slownrusty

Hi Gang - My name is Yasin aka "slownrusty" and I own a '89 930 (sounds like an intro at AA!!)....I have posted alot on the 911 Turbo forum on Rennlist, and this is my first time posting on the 928 forum. I have always loved the 928!!!

Anyway a friend of mine who knows I am car junkie happened across a 928S2 and told me I should go check it out.

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Colorado Springs and I finished work early and went to check out this 928.

So here is the scoop with the car ....it has been sitting in a garage for 10years and it is a 1985 Euro Spec 32V car with a 5speed that was brought over from Europe by a Colonel in the Military and sold to a private party here that never drove it. The car has a tremendous amount of dust on it and definitely needs a good scrubbing but the car is red and VERY clean (rust, scratch and dent free). Once clean I think that car will look spectacular.

The car's interior is clean too from what I could see through the dusty glass, everything works and the clutch is good - based on feedback from the owner. The front tire was pretty flat and the battery was as well, so I could not start it or take it for a spin.

The owner told me that the car has alot of power and is a great driving car overall, but as he does not drive it, he would rather sell it and use the $$$ to put towards new windows in his house...LOL! The last time the car was driven was over a year ago and he took it around the block only.

The car has 92,000miles approx
He says that he would like to get "around" $6500 for it. No leaks under the car from my inspection.

The concern he brought to me was that the car has a hesitation when you first press the accelerator, sort of stumbles for a moment and then it is OK....he says its fuel injection related and as he does not want to pay a Porsche Mechanic $75+ to trouble shoot it, he would rather sell the car with this issue and he used this concern to factor into his $6500 price.

I think it might be gummy injectors or bad gas....who knows....what do you guys think? I think running a bottle of Techron or Seafoam into the fuel system might help. -or- I could pull the injectors and send them to RC to be cleaned and flowed.

My questions for you gurus:
1) Is the price fair based on my description? Based on my Ebay \ Autotrader research it seems so....?
2) Should I even consider this car -or- should I run....(throw good money after bad analogy)..will this thing put me in the poor house?
3) What other things should I closely inspect ?
4) Will this car make a good daily driver, I drive 30miles per day on the Insterstate? I would have to sell my current (very fun) daily driver to buy this Shark.
5) How is maintenance on these cars overall (cost and reliability)? I am VERY mechanically inclined and have a well outfitted garage too, I have done all the work on my 930 at home and several involved engine builds and car projects, including several magazine features, so getting dirty does not bother me, but at the same I would like a dependable daily driver. I considered a very nice lowered '91 Benz 560SEC (with 18" AMG wheels) as an alternate to this 928.

I will post pics when I go back to test drive it. As Christmas is coming-up I might wait till just after to seriously consider it, so I thought I would ask these questions in advance.

Any feedback and advice is greatly appreciated.

Best regards and MANY thanks! - Yasin

macreel

Yasin... READ the New Visitor FAQ at the top of
this board; and follow the links in it, especially
Jim Morehouse's PPI info.

I say go for the 928, if it checks out; leave the Benz.
Being your own wrench is a good thing, usually.

G'luck.

morganabowen

Yasin
1) Based on your description, the price is not bad. One word PPI, ok....three letters.
2) There are no guarantees in life; however, like any other used car, your will always be putting $$ into it.
3) Check the drive train, tranny, interior and overall condition of the exterior (including tires and rims)
4) Again, you never know with any certainty, but my '91 with 90K is a daily dirver (that is when it is not in the shop )
5) It is a different car then your 930, but with the mechanical knowledge and facitlities available to you, it should be a very pleasant learning experience, and an opportunity to really appreciate the 928

Again, most important part of you decision is choosing the right person or shop for the PPI.

Just my .02 cents. Good luck

WallyP

Yasin,

You meet the first requirement to be happy 928 owner - you can do your own work.

The car may be a mixture - '85 Euros are usually 16-valve cars. Since this is a 32-valve car, it is one of the really rare 32-valve Euro cars (yes, they do exist!), or it is a USA-spec car bought by the military man and modified to meet European light requirements. It will be interesting to buy parts for...

My suggestion - and it is a serious one - either keep the current daily driver until the 928 is fully debugged, or sell the current daily driver and buy the 928 and a really cheap beater to drive until the 928 is ready. Keep the beater as a spare...

