Imo000

My standards are too low to comment here.

sydneyman

Like many here, I have about 5 grand in the front end engine service and an intake refresh. paid to have the belt done but everything else was done by myself. Then another 2 grand or so in shocks/misc. This is on an '85 5 speed. Still need to replace the radio/speakers, A/C, and a dash replacement to have a clean driver.

oldfrat

I bought a !981 with only 12,150 miles on it. It showed up with no advance notice at a Mecum auction with no reserve, so I got it for $20,000 with the second bid. It has won best in class at Third Coast for two years, created a lot of gas station and parking lot conversations,and given me a lot of driving joy.

I am incapable of doing my own work on it, so I have taken advantage of having a great 928 mechanic near me. The vast majority of the work done to date has to do with pure age -- rotting rubber and oxidizing metal.

I just added up the "getting it up to standards" bills and they come to $9,315.

I've also been bringing a 1967 Corvette Coupe "up to standards". The 928 is a far better car at a far lower "up to standards" cost!

Brad

atari_st

Two years ago when I decided to get my 86 back to new condition....it cost me 20K. 3K for timing belt, steering rack, water pump, top refresh, motor mounts, and new fuel lines. 8K in for the paint job and 9K in the interior. Now....its beautiful....but I have three more I want to do the same to. I suspect my 79 with run 25K. My 87 5K and my 86.5...another 15K.

OTR18WHEELER

I was thinking that way also, but I will say this, it was never my intent to restore my 928, just to fix what was needed to have a dependable driver.
Sure, I took the economical path most times, but for being a neglected, non records car, it has been dependable, aside from the occasional gremlin.
5k purchase, and getting close to 6k in cost of parts and maintenance so far.
Still have things to do, but like I said, it's not a restoration, it's a driver.

Captain_Slow

I'm pretty certain I am within the "typical" owner group Curt belongs to. Do as much work as I can on my own. I find it helps to not add up my costs in total and instead simply prioritize important tasks and buy the parts when I can. For me this means spreading costs over time...and to do so I treat all maintenance and renovating costs as a $200 monthly "car payment".

1. It's a relative bargain compared to a new car payment.
2. It prevents me from spending beyond my budget (the $200 monthly goes into savings...when it adds up to what I need, I buy parts.
3. It's plenty for those who can practice self restraint and stick to a long range plan that puts cosmetic/discretionary items farther in the future.

Rob Edwards

I call this the Shawshank phenomenon- Over 10 years, you can move a _lot_ of pocketfuls of broken concrete out of your cell, and the warden? She won't notice.

Captain_Slow

Rob...that should have been #4

FredR

..and I think it is a safe bet to assume you paid considerably more than $2k to buy it in the first place!

Hopefully your wise choice will ensure you have "positive equity" for a long time to come given the prices those 5 speeds are fetching today!

Rgds

Fred

worf928

S4 parts:
$4 - 5k engine-out refresh
$0.9k Black Sea R&D torque tube and vicinity
$1k clutch
$2 - 5k wheels and tires
$2 - 5k suspension and steering (rack, shocks, springs, bearings, bushings, ball-joints, etc.)
$1 - 35k power adders
$1 - 15k cosmetics
$1 - 5k misc (other worn-out, broken, tired stuff)

EDIT:

$1 - 3k 100% working A/C

Take the low-end and double it for labor if not DIY.

... If you buy a barn-find ... and that seems to be where they are coming from now; fewer and fewer non-neglected 87+ findable at low-ball prices. I know of several examples that have been "dragged out of fields" and are being gone-through stem-to-stern and to a high standard.

Cosmo Kramer

C'mon, the Mad Max-mobile is awesome!

GlenL

$1000 to $5000 per year for the duration of ownership.

bureau13

Even with no warden to worry about, I think it's best not to do the math here!

Chalkboss

I hate this thread. Made me go through my records and update the money spent. In three years I have spent 15K, nearly all of that DIY. Car was in very good cosmetic condition when I bought it. GB had gone through the TT and AC. Previous owner said it was "all set" but I knew better.

Still don't regret any of the above for one second.

Wisconsin Joe

This fits me too.

My paint & body are not very nice. Lots of little dents and scratches (and a "not so little dent too).
Interior is "fair to middlin'" No tears, carpet is reasonably nice, but the dash is cracked and the seats show wear.

Erik (Hacker-Schorr) & I were talking at the C&C last spring and he asked "What's the plan for the paint?" I answered "There really isn't one."

The dash is on my "winter project list" (Ladybug has a great DIY writeup), but other stuff has taken priority.
The cam carriers are leaking front and back, and I need to address that first. Because getting to the front gaskets means taking the cam gears off, this may well morph into a WYAIT TB/WP job (its been a while, but not a lot of miles).

I want a car I can drive, and if it doesn't look the greatest, so what. That actually is a plus in my book because I don't have to worry about little stone chips or door dings. If I had a perfect car, I'd be too worried about that sort of stuff to really enjoy the car.

I probably have $12k or so into it total so far, and I doubt I could sell it for that but I knew I was getting a money pit when I bought it.