I think there is a happy medium between buying the absolute most perfect 928 possible and a complete basket-case. I think the recommendation from R&T is not saying go buy one that's been sitting in a field for 20 years and needs an absolute restoration on everything, but there's money to be saved buying a nice car that simply needs maintenance.

As doc here points out, mechanical issues are never ending, on any car, much less a vintage one. In my opinion if you take two 928's that both have perfect paint, perfect interiors, similar mileage, same years etc... One is 100% up to date on all known mechanical's and the other one has zero records but has no obvious issues (no engine knock, trans shifts good etc..) with a 10 year old timing belt. I'll gladly buy car #2 for the heavily discounted price and spend a winter going through the engine updating everything.

Quite frankly there is such a tiny handful of people I trust to work on these cars, the idea of a 100% perfect 928 is about as common as an MG without an oil leak. If car #1 above has "full records" but those records are from Random Joe's Import Repair in Toledo, it's not worth a penny more to me than car #2, possibly less.

Reminds me of my first Porsche, 944S purchased locally at a used car lot 25+ years ago. It was on consignment from a local family (that thankfully I was able to talk to before buying). There was a small weep from the water pump and the TB was close to being due. I was using this as a negotiating tactic and the sales manager said: "We will replace the belt & pump for the same selling price". I replied: "If you had already replaced both of those, I'd be offering you even less than I am now". That didn't go over good but I got the car for what I wanted. Most people ran away from the car because it needed work. I saw it as an opportunity to start with a clean slate, make sure the work is performed correctly.

 

In all fairness "buy a cheap one so your entry price remains low." worked for me

I bought the cheapest road legal manual S4 for sale in the UK, however that was nearly 20 years ago

Sure, it was off the road for six months while I fixed a catastrophic failure, but I have had the luxury of time to deal with so many other issues, while still enjoying driving the car

I don't know what the market for a 928 is like at the moment

But I am absolutely sure that nothing will look the same in six months time, the world is pivoting to completely different mindset and an unrecognisable economy

If you are one of the lucky ones that are unaffected by the current crisis, then you are very lucky indeed

I doubt I will survive with any sort of income intact, I hope you are far luckier than me

 

It's not entirely wrong. A cheap non-runner that you know you can fix, with a decent original interior and paint is probably the best bargain.

On the other hand, "a cheap one" could also mean it runs but it needs a complete respray and replacement interior and has a leaking radiator, grinding transmission, slipping clutch, trashed wiring harnesses etc etc. etc. $$$

 

I bought the 88 from MS, on a rainy, windy day. All I did was take a battery and make the engine turn over then winch it on the trailer. $1800 well spent. With a front end refresh, and brakes I have a total of $3300 in it now. It's being repainted now, and a color change to Cassisrot. That should be around $6000 bringing the total to $9300. Interior will be another $3k total. Add some other misc bits and bring it up to $13k spent. This accounts for zero labor costs, except some beer for Curry(call it $200, he's a big boy). Now for less than $14k I've got a nice car, with most mx up to date, and running fine, new paint, refurb interior that I trust to run right for a while, for half the price of a new Honda hatchback.

Should I decide to sell someday, the last Cassisrot/Burgundy with mid mileage S4 went for over $25k. So, could write a $27k check, and drive it right now or I can write a bunch of smaller checks over 4 years, and have my dream 928.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! There's a quote for the ages!