blown 87

I planed on 30 for paint and interior work, another 15-20 on mechanical stuff, so far I am about 20 short.
But in the end i will know exactly what I have and it will be exactly what I wanted.

I guess the same thing goes for people that like to buy low mileage cars and not drive them, they get enjoyment from the cars, and in the end that is what matters, that the owner is happy with the car.

Again, how many miles have you guys put on these garage queens?

I have done over ten thousand on mine since it hit the road last year before SITM.
I just do not see that going to happen on that 32 year old car.

I have been wrong before and it cost me money, this low mileage jewel will not cost me a dime though.

blown 87

There is one other thing Chuck, I am a poor bastard, I could not afford a car like that in the first place.
All I have to go on it the work I do on other folks cars.

So it may just be a little green envy showing through on my part.

Sure I would love to start out with a 30 year old car with really low mileage and go through it, on a car for me.

I have a MB 500 SEC in the shop right now, it is a 90's car, low mileage, the bill is going to be steep just to get it to the point they can start to drive it again to see what breaks, and I am sure it is going to come back to the shop on a roll back at some point.

These cars are not for people that think, they are for people that love them, otherwise we would never touch one.

It does not make financial sense, but we do it any way.

Jim Chambers

I think a person with some 928 DIY skills could buy the '78, spend $1-2K at the most and begin to drive it 5 to 10K miles per year. Five years from now it would have 65K on the odo and be worth at least $7,000 at today's prices. That is a depreciation cost of $13K over 5 years. Less than a new Honda. Problem is, someone like me would hate to put miles on such a rare specimen.

blown 87

I bet you will spend 1-2 grand on it just getting the AC part of the HVAC working after it has been driven for a bit, if it works at all.

Jim Chambers

Owner says the car has been serviced routinely. Says air is cold. Ran it last week. I found that very surprising. Of course, I haven't personally inspected/driven the car.

bronto

I would hope someone will but this as a "club" car, to drive to PCA meetings and events. Put 1-2k on it a year. It's not low enough miles to be a museum piece, it should be driven a few times a month at least.

pcar928fan

Bronto,

I agree, it is not quite time capsule keep it that way low miles, but it is low enough to not want to crank the miles on...at sub 2k miles a year I think this car will maintain a fair bit of its value in to the future...

YMMV of course and I am just guessing, but while we are seeing a bunch of pretty low mile cars these days there will be fewer and fewer of them over time thus the low mile examples should in theory hold their value...better anyway...

blown 87

I would be shocked it I ran a tank full of gas through that car and them put it up on a lift and did not find 5-10 grand worth of work that needs to be done right now.

How about all the rubber lines, I am sure they are in great shape, they must have been changed in the last few years.

How well are the vacuum pods going to act after being cycled a few times?

Just to many maybes for me, but again, it is not my money, but I do see it on a regular basis, "But it only has XX,XXX of miles on it, it is a new car", my reply always is, "no, it is a old car that has not been driven".

pcar928fan

WOW! Greg that is completely out of line man...you have not looked at that car, you don't know anything about it, yet you already have it costing someone nearly $10k in repairs before they get it out of the driveway. You say you don't want a low mileage car and can't afford one and then you refuse to even CONSIDER what those of us WHO HAVE owned the say about them...UNREAL!

blown 87

Maybe so, maybe I am wrong, but my guess is I have seen hundreds more of low mileage, old cars than you have.

To quote some one who knows far more about 928's than any body here, "Every 928 needs ten grand worth of work".

Out of line for voicing my views, not a chance.

For the third time, exactly how many miles have you driven your garage queens?

You answered about your GTS, but my friend, that is not a 32 year old car. (sorry, I got you mixed up with Chuck, but the question still stands)

Pay no attention to me, WTF do I know, I just work on cars every day, and have for many, many years.

Exactly what do you do every day of the week?

blown 87

If any of the other long time PRO mechanics have any input into this, I would love to hear their input on this.

Nicole

Greg: Here is how I would look at it:

I can always replace mechanical parts without changing the appearance, smell, or feel of the car. That may cost $10k, but then it is still an original 928.

Once I have to do paint and upholstery work, it is no longer original in my mind. That does not HAVE to be a bad thing, as many beautiful examples of rennlist owners prove. However, the cost of paint and interior work far exceeds the cost of most mechanical work you'll do in 10 years of ownership.

So, if I wanted a car to enjoy occasionally, I would always go for the low mileage garage queen and factor in the cost of replacing rubber stuff.

OTOH, if it would be a daily driver that will see weather and wear, it is a whole different story story.

blown 87

That is very true, and one other draw back to my approach is the paint (from what I have had done, and I have paid dearly for it, on many cars) will never be as durable as the factory finish.

It will cost way over ten grand to do a mechanical restoration on a 928, just rebuilding the motor is more than that in parts and machine work to bring it back to "Zero Time".

I have just been down that road on both sides to not know what the real deal is.

When I decided to buy my 400$ 928 I thought I could do it for 45 grand, I doubt i will come close to that.

Even with out my labor it adds up, eight for paint, plus parts including GTS quarters, god only knows how much in parts so far, over 15 with out a doubt, I still have to do a blower and I shudder to think about Pauls work, it adds up, and in the end it will be worth far less than a car that just sits.
If I wanted a car to look at I would have bought a Ferrari.

I did drive the hell out of it this weekend, 220 miles on Sunday just for the hell of it.

I am no more right that James or Chuck, we just look at it from different perspectives.
A low mileage car that is never driven will not need repairs, a well maintained car that is flogged will, simple as that.

I will say this much, I have pissed off more folks in the last week here than I have in the last four years.

Oh well, it is the way I see it.

pcar928fan

Greg,

Thanks for asking...you probably have seen more cars than me working on them everyday.

Right now I sit on my A$$, well I do that anyway, but right now unemployed ***, but before before that I drove cars everyday as a sales rep, so no, I didn't work on many 928's...to hard to do from a wheelchair!

I have put 40k miles on my '88 S4 (10k of those on track), 20k miles on my '94 GTS, 20k miles on my '81, 5k miles on my '84, 120 miles on BLUE82, and probably close to 20k miles on my '92 GTS...I have put 0 miles on my EURO85 and only several hours on my race car...

So, yea, you probably know WAY more than I do about owning low mileage 928's and who exactly says "every 928 needs $10k worth of work"? I have seen Jim Bailey post about crappy cars that they are $10k away from being a $5k car, but I have never seen anyone post "every 928 needs $10K worth of work." That is ABSURD!

Greg, I just read your last post here and you state, "A low mileage car that is never driven will not need repairs, a well maintained car that is flogged will, simple as that." THAT, IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN SAYING! I agree with that statement. What you have been saying is that this car which has barely been driven (as well as BLUE82 and all Chucks beauties) WILL NEED REPAIRS PERIOD! Then you go on to say they WILL NEED THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BEING DRIVEN! You CAN'T have it BOTH WAYS! Pick one and stick with it.

BTW, I am not pissed off at you...as you note we just see this from different perspectives is all. These are opinions, neither right nor wrong, or both right and both wrong maybe... You, as a mechanic, OBVIOUSLY see broken cars or cars that need work! OF COURSE you don't see garage queens that are so close to PERFECT...THEY DON'T NEED WORK! DUH!

That is like a surgeon saying, everyone needs surgery because all I see every day are sick people who need to be cut on... uh, YEA!

Grey Guy

Not sure I get skin deep (paint and upholstery) means original. Am sure about it not being less than 10k to get a 928 in driving shape.