiting. He inherited the Porsche from a neighbor 4 years ago, and it lives at this second home. He's worked on it from time to time when he was in town, but mostly it's just sat, even before he got it.
So it's just sitting there, and his wife tells him it's time for it to go, he was going to restore it for his kids, but none of them want it, they all want Grampa's vet! LOL So he's in town for 2 days, and trying to sell it cheap. So we make plans for me to look at it while I'm down there.
Next day he ask if I'm still coming, and I say yes. He says he's had about 30 calls on it already, and one guy is supposed to be over to look at it now with a low ball offer (but the guys late), I told him how much cash I had on me, and that's all I could get till I rearranged some money (and the banks now closed on Christmas eve), and he said if I was serious he would save it for me. I told him yes, I was serious (I had already reserved a car hauler LOL).
We were going to meet before I met my son (while it was light), but after running around to raise the cash, and getting the trailer, we were running way behind, and I still had to see my son. Called him and he said he wasn't leaving till 7 am the next morning for home, so whenever was fine. It was already dark anyway.
So I do the Christmas thing, and get over there about 9pm. He said he hadn't started yet today so I could see how it started cold. Turns out badly. It does NOT like to start cold at all, took awhile to get it started. Figured out you have to keep the petal on the floor till it caught, then keep feathering the pedal to keep it running. Once it warms up it will stay running. It also made a horrible rattling sound, like loose sheet metal. But he said take if for a drive. So I did....
Once you were moving, it ran pretty well, and once out on the road it ran fine. Had good power, steering was insanely tight, and it hugged the road like a Porsche should. Suspension felt brand new, it was like it was on rails. It handled flawlessly, I knew right then that no matter what I was taking this puppy home. When I stopped to turn around, it idled ruff still, but better, still made that sheet metal noise.
Lights work fine, phone dials the PO just had redone, they look showroom new, brand new tires with 100 miles on them if that. The rear wiper had not been working, so he did a delete. But I have the motor and blade. The shifter position indicator is off. Says P in Park and Reverse, says R in Neutral, and N in drive. Never shows Drive or 1 or 2 even when going down to 1 and 2. I'm sure that's just an adjustment. He said the A/C works, he used it a few times, but now it's stuck on heat, says there is a safety thing that sticks it on heat if something goes wrong so you at least always have heat??? What he said at least. I'll look into that.
Has a dent in the drivers side panel, beside the light, says someone hit it at his second house when taking care of it or something like that. Paint is faded, still factory paint "Nautic (Ocean Blue) Metallic". The electric sunroof works, but is from another car so doesn't color match. The original "vanished" when being towed by a PO. (Until the guy I bought it from, it has been owned by the same family from 87-2011, they just kept passing it on for $1. The guy I bought it from also got it for $1, I tried to get if for $1, but no go LOL he had put too much into it, like the "new" wheels above)
Oh, and the rear carpet is gone. I didn't ask, but I'm guessing a hatch leak. He replaced all the seals, so that's good.
I have all receipts and history on the car to 2009, last time it was worked on. The guy I bought it from did mainly cosmetic work, new dash, seals, wheels, bulbs in dash, stuff like that. So no maintenance work has been done since 2009. It hadn't ran for awhile when he got it, he changed out a vacuum hose and got it running, but has never got it starting right.
So got it home, however after some google searches I don't think there is any loose heat shield or anything like that. I'm about 90% sure it's the damper.... of course it would be a $1300 part! But all in all, it's a perfect candidate for restoration, and was a great Christmas present! I'm just sad I can't really dive it today!!!
Soon!
Soon! 