Shane

The stumble could be the maf sensor.

Running a bottle techron through will help the injectors but might not help with the stumble.

If the car has been sitting for ten years your first priorities would be all the rubber pieces, hoses, fuel lines, belts - espescailly the timing belt. So like Wally said don't buy it as a daily driver since you will find plenty of things to fix before it is reliable.

Herr-Kuhn

If the car is clean that is a good price. But I would make sure you see it all cleaned up and running. You never know, I've seen a lot of really nice looking cars that have been beat and run hard. My suggestion is get it running and washed up. With it sitting that long it will likely need gaskets, probably in many places. Check clutch, tranny and you might insist on a compression check, but with that low of mileage it should be just fine.

Fabio421

A car that has been sitting for that length of time is most likely going to have some issues. At the very least you should expect some leaks as the seals have probably dried out over the years of non-use. Th fact that the current owner says he drove it over a year ago may help a little in this regard but I wouldn't bet on it. You mentioned that you would have to sell your reliable, very fun daily driver to get the 928. To me, that seems like a problem. The 928 is a great car. But the fact that it has been sitting all of this time and you can't get a reliable idea of its mechanical condition would keep me away. If you could buy it without getting rid of your dependable transportation then that would be best. It seems like a desireable car if it is in fact a 32v 85 Euro 5 speed. And the price doesn't sound out of line.
Listen to Wally's advice. He deals with 928's for a living and is very knowledgable. If you buy the shark, keep us posted. I'm sure there will be lots of questions that you will have for the guys here. If you decide not to buy it. Please let us know. I am sure that someone here would be happy to give it a home and some TLC.
Good luck

FlyingDog

If you get to check the car out again, check the engine model number on the block. If it is M28/21 it is a 16V Euro (which I'm guessing it is), or if it's M28/43 it's a 32V US. Going by Porsche's engine numbering, I assume a Euro Catalyzed would be M28/45, but it could be 43. I think the 32V Euro catalyzed cars were only built as 1986MY. Also, do you know the VIN? If it's WPOJBOxxxxxxxxx, it's a US car. If it's WPOZZZ92xESxxxx it's a 1984 Euro imported in 1985. If it's WPOZZZ92xFSxxxx it's a 1985 Euro. If it has a red fog light in the rear bumper, it's a Euro. If it has the headlight adjuster **** next to the driver's seat, it's a Euro. Those are little things to check the authenticity of the owner's story.

I'd guess the hesitation is a vacuum leak. Check the vacuum lines and check the fuel lines. If it has sat for a long time, those fuel lines could be a serious fire hazard. Check the timing belt condition and tension. That engine is interference (whether it's a 16V S2 or 32V S3). At least the guy started it to run around the block at least once.

If the car is as good as you say it looks, the price sounds good.

tv

I know some people do it but for a number of reasons i would not use a 928 as daily transportation.

martin D

Yep, I'd agree on that , only '86. so couldn't be a '85 32v Euro, but remember that '86 MY (model year) production started in September '85, so could have been built in '85 but is a '86 MY

touque

why would you say that tv? These cars are made to go a lot of miles and I truly believe that they are happier the more they are driven. Mine has been my daily-driver for almost 2 years and it has never run better... The key is routine and preventative maintanance and not letting things get neglected.

IMHO of course!

Airflite40

How about some pics of the engine bay if it is a 32v Euro, even if you dont get it.

Bill51sdr

I've daily driven 928's since 1994. There is no good reason not to if you keep it maintained.

heinrich

First: I drive a 928 (one of the bunch) everyday. 928's are to me, driver's cars, not pansy garage queens.

SlownRusty: .... whtever hesitation the car may have had is now gone, drowned in a sea of dead rubber hoses and fittings and gelled fuel. If I were you, I would definitely not take on this MAMMOTH task. Remember a 911 in this state would be in need of serious fuel system and oil cleansing. Additionally here we have coolant. I'd do one of two things:

1) RUN or
2) buy and realise as Wally says, you are going to be restoring for a very long time finding rusty crank/cams and other uncool things. It could be FINE ... or not. After sitting 10 years I think you would HAVE to tear into the engine just to look under the bearings. Btw this project will cost you an additional $2k - $10k.

heinrich

And let's not forget ... once you are 100% done restoring, you will hve quite a cool rare car ... but a regular old $8k US 32V car would do just as well.