1986 Porsche 944S 16v - 1 owner / 53,000miles

What do you want to see when considering the purchase of a classic car? 12 owners on the V5 certificate are all well and good if it’s been looked after, but ‘one owner’ is surely the Holy Grail – especially if you can split that phrase with the word ‘careful’.

Vendor Neale is selling this low-mileage (53,000 miles) car on behalf of his father-in-law, who for health reasons is unfortunately no longer able to drive it.

‘He bought it new in February 1987 from the Porsche dealership in Henley-upon-Thames,’ explains Neale, although it was first registered by the garage a couple of months earlier. ‘Since then it’s only ever been a summer use car and has always been garaged. It’s original down to the last screw, everything works, it’s been kept in good working order and has never been damaged or painted.’

Originally serviced by the main dealer, it has in the last 15 years been looked after by the same independent garage. ‘The mechanic there knows the car very well and gave it a fresh MOT around five weeks ago. I think in the last three years it’s only done around 500 miles or so.’

Neale drove the 150 miles himself in order to deliver it to us here at The Market. ‘It drives really well,’ he says. ‘And feels quite tight for a vehicle of that age. At one point I was sat in a traffic jam on the M25 going nowhere fast, but it was fine and didn’t get hot in the slightest. To be honest it’s probably the longest run it has had in 20 years.’

The front Pirelli P6's look to be in good condition with a good amount of tread. There is guidance on the current MOT stating that both rear tyres have a nail in them, one of which is apparently low on tread so may need replacing in any case. ‘I’d have done them if I’d known, but didn’t see the note until we were going through the paperwork at Abingdon.’

That though, apart from a minor exhaust leak, is the only thing that needs to be highlighted. ‘It is a genuine, un-messed with car,’ says Neale. ‘It doesn’t need anything mechanically, and to make it perfect would likely only need a small amount spending on a few stone chips, the odd scratch and some additional protection for the underside.’

If we’re being honest then the original paintwork is this Porsche’s weakest point, but that’s only because we believe that it’s not seen a lot of polish. There are a few chips on the nose, light scratching (just general life) on almost all of the panels, and a scuff on the nearside front wing, but no dents or anything else serious. Quite remarkable. Normally claims of original paint all over are not repeated here, but as we have the full provenance from day one, we can, and will, shout it from the rooftops.

The good news is that a quick detail has already made a lovely improvement. We believe re-spraying would be a travesty as it’s never had a bit of paint in its life, but a paint correction treatment should remove much of the light scratching and bring the colour back beautifully, possibly combined with a careful touch-up pen.

Of course the "even better" good news is that as it’s only ever been used as a dry weather weekend-blaster and has always been garaged, we haven’t been able to find a single bubble anywhere on the body. It really is as genuine, straight and honest as you’ll find.

Sills and door shuts remain immaculate and the body completely sound. Including teh sills. Genuinely remarkable. The Teledial Porsche alloy wheels remain generally blemish free, except for a bit of surface corrosion of the offside rear. Badges on the centre caps range from faded to beginning to fade. 

It’s an identically smart story within. The beige part leather, part cloth seats are without marks or other signs of wear. All carpets are good, with biscuit coloured protective over mats in place. Door cards, headlining and dashboard panels are again in next to perfect condition.

At the rear, the extendable boot covering remains in place (usually the first thing to go on any example that’s not been cherished), as does the extensive carpet covering. Lift that and you’ll find lovely, solid body coloured metal.

Again we can confirm that everything electrical functions, including the wing mirrors and sunroof. You can tell that from its condition that generally there’s usually been one person in here (rather than a family) when it’s been out and about.

The one small gripe is that the switch for the rear wiper has marginally regressed into the console – that said, it’s still firm to the touch and works perfectly!

Vendor Neale is spot on in his assessment of this 944S, as it drives in a manner that belies its 33 years of age. It starts first time and the engine runs very smoothly. The gear change is without flaw, brakes incisive and overall road manners are just right. Toss it hard into a tight corner and the fluidity of the chassis still excels.

There’s a touch of road dust and grime on the underside, but the factory stone-chip remains in place (and unbroken). It could happily be left as is under here, or the next owner could invest a few of hundred pounds in a general tidy up and a bit of fresh protection.

The engine bay itself is only a weekend away from concours, just look at that originality.

The included V5 certificate confirms that this is a single owner car (after being registered with the supplying dealer). There are a number of MOT certificates and an even greater amount of invoices from Sevenoaks-based JB Motors. The latter are mainly for MOTs, services and consumables.

The only semi big-ticket items replaced were the water pump in 2012 (circa £300), and rear exhaust box in 2007(£334.88). There’s also a separate receipt for the fitting of an Autowatch Immobiliser system in 1998.

The last receipt for a cam belt change is from 2010, when the mileage was 47,612. It’s covered less than 6k miles since then (30k is guidance for replacement, but as its 9 years old it’s worth the next owner having its general condition checked), although the idler rollers were replaced two years later.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

As stated in ‘The Vehicle’ section, if you’re looking to purchase any classic car, then one careful owner immediately marks out a prospective purchase as something potentially special. And we think that once you’ve read the information above, and taken in this 944S’s photo gallery and video you’ll agree that’s most definitely the case here.

It’s not absolutely perfect. The paintwork needs a further bit of TLC, but that said has already come up a treat after being polished. But 944-officiandos, just look at the original details all over it.

This 944S 16v is however a stunning one-owner car with just 53,000 miles on the clock. It’s never seen a jot of paint and remains completely unmolested and if it doesn’t quite drive like a new car, then blimey it’s pretty damn close to it.

We think it’ll sell for between £8000 and £12,000, which even at the top end is a very good price for a car that most definitely puts leggier examples to shame. It's also No Reserve so on sale from the very first bid - what are you waiting for?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.