zekgb

Ran across an 85 5 speed for sale in Seattle. It's priced right and after speaking with the owner I expect it to sell fairly quickly if it checks out so I don't think I will have the luxury of setting up a PPI. Would someone here be willing to swing by and take a look at it for me sometime today or tomorrow?

PS - Yes I'm a paid up Rennlister as of this morning

Thanks in advance,

Kevin

jcb928

Is it the Red 85 5 speed with red rims?

I *think" Harvey (H2 on Rennlist) posted about looking at the car on the PACNW 928 group (on Yahoo). It needed a bunch of work if I remember correctly and it looks like the front spoiler is missing.

The car has been posted for sale off and on for over a year (started off at $7500).

Get a PPI !!!

macreel

zekgb... where is the car? What part of town?

G'luck

zekgb

Yes it's the red Sammamish car. Looking at the Yahoo thread is all I need as the owner was not upfront with me regarding the car's condition and length of time on the market. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction...

macreel

zekgb... ok. BTW, where are you?


G'luck.

p.s. PPI isn't a luxury; more like a staple.

H2

The red 928 I looked closely at was a GT and it was in Vancouver. However, I did call on the Sammamish car (my daughter lives in Sammamish) and based on what I heard, I didn't even go by and look at it. Then again, I'm only interested in pristine cars. I don't remember any details about the car since I was checking on a half-dozen 928s a day when I was looking.

Harvey

F451

I looked at and drove that car some time ago when I was looking for a 5 sp. It was not as advertised which kind of ticked me off. He makes it sound a lot nicer then it is, IMO. And that is why he has been trying to sell it for so long.

Wheels are unknown brand, wheel paint or powder coating not in good shape. Interior was not too bad, but was not in excellent shape by any measure, I would say the interior is fair.

It has an aftermarket alarm which the owner pointed out to me, but the install was half assed in my opinion. Wires running around the engine compartment to the alarm horn.

Drove a bit rough, but ran ok. Felt like the ball joints or something were bad, at full lock backing up out of his drive, they clunked pretty good.

Tranny and clutch felt ok from what I remember, handled decently.

I would say for $5000 - 5500 or so it might be an ok deal, but then again I'm fairly picky, so I may be unrealistically pricing it too low, but I don't think so judging by how long it has been for sale.

I think it would be a decent car to PPI if he would lower the price significantly.

zekgb

Thanks for all your help everyone, I've been lurking here for quite a while, preparing myself to take the plunge and now that I've mentally committed I am finding it very hard to be patient. I'm looking for the best car an 8K-ish budget can buy to share daily driver duties (45 mile Silicon Valley freeway commute) with my 95 540i M-Sport that is nearing a quarter million miles. I do most of the work on the BMW and consider myself to be a fair wrench. I am very much looking forward to having the luxury to take my time on projects instead of having to rush to get the car buttoned up in time to get to work the next day as well as the challenge of learning a new platform after 10+ years of E34 ownership.

In my ideal world I would prefer a 32 valve car but would consider a 16V/OB in the proper condition as well. I'm not overly picky as far as color combo's go, but I'd like to find a good/very good car cosmetically without sacrificing too much on the mechanicals/maintenance history. Anyway, thanks again for all of the help, I'm sure I'll be back again as my quest continues.

Kevin

H2

NeverLate,

From what you've said, $5,000 would be way more than I would pay for a car in this condition. Sounds like some expensive repairs could be lurking. I know I didn't even waste my time to go look at it after talking with the guy and asking some questions (and he was only blocks away from where I was staying). I whole heartedly agree with you on a thorough PPI by someone who knows their stuff (Leif et al?). As you know, identify all the things that will need to be fixed, how much those repairs/updates will cost, then take the total anticipated cost (and add some for stuff not caught in the PPI) and see if it is more than a reasonable price for the shape the car will be left with. If you absolutely love the color (and it's uncommon) or the basic drivetrain/engine is solid, then it may be worth more than what you could buy a comparable 32V for. At $5K I'm really doubting it. There are a few parts on the 928 that will eat up $3K-$5K (or more) pretty quickly. There's a reason this car has been on the market so long...I doubt it's going anywhere soon. There's time for a PPI.

Frankly, there are a lot of good 928s floating around to be purchased. A few are good and a lot of them will make the buyer wish s/he had kept looking. On an exceptional car, it sometimes makes more $$ sense to pay more upfront than pay WAY MORE in the first couple of years after you buy it.

If the owner of the car in question is a Rennlister, I apologize, but a PPI and a decision made on relatively solid numbers is fair for everyone.

BTW, there used to be a beautiful Guards Red S4 in Issaquah that I've seen...but I'm not aware that it's ever been for sale.

Harvey

F451

I agree Harvey, I wouldn't pay $5k for it, and when I looked at it, I told him I would pass, and he asked me to make an offer, but I didn't even bother because I did not want a car in that condition.

I'm such a cheap skate when it comes to 928's, so I was just trying to ball park it for others that may not be so conservative with their funds.

F451

He is not a rennlister, I asked him, he never heard of it. I got the impression that he's not a very knowledgeable 928 owner, so that was another red flag for me.

F451

Kevin,

I'm no expert by any means, but I think for up to 8k or so, you should be able to find a very nice 928.

Keep looking, they are out there.

Ed