UKKid35

I can only think of a few times that almost everything on my car has worked properly. This is simply because I can't afford to do everything needed all at once, and as soon as I manage one thing another raises its head.

Other issues, such as alignment, require that so many other problems are resolved first (shocks, ride height, wheel bearings etc).

I'm the first to admit: I can't afford my car, but there's no way I'll give up trying. I've been struggling with suspension for months now, and I've not even got to the back yet.

What long term issues are you dealing with?

perrys4

Mine was a nightmare when I first got it. It has held its own ( excuse me while I pause a moment to find some wood to knock on ), recently. Motor mounts are all I really need right now but I am also fearful of the TB or water pump rearing their ugly head. No I really have no business owning this car since I dont have the know how to do the work myself.

Ron_H

No. But what has that got to do with anything? Just work harder, give up lunch, work on Saturdays, marry money (or just play with it), get a third job
(yeah, that's what I did), buy another econo-auto to drive while yours is in repairs, lie, cheat, steal, what ever it takes to feed the P car bug which bit me long ago while I was in high school. Gotta have it. Get to know a good lawyer. Make friends with some goons also. Find a good parts car(race car owners are sometimes good sources). Buy lots of tools and manuals and read them. Give up other pursuits and social life. Once I sold my P car and moved to the inner city for TEN years. Whew! For awhile I became rather normal...took the bus and taxis or just walked up and down the hills to get in shape. But I got weary of getting into fights on the buses with other passengers, so I got a car. Of course it was another P car. Now I'm almost over that excursion into rationality. Now I am pissed most of the time and also broke. But occasionally I get into my P car and get another fix.
If it wasn't that I would find something else....like a boat. But I am not a fish, so I sold my boat in favor of the P car long ago.

Well, just find more money and give up more activities. Happy motoring.(and wrenching). Find a good hand cleaner or wear gloves and no one will know. Or win the lottery.

Parnelli Joneser

If I began to list all the "long-term" problems I'd be here for days. The car is rebuilt from a wreck (history otherwise unknown). It squeaks, groans, and rattles. Oh yeah, it leaks too. The PO was told that the block was cracked(water in oil...) and he bought a used US spec engine and put a new t-belt on it and slotted it in under the comparatively simple Euro CIS induction. After hooking up the oil cooler and then finding water in the oil...he got a new rad/cooler and decided he had his day with it. So I did get the (currently a stressed member of a work bench)300hp M28/12 engine along with the car.
The three speed slush box slips and requires manual shifting until it is thoroughly warmed up. The steering rack leaks but seems to have improved in the past couple of months. Upon purchase it was loosing brake fluid and traced it to leaking sensors on the MC. Replaced them and hooked up the wires correctly to discover a steady Class I flashing warning light. It's still doing it, but occasionally it will stay off for several miles. The speedometer works once in a while, but I don't believe it when I do notice it working.
Can I afford it? I do know I wouldn't be able to have done it when it was new. As it is, I'm going through the systems as time(and $) are free. Time is perhaps a bigger issue than money, really.
But to even get a taste of the car that intrigued me more than any other in my formative high school years is a total rush. I mean, the car quite frankly is an abject piece of ****e. The paint is varying shades of red with peeling clearcoat accents.
But even with all it's problems, I still drive it nearly everyday and love every second of it. I'm currently working on acquiring a straight and very low-cost '80 928 body shell. Then I will have the task of swapping in my good parts into the side molding deleted non-sunroofed cherry. It will give me time to get all the parts together so I end up with a like-new car. I dunno if i can afford that, yet.

jserio

to the ones with money and to the ones who don't.

IcemanG17

Can I afford it....hmmm....if it doesn't break down...."yes"....if it does..."NO".....

Z

When calling the dealership, I usually get put on hold while they connect me to the parts department. In addition to the usual music that you'd hear while on hold, for a while they had a soft female voice message advertising for the place. Besides talking about like their large inventory of new models, coming in for a test drive, service, and things like that, part of one ad said "With our attractive financing and leasing options, and the potential for career advancement, can really afford NOT to be driving a new Porsche?"

If I would have bought enough of them, I wonder if I'd be CEO of a Fortune 500 company by now.

jcb928

"It is a rich man who can afford a cheap Porsche"

adam928

I´ve been lucky so far *knock on wood*. All the money has gone to service, gasoline, brake pads and starting fees at the local race track

I do however have one dark cloud on the otherwise cloudfree porsche-sky... My Torque tube wines so I guess I should begin to prepare for some expensive repairs sooner or later. Especially when I probably cant do it myself... I already see dollar signs with wings when I close my eyes...

