H2

Yes, Adam, and the number of beaters is rapidly rising as too many people like to drive the 928 hard, not keep it up, then sell them. Great fun until the bills start coming in...exponentially. PPIs are the only way to buy anymore...only I may not have asked for one on the great S-4 that Tim sold recently. For Rennlister cars, you can pretty well track the car's history by doing a search of the owner's postings.

Harvey

SteveG

Once upon a time I owned a '65 Barricuda.

H2

Jim,

Your comment made me think of a "free" color inkjet printer that someone once gave me. In two cartridge replacements, I exceeded the cost of the printer. We have a color printer in the office that it costs over $800 to replace all the color ink cartridges. Cost per copy....cost per miles on the 928... I don't drive a black and white car.

Harvey

Charley B

Jim - the world is a logical, fair and equitable place. That's why I can afford to drive one.

tdelarm

Harvey:

Funny you mention that. Bob Bigham (the Sharks new owner) actually had a PPI completed in Seattle and I encouraged it as well. However, I knew the car pretty much inside and out and the PPI came clean except for the car eventually needing brakes…(must have been the Leavenworth trip). I actually had future plans on upgrading the brakes anyway but overall, the car is tight and the mechanics seemed very impressed with its condition.

Not including the shops owner Chris, I believe I was as familiar if not more with the working mechanics of the 928 and what a PPI should enquire then those performing the PPI. And, keep in mind when I bought the car, it actually took two PPI to completely find everything that required attention. A PPI is good insurance but not the end all in choosing a clean reliable example if those performing the services are not 928 savvy.

I was surprised by some perspective buyers who were debating about sweeping up such a clean example for what I thought was a very fair if not undervalued price. And for a car that several Rennlister’s have seen, heard or have read about. Of course, I won’t reveal that price now, as that’s Bob’s call.

I do think as time goes by prices will slowly creep up as good examples become more rare. And at the point they become collector cars the price will be dictated by what a potential buyer believes it is worth or, the seller will simple choose to keep the car. At that point, NADA and Kelly books would have no bearing in deciding the cars value, too me. My car buying decision have never been based on those books anyway.

Uniformed potential buyers expect to get a steal of a deal largely due to those posing neglected low priced examples they are used to seeing sitting on car lots and, all those nasty rumors that have circled for years about the cars being un-reliable money pits. True, some 928 owners have it tougher then others in keeping them on the road but again, its due to condition and not poor design.


I believe the 928 is one of Germany’s finest examples of craftsmanship. And bang for the buck.

Gary Knox

I have two data points. In April of 2000, I sold the first 928 I'd owned (an '87 with ~82K miles, automatic, in very good physical and mechanical condition) for $14,750. A few weeks ago, I sold the '88 automatic S4 with 77K miles (that I bought a year ago on the west coast and drove home) which was in a little better condition both mechanically and physically for $15,000. Both cars were sold to the first person who looked at them.
I'd say that prices are essentially flat, not taking into account inflation over this 6 1/2 year period of time. Not bad for cars that are to be used as "most day" drivers.

Gary Knox
West Chester, PA

H2

A fellow who works for me just bought a "new 2005 vette". (1200 miles) w/full warranty, etc. He also has an M5 BMW and the 'vette will become his daily driver. I've looked at both cars carefully, and drove them. They're both nice in their own way....and both will outrun my '86S, on or off track. However, I still prefer the 928. And, for just $6k more and my labor, I can have a car that should leave them behind (i.e., w/forced induction). They're not bad cars, I just prefer the 928 styling and the ride I get. It makes sense that most new cars will have newer technology bells and whistles and more reliability and that's mostly what you get with a newer car.

I'm envious of all the aftermarket stuff you can get for a 'vette and their relatively low price, and performance isn't bad, but I guess I just don't want to be stereotyped as the "typical vette owner." The M5 is a great stealth car...that is, it looks like a generic sedan but it's really a race car in disguise. Prices and othe things aside, I still prefer the 928.

Harvey
928 Uber Alles

Marine Blue

Gary you make a good point.

