Cosmo Kramer

Time to get a new independent! Most Porsche independents are well versed in working on 911's but think the 928 was problematic and overly complicated which is not true. This perception and attitude has contributed to the 928 being at the market value it is today. This perception has allowed independents and dealers to rape 928 owners on service and parts and that is why so many are run down, owners that are not in the know just don't bother fixing them because of the cost. With the knowledge here on Rennlist and vendors we have for parts a 928 is no more expensive then any other Porsche.

As far as the car you were looking at, sounds like it was a good decision to pass on it. Keep looking and you will find a real gem at a reasonable cost.

Courtshark

I never keep track of the $ spent on my 928s. It would be depressing, and isn't the point. As others have said, no other car I've driven had given me as much pleasure. The value is in doing the work yourself to make it your own, and then appreciated behind the wheel. Yes, I realize I'm a 928 parts supplier's wet dream... And of course, we have this wonderful if not dysfunctional family here, plus the great and innovative posts providers to make it all possible.

Bottom line, it's worth it only if you can achieve a sense of blankness about the $. Buying a 928 is an investment in mental health, not financial health.

DR

Stan,

BTW, I forgot to mention...the "Good Ones" are taken care of and not crushed.

89GT Clear Title :-)

erwalker

I purchased an '82 back 3 years ago for $3200.