perrys4

I am embarassed to drive it anymore. PO paint fix is fading quickly and the seats are splitting through. My order for a new interior got nixed and now I am faced with the dilema of spending $$ to fix up the 928 (have to buy a beater to drive while getting paint) or just buying a cheap used Honda and fixing the 928 as I have extra $$. The other possibility is selling her and using the money to buy a nice sedan. I am so confused right now.

3000teeth

Top Bluebook on your car is $14k right? What can you get for it with bad paint and interior? Also, how nice of a sedan can you get for that?

I'd spend it and continue to have a great car --but that's just me. I know I'll never recoup the money I'm putting into mine, but I'm hoping to enjoy driving it for 20 years.

sjfarbs

I am with 3000teeth. Go lease a Kia Rio, Honda Civic or Hyundai Accent for low bucks and save and sink money into the 928 when you can.

How many 928's on the road right now? How many in 10 years..........20 years?
You will kick yourself if you sell it, and cheap based on poor paint and interior!!!

Just my .02 cents........

Shawn
84' 928S
74' TR6
07 Santa Fe Limited (that's right a Hyundai, daily driver, no worries ever

morganabowen

Ron, you asked the question if it is worth it to spend $10K on your 928? Well, you know that if you did spend that money on your car and then later decided to sell it, you would not get that money back. However, if you spend the $10K with the idea that you are upgrading your 928, and it is going to make you feel better driving it, then you have to decide if that will make you happy. If your car is mechanically sound, and the repairs/upgrades are cosmetic, them if I were in you place, I would rather have a really nice 928 that has fresh upgrades and repairs, then driving around in a sedan. Although, it depends on the sedan

ShawnSmith

Exactly as stated above. You spend $10k or more on a 928 if and only if you're doing it simply for the joy of having a really nice 928, and don't mind that you'll never get that $10k back.

I'll never recover the [big] money I'm putting into my stealth stroker project, but it's gonna make me grin like a lunatic every time I stomp on the gas pedal. That's worth it to me...

Intrinsicate

I spend a lot of my time at work appraising cars that are fifteen or more years younger than mine, have similar miles (75k), yet are more or less exhausted. They would clearly NOT be worth spending $10,000 to restore. The 928, however, was so robustly built, and with such engineering integrity, that, given reasonable maintenance, it is almost always worth restoring. And, when the work is done, you have yourself a car that is fast, comfortable, reliable and eye-catching. As a reviewer said, a long time ago, it is a car that gives you "a certain emotional glow" every time you start it up.

Daniel Dudley

Do not rush to make a decision.

Go take a drive.

Think later, and do not stress on this. Sorry about your interior BTW.

perrys4

No rushing into anything and I drive it every day. I'd love to get back to having it a garage queen. I also need a sedan, daughter has friends that need to go places and when my parents came to visit ( Late 70's) I had to stuff dad into the back seat ( he was a good sport about it).

Mechanicals are up to date, just need shocks at this point. That is another reason for keeping it, because I know whats been done to her.

My problem is champagne tastes ( no pun intended) but a beer budget. I really want another XJR and there are two XJR100's for sale right now I'd love to get hold of. Just can't afford to hold on to one if i get the other. I am just trying to figure out how to have both without going into debt.

If I do spend the $$ on the 928 it will be because I love the car and know full well I will never see it again.

Rob Edwards

Ron-

I know you love the Jags, but how 'bout a '98-'01 528i? In the coming OC economy you ought to be able to find a very nice one for ~$10K, add 1.5K for its midlife crisis needs and change the tranny fluid immediately. The M52 motors are bulletproof and will go 200K if you ignore BMW's maintenance schedule and service it properly. Wear items are cheaper at BMA autoparts than are things for my MIL's Corolla. It'd be a great practical DD. There are 54(!) of them for sale on Autotrader within 25 miles of Irvine, LOL!

A civic/corolla/camry would make more sense given $4 gas and your commute but life's too short for that.......


You buy the shocks and we can install them at my place, the weekend of May 17th-18th. Between the 2 of us we could knock it out in a day.

Do I smell clinic???????

ibkevin

So the XJR would be the new family hauler?