Can I afford it?
Well.. I have chosen to NOT have a daily driver at all.. I take the bus to work, I tell myself that every time I take the bus to work I can do some extra laps on the race track I try to cook more at home and be more careful with my personal economy in general...

Other ppl spend all their money on boats, summer houses etc... I spend it on my Porsche instead. I think it is worth every penny when I sit in the car...

Greggles

This seems to be one of the reasons that 928 owners sell their cars. I too have been tempted, although not in the last year or so.
Hopefully you can find joy in the repair and upkeep of the car. If not, owning a 15+ year old car is not really a good idea. Can you afford to sell it? I would take a huge hit if I sold mine. So what can you do other then throw more money at it.

WallyP

For most of us, the answer is pretty simple:
If you do your own work, yes, you can afford a 928.
If you can't/won't do your own work, you had better have a pretty good disposable income...

wds928

I've put just over 21,000 miles on my 94 GTS since I bought it 18 months ago. In that time, it's been tires, alignment, headlight, foglites (search Bambi in the archives), various relays, cam cover gaskets, quite a bit in tools for diagnostic stuff, car covers (don't put them in the dryer!), brake pads, new aluminum undertray A/C service, trans service. Really just routing maintenance. This car is a workhorse. Just add gas and change the oil. Now I have certainly overspent, not on needed items, but a lot of things to have items.

My winter projects include oil sump gasket and motor mounts, finish the cam tower gasket project (passenger side is going to be a bear) and flush the PSD. It's more about the time it will take to do the jobs. The car is on ramps now as I tackle a power steering hose leak. I hope the tightened hose clamp does the trick.

Plus I just bought a Mercedes 500E that has become a real daily driver, so I haven't put many miles on the 928 in the past 3 weeks.

Cameron

No problem. Most of my friends have $50k+ cars. It costs them about $6 to 7k / year in depreciation alone. If it is a lease, again over $6k / year. That buys alot of maintenance + upgrades in 928 land. One of my friends has a Mercedes AMG C43. Just had the timing chain go - don't ask me how. I haven't spoken with him since he got it back about how much, but they were telling him about bent valves and all the stuff that we talk about when concerned about our suposedly flimsy timing belt.

Mine is a daily driver. Yeah, I usually have a big ticket item per year. This year it was the clutch. Next year, my bet is on a rebuild of the climate control - just a guess. But considering what she gives me in return in terms of performance and style, she is well worth it. Can I afford it? Is there a more affordable and reliable supercar in this price range? I don't think so.

.....Cameron
'91 Euro GT

DonS

Pity the 'poor' owner who has to take his to the dealer for anything but still pays $$$ for the privilege of ignorance. I'd venture we're the 'rich' owners who actually appreciate our sharks more and offer our time, labor, love and knuckles as payment.

In the reality-based world, my Geozuki pays for the Pcar.

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nee.dragger

Back in July, I bought a 1986.5 (5 speed) 928 after being without a Porsche for 16 years. It had 89,123 miles and was well taken care of. However, it was time for the various maintenance things to be performed. The TB was done 4 years ago, but I felt it needed it any day now, so I had that done along with rollers, cam sprockets and guides. Also, flushed the trans fluid, replaced the sunroof switch, drivers side seat buttons (twice), passenger side window re-aligned, Oil and filter, spark plugs and wires, new tires with 4 corner alignment, bearing for the belt driven cooling fan, and replaced license plate lights.

On the cosmetic side, I had to replace the front spoiler (due to some hee haw jerk on a backroad forcing me off causing damage to the spoiler a couple of months ago), a new stereo system with CD player installed, new speakers, and the windows tinted, new luggage area cover, and a car cover. In all I've spent a good bit of money this 1st year on the Red-Devil. And I'm hoping that will be all it needs for awhile. But every time I get in it and push the go peddle, I grin from ear to ear. It's worth all the money I've spent. It doesn't accelerate as fast as my R1, but it's a different feeling than a Superbike. All that mass being propelled with great speed is awesome.

So, can I afford it? Not sure as of yet, but I'm gonna try. The price of admission into the supercar ranks thus far has been cheap. Can I do it for the same price, as I have on the 928, with one of the Italian marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Maserati. I don't think so. The 928 may not look as sexy as one of those sharp dressed Italians, but I think it's still sexy, and gets enough stares when I pull it out of the garage to run free.