racesx

Hey everyone, first time over here in the "928" side and have been toying with the idea for a few months now of picking up a manual car for dd use. Just stumbled onto an 86 1/2 model year with manual trans. that I might go look at this weekend (price seems right, ha!) and so I'm scambling to do research on it now. But I wanted input from you owners that drive these cars. Anyway, am I crazy even thinking this car would be a good dd type? Also, a possible plan B, can these cars be turned into "track cars" in a practical sence (I know, I know, "practical" can mean so many things ....). TIA for suggestions and comments!

Brett928S2

Hi

Although I am in the UK , i have used my 86 S2 auto as a daily driver for around 5 years now without any problems at all

Plus some other things lol

All the best Brett

928 at last

Starting third season on mine as a dd eight months of the year........no issues yet. (Not counting the regular maintenance).

cronin

I live in MN and just got done with using my 87 as a DD. Didnt have a problem except a few wear and tear things, as long as you keep up with maintenance you should be fine.

danglerb

Nothing is better than a 928 for a long DD commute, shorter trips in traffic and nothing is any good or especially better than anything else IMHO.

In terms of expense and the level of PM required, highest to lowest;

Manual transmission 928 still on the market priced cheap.
Street car to be converted to track car.
Parked for a long time, non daily driver to be converted to DD without a second car.
Pristine daily driver.
Weekend car.
Non pristine daily driver.

anonymousagain

DD is not a problem at all...it's commitment to keeping maintenance up to normal. Realistically it doesn't have to be perfect, but you need to make sure you don't slack off on known issues, or they'll eventually get worse and compound an issue with another issue.

928's like to be driven and seem to live more happily when driven regularly to exercise all the components.

Also, check out the "Shark hunting" thread from last week, for inputs about 5sp vs Auto (if a concern).

FWIW, 86.5 is the best year

racesx

Thanks for the input everyone! Would the PM/mainenance be any more than the 996 I've got now? Is it drastically more?

dr bob

Mine is a DD, 4-6k a year, and averages out to about maybe $2k a year all in on consumables except gas. Total cost to drive works out to about $2/mile, but that would get better if I drove my own cars more.

Read the new visitors thread, and do some searching on thredas about costs, parrticularly first-year costs. An "OK" car that's due for maintenance can quickly chew through $5k in parts costs just in rubber and wear parts in that first year, so be ready for that if you need bulletproof reliability. If you don't have your own tools and time, that number balloons.

Iwanna928

Go for it, you will love it!

Stephen

Dean_Fuller

My 89 auto is my ONLY car.

NoVector

Racesx -
Kind of depends on the condition of the car when you buy it. I bought my 84 as a project car. God knows how much money and time I've put in it, but it's now my daily driver and I put on 60 miles a day. Unless you live in an area where parts are no problem, I don't think it could be someones only means of transportation--for most vendors, it takes a couple days to get stuff unless you pay incredible shipping rates. But it is true, the more I drive it, the less problems I have--to include leaks!

IcemanG17

928's are quite good as DD....unless of course you have a large family or teenage+ kids that don't fit well in the back.... The trunk is roomy & its easy to get in-out of.... about the only downsides are fuel economy is just okay (but still better than say full size truck)....and it doesn't have many of the modern features of some newer high end cars, like navigation, blue tooth phone etc...

I drove mine daily for a few months and had no regrets.....as long as you stay on top of maintenance it will run well for at least 200K miles!

Jim M.

I've had a 928 as a daily driver for 15 years now. The more you drive them the fewer problems you have. I do all my own maintenance, and my prefered vendor (see sig line) can get parts VERY quickly. I have had three failures in 15 years that grounded me and all were less than a couple of days. I do keep after the maintenance and try to not let things pile up till they create other problems.

racesx

A little more background on my situation:
This would be car number 5, so not my only transportation.
I have tools and have spun them on the 911 often (I would think the 928 is easier to get to the motor then the flat 6 in the back, ha!).
I've restored a couple of muscle cars and an old truck, so working on cars and high maintenance is nothing new.
My current commute is only 3 miles each way (plus a half mile to the gym at lunch).

I'm looking to use this to replace my current dd which is a '95 Saturn 4-door, 4-cylinder, AT, boring to drive car, HA!

Landseer

You just might be tempted to move further from work so you have a longer commute.