IMHO I believe the good condition cared for 5spds are slowly going up in price while Auto's remain level. The difference being supply vs demand.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Typically what makes a car collectable is that it was something which people lusted for as a youth, what they had posted on the bedroom wall , read about in magazines , vividly remember the first time they ever saw one in the flesh.... That is the demand side. The supply side is what ever current owners are willing to let one go for. Like the 84 At with 6,000 documented one owner miles asking $25,000 ....There were still 16,781 928s registered in The US as of Oct 2004

funxman

Agreed Jim "something which people lusted for as a youth". That is exacly why I just bought my 928. In my search for my 928, I seen a lot of people trying to unload a pile of crap represented as babied, well maintained, always garaged, one owner, everything new etc-justs needs a little of this and a little that. Then you do a carfax, and its salvaged, accident reported and been all over the country to a dozen owners. It is these people that keep the value and reputation low. That, and many decent and affordable mechanics are scared to death to open the hood for some reason.

And imo, shows like that english car show that bought the three junk porsches so they could show everyone what a pile of crap old porsches CAN be.... They should do another version of a good 928 sample ran up against some of todays hot dog cars and do a price comparison.. That would set the record straight.

bfellows

Any idea how many the number drops by each year?

Vilhuer

Top Gear £1500 used Porsche competition was best advertising 928 has ever got. I think it created more interest towards our chosen model than Porsche marketing department ever could. General opinion among 944 etc owners seemed to be that 928 is money pit like nothing else. When Clarkson made profit while dismantling his admittedly junk 928 he disaproved that stereotype to some extend at least. This is more than Porsche did back when they cared at all.

csb5150

My best guess is that as the demographic group that identified with the car most moves into the place in their lives where they have sufficient disposable income to indulge their teenage fantasies, the market will creep upwards (especially for cars that have been restored or refurbished).

I'm in my late thirties (37) and recall as my most salient first 928 moment, seeing the car fall into Lake Michigan in "Risky Business." I loved that car! It is not surprising then that I jumped at a chance to buy a 1985 928S in the same color. My neighbors (many of whom own Boxsters now) still come by when it is on the driveway to pay homage to the Porsche flagship of their youth.

Once I get the car back from mechanic (who is refreshing some mechanical components (including new headers and X-pipe w/o cats) and the body shop who is going to freshen the paint, I suspect that I will get an offer or two.

H2

Ironically, I never even knew about the 928 until I saw the one I bought....as it was love at first sight and I bought the car two weeks later. Up until then, I had been so caught up in street rods (my last one was a 32 Plymouth, vette engine, posi, buckets, tilt, air, tint, speed yellow, etc, etc.) that I didn't take time to notice the Porsches and figured they were not as "fast" as the cars I was building. Boy was I wrong! Stoplight to stoplight or on the 1/4 mile strip is very different from what the Porsche is really good at.

However, when I heard the 928 V8 Rev, and sat in the seats, it all clicked.. "This car was all I could ever have dreamed of in street rod...and it was WAY BETTER! And, cheaper, and cornered well, and was more comfortable, and possible to do your own wrenching. Before I bought I made sure that a small block Chevy would be a possible backup if the infamous Tbelt were to grenade the engine. But, since, I've pretty well moved away from the Hybrid 928 idea although it's an alternative to parting out if push came to shove. An engine change wouldn't be difficult to do but it does take away from the car a lot if not done well. With the brains, gauges, etc....it'd be a pain.

Concerning auto vs 5-speed, as they age, I agree that the 5-speed will hold its value better for several reasons. Shifting's fun (but not so much in town) and the dreaded Thrust Bearing scare of unmaintained cars will become an issue for a certain number of buyers as these cars go through many owners who may not have been aware of how to pre-empt damage to the block. To my knowledge, there still is no easy, cheap, or quick way to ascertain the condition of the block short of tearing into it more than a little. This alone, although it may not be an issue for most cars, has caused me to hesitate on high mileage 928s w/o a repair history. But sometimes, it's worth taking a chance if the price is right OR if the maintenance records show that this was taken care of

Also, in the 70's, I owned an MG that cornered good but was gutless. I prejudged too many European sports cars based on that experience. I missed out on a lot of years of fun 928 car ownership because of that.

Now that I'm converted to the 928, some say I've become a zealot. So? What's their point?

Harvey

Chris

Interestingly in the last 3 days there have been 3 S4 5 speds sold on Ebay for under 10K, one was black/black with sport seats.

This is the lowest I have seen 5 speeds.

Chris

Added links:
S4 Number1
S4 Number 2
S4 Number 3