Jim bailey - 928 International

Dave..." get to the point that there are very few daily-driven 928's left. " That point has been reached or the "Low milage" 1985 cars would have 300,000 miles. Nearly all 928 owners have other vehicles WALT K has a theory about that !

Big Dave

Jim:

Mine was a daily driver until a certain evening last August.

bwebb77

Yeah, my 928 was a daily drive from '89 to '96. Course now it is driven about 2-3 times a week in summer and about once a week in winter, when roads are not bad.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Yes Dave I know ,which made you the exception one of the few. But you are getting close to lighting the fire !!

rjtw

When I bought my '83 in 1987, I spent the better part of a year looking for just the "perfect" example and was surprised even then -- looking at cars that were at most 4 years old at the time in the Los Angeles area -- by the large number of abused and trashed examples on the market. Most of the cars I looked at had badly worn seats, bad paint, repaint, missing/nonworking accessory items, and/or accident damage (and those were just the 'cosmetic' issues!) For some reason, it seems that many of these cars were neglected almost from the beginning. It never made sense to me. In retrospect, I'm sure it had something to do with the 928 tending to pull in nontraditional Porsche buyers who may have had no clue what they were getting into, coupled with the high cost of maintanance.

Gretch

I agree with the general sentiment expressed here. Some 928 owners I have met remind me of a relative I once had (shook them loose when I divorced the first wife).

No real money but lots of pretense and ego. Had to drive a mercedes......bought the cheapest used one they could find and drove it into the ground because the had no money for repairs, no real love for the car and absolutely no mechanical ability.

Years ago, the wrench who maintained Gretch (when I didn't have the time) told me he hated working on cars who were owned by people like that, especially 928s because they "die so slowly, that people just drive them into a state beyond recovery".

Daniel Dudley

There will be 928s on the road for as long as there is gas enough to drive them. After a certain point they will become rare and sought after, at which point the only ones you will see on the road will be the nice ones. You all are the most hardcore group of enthusiasts I have ever encountered. And the question you raise is really applicable to many modern cars. Are they restorable? You are lucky you have such a firm infrastructure of support around parts and knowledge, but you pays your money or you get out there and sweat and bleed. And you have to be a true enthusiast. Those of you old enough to remember the original VW beetle will remember how you couldn't drive anywhere without seeing at least one. On the highway as a child I would count hundreds of them in less than an hour. Now in many parts of the country you hardly see any at all,but they still exist. Be glad for the claptrap 928s for they are still being driven and are creating new sharkophiles some of whom will someday hanker for a proper 928, or will wrench their way to 928 proficiency. Look at the money people put into 356s and the future of the 928 won't seem so absurd. And get your dream shark now. Don't wait till they become noticed.

Sierra Shark

All of you are more or less right on. Coming from an aerospace background it's easy to see what's going to happen to the 928. In that industry look what happens to old jet fighters and trainers. Time, money and technology pass them by. The cost to maintain them becomes unbearable and before you know it they are scrap. When the military decides to do away with a certain model a private citizen can pick one up for a song. Years pass and fewer remain. Soon that jet that you purchased for less than 6 figures is restored and worth millions. Usually residing in a museum and flown only rare occasions. Point of diminishing return. Too much to keep up except for those with lots of money and a strong passion for the model. Watch Barret-Jackson auctions and you quickly get the idea. I'm just glad to have had the opportunity to be an owner during this period in the 928's historical line.

docmirror

Actually, the 928 doesn't come in for exceptional abuse. I have several other cars that suffer the same neglect. It's the same with a F car, or Lambo, or Cistalia. the cost of fixing them right, is just to high, so neglect sets in.

One day the AC takes a dump, but the car still goes. Then, the cooling flaps stick in the open position, then the trans leaks, then the mirrors won't adjust, etc. It happens to all marques, you just see the 928 because there are so many people on hear that care about the car and are bringing them back from the brink. My car has had EVERY common neglect item discussed. Ya just take them one at a time, and work through it. some is expensive in time to fix right, some is expensive in parts.

If you're not a good DIY guy, any collector car will drive you to the poor house in a matter of years. The only thing more cost intensive is a vintage airplane. Ask me how I know..........

Randy V

How do you know?

.

Ron_H

Daniel Dudley has some valid points. Just follow the hardcore 356 guys, some of whom restore garbage and rustbuckets that appear beyond recognition. I know some body guys who have 356s in their shops and literally manufacture from sheet metal all of the restoration parts they need from scratch. There are no more parts available in many cases. Some of our cars will make it to that stage and be restored to like new condition. I know a guy who has a daily driver 356A coupe in San Jose that is close to 100 point condition and he drives it to work every day. His passion is restoring old P cars, and he claims to be retired. For a retired person he certainly spends alot of time on P cars. Another guy I know has about 20 356s in his body shop and the owners just sit and wait until he decides to finish and paint them; could be 2 or 3 years in his shop. Not all of the cars that he does will end up as garage queens, but will be driven part of the time.

