wrightbenz

I looked at a 928 s4 this weekend, I have always liked the cars but they seem to be money pits and I'm not that familiar with them. How do they compare to our 944s?

M758

Nice cars. Much more luxurious, but also heavier. Not quite as tossable. Since they were top of the line 70k cars when new they have lost of complex electronics and parts. In general more expensive than 944 parts and more complicated. However condition is everything.

My parents have 91 928S4 with 50k miles on it. Very nice car.

Marcquito

^^what he said. The car is much more refined. I am in the process of fixing my own 928S and the car is much more complicated than I thought. It's a beautiful car to work on- you can really see the genious design at work. The electronics are a pain, parts are expensive (used ones not as easy to find as 944 parts), etc...

I've had some good times in my 928. My dad and I put on a full exhaust on the car last year and that thing sounded beastly going down the road. It was a blast to drive- sounded beautiful.

Oh, and a great road car! I've taken it 11 hours to Miami beach and it was very comfortable.

Go for one if you want it, but I wouldn't keep it as your primary car. They can be a real pain in the ***, but I think it's worth it.

V2Rocket

944 maintenance x 2 (more cylinders )

comfy tho and good looking no matter what year you choose.

Jfrahm

They are pretty cheap to run if you do your own work and can wait for used parts if you need something expensive. The extra 4 cylinders does double the cost of a tuneup every few years but that only amounts to $100 or so. No balance shaft belt though. Most 928s have a nice automatic timing belt tensioner (or you can use the alternative PorKensioner,) a timing belt warning light... lots of nice stuff.

Amazing cars. If you get bored you can supercharge and have over 400whp, but the 32 valvers are damn fast dead stock. The Euro S is fast too if you can find one.

-Joel.

alordofchaos

..except for the gas

I'd like a 928 S4, really nice cars, not sure I'd drive it that much.

F18Rep

Well, what kind of gas milage does a 928 get? This is what has kept me from looking....Bruce

alex

I love them. I have fond memories, my grandfathers 84 S was the first car that I went 100 in (I was 7 at the time). My uncle has a 91 GT, beautiful car- but it has had issues since he got it. It seems like if you find one that is in good working order and take care of it, you're fine... but if you find one that has some issues to work out, you may never finish. That said, I'd love to get an S4 or newer at some point. Finding a 5 speed is sometimes difficult though. Have to be patient.

FRporscheman

Here we go again. Where's Lart?

I hate 928s, my dad had 2 and they were both unreliable, headaches to work on, and slow (straight and in bends). I'm talking about the 16v cars. Forgive me if my opinion offends you 928 owners. I love my dad and it broke my heart to see him with a 928 that never ran right, and cost him more than my p-cars. And that original body style is nasty. It looks good from some angles and sometimes I think it's overall good looking but then I realize it isn't.

My dad had 3 928s spanning well over 10 years and he was only driving them for about 3 or 4. They are more difficult to work on front to back, more expensive to service, and to say they have electrical problems is like saying India has Indian people. They were built with more luxury than sport in mind, so everything is plushy and comfy. (I'm not saying it isn't sporty). Lots more leather, upholstery is a design feature not just a basic ingredient. A proper sports car suspension, years before they put it on the 911 - I love the double wishbone. And being a 944 owner and being familiar with front swaybar drop-mount failures, I like the 928 swaybar which mounts right to the frame rails. These are all benefits of a car that was built the way it was designed from the get-go.... while the 944 (924) plans were tossed around and hashed together.

I will say the exhaust note on the 928 is possibly the best out there, bar none. And the later body style is very nice. Most consider it a plus that it was fully designed by Porsche from scratch (a company first) and built in their own factory. Personally I consider it a plus for the 944 that it got its roots in vw (with the original 924 concept) - IMHO that makes it more of a "real Porsche".

Calmchaos

B& IIRC.

BeerBurner

Yup, he got banned for using multiple accounts to advertise his ebay stuff. Not sure if it's a permaban or not.

Anyway, I've always had a soft spot for 928s. A friend lent me his '87 S4 for a week to see if it's something that the missus would want to drive, being an automatic and all.

It was a delightful car to drive. The seating positions was more encapsulating than the 944, which, in some ways, I really like. It's nice to feel like you're strapping on a car. While it is a heavier car than the 944, I have to be honest and say that it didn't feel all that much heavier, and it certainly felt more solid.

