Club1320

I picked up my 86.5 928 about 4 months ago. I love this car, i have wanted one for quite some time. When i initially purchased this car, i did so on the notion that i would not have to drive it daily. At the time of purchase i was employed with a company that allowed me to take home a work vehicle. My cars would only see 10 or 20 miles a week. I have since moved on from this job and no longer have company transportation. I was with that company for quite some time so i really had no reason to have a DD. My wife went back to work last week and i do not have access to her car for daily use, so here in lies my dilemma. My plans for this car were to work out each issue one at a time and get it back to its glory day condition. Now in its current form its more than capable mechanically to be a dd. Other than the drivers door handle issue which i will get to eventually and the ps leak which i was planning on fixing around tax time she runs amazing for its age. I guess my question is do you find any issues using the 928 as a dd? Would you suggest doing so or would you suggest not? Also if i decide that its just not feasable and i need to sell it what is a current value on this model. Anyone who can help me with a sale price please do so through pm. I can then explain everything about the car in detail with you and you could instruct me if need be on what to ask for the car. I really have no reason to sell, i just feel that using it as a daily driver is asking for door dings and mechanical failure, second thoughts on the type of wheel i go with, etc. Thanks in advance for any input.

Chris.

Opelotus

I love my '84 as a DD, only issue is that when something doesn't work (ex. intermittent wipers) it can be a bear to drive, as well as frustrating because you can't really dig deep into the issue until the weekend. As far as fixing issues one at a time, when the weather is warm I usually find something that I can take apart and put back together on the weekend in time for monday. Sometimes I will drive it with some of the interior apart when I am working on small electrical issues/modifications.

Club1320

I have done that as well. I was driving without a door panel when i was working on the passanger window motor. I truly believe this is one of the most comfortable cars i have ever driven, i just feel like to me using it as a dd is not what it was intended to be. I have been using it as a dd for about 2 weeks now. My new job is only about 6 miles from home so that is not a problem really but i do have to pick up my 3 yr old from my mothers once a week at a good 40 miles from work. Soon it will be a daily drop off at about 30 miles from home. That is my concern.

jeff spahn

Until the snow flies and there is salt on the roads my 928 is my DD. fix the PS problem and the driver door and drive it. It will love you for it. These cars are meant to be driven, not sit in a garage and be stared at.
It's killing me seeing mine up on it's stands during my intake refresh and there is a brief break in the snow and ice during which I could be driving her.

tlsmith1999

Drive it. Just makes getting up and going to work for the man that much more bearable.

Jim M.

I've had two different 928's as daily drivers for 16 years now. First was a 89GT and now a 93 GTS. If you keep after the basic maintenance they are very reliable. Like Opelotus above, I've often driven with interior work in progress. Big repairs take planning for parts and time, but for the most part are very do-able. IMHO driving them daily or at least very often is better for them. Keeps all the seals and gaskets lubricated, keeps moisture problems from developing and lets you focus on changes in noises, feel and other indicators something has changed. These cars talk to us, we just need to learn to listen. If you only drive them occasionally you never are sure "When did it start doing that?" Besides, driving them daily gives me that daily good feeling. Every car has problems and these cars are now getting old so they will never be like a brand new one, they require constant attention and care, but the effort is worth it to me.

Gas and tire milage is not like a mundane DD but I'm not paying for license and insurance on a 2nd car either.

Tom in Austin

Agree with all the above ... only hard part for me is managing big repairs (putting in new Bilsteins right now) when you find you need additional parts, want to pick off some WYAITs, etc.).

m750rider

Having owned vintage cars for almost 40 years, I can say with experience that making a car a DD, even vintage, is good for the car. Cars seem to deteriorate more quickly and are subject to more unexpected failures, especially electrical, when left to sit. Remember too that rotating equipment, bearings and things, are not helped by sitting stationary. Bearings can go bad on a storeroom shelf and will end up having a shorter service life when finally installed.

The down side to using a 928 as a DD is there are wear parts that will need to be replaced at certain intervals and some of those are expensive - TB, water pump, stuff like that.

But the car is pretty well engineered with potentially a very long life for most of the components. They were designed to be driven. They look nice, but they are not a piece of art.

Given reasonable mileage requirements (less than 20,000 miles per year), you are better off driving the car regularly.

Mike LaBranche

The best thing for your beast is to drive it. Sitting kills them. Reliability is a function of use and maintenance... drive the **** out of it and implement a plan to freshen everything up as you go. Door dings are the least of your worries, keep an eye open for Smokey, if you're doin' it right.

Mike Frye

I use mine as a DD, but I'm going to go against the grain here.

If I didn't have a backup car I wouldn't be able to do it. I just got mine back on the road after about 5 weeks with a blown O-ring in the steering rack. I could have driven it but it would have been like torture for me and the car. I rebuilt the damned thing 3 times before I got it right and in the meantime I had to drive my wife's car to the train station.

I know someone locally who bought one as a DD and only had it for a few weeks before the little things he didn't know how to fix got the best of him. His was an extreme case, but if you can't switch to a second car it's probably not the one you want to use for your DD. If for no other reason than that you don't want to drive it because you have to, you want to drive it because you want to.

RKD in OKC

Had a 90 GT as daily driver for 2 years. It was my only car. I drove the heck out of it. Never let me down.

Mike LaBranche

Well, sure... goes without saying. You have to have at least 2 928's for them to be totally reliable.

Randy V

Just drive it.

If you bought it for your show car museum then park it and look at it.

UKKid35

My 928 was my only car for over five years, admittedly I found myself walking and using public transport some of the time...

dr bob

Mine is a DD, but it only gets 3-4k/yr added in that duty.

There are mechanical age things that will cause you some inconvenience, so get in the habit of doing as much proactive maintenance as you can. Your PS leak is a great example. If ignored, you'll be driving with the pump starved for fluid a lot. So what starts out as a leaking hose quickly turns into a damaged pump, and likely will cause rack damage from the pump debris passing through the hydraulics. Fix that NOW, with new hoses (all of them...) and new banjo seals. Fit a new reservoir/filter at the same time, and plan on flushing a few quarts of fluid through the system to clear as much crap out as you can. This is a couple hours of work including cleaning up all the fluid mess.

Take a look at all the other stuff on the car, looking for leaks and wear that are telltales of things to come. Fix them NOW, before they balloon into bigger problems that will strand you.


On the cosmetic side, sunlight and heat are among the car's biggest enemies. Tint the windows, park indoors if at all possible, get a car cover no matter what. Get a set of Nicole's window sun shields and use them religiously. Just one season sitting out in the Florida heat will trash your interior.


My car costs a bit more than two dollars a mile to drive, all in. A Civic would be cheaper to drive, but who wants to drive a Civic?