Nathan Valles

Hello All,

I'm thinking about buying my first 928 in late spring and I've been reading all your posts for about a month now. You people are great!!! I really love the pre inspection lists and plan on using them extensively when the time comes.

OK, now my question....when I'm looking for a car, how many miles are too many miles? I know that less is always better, but really, how many miles do you have?

Does anyone have 200,000 miles on their Shark? Has someone actually spent $5,000 on an engine rebuild? On Auto Trader.com there is a 90 928 GT with 198k miles for $13k. On the one hand I spend $5k for a motor but then I get a new motor too.

I'm just trying to get a feel for what's realistic and what isn't. I'm not rich, but I am good at working on cars. Any thoughts?

Jim Dawson

Hey Nathan,

I would not consider mileage a big issue with the 928. They are solid, quality built cars. However, age does take it's toll on anything mechanical.

I bought my car, an 89 928S4 in June 1998 with 86,000 miles on it. It had two previous owners and was in good shape. Since that time I have spent nearly 10K in maintenance including the radiator, torque tube and most importantly the timing belt. That works out to about 2500.00 a year in maintenance costs, not too bad.

It now has 126,000 miles and I would guess is good for at least 100,000 more miles. The drivetrain (engine/trans/etc) is bulletproof although other smaller things may not last that long. Plan to keep it at least another five years.

Hope this helps your decision.

Jim

bad S4

I bought Bad S4 a little more than a year ago..an
87 S4 with 26K miles.Yes 26 thousand miles and I have replaced many expensive parts due to age and non-use.My point is...Low milage may look great on the dashboard but may come with a different set of problems.I would say service records and regular maintenance are more important than just milage alone.

Bad S4
87 S4
Blk/Blk
5-Speed
27K

Jim Nowak

I would have to agree with Bad S4 that a low mileage 928 is not necessarily better than a high mileage 928. A porsche master mechanic once told me that the 928s that are daily drivers usually have fewer problems than the garage queens or weekend cruisers. A 928 is meant to be driven and driven hard on a daily basis but not abused.

Has someone really paid $5,000 for an engine rebuild. Yes, but, you have to ask why that engine was rebuilt. I would run if you see a 928 with a rebuild at under 200,000+ miles. Why? The previous owner was probably a bonehead and did something stupid: broken timing belt because they waited too long to replace, ran the engine out of oil, dropped a screw down the intake, or let some redneck at Bubba's service center do the maintenance. However, a performance rebuild is something entirely different.

A performance rebuild can easily run in excess of $10,000. Performance billet cams can cost between $2,000 to $4,000 depending on 2V or 4V heads. Custom pistons for our engines can easily cost over $2,000. Skilled labor to work on these engines can run over $90/hour.

The 928 motors are very durable when properly maintained. When I removed the motor from my 1979 928 after 200,000+ miles the engine still made over 200 rear wheel horse power. My engine builder has a stock 1987 928S4 auto with over 250,000 miles and the engine was able to put out over 250 RWHP and that was with two faulty injectors.

Jim Nowak

Tom. M

Hi Nathan,

I would not shy away from hi mileage 928's. They have usually had a lot of work done to them over time (the bad ones will be obvious just by the way they look). I bought my 87 S4 AT with 121K on the odo. It now has 142K (since 99) and all I have really done is add go fast goodies. Doesn't use oil, gets good mileage, doesn't leak (well just a little from the auto tranny), and has dynoed at 302ft-lbs and 284HP at the wheels.

Mine didn't come with any records (only the sellers assurance that the t-belt was done and the tranny was replaced). I confirmed the tranny after the sale by checking it out thoroughly on a lift, and just retentioned the belt.

On a 928 with 190K miles I would look at the engine for oil leakage (seals), the steering rack and tranny for seepage also. Verify the t-belt has been done too since that's one area where you really can't tell if it's new or not (do waterpump at the same time). Otherwise lower the offer by the cost of the t-belt service and then do it yourself....


Good luck...
Tom
midlman@seanet.com

Donald

Nathan-
ditto the others. My '90GT had 125k on it, and no records & bought it sight unseen.... I probably would not do that again, but it was not bad and it was the only manual w/ one of my choice colors.

