Jack:
You can find a good, tight, well maintained 944; I'd recommend '86 and later. $4K to $5K should find you a nice one.
I found mine, an '87, in 'good' shape, then I took the PDS, and slipped on the banana peel of competitive driving.

To date mine has:
a recent clutch-job, waterpump and belts/rollers, very well set-up suspension (Weltmeisters in front, Bilstein Sports all around fully tuned/corner-balanced/lowered), 1-year old rod-bearing job, throttle cam, K&N air filter system, fresh leather seats, 5-point harnesses and bar, 2 sets of wheels (street and track), bra, car cover, keyless entry/alarm, new Blaupunkt CD stereo system and speakers, H4 headlights, S.S. Danske "sport" muffler, fresh rotors, 3 sets of carbon-kevlar (Porterfield) pads, S.S. brake lines, Euro-DME computer, (Phew - I've been busy!), spare parts galore in the garage. All electrical components work, with a chilly A/C.
For all that, I'll be lucky to pull $5K out of her when she's sold.

Moral of the story, there are some nice 944's out there.

Who knows, I may want to upgrade to a 951, and could be talked into a sale ...
Ya never know......
