CorsePerVita

Always wondered... 928 vs 944 reliability.

I see a guy every day I go to work in a nice, sleek 928. Black on black on black. Gorgeous car. Ran into him once or twice in town. Dailies his 928. I daily my 944.

To be quite honest... I Love my 924 to death, it's about to become a track car. I thought "I wish i had one to drive every day!" and bought a 944 after some research. It has quickly become not nearly as fun as my 924. I know... that sounds "weird" and I know here on rennlist a lot of people hate the 924 and the 944 guys love the 944, etc... so i realize "not a lot of love for the 924" whatever, fine with me but I love it.

But I have driven 928 cars a few times in my life and thoroughly enjoyed them. Mind you only on a few instances. Never the newer ones, we're talking oldschool. And not enough to really make a good decision on it. They have been crawling through the wood works on craigslist and local ads, and several of them looked pretty nice.

After helping Jim on his 928 and taking the torque tube out and going "Holy crap, that was EASY compared to my 944" and getting a look at one up close and personal, it looks like there is more to them, but they aren't as complex looking as I figured they would be.

How many of you daily your 928? Are the comparible to a 944 in cost? Maintenance? Headache? I've been searching parts and some parts seem significantly less expensive than my 944 (like brake pads, maintenance items, hell, even the timing belt!) while other items (like engine items, bearings, etc) seem more expensive. Just from what I can gather they seem pretty similar.

I realize they're a v8, but is the mileage all that bad per gallon?

The more I see them, the more I lean towards one. I don't wish to give up on my 944. But at the same time I've wanted a 928 or a 911 for quite a while.

At the same time... my 944 has been reliable, aside from my headaches here and there and hasn't left me stranded. This is mostly because of how proactive I am with my car maintenance. However, my other fear is that if I buy another car, like a 928, with an uknown history and maintenance, I will be starting in a circle and back to square one.

But the kid in me who loves cars also wants one. Life is short. I have no room for another Porsche right now, I have a 914 and my 924 and my 944, so it would replace my daily /if/ I bought one.

I am bent. My gut is also telling me "yeah don't do it." just due to reliability since my 944 is about to get a new clutch, tt bearings, and a bunch of goodies and it is pretty much running like a top. Not to mention, as a daily... I hit icy conditions, snow, and nasty weather in the winter, and it seems like a 928 may be a bit tricky on the way to work.

littlebobby

I daily drive my 928 during the summer months, i would never drive it in winter weather. Front engine v8 with rear wheel drive doesnt make a good snow combo. Its reliable and gets me around in style but when it comes to maintinance its just like any other 80's porsche.

Mike Frye

I drive mine every day, but I do have a 'backup' car in case I have to take it off the road for a few days. For a 25+ y/o car with other 220k miles on it I think that's not asking too much.

You mentioned that you're pro-active about maintenance. That's the main thing with these (or any) cars. Once you get ahead of the curve there's no reason you couldn't drive it every day all year long.

The mileage isn't great. Actually it's pretty bad around town (15mph or maybe a little higher) but in bad weather there's not a car I'd rather be driving. No surprises, total control over everything you need to do.

Good luck deciding. If you do feel like more info, there's lots of good stuff in the 'faq' sticky about buying one and things to watch out for.

CorsePerVita

Thanks Mike,

I was digging in the FAQ thread earlier on the buyer's guide and things to look out for to compare so I have an idea. Good point on the winter combo vs v8.. i have no issues with RWD in the snow, I love it, but going uphill with a ton of torque is sometimes sketchy lol.

SeanR

Daily driver, year round here.

CorsePerVita

Even in the winter, Sean? How does it do?

Rob Edwards

Had mine for 4 years,finally used it as a daily driver this summer. They really do run better if used regularly. My gas mileage was lousy (~14 mpg) but the car just begs to be revved, can't help myself.

Larry Velk

Drive the 928 in winter also. Have LSD and 4 Michelien (sp!) snows, 5-speed. Our 951 was totaled last month and we did not drive that in the winter - too much stuff with little bolts and stuff hanging off the bottom of the engine. The 928 is put into service carrying 4 people at times (short distances, ladies in the back - they're (usually!) smaller. I do have a heated shop and keep it clean as the salt plays havoc with the aluminum/steel interfaces common on the car.
Good in the snow ('road-hugging' weight), 50/50 weight distribution. We also drove our '63 vette and TR6's in the snow - they were all OK - the vette especially.
A 928 will rust around the rear windows even in moderate climes.
We get 21 mpg + on the highway, 19 in the 'burbs.

jeff spahn

Mine is a daily driver in the summer. In the winter if the roads are dry, it is on them. It is a blast in the snow. I have taken it out several times. I have the best all season tires I could find, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. AA Traction, A Temp rating. They actually go good in the snow.

Alan

I have driven my GTS virtually daily all seasons for the last 11 years - never broken down/failed to get me home (except for a few battery issues). I have spent plenty on maintenance - thats the key to reliability...

I drive the car hard and it still handles/runs perfectly - as good today as it ever was. Its a little expensive to run - Gas (~15 MPG premium), Tires (<10K Miles) & Oil....

Alan

JoeTaylor

Daily

dprantl

I've been daily driving 928's for 10 years/100k miles now. First my old '86 and now my '91. I drive them year round, as long as there is no snow on the ground.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

Brett928S2

Hi

I have driven my 928 S2 EVERY day for 6 years now....

I am famous for one of my sayings on Uk Porsche forums...its this...

"Every day I go out in the morning and turn the key and when that huge V8 rumbles into life , it puts a smile on my face for the rest of the day"

V8s are much rarer in the UK than the US by the way...

I drive 3 miles to work and home through town so the engine hardly warms up.... fuel economy is around 12 to 14 to the gallon (UK gallon)

On a run I get around 18 to 19 mpg.

All the best Brett

Ed Scherer

Mine's a "fair weather driver".

Note that Sean ("Location: Denton TX") doesn't really have a winter.

I've got winter tires for mine, although I haven't put them on in a couple of years; I just use another vehicle on bad weather days (particular in winter).

However, on the reliability front, IIRC, my car has only stranded me once: overheating due to a stuck thermostat. Stay on top of maintenance, and I don't think it's a whole lot better or worse than the other cars we own. Given that mine is 20 years old, I can't complain.

There are a few items that I'll carry with me on longer trips: extra relays (especially the "253.B" relay used for a few things, most importantly: the fuel pump), and an extra fuel pump.

I don't hesitate to drive my car and don't worry about reliability. I'm staying on top of maintenance, too, though.


It helps a lot to have at least one "back up vehicle" so you can work on maintaining your 928 without it being critical for your daily needs.

damonoresky

I've read here that these cars need to be driven so I drive mine as often as I can, at least 4-5 times a week.

Less in the Winter even though we get only rain here. A lot of younger drivers around where I am at and I've seen too many rear enders on slippery streets to risky driving in the wet conditions.