bigs

This question has been on my mind a lot lately - and brought to the forefront by Kary4th's current thread about his fixxer-upper.

As I surf the web checking out 928's for sale - just for fun of course - I seem to see a surprisingly large number that are really badly hashed. I say surprising because of the expensive, exotic nature of the car originally. Seems like I see much less of this phenomenon with Ferrari's or other exotics - even the 911 P-cars for that matter.

Now, obviously, 928's were driven a lot and Ferrari's have more of a tendency to be garage queens - so that's likely one factor...

And I'm not saying Rennlisters are guilty - in fact, most of us here are diligently engaged in restoring sharks to their former glory.

But it just seems like many original owners didn't take very good care of a car that you'd expect would have been babied.

Opinions?

Big Dave

I think it's more likely that subsequent owners bought the cars after they depreciated, allowing people to own them that otherwise couldn't afford a "super car". Although the purchase price declined, the cost of maintenance did not, and these less-financially-fortunate people tended to skip regular maintenance to save money that they didn't anticipate having to spend.

Just my opinion.

Greggles

Two thoughts
1. I don't think anyone plans to neglect their 928, I just think it's a $$$ thing.
2. I think the abuser are the 2nd or 3rd owners who like the idea of driving the car but don't anticipate the expense of 928 ownership

Randy V

My guess is that due to the many unique systems found on the 928, it is often difficult to find a mechanic who can work on them at a reasonable price. So things get repaired in a half-assed manner, problems with the car persist or worsen, the owner loses interest and sells it.

Repeat the process for the next owner and the next...

Tres

I agree with Big dave on this. I think that since the price for them has drop alot since new that is a factor. I have really noticed it in the OB cars more so then in the S4, GT and GTS. The prices for them are still high enough not to have that problem. I hope that if we restore enough of them the price will go up making all of our cars worth more.

I know when I bought mine I paid a low amount, how ever I know I have put in over 5 times the amount I paid for it in the first year of owning it.

MikeN

Both Dave and Randy are spot on......

bcdavis

People just decide not to fix small problems, because they are too expensive to fix.
If something goes wrong under the dash, do you know the labor costs to remove
and replace everything? It's a lot. And if the transmission has a little leak? How
much is the labor cost to remove the transmission? So people tend to just avoid
fixing these little problems, until the car is nothing but a pile of problems...

Then you have the effects of age.
Old wires, old leather, old dash pods cracking, etc...

It happens slowly, and to fix all these things would cost someone a lot of money.
So most people just let the cars slowly deteriorate.

Chris

Yep, agree with Greg, when that 2/3rd owner buys the car its likely in average condition, could be bought up to scratch for not a lot but they didn't buy it with that in mind. They run it and do nothing ... when they are finished with it, its in dire need of help and either gets :
1) Fixed up by some masochist (put me on that list)
2) Changes hands a couple more times in short order before it ends up in Mark Andersons hands, Ebay or worse.

Those 6-9K S4's can turn into 20K S4's by the time you are done.

Chris

bigs

I agree.

Anybody want to predict what the next 20 years will hold for 928's? Are they too complex and expensive to completely restore (like I'm seeing done now with early Corvettes, Healeys, XKE's, etc.)? Will there be just a very small handfull of decent sharks left? Is it a dying breed?

MikeN

How true, but there are just some people who refuse to believe it no matter who they hear it from, or how often.

911Dave

Yes, extinction is inevitable. If this pattern of neglect continues, sharks will be endangered species before you know it. So will the service techs that work on them, and the parts suppliers we rely on.

MikeN

Yes, yes, and yes.

There is a very passionate group of people that will keep the 928 flame around for quite a bit longer.......but look how many nice ones we have lost just this year! Finding good, clean, well cared for examples is becoming harder and harder........and won't get any better that I can see.

bcdavis

I think there will be some people who will keep pristine 928s alive.
Same with Deloreans, etc...
But I think it will be a slow process, but eventually they will all deteriorate.
I don't think there is enough support from Porsche to make new parts
in the decades to come. So it will be up to us to scavenge, etc...
They will fit in with all the old hot rods that people collect now.
Few on the roads, but a few people who love them, and fix them up...

Big Dave

I think it'll eventually get to the point that there are very few daily-driven 928's left. Those Corvettes and other 60's and 70's cars that are being restored aren't being driven to the office everyday. The owners have too much invested in them to do that.

Greggles

yupp

Honestly, the guy who can afford to do a full resto; sure but you need to start with a great example.

I see the 928 become akin to the 912 in 10-15 years.
Very few owners & very proud of their car