whitefox

Hi my name is Ross and Im addicted to my shark.

I beleive I am the youngest shark owner at 16, I paid for the car on my own, how?
I simply bought one of those get rich quick books and here I am!

Anyway I bought Ron Serio's '87 S4 with 118.5k miles on the clock and it has been my daily driver for a little over a month now and overall im happy with it.

My issues:
A/C was not working when purchased
Paint was keyed by a PO's ex wife from what I'm told
Passenger Seat adjustment switches screwed up
Seat heaters not working (was told they work)
CVC boot ripped
Shift cable broken
Brakes went out (M/C?)
Front Spoiler ripped off by a truck tire on a freeway, mounting points bent and horn sounds like clown car, no mention of it from PO.
Left front headlight leaking
Tail lights have slight cracks in them.
Brake Booster Check valve broke when I was changing spark plugs.

Lessons learned?
ALWAYS GET A PPI

I love the car and nothing is like it.

Jim_H

Is your thread to give Ron a hard time? Take it from someone who learns the hardway, public airings should be the absolute last choice.

Sounds like you are going to get to know your Shark intimately

whitefox

No I'm not trying to give Ron a hard time, the car is my problem and its my fault I didnt get a PPI. Just a little on the down side because I had to park the car tonight

Glenferd

Congrats on the shark! For a while, I thought I might be one of the youngest at 22, but you take the cake. Mind you, I'm on my second Porsche as I onwed a 924 a couple years ago. I just bought my '88 S4 last spring. It's parked for the winter though as it wouldn't be much good in the snowy winters we have in Canada. Being a full time student, I'm finding it an expensive car to own, but it's worth every penny!
Any idea what kind of shape your timing belt is in? I know its on my list of things to do in the spring. Good luck on the repairs. You'll find Rennlist is your best friend in the next while.
-Glen

DANdeMAN

Not sure what you mean by that but mine was not working; I opened them up, sanded/cleaned the contacts and voilà, like new. As for the rest, "Life sa Beach".

ps, Can you send me copy of that book you have!?

Jim_H

You will find all the help you need to get it back on the road on the Rennlist. Most of what I see on your list will be fairly easy to remedy. I am guessing your brakes going out is what finally sidelined you?

whitefox

Glenferd the timing belt AND water pump have 2,000 miles on them with the belt retensioned at 1500 miles in, which is part of the reason I bought the car, I have what seems to be ALL the paperwork on the cars history.

The passenger seat swtiches are messed up as in the stupid ball bearings fell out of the spots and after 3 hours of failing to snap the cover back on and keep the bearings in place I adjusted the seat to what I thought was good and pulled the fuse. Its on my list of things to do which keeps getting longer as each day passes by.

If you mean the book Whitefox then I havn't read it but its also on my list of things to do after I finish the car

michaelathome

Funny I thought that I was the youngest owner. I got mine at the ripe age of about 12, mine was a 1/28 scale though. I think that one of the Devek's might have you beaten though, might be another of the 928 p-car shops though.. It will be fun to find out. Guessing his P's own it but not sure.

Well I know who you are now!! Good luck and welcome to the list

Michael

mspiegle

dang.... you beat me. I was 19 when I got my 86.5.

heinrich

Hey Whitefox, great intro post Dude .... Listen, there are many very knowledgeable 928 owners here, just relax, ask questions and have fun
Heinrich

khalloudy

Welcome to the 928 land. I was driving a GT and S4 (not mine unfortunately) when i was 16... used to borrow them from my "silver spoon" friends. I will never forget how wet the chicas got seeing us roll up in those cars. They definitely were something back in 1990 and still are today. They will always look modern. I hope you enjoy it and put it to good use... and be safe (not on the highway, but in bed wink wink... this is a serious chick magnet mobile).
Anyways, don't worry, i got a PPI from the Porsche dealership in ATL when i got my 87 S4 and they came up with like 5k of work, which once i owned the car was more like 20, not including the new paintjob and all the BS. This is a seriously expensive car to own if you're not doing the work yourself. This is a good forum to get a lot of help though.

Good luck chief... and as we say back in the day... keep'em in between the ditches

Khaled

Ron_H

Your 'TO DO' list is getting longer every day? I am looking at mine on my desk and it has about 25 items on it and I have had my car over three years. It is a never ending project. I fix one thing and two more pop up.

Bill Ball

Hey Ross:

Sounds like you knew about most of the items when you bought the car. And although the brake thing is scary, I'm not sure a PPI would have helped pick that up in advance of the actual failure. In fact, I'm not sure the shifter cable issue could have been noticed before the sheath actually broke. The 19 year old brake booster check valves break when you look at them funny. You must have known about the spoiler. The horn and other issues are small items. The CV boot, I will give you as an item a PPI would have addressed. Also, there may be other issues yet to be discovred that a PPI would have covered. For example, it is common for the steering rack, various bushings, assorted pumps, any number of relays and switches, door handle brackets, vacuum hoses galore, instrument circuit board, wheel bearings and various other wear items to need replacement before or certainly soon after 100K miles. Even of that list, a PPI would only catch some. So, face the fact that you bought a very old car that has been around the block a few times. Fortunately the engines are almost bulletproof. Everything else is up for usual old car wear and tear.

I admire that you have bought a 928 and that you are willing to sort out the issues. Properly sorted, these are fabulous cars, but you may need much of that get rich quick money you have saved up to get there. You don't seem discouraged by the brake failure and other issues. I hope the fixes are all easy and cheap. Not likely, though. If not, there are usually at least several people here who have BTDT for just about any complication you will enounter.

At 16 I learned about cars rebuilding a VW motor and otherwise keeping up that car. If this is your first car, you picked a humdinger to learn how to care for. It's quite a bit more complex than my old VW.

Mike LaBranche

Look at this way... in a couple years you'll be a 928 expert and can make big bucks as a pro wrench or at the very least keep yourself in beer working on your bud's 928s.

Hang in there, Ross. You'll get it all sorted out and the beast will reward you every time you drive it.

AO

Ross-

First off, I'm sure Ron gave you a fair deal, so let's make sure this isn't a Ron bashing session - he's an awesome guy; someone you want in your corner!

Ok, now on to your car. Let's face it, the car is older than you. Are you perfect in every way? Of course not, and neither is the car. And it probably never will be, but it still has thousands of miles of fun and enjoyment left in her.

Of the items on your list, the brakes/brake booster sound like the #1 item, then shifter cable and CV boots. Other than that, your list is very similar to 99% of us. Little stuff.
Headlight... a little clear silicone will fix that.
Cracks in the tail lights, if you're talking about the crazing in the plastic, yep, I got it too!
Bun warmers... what do you care?
Seat controls... I never adjust my seats because I'm the only one who drives it and I rarely have passengers (but you are right... those little ball bearing switches are a real PITA!).
Paint and spoiler issues... chalk it up to not taking the time to really look over the car - you won't do that again (hopefully).

Not too many 16 year olds can say they own a Porsche capable of going 170MPH. You're in a league all its own with all that entails - good and bad! You're a trend setter! We'll support you as best we can because we love sharks too!