And then there was that engine... that most glorious powerhouse sitting in front of the car. I think that was the best stock V8 I have ever heard, and when you got on it, the car moved. Fast.

Also, if you're in to attentionwhoring, that car was great. It really does look like a shark prowling the road, and between the sound of it and it's bright red sleekness, it certainly won over the parking lot at the high school I work it, both students and faculty.

Reliability-wise, I've spent a fair amount of time wrenching on that car, but a lot of it has been stupid, trivial stuff. Unfortunately, some of that stupid trivial stuff has interfered with things like safety inspections and emissions testing. The car never really broke down, but it had it's fair share of little glitches. In all fairness, though, it was a wreck rebuild, which may have had something to do with it.

All in all, I'd love to own a 928 that had a clutch. Will I ever actually own one? Probably not, but that's not because of any inherent flaws with the car. I'm the kind of person who owns a car for a long, long time, and there are just that many other cars I'd rather buy first.

But if I found myself with the money and space for my own personal fleet, you can count on a 928 being in there.

BB.

Legoland951

Do a search as there are multi pages to your response and there are heated debates over reliability https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...&highlight=928. I used to buy/sell 928s before I started tinkering with 944s and have had many 928s in the past logged many miles in them. Buy a 87+ with a 5 speed. They are not hard to work on and other than the electrical gremlins, they have been more reliable than the 944s I have seen. Power steering racks leak like the 944 and I have seen a DME going bad. The clutch can be changed out WITHOUT removing the transmission or the torque tube and that is much easier than any 944/951. The 87+ have 316 hp stock and get 17 to 25 mpg. They will reach over 170mph stock in style and most of all, its a much more solid car (real car feel compared to the cheapness of a 944) that you can feel the second you shut the door. It uses much exotic materials such as aluminum fenders, hood, doors, etc.

I would ask this question at the 928 forum as many people are ignorant to first hand facts of owning a 928 anywhere else.

The 928s are heavier and not as tossable the same way a 944 compares to a miata.

ibkevin

What does lart know about 928's..... really.

Ask this question on the 928 forum, and standby for some very polarized views. Going from a '44S to a '28..

Check the 928 PPI threads so you have a clue about what to ask and go from there.

hacker-pschorr

Over the span of 5 years my 944S was more expensive to own than either of my 928's.

My 944S had a perfect repair history, two previous owners (this was not their first Porsche for either of them) yet I still had a chain snap (after the dealer told me it was not a wear item) destroying both camshafts and other bits. My 944S also threw a rod bearing even though it has never been on a race track.
I still love my 944S and it will be back on the road soon.

My street 928 is a 16V US car with over 400hp and a drivetrain that can actually handle the power.
My 79 is a track car, stripped with a stock engine (except for headers).

The seats in my 928 have no power and are much lighter than the bricks in my 944S.
I have yet to deal with any major electrical problems on either of my 928's. I've been "servicing" my 81 since 1992 whem my father first purchased it. Sooner or later all of the electrical issues I hear about might show up.
I even removed the entire fuse / relay panel to install my Valentine 1 and other devices. I found it well laid out and easy to follow.

I can drop the clutch in either of my cars in under 15 minutes (I proved this at Road America using only two jack stands, limited tools while in the grass). How long does it take on a 944?

If my timing belt breaks, I simply install a new one with no bent valves (this only applies to US 16V 928's).

Yes some things are more complicated on a 928, other tasks are far easier.

Bottom line is, find a good one since a lemon 944 or 928 will be your worst nightmare.

V2Rocket

there is definitely more quality control in the build of the 928 than the 944, not that the 944 is a bad car but the 928 just feels like an event. ive done some work on an '83 S and even when its been sitting for years it still feels nice to be in. and you get to tell people you have a porsche with a V8 that actually belongs there lol.

you dont really feel the extra weight, maybe its the added power but a 928 isnt actually that much heavier than a 944. Hacker should be able to giver a better estimate but IIRC a 928 is 3400lbs compared to a 944's 3100 or so. as for tossability it has the longer wheelbase for comfort but the weissach axle is a brilliant design...the new infiniti G's have the same design base for comfort and handling.