10k must be including a full paint job. There are enough cars in the area to hand pick replacement interior parts as the budget allows.

What ever happened to the shock GTG? I'd bet a pizza Bill and I would be happy lend a hand.

perrys4

Thanks for the offer Rob, I likely will take you up on that now that i know you have worked out all the issues on your car. lol! Lets talk this over.

I have no attraction to the 5 series beemers. I have to enjoy what I drive or I will sell it. That is what happened to the Tacoma. I really want the Jag and have the two cars again. Besides, I was told repeatedly the autos in the 928 were bullet proof and thats why I bought one, ended up replacing it 1500 miles after purchase. I have no luck with used stuff.

Kevin, I was figuring about 5k for paint. I don't have to have perfection because I drive it. Too perfect and I will worry about it all the time. If I just redo the front seats I can save $$.

docmirror

I just faced this decision about a month ago. I figured $3k for a medium good paint job and I had to rebuild the engine for around $3k. I'm gonna be a bit over on my engine, and right on target on the paint. I have about $1000 more to spend on gewgaws to fix. Since it's a nice driving car, and it's moderately rare, I decided to go ahead and spend the money. If I do have to sell, I'm hoping the new engine with 0 hours and fresh paint, two year old interior will bring me a premium price in the market.

You need to keep the car for > 10 years to realize your 10K investment today. I can tell you that the S4 928 is nevr going to have the cachet of some other vintage cars. I don't care if most of them wind up in junkyards the S4 just never caught on like Porsche expected. So, I don't think it will ever go up dramatically in value, unless you have an early Euro, CS, or maybe a GT(prolly not).

Shane

Are you happy with the specific year/features that your 928 has?

If so, then yes...

If not, then nope not worth it...

Ultimately only you will be able to answer that question!

For myself and my 928s the answer is easy... Yep, you betcha, worth 10k, 20k, 30k, or however much it takes to keep me grinning!!

IcemanG17

Perry
$10k seems like alot of money...but when you really think about it.....what type of used car will $10k buy you.....sure a used Honda thats over 5 years old with at least 75k miles.....it should have some good life left in it....... But it won't be any fun...... Keep in mind all the $10k you are talking about spending is pure cosmetics....so your 928 is running quite well if thats where your worried..... I do think you can get the seats repaired-redyed for around $1k...since mine were only $600 a couple years ago and still look great....put a dash cover on to hide the pod-dash cracks (if you have any)....then paint is your only worry...but that could be $10k easy for a top notch job...

On the same note my daily driver 2002 Saturn with only 57k miles will be gone soon and sharky will take on my brutal 3 mile commute.....

If your annual mileage is say under 15k.....then there are lots of leases out there for cars like Honda Accords-Civics brand new for around $2-300 a month.....pretty cheap really.....

Another way to look at it is this...Ferrari guys spend that on tune ups every 5 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TJS

Don't know what car depreciation is like in the States, it's been a while since I was last there, what with the post 9/11 embassy checks etc. However, in the UK most cars depreciate heavily. 3 year old cars are often worth 40% of their new value, and even the best performers are only worth 50%. And things don't get that much better on the older used front either.

If I keep my 928 for at least 5 years, a big payout like doing paint is worthwhile. Think about it, even if you spend $10,000 in one go + $5,000 on maintainence during those years, its still only about equal with the depreciation cost on a modern car. Ok fuel costs more (LOTS more in the UK) but life is short.

Personally I spent 10 weeks rebuilding a lot of my 928 during my uni holidays two years ago. I'll keep my 928 forever; or at least until they're worth $80,000+. Because over here, that's roughly what I rate its replacement value is.

For someone who isn't particularly mechanically enclined to spend the sunny summer months breaking knucles and being showered with 20 years of road debris was a test of character. I have a nice car, and the satisfaction of having fixed it (mostly....) I like my car very much; it's different. And good to drive. It's comfy and practical with that rear hatch. It has a Porsche badge. But it's a classic so it doesn't offend people. So far I've used my 928 for everything from moving house to a 1500 mile roadtrip on the continent visiting 4 different countries. Complaints? It has a few rattles. The stereo is rubbish. The aircon no longer works (on my to do list) and the ride is quite firm. Gee.