1979 Porsche 924 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Great car if you select and maintain carefully and don't like to follow the herd

Faults:

Very little has gone wrong. I bought it with a newly replaced timing belt and water pump and drove it from San Diego to Canada, twice.

Have replaced the alternator, and vintage Michelin tires, have changed the oil, and coolant, and replaced the door holder mechanism.

The trim is plastic and is brittle, and the radio stopped working, but the car is solid as a rock and can cruise all day at 90 mph+.

General Comments:

The brakes are only adequate, so know how to downshift and don't overdrive them.

The best handling car I've ever owned. It fits the driver like nothing else. Manual steering rack and pinion is very accurate, good ride for such a small car, and about 28 MPG - pretty good for a car almost 40 years old.

If you buy a well-maintained example and drive it with some care (mellow shifting), AND like to tinker with cars you just might fall in love with these underrated little cars. Has everything one needs, with nothing you don't. More smiles per mile than cars I've owned worth 15 times as much.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th January, 2018

1979 Porsche 924 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Very sweet little car

Faults:

Starter, master cylinder.

General Comments:

Great little car. Looks good, very reliable, cheap to fix if you do it yourself. A LOT of fun to drive.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th September, 2006

1979 Porsche 924 Non-Turbo 2.0 from North America

Summary:

A poor example of a Porsche, going to be in the shop a lot

Faults:

Everything!

This car had many problems! Here is a list of things I can remember having problems with:

The engine vibrated at 3000 RPM.

The Exhaust manifold gaskets fell apart.

The Car was very noisy with muffler system problems.

The gears all grind when you shift.

The clutch cable broke in traffic one day.

The clutch went out.

The fuel gauge sender went out.

It had numerous electrical problems. For example, when you crossed a railroad track, the wipers came on. The headlights would not always raise. The wiper motor was exceptionally slow.

The alternator went out.

The head gasket blew two times.

The drive shaft linkage stripped one day leaving me on the roadside.

The battery pan leaked badly putting water in the passenger side floorboard.

The door seal leaked putting more water in the passenger side floorboard.

The dashboard cracked.

The clock quit working.

The water pump failed.

I had lots of problems with irregular tire wear even though I bough Pirellis.

The Air conditioning quit working.

General Comments:

It was fun to drive, when it worked. The brakes were very very poor making it a scary ride at speed. I never wanted to sell it, but the amount of things wrong with it exceeded its value.

It was nothing like a Honda or Toyota, it always was unreliable and persnickety.

The handling was great and girls loved it. The best thing I can say about it was that I learned to work on cars while I had that vehicle because I could not afford to have it worked on.

It was a sharp looking car that was constantly broken or plagued with problems.

The car was also underpowered especially off the line. It did feel solid and good at 80 mph though.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th February, 2003

21st Dec 2004, 17:24

On my 1979 Porsche 924, the main problem is that the back right tire points inward, so it wears out much faster than the other.

5th Apr 2006, 23:37

It is very likely that you just had a lemon, or one that was in very poor repair from a previous abusive owner. Sometimes sports cars just get treated very badly and sold off to unsuspecting people.

16th Apr 2006, 18:50

This review seems at odds with others that I have read. Perhaps the car had been badly abused. Some people assume that because they have a sports car it will handle whatever they give it; this is not true, as most people will know.

Even a brand new Porsche can be killed in week at the hands of an unsympathetic owner.

Mechanical sympathy is all it takes to keep a car in good condition.

15th Jan 2009, 16:03

I had wanted a Porsche my entire childhood. Finally at age 18, I bought a 1979 924, it was chocolate brown, did a little body work to a few rust spots, had it painted red.

But let me tell you this car had so many problems with mass air flow sensor, trans axle and just about every thing else. I don't know if mine was a lemon, but this 924 drove me nuts and cost me a fortune. (very unreliable) but was fun to drive, loved the interior and girls loved it (everyone else either had a Camaro iroc Z-28 or a Mustang GT)...

Now I have Corvettes; easier to work on, cheaper parts!!!

ERIK.

In reply to 15th Jan 2009, 16:03

8th Dec 2014, 00:27

Sounds like you'd definitely have problems with a mass airflow sensor, considering they were not equipped with one. I'm still daily driving the same car through Montana winter and summers, and it's running like a champ. I've abused my 924 and it just keeps going; but on the same note, whatever I break, I fix.

If you're the type that wants to buy a car and neglect it, then yes you will have problems, and if you want to buy a car and not have to work on it, then maybe you should look for something that's not over 30 years old.