Hi I am a 16 year old male and I am looking for my first car. I am looking at two options right now, one is a 1987 Porsche 944 n/a with 68,000 miles for $6,900. The other is a 1995 BMW M3 110,000 miles for $8900. I am looking for recomendations and opinions on which you think is better. I am not going to be a perfect driver and I may be driving fast at times and I want a daily driver that can handle that. I am looking for comparisions on everything the cars have to offer like speed, handling, space, reliabilty, mantainence price, resale values and other things like that. I am looking for expierenced answers not just things that i can find anywhere on the internet. Also i live in upstate NY and i know I will need snow tires for both but which one will be better in the snow? Also please don't tell me to get a cheap slow first car because I've already heard it. Thanks!!
-Ben
Tony C
08-25-2010, 05:05 PM
The 944 handles a lot better than the M3 as the weight is more evenly distributed with the engine being at the front and the gearbox at the back but I love my M3. Space is tight in the 944, especially for passengers. The M3 is 8 years younger so I would have that in mind when buying. Both should handle pretty rubbish in the snow, the M3 should have a limited slip diff but I'm not to sure about the 911. If its reliability you are looking for I think the M3 would have the edge. You should test drive both of them. They are both good fun to drive. Hope this helps :-)
doane_nut
08-25-2010, 05:10 PM
The base 944 is a slug; nees to be an S or better yet, turbo. Buy the BMW, it will be more fun and more reliable.
Andrew Andrew
08-25-2010, 05:10 PM
the BMW would handle better in the snow and be safer, cheaper to repair, better insurance, but the 944 with a grand or 2 in the suspension would be an awesome ride and technically safer also because there is about 18 feet between the front of the car and you... but in terms of reliability i see a lot more problems with the 20 some year old Porsche and that's why there are so many of them on the market now and its expensive to repair. So for your first car i would say choose the BWM Because overall its the better car and just as a tip, point out every scuff on the dash chip in the paint tear in the seats ETC... and then offer them 7200, then mention that it has 110000 miles, and if that doesn'tnt work, sigh and say 8000, I garuntee you will get it...