The other day I was at a Chevy Dealer getting my company car serviced

I had a chance to look at a few older Corvettes in the used car lot.

The first was a 2004 black freshly detailed. I got in the interior looked plastic, the seats felt cheap the leather was cracking, the door closed and it sounded like something was loose.

I thought that was just a bad example so I looked at 2 more similar cars/years. They all had under 40K miles and all similar condition. Now these cars are not cheap. or were they when they were new.

On my way home I noticed a 2004 or so BMW Z4. Nice rims, 40 year old or so driving, so not kid owned. Paint on the side looked new but the paint on the hood looked faded.

When I got home I sat in my 1990 S4 with 134K miles on it. The paint looks awesome (original except hood was hit and repainted), interior is solid, leather is almost like new. Took it for a drive, solid no rattles. etc.

Also I have noticed when ever I see 928's out on the road they look great.

My question is: Are the 928's just built better than other cars with better products and build quality? or is it that 928 owners take better care of our cars?

Please Corvette owners/lovers I am not saying anything bad just an observation.

Any comments.

 

I agree - all the 928's I have seen on the road/at shows look really nice, either restored or just well maintained. Saw a silver one awhile ago with a giant red porsche emblem on the hood. Cool. I think it helps that most younger people usually can't afford or aren't interested in them. They go for 944s instead.

 

Best built car I've ever had. In order:

The great one:
My 928

The good ones:
1987 BMW 325
1974 Opel Manta
1984 Peugeot 505

The average ones:
1970 Firebird Formula 400 (Ram Air III)
1970 Opel GT

The bad one:
1992 BMW 525.

 

The 928 was developed for longevity in both the car itself and the marque as a whole.
Porsche was a relatively small auto manufacturer in the early days of the 928. It was critical to develop the marque to last atypically long, as they didn't have the have money to design and build new models every 5 years, like the other major autos.
So eveything was built to last. Body was double galvanised, and aluminum was used for it's anticorosive nature (and weight savings).
A 6(?) year body corrision warranty was offered and was unprecedented.
Hydraulic lifters were incorporated to extend valve service life - no need to adjust lifters.
And it's German! It's built like a Sherman!!

 

7 years pre85
10 since 85

 

the build quality of the 928 is still quite good.....it was the flagship vehicle and its quality reflects it....

 

The 928 is built very well, as are many other of the German cars of the time.
But it is the quality of many of the materials that sets the 928 apart from most.

The worst cars seem to be the American cars of the late 60 and 70's as far as build quality.

 

I don't know. I had an 82 Chevy Citation. That was a piece of crap. The shifter (4 on floor) broke off in my hand one day. The Iron (P)Duke engine was a turd. Went through front wheel bearings like hot knife through butter. When I traded it the dealer said they didn't know a car could be made from so much plywood (I had holding the interior together).

 

The iron duke was a pretty good engine, after you replaced that plastic cam gear, seen them run almost forever, now the rest of the Citation is exactly as described.

 

I also had an 82 Chevy Citation - an X-11, with a 2.8L V6 with cowl induction and 4-speed. It was a poor man's Z28, and a bit of a sleeper. I don't remember it giving much trouble, although I did replace the CV joints at least once in the 3 yrs I owned it (1984 >1987).

Best/favorite cars I have owned 1987 Acura Integra, 1996 VW Passat GLX VR6, 2002 Audi allroad 6-speed, and of course the 928. The Germans were by far the best built. most substantial.

 

Ya..but Porsche musta hired the guy that designed the MK-I Panther tank suspension, to do post-war Porsche electrical design.

Elegant, however intensely painful to diagnose and work on in the field.


Ya..the 928 wasnt built to be a million-unit car, and built at that SPEED with those trade offs, so in MANY ways its better.

But for the day, a few things we suffer through today, could have been done way better with technology widely available at the time.

 

What "Things" do you speak of?
And what years are you talking about?
I think from working on them that the 87 and the 89 are very close to perfection for the time in my book.

 

Wow I had an 97 Passat VR6 too loved that car. My Brother totaled it.

 

The earlier Corvettes do have their weaknesses but so do the 928's. These 928's as you well know are farily expensive to maintain. This 94 928 GTS I purchased a few months back sold in 1994 for approx $87,000 new. You could have purchased approx 2.4 Corvettes for that price, but here I am driving and thoroughly enjoying this 928. The last Corvette I owned, a 08 JetStream Blue Auto with 436 HP was a pretty awesome car, and until you drive a newer C6 or Z06, I would like what you have to say after you have driven one hard. The later model year Corvettes get it done, and get it done for less $ Many people make fun of the amount of plastic that does go into these later model year Corvettes, but plastic does have its advantages, re: it's lightweight, they can mold it into almost any shape, it doesn't rust & it's super durable. Just my 2 cents worth. T

 

-window switches
- seat switches
- vacuum pods
...