Friday 30th March 2012

SOTW: Porsche 924

True, it's not a 911, but it does have that famous shield on its nose

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The 924's always been considered something of a runt of the Porker litter. Born out of a joint venture between Porsche and VW in the mid-seventies, it's liberally sprinkled with contents from the VW/Audi parts bin and hampered with a wheezy 2.0-litre engine that saw service in the Audi 100 and - whisper it - the VW LT van (though later on in its life it did get upgraded to a 2.5-litre lump).

But a cheaper and easier way into Porsche ownership you are unlikely to find. Its powertrain's lowly origins mean it's not a car for Porsche purists, but that just makes all the more likely to fall into the clutches of the Shed £1k budget.

And cheap doesn't necessarily mean nasty. The cars were built by VW at the old NSU factory under Porsche's obsessive quality control. Bodyshells were fully galvanised and the inevitably sluggish acceleration is offset by sweet handling, thanks to a 52:48 front-to-rear weight distribution.

The 924's also a pretty practical touring proposition: it's got rear seats - sort of - and decent boot space. There's even a racing series for 924s that's been going for nearly 20 years, run by the BRSCC and Porsche Racing Drivers Association.

This one looks pretty tidy, the ad proudly proclaiming that 'this is not your usual rubbish'. It's been the previous owner's daily driver and has a pile of receipts to go with it. Wheels and bodywork look to be in good nick, and the beige 'n' brown World of Leather interior looks remarkably scuff-free.

It's worth bearing in mind, though, that a 27-year-old car will need a bit more regular maintenance than a youngster. And although the 924 has a fairly solid reputation for reliability, if anything does go wrong you'll be potentially faced with some nasty Porsche-priced parts bills. Water leaks and electrical gremlins are particular bugbears.

Even so, if you've got a hankering for a coupe with retro-tastic pop-up headlights and a celebrated badge on the nose, now might be an opportune time to get one. The 924 might just be one of those Shed-today, classic-tomorrow cars...

Advert is reproduced below

PORSCHE 924 TAXED &MOT,D VERY USABLE CLASSIC CAR £950
REALISTIC PRICE AND NOT A BIT OF RUBBISH CHECK PICS

Description
THIS IS NOT YOUR USUAL RUBBISH.
THIS CAR HAS BEEN USED EVERY DAY BY ITS PREVIOUS OWNER AND HAS BEEN A VERY RELUCTANT SALE FOR HIM.
IT WAS ONLY SOLD AS HE NEEDED A FAMILY CAR FOR HIS 2 KIDS, AND THE PORSCHE WAS NOT GOING TO DO THAT JOB.
THERE HAS BEEN A LOAD OF MONEY SPENT ON THIS CAR AND I HAVE LOADS OF RECEIPTS FOR IT.
THE CAR IS MOT,D UNTILL DECEMBER 2012, AND IT IS TAXED UNTILL MAY 2012, SO THE CAR IS READY TO DRIVE AWAY.......AND DRIVE IT DOES WITH EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING.

THE ENGINE IS REALLY VERY TIGHT, AND HAS HAD NO EXPENSE SPARED.
THE BODYWORK IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND THE WHEELS ARE PERFECT.

OVERALL THIS IS A VERY USABLE CLASSIC CAR AND I HAVE BEEN DRIVING IT MYSELD BEFORE PUTTING IT UP FOR SALE, AND THIS HAS GIVEN ME THE CONFIDENCE IN THIS CAR TO SAY THAT IT WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.

REMEMBER THEY CANT MAKE ANYMORE OF THESE SO THIS IS THE CHANCE TO GRAB A REAL NICE CLEAN CLASSIC CAR FOR NOT ALOT OF MONEY, AND YOU CAN DRIVE IT AWAY STRAIGHT TO THE CLASSIC CAR SHOW.
EVERYTHING WORKS AND OPERATES AS IT SHOULD WITH NO KNOCKS OR BANGS.
NO OIL WATER OR COOLANT LEAKS.
I MUST HAVE DRIVEN THIS CAR FOR WELL OVER 100MILES NOW WITH NO FAULTS.
POINTS TO NOTE......NO RADIO. REAR PARCEL SHELF STICKING.
THIS CAR IS PRICED TO SELL AT £950. I HAVE SEEN THEM ADVERTISED FOR THIS MONEY AS A PROJECT, AND THIS CAR IS READY TO GO.
PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS
YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED

[em177]

This will doubtless get slated over numerous pages as not being a proper Porsche etc etc. However at this price and especially in the condition this one appears to be in. I think it makes a cracking sensible(ish) daily driver for the sotw driver who wants something retro, reliable and rwd. If I wasn't blowing this months wages on heading to the Nurburgring this week it may well have ended up on my drive! :P

[0a]

THAT'S NOT BAD.

