Crap!  I wrote you a nice long response, and somehow it vanished into
the oblivion of cyber space.

To summarize:  That car is nearly 20 years old, I doubt sitting for two
years will do any MORE harm to the seals and rubber parts.

I'd be more concerned with moisture in the fluids, and would make it a
priority to change the transaxle fluid, brake fluid (don't forget the
clutch cylinders), oil, power steering fluid and coolant.

Many rubber hoses and components will be cracked and dried out, and
will need replacing.  Expect to replace:
-engine mounts
-flexible brake lines
-alternator and power steering belts
-misc hoses (don't forget the ones that go to the heater valve and
heater core)
-fuel lines to the fuel rail
-timing and balance shaft belts (if you don't know the maintence
history of the car, the timing belt is a must)
-tires (don't skimp here, they are truly your ONLY interface with the
pavement!)

Of course, if you're doing the timing belt, that's a good time to do
the front engine seals.

If the car needs a clutch, that's a good time to do the rear main seal.

As a rule of thumb, expect a 944 or 924S to be a $5000 car -- if you
get a car for a grand, it will likely need $4000 in work to make it a
happy, reliable daily driver.

A really nice one that has everything working and is ready to drive
across the country (or take to the track for a driver's education!) is,
in my experience, worth about $5k

Good luck.  If you are serious about it, look for the 944 FAQ online,
it has lots of good point on things to look out for.  They are fun and
rewarding cars -- I, of course, love these cars, otherwise I woudn't be
posting here...

you have a pretty good answer form BGMedia - as a hobbyiest who works on
944s, let me add that your mechanic is just spouting nonsense.  But, and
this is important - if you will do none of the work the car requres yourself
and will pay to have all of it done, you will be much better off buying a
new 911.

I just (this summer) brought a 944 back "from the dead" this summer - it had
sat for more than 5 years and "didn't run" - I may have reported here what I
found, but to summarize:

1. about a cup of rat urine in the air cleaner
2. about 3 cubic feet of snail shells spread around the engine compartment
3. rat eaten ignition wires (changed wires and cap and plugs)
4. clogged injectors (cleaned them, car started)
5. dead battery (charged it up, seems ok)
6. all brake/clutch hydraulics bad - replaced both master cyl, clutch slave
cyl, rebuilt calipers, new pads, put fluid resivoir in my ultrasonic cleaner
overnight, got the gunk out of it - brakes now good
7. tires/alignment
8. rear hatch leaks - need to remove glass, reseal
9. changed oil, timing and balance shaft belts
10. lots of cleaning with pressure washer to get rid of rodent smell, other
things I forget
car drives, runs pretty well, a friend paid $500 for the car, about $1000
for all of above parts

If the work was done by a professional mechanic at mechanic's rates, cost
would have been totally outlandish