Joe '87 S4

My greatest fear about a top notch paint job is some idiot will scratch it soon after it gets painted. Mine could use paint but I'm holding off until it really needs it.

Warning, a long story but 928 related... The last 3 days have been hell. Wednesday a lot of things went wrong at work (I work as a carpenter and I'm currently running a new house build). Thursday I took the day off to go to the local IRS office because they refunded me $1,000 less than they were supposed to. After two hours of them trying to figure out what the error was, they agreed I was due to get the $1,000 back although the paperwork would have to go to the main office and I'd have to wait for their official word = nothing really accomplished.
Friday I went to work to find that someone broke into the job site (new house) by breaking through a newly installed $4,000 french door, every tool that they could carry was gone - approximately $2,500 worth of tools. Because I had no tools to work with Friday, I spent the day cleaning up the mess and buying new tools.

Today I finally realized what the kickdown switch was for. I got up early because I was still so angry about the last 3 days, got in the 928 and got on the highway. No one was on the road and as I merged onto the freeway I slammed the pedal down and held it there for what seemed like forever. The car has been running great lately and it shifted so smooth through all the gears. I didn't look at the speedo because I was sure I was going to get a ticket but I didn't care. I figured at least if the cop asked me how fast I was going I could say I have no idea . Now I don't think it was a great idea but the road was completely empty and it just felt sooooo good. I have to say the original adds for the car are correct - it eats up a lot of road quickly. And I now believe the kickdown switch was originally intended to be a stress reliever. I felt so good after that drive.

Anyway, I'd say if the car isn't giving you what you want, sell it and get something that makes you happy - it's not the car for everyone. The only way I think I'll ever get rid of mine is if it gets totaled or the engine goes.

perrys4

No wife guys...got rid of her years ago! I make the decisions.

Joe, your right. I am sure if I got it repainted I'd have something happn to it right away. Last Jag I got, within a week of ownership it got keyed the entire length of the car. That was depressing.

I think I will follow a couple of leads I have gotten on paint and see what happens. If I can get the fenders done reasonably I will likely do it.

Charley B

Happyness doesn't come from cars. You're either a happy guy with a 928, or an unhappy guy with a 928. Now frustration; that's a whole 'nother matter.

Daniel Dudley

Charley, cars can't make you happy, but you can be happy with a car. I have had some cars that impressed me every time I drove them. Every time. I have also had real fast cars that just didn't do it for me, and other cars that seemed to defy repair, as much as I wanted to love them.


For a 928 that doesn't impress, I would always reccomend a cross pipe or RMB. That sound puts clear context to effortless speed and power. Good shocks, tires and exhaust turn a bored 928 into a driver's car of the first order.

Going to a 928 event and seeing a hundred or so fine, fine 928s with killer wheels, superchargers, spotless engine bays and enthusiastic owners would make a dead man rise up and dance. Seeing a beautiful new set of wheels on your freshly painted 928 will cause drivers to stop in the middle of intersections to look at you car, and yes, it happens. Going to a PCA driver's event - well, if that doesn't get you chuffed, check into a hospital.

I see so many owners of really great automobiles inhappy with their rides because they won't put that little bit of whatever into the car to make it their own. Spending a little time, and maybe even a couple of bucks on a car while not driving it - this is ownership. If you have done everything you ever wanted to do with a car, know the experience and are ready to move on, that's a different story.

If I never drove another 928, I would still have great memories to look back on, and some interesting lessons as well. I expect that there is more to be had.

Podguy

[QUOTE=Daniel Dudley Going to a 928 event and seeing a hundred or so fine, fine 928s with killer wheels, superchargers, spotless engine bays and enthusiastic owners would make a dead man rise up and dance. .[/QUOTE]

Events just depress me. The other cars always look so much better. Knowing how much time I put into my car and seeing others effortlessly display their almost flawless cars is just plain depressing.

Dan the Pod Guy

Wade T

No truer words have been spoken! Sometimes I just pull up a chair, suck down a few cold-ones and stare at my 928 for an hour or two!
I call it "salting" the car.

dr bob

Oh yeah, 'effortlessly' is a good word. Getting the car right, keeping it right, all while using it as a driver, that's effortless. It's not quite as bad as a racing sailboat at 200:1, or a competitive race car at 400:1 (man-hrs to race hours), but it still takes a lot of time. And efforts. Oooops, that blows the 'effortless' part.

Went to a casual parking-lot walk-around 'event' on Sunday morning. Spent 'only' a few hours cleaning on Saturday afternoon. No wax/polish/etc, just wash, vacuum, scrub brush in the wheelwells, clean out the brake dust. My car was hardly in the running for best-of-anything, by the way.

Getting a car to 'nice' condition depends a lot on where you start. That's a big reason why folks are encouraged to find a car that's already close to what you want in the end. It's easy to spend hundreds of hours just getting body panels straight before sending it off for paint. It's easy to spend a lot of hours repairing and replacing interior pieces, and that considers having a lot of the soft work done by the Champaignes and the Rob Budds of the world. I know you like to do some pretty ambitious resto projects, so you know what it takes to bring a beater or a salvage project to show-off condition. Figure that there's $5-7k or more in effort to make an average hi-mile S4 look like a low-mile casual car-show stand-out? I'd say more than that myself. But are we willing to pay those extra dollars when an exceptional low-mile car comes on the market? Tim's car was offered for several months before a smart buyer from across the country decided that it was worth it. Wilhoit cars get the nose here as too expensive for what's offered.

Oh well, back to work....

DonT

" I am losing interest in my car!"

The title of this thread says it all. Sell the car and be done with it.

perrys4

I really don't want to sell my car, I was just wondering what the consensus of the group was on keeping or selling it. When I bought the car it was really nice. I was very proud of it. I baby the thing and have always kept up the maintenance and made the repairs to keep it nice. As it has aged, a previous paint repair has started to turn cloudy and off color, dash cracks have appeared and in general, cosmetic things are starting to go bad. Mechanically it is in great shape. I was wondering if any of the guys and gals had gone through this before and was looking for advice and suggestions. I have some leads and am going to follow them. If i can get things back into shape without spending more than the car is worth i will do it. Maybe I didn't represent myself well enough.