Landseer

The only answer was to buy some more to get my average cost per car down.

James Bailey

Many tried that with GM stock....repeatedly.

Mike LaBranche

Love this kind of thread. What's it worth? As Jim B. says, drop 10k and you've got a 5k car. Always comes down to value. How much is the well sorted 928 experience worth? And how much are you willing to pay/do to get there? Then compare that to what you'd have to pay on the current market for something new that performs as well and will for the next 25 years. I'm down for the 10k on top of whatever it costs you to get into the game. Then drive the **** out of it.

anonymousagain

'83 5sp I've had for 2yrs now, as DD mostly, that runs great and is reliable, but needs some work.

IMHO, there are always two paths with Intention for a used vehicle purchase, Restore it or It is What it is.

My intention is to enjoy it for what it is with it's shortcomings. Both Purchase Price and Maintenace budget are appropriately low, with this expectation going into it.

IF, my intention was to keep it for a long time and make it perfect, then I'd expect to put $5k+ into it and enjoy spending my labor along the journey. The result may be only a "sellable" $6k or $7k car, but that wasn't the point, since it's value would be well over $10k to me and I prefer the 928 to some other $10k alternative.

You need to drive it and inspect it yourself, if you're considering It is What it is. Only then can you assess price and maintenance parameters.

You should drive it and inspect it yourself (or better spend for a PPI), if you're considering to Restore it to it's beauty.

For the record, I'd drive the '83 on a long trip since I know what is reliable and what is not...but it is still a bit of a Hooptie for the items that don't work.

Oh, and FWIW, it is only a little quicker than a 944 0-60, but substantially faster than a 944 on the open road. At least that's my experience, albeit with only two 944 encounters.

Good luck, but don't rush it unless you are willing to except any outcome without regret.

James Bailey

Correct..."but substantially faster than a 944 on the open road. At least that's my experience, albeit with only two 944 encounters..." Once wind resistance starts to be a issue and it's HP required is not linear but cubed, the drag race is no longer simply power to weight. On a 1.8 mile 13 turn road race course equally stock 944 early 928 they are very close on lap times very, very close

danglerb

A 944 doesn't rumble like a 928.

James Bailey

Right it SOUNDS fast

Hilton

To the OP - if you're being tempted by 928's, the absolute best thing you can do is post your location, and meet up with other owners to look at their cars and hear their stories.

Do not just jump into owning one - its all too easy to buy a lemon with these cars. They were once Supercars, and came with Supercar maintenance tickets, so many many of them aren't even close to well maintained.

By all means fly out and look - but if you can meet some other 928's and pick their owners' brains before, you'll be able to look with a lot more knowledge.

rgs944

Unfortunatly I am not near any other 928 guys. I live in the sticks but plan to try make some events in the Omaha or KC area this summer. The knowledge that I am learning on this post is very valuable and I have learned a lot so far. If anyone is in the Costa Mesa, CA area and would want to do a ppi for me please PM and I will send my phone #. If anyone wants to see some pictures of the car I am looking at it is listed on a website called www.houseofluxururies.com

rgs944

Here is a good link directly to it. http://www.houseofluxuries.com/inventory.htm I do not know if I mentioned it yet but I can wrench on my own stuff. Not a great mechanic but good enough to get it done.

shmark

If that car drives well and doesn't leak anything, it's a no brainer. Very nice cosmetically and that's hard to find, and expensive to correct if it's not. If you do your own wrenching you're ahead. The early cars are not hard to work on if you're methodical and like to do things the right way (no hacks).

anonymousagain

FWIW - If I liked how it drives, it seems to be a decent car, but mechanical aside, there are many concerns just from the pics:
- curious the side panels to the center console are not fastened (simple), yet they vaccumed the door panels??
- tape on the washer reservoir?
- pass intake is toast
- pillar leather is lying in the back, yet pics don't show where they go...selective pics
- non-stock muffler (may/may not matter)
- poor recover of the center arm rest
- seat belt not retracted
- no pic of hatch (in or out), but you can see it's got some exterior rust under spoiler as stated
- hatch receiver has something in it...does it work?
- headliner is loose, warped, and has bad tear on driver side
- tires look old and you'd think they'd at least add air (boxter wheels are okay)
- fixed intake flares are rusty, as is brake booster...but the Armorall guy was working overtime
- sunrook not fully closed
- front spoiler looks to be intact (yaaaa!!!)
- do all the locks work?
- electrically heavy, you really need to try everything to know what has to be addressed

Get a local Rennlister to inspect it, drive it, fiddle with everything and take pictures of all aspects so you know what to expect. Just from the pictures, there is a lot to do, but that may be okay to you.

For Me, it is a nice car to start with if judging a book by it's cover and knowing you'll happily do the work. BUT, considering a long distance purchase, it seems a better example to start with is more logical; better to spend your budget limit up front for a sound example, then to roll the dice to save $1K or $2k and be on the wrong side of the roll.

I got lucky with all three of ours, I love 928's, the work doesn't scare me, but I wouldn't pay $3500 for that car, based purely on what is visible and what a sales guy told me.

Richard Lang

The 83's are one of the few that have never been a good investment, but as far as being a 928 for your first time car I would always recommend to start with that model, Also they were the last ones to be hand made in Germany. You do need to do some of your own work, you will enjoy it , and curse doing it. The transmission problems are easy to over come as you become very efficient with double clutching.

Good luck, and for $3,500 it is a good purchase as long as you do not have major body work or mechanical work. It will stay with most of the porsche drivers you will be in contact with, They still handle 130+ comfortably.

Hilton

Er.. *all* 928's were hand-made in Germany.

Would certainly agree on the US models from 83/84. Moving up from a 944, you may well find any pre-32V US-model 928 a little sluggish, with only 240hp and 1.5 tonnes to haul, its not much faster than a 944 (although has bucketloads of torque).

In your shoes, I'd start looking for an 85/86 32V car in decent condition - yes, you'll pay a little more for a 5-speed, but the end result will be something a lot faster than your 944. The other alternative is hunt down a grey-import Euro S, from 80-85, which will also be fast (300+ hp).

pewter82

And 83's don't have the interference engine so the dreaded T/B failure does not bend the valves !
83's not a good investment? I don't think any 928 should be bought as a investment. The OB have come up in value and leveled off in depreciation for the most part. True the "best" OB is the 86.5 and it will bring the most money, but a nice 83/84 5-speed is a great car, and just as much fun as the S4/GT/GTS.
I've owned every variation of 928 from 82-93....my 83 5-speed puts a smile on my face everytime. Sure the other newer cars are faster, but more expensive too..and guess what, they have things break just as much as the OB's.

jason