[poing]

In before the title woohoo! Never done that for a sotw before.

Always had a big big soft spot for the 924, the period colour really helps too.

[aka_kerrly]

NICE!!!!!

[Exar Kun]

For that kind of money, this thing is awesome.

[fatboy69]

For less than £1k where can you go wrong? Not the best car ever built but what the hell.

It's got a Porsche badge on the bonnet!!!

[rallycross]

Looks very nice for a sub £1k 924.

Have a long look and see if you can find any other non rusty RWD sporty cars for sale today for under £1k (other than the Mx-5).

No, there are none!

[Hoygo]

Nice VW,i would.

[dbdb]

I do quite like these.

[Repent]

I do like these, but I dont think I could own one for the road. Despite being quite characterful they dont seem to have quite enough to make them seem worth it as a smile per mile daily, or enough performance to make them a good weekender? Definitely see the appeal to racing them though, that must be a great series.

[johnpeat]

Looks nice and honest and unmolested.

Most of the time I'd point people at an MX5 - it would be more smiles per mile by a long chalk - but I can't point myself at them as I'm too "powerfully built" to fit into the fkers so this might be interesting

[spencev6]

I've got one and can definetly say the smiles per miles are available by the bucket load when you point it at some corners, drives like a go-kart. If however you are the kinnda bawbag that just likes to blast down a motorway then get something else a 924 would be wasted on you.
Also gotta say scary parts prices don't come into it unless you get a 2.5!

[Kawasicki]

1980's BRZ/GT86

About a million times more fun to drive than a Golf GTi/any other fwd hot hatchback.

[TRUENOSAM]

Loose those nasty wheels and that's a nice car for the money, I would definitely drive it, regardless of its name sake

[carinaman]

I like the car a lot more than the advert. Remember they can't make anymore of these, like most cars no longer in production with the exception of the MGB.

Was it here or in PPC I read that these are a lot less rot prone than 944s?

924s are a lot less rot prone than MX-5s?

No sunroof.

[carinaman]

OK, I've found the advert on eBay. There's no photos with the headlamps down and no photos of the rear square on, just one with the htach open.

White side indicators, transfer on the front panel?

An '85 one would be better than an earlier one, end of production so all the little niggles would have been fixed by then?

Edited by carinaman on Friday 30th March 02:49

[MadDog1962]

One of my Dad's mates (with seriously good taste in cars) ran several of these (these days he drives a current 911 turbo). That guy reckons that the 924 was really nice to drive as a daily driver - good handling and comfort balance. I always liked the look of these cars myself, and this one looks in decent shape for a grand.

Although (for me) this is the best shed in a few weeks, on the downside, I'd say it's a risky purchase for anybody who can't put aside a couple of grand for the odd mechanical disaster.

Overall a solid 8 out of 10. :-)

[carinaman]

A former friend's father had one, said his late father used to fly along the lanes in one of these. As the nearest M-way was 40 miles away it was more about the handling than outright go.

I've managed to resist buying a book on these, but using that page flipper function on Amazon I read in one of them that Porsche were contracted by Alfa to work on the rear mounted g/box for the Alfetta GTV and that's where they got the know how on how to do a rear g/box with a decent gearchange.

The VW engine and parts don't bother me but it's a shame these and the Porsche fours in the 944 don't sound more special.

Roundabout the time this car was new CAR Magazine did a competition to win an X1-9 (1500) and a stay at a nice hotel at Menton on the French Riviera with accompanying story of their jaunt down there and back in an X1-9. They mentioned getting past an out of tune 924 on the Peripherique.

[Eighteeteewhy]

Looks clean and unmolested. High spec too?

There are worse places to spend your grand.

[carinaman]

The seat material looks a bit vinyl like and shiny for the mid 80s. Are they seat covers?