Mike Frye

It is with a heavy heart that I relate the following story of a man who ignored the warning signs his 928 was giving him.

I haven't been authorized to relate the details of this and he may be upset that I'm publicizing it, but as I had a small part in it, I feel I'm justified if anyone else can learn from the mistakes that were made.

Here's the story: A guy I know wanted a 928. So he found an S4 and bought it. Then he drove it until it developed some 'quirks'. Since he was on a budget he didn't really do the full amount of work required, instead tried to get by on the minimum required to get it back to running well.

Then there was a 'small fire' underneath the car. He was able to put it out and got the car home again without incident. Still on a budget he wanted to fix only the 'dangerous' parts. He chose to do the work himself even though he admittedly didn't know much about cars, which is fine. Oh, in the process he asked for outside help, but ignored the advice he got, which was to replace all of the fuel injection lines as well as the rubber transmission cooling lines and do a complete electrical tune-up for starters.

Less than a week ago his car burned up, and is now a total loss.

This didn't have to happen. The car gave warnings. The car started running roughly, it actually caught on fire and was saved once. It was on borrowed time, but instead he kept driving it.

He is a nice enough guy, but he just wouldn't accept the fact that in order to drive one of these cars there are three requirements:

1) Willingness to spend lots of money on parts and labor
2) Lots of mechanical ability
3) Enough money for an average car payment each month, lots of patience, and a willingness to ask for (and follow) the advice of those more knowledgeable

You MUST have at least one of these, and two or three are advisable.

DonS

OMG; sorry to hear the bad news.

You know pics are required for a story like this to have any effect...

AO

Wow! That is a sad tale. Hopefully he had insurance and not just liability.

Big Dave

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon story. Loss by fire is only one possible outcome of neglect!

Mike Frye

Sadly, nope. Total loss.

I don't have permission to post the pics. But I saw them and let's just say, what the fire didn't damage, the firemen did.

Lizard928

sad story for sure, however given the circumstances I am glad he had no coverage on the car.

If he had the one fire and didnt fix it properly that is IMO willful neglect and no insurance company should have to pay out for that!

worf928

I can feel sorry only for the S4 in this tale.

It did not deserve the fate that was the totally logical and inevitable outcome of its owners (in)actions.

Imo000

Is there ahything worth salvaging on this car? Maybe he can get some money back by selling the good parts.

Bill Ball

I would think a fire, no matter how small, would stop most people right there.

Mike Frye

Possibly, but as you know, some parts will probably go right away but most will sit until someone needs them. He's not really mechanically inclined so I don't think that's an option.

I think he's actually trying to get a different 928 at this point but I'm not sure.

This is where the 928 gets a bad rap as being 'expensive' to maintain and for catching fire. The problem isn't that the cars catch fire easily or the rubber parts are bad, it's that the rest of the car is made so damned well that the first things to go are the flexible lines, and that after 20+ years!

This one really bothered me because I feel like I could have prevented it, but no matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn't listen.

worf928

Can we get him into a Honda or something? Sounds to me like he doesn't deserve to have another 928.

Yes I'm a hard-assed bastard.

ew928

Sounds like he needs something that can be driven into the ground.
Not sure Honda's will survive that.

Maybe a Toyota Land Cruiser?

Mike Frye

I didn't mean this to be a bashing session of the owner/future PO. He's not a bad guy. It was just supposed to serve as a warning to others.

Hopefully someone will take this to heart and consider doing the fuel lines before getting nice new wheels or a cool stereo.

JHowell37

It's somewhat understandable to feel a sense of guilt because you have a lot of knowledge and perhaps you feel that you didn't push him hard enough to take care of certain things. But I'm going to assume the owner is an adult and honestly, if one fire wasn't enough to scare him, there was little you could have said or done to prevent this. You see countless people in all aspects of life who have the attitude that they want something, but don't want to pay for it. Whether it be a matter of not having the money or simply not wanting to spend it they absolutely refuse to spend the money to fix or maintain things properly.

Let's be honest here, if it hadn't been the fire it would have been something else like a timing belt because he ignored the tension light.

I also agree that his actions represent willful neglect and the insurance company should get a free pass despite my disdain for insurance companies. Paying out will only reinforce this person's stupid behavior.

Sailmed

Hey - I resemble that remark - we may tend to get a little carried away when we're having fun

But you know it wasn't me - I'd a pulled the engine first