Immediately did T-belt, ignition wires & caps, P-steering hose & pump, alignment, tires, stereo, a/c work, fuel pumps, bits & bobs (?$5-$10K?). Paid $17k (year ago last Nov.) including shipping.
Engine/tranny very strong, think it will last- now has 135k.

The car on auto trader is not a GT- that was the designation for 5 speed manual transmissions. The wheels don't look right, not sure that they were OEM on '90 autos- leave that to someone more knowledgeable .
Good luck,
Donald

Ed Ruiz

Last I heard, there is a fellow in GA with two 928s. One has 400k+ miles and the other has over 600k miles. Two years ago, they were both still being driven.

I'm having my GT's engine rebuilt due to loss of lubrication while doing some performance driving. If it costs only $5k, I'll consider myself very lucky. Normally, a complete engine rebuild will run about $10k if you have to pay someone to do it. If you do it yourself, the parts alone can be over $2k. YMMV.

~ Merry motoring ~

DougM

If the car on autotrader is a '90 5-spd, then it is a GT. All '90-'91 5-spd's are GT and all automatics are s4 ('90-'91 5-spd = GT). In '89 the GT was an option on the 5-spd so you have to check the option codes.

Nicole

You should look at the service records and find out when the following parts were last replaced. I put the life expectancy (based on my experience with three 928s) in parethesis:

- Timing belt (max 60k)
- Shocks (max 70k)
- Motor mounts (60k)
- Idle regulator / stabilizer valve (60-80k)
- Knock sensors (80-90k)
- Ignition wires (10 years)

I've had muerous other things replaced before 70k miles, but those are not necessarily typical. I think the most important is a throrough pre-purchase inspection with cost estimate to fix all these things.

Best of luck!

Donald

In re: DougM's comments-
That is my point. The car is Listed as an auto, ergo Not a GT. It is also Not an '89 as the listed VIN is an...L... therefor a '90 year model.
Cheers,
Donald

GFoster

I own a 1987 928. I presently have approximately 230,000 miles on my car (It had 181,000 when I purchased it) and nothing has been done to the engine. I say approximately because my speedo broke...It burns no oil (mobile one) and I change all fluids frequently. I drive it hard and do time trials approximately every other month...I have also raced the Gold Rush for 110 miles averaging 120 mph and the Silverstate averaging over 130 mph...I drive my car approximately 100 to 150 miles per day...I have not had any major problems...
Clutch replaced, powersteering replaced, shocks, replaced, new rotors and brakes..I woke up this morning and my car was covered with snow...I drove my wifes truck to work this am and I did not like it. . My 928 is never garaged and I live on 22 acres at the end of a 1/2 mile dirt road..When I go racing I just knock the dirt out of the K & N filter, drive to the track and drive home. At the end of day of racing I am tired but my car isn't.

Life is good!
Gary Foster

PatrickP

Nathan,

Dittos on all the prior. Got my '85 with 150k+/- in March 2001. Now at 170k + with no major problems. Replaced fuel pump and fan clutch. Daily driver. The key appears to be maintenance, not (necessarily) mileage.

Kaz

Hey GFoster, my speedo broke for a brief period and we traced it to a wire in the rear that had gotten cut.

I bought my car with 69k and all records two years ago. I now have 116k on the odometer and the car has crossed the US under it's own power three times now.

At German Auto Art there is a 928 with 290k on the odometer and the leakdown performed showed factory parameters so the owner opted to have the rest of the car restored around the engine.

I would say that extensive records are a must on a high mileage car. A low low mileage car probably won't have them cause it just wasn't driven much and owners of them think that just because it's not being driven that there's nothing to replace on it. Anything over 100k should have a few Tbelt/waterpump changes, plenum service done, oilpan gasket changed, new motor mounts, possibly torque tube and bearings replacement, rear axleboots replaced, and fuel pump. There's more but that's a good list to start with.

K
88S4

TB 88 S4

There is a service schedule published by Porsche that lists the service intervals by TIME or MILEAGE.
You can find reasonable priced 928s with just about whatever mileage or budget you are looking for.
Look at its service records and check to see if they were maintained on a schedule.

High or Low mileage --- 928s are the deal of the century.

88 Guards Red S4 / 18,648 miles