The closer your car is to original, the more likely it will be to survive. An old friend told me that and it is true. Those most original will be snapped up by restoration nuts and the others will be discarded as parts cars or junk. But someone will lust after them someday just as other P cars demand attention today. I recall the first '73 2.7RS lightweight I saw in Vasek Polak's store in California and instantly lusted after it. I had just bought a 911E and suddenly I wanted to sell it and buy that RS. I said to the salesman that someday that car would become a classic. A couple of years ago, I saw a fellow camper at Laguna Seca unloading a white and blue 911 from his trailer and as I walked over to it I noticed that it was a real RS lightweight just like the one in Vasek's showroom that day long ago. I went crazy again. If I had possessed the money I would have tried to pry it loose from the guy. I asked if it was real. He replied that it was. Of course "he would not consider selling it". All he wanted to do with it was park in in the paddock and watch people gawk at it.
Considering that many of the lightweights were and still are raced, it is amazing it survived, and still has the lightweight glass. But survive it has. And some day one of our cars will end up in the hands of some "nut" like that lucky guy. Just as my old original '57 Speedster is somewhere in P car heaven in some nut's garage and worth probably 25 times the amount for which I sold it.
Damn! Wish I still had it.

morganabowen

I purchased my first 928 in January 2001. It cost $2900.00. Over more then 18 months, I invested $10K. I was very happy with this car, and loved driving it. The main problem was the fact that I wanted more horsepower, and did not wish to invest into a SC or other device. I subsequently sold the car for $9000.00, even though I was not actively selling it. I now have a '91 S-4 with more then enough power, but I really miss my 1982. Maybe because I felt that I had resurrected it. Below is a photo of it.

bigs

Regarding the comments about 356's, etc....

I'm not sure you can compare the 928's future to the 356's present. The old sports cars that are currently being restored are soooooo much simpler than the 928 is. That's what I wonder about, as I stated earlier:

I'm just not sure that any modern day exotic or near exotic car will lend itself to future restoration like the old cars have. They are just so much more complex than the old 356's, Healeys, Jags, VW Bugs, Corvettes, MG's, Triumphs, etc.

Maybe when the numbers of sharks dwindles enough through attrition, then the demand may become sufficient to warrant spending tons of money to completely restore one - if you can still find parts. Fabricating some panels for a 356 is one thing. Fabricating or otherwise trying to manufacture portions of a 928 may be an entirely different matter.

In twenty years, Willhoit will be listing his primo GTS's for $200,000! Cuz there'll be 10 of 'em left!

86 951 Driver

I am not a 928 guy but I can tell you just look at regular 924's. They have been going up in value the last couple of years. Along with the 914's. 914 have really gone from $500 cars to being worth $1000 just for a rust bucket that doesn't run. My dad bought my 924S for $500. It was beat but you know what I have never liked any car more then that 924. Except for nice 944's. I love driving it. You love a car once you do work to it. That is why I like older motorcycles. I am 18 and I still love old bike from the 70's. My friends make fun of me, but they need to own one before they can say something about it. 928's will still be around. Sure they didn't make as many 928's as 944's, but it is just like how so many people bought 944's and beat the hell out of them and people on rennlist restore them. Real Car enthuisists will keep 928's alive. No matter how complicated they are.

Ron_H

Well, maybe you're right about that point. I worry about the complexity of my 928, and I don't work on it as much or as often as I have on my other P cars. In fact, I spent the day re-dyeing parts of my interior, including the &%#@*!!**#$* pod, and I am not very excited about doing that. The electrical system is particularly complicated. I am rather fortunate to live close to 928 people, and would not want to be in some remote location. I'll keep mine as long as I can and can afford to keep sinking money into it. But my 914/6 is faster and way less complicated. It's easy to tinker with a 914, and fun. The 928 seduces me with its comfort and high speed stability, but the 914 can be a grin machine. I know a guy in the Porsche club who has had a 904 and other interesting cars, but he also is the original owner of his Speedster. He drives that Speedster all over the country every year to the Porsche Parade, wherever it is. He has been to more Parades than anyone alive. And he shows up every year in his cherry black bathtub Speedster. Funny thing is that I know some of his enthusiasm, having owned one. But that car is no long distance tourer. He chose to keep that above all the others. (Michael Robbins for those that haven't guessed.)