1984 Porsche 944 review from North America

Clutch burned out.

Clock doesn't work.

Gas struts holding the rear glass hatch

are weak.

Brackets holding the front fenders next to the front and lower part of wheel well are weak and bend easily.

Sunroof is not well thought out.

Car battery compartment floods and sometimes does not drain, thus leaving battery acid to corrode the bodywork.

This is my first Porsche and the culmination of a boyhood dream.

I picked it up for $750 because some knucklehead didn't know how to drive a stick in the hills of San Francisco and burnt up the clutch. which I have replaced for approximately $600. I've owned and driven an Austin-Healey, MG's Sunbeam Tiger, Lotus Elan, Datsun 240Z, VW Passat, Jaguar XK120, Toyota's Honda's and all are fun in their own right, but none has the flat cornering capability and balance of a Porsche.

If roads were so straight as to not need to negotiate turns, most of these cars would be OK. However, roads like life is full of twists and turns, whether it's the road itself or emergency maneuvers the Porsche handles it with superb crispness.

I worry is that like any car, it will have limitations, though the Porsche has few compared to most production cars, excluding exotics. I might push the limit. It's easy to do with a car's handling that gives you confidence. But, at high speed you can't afford to miscalculate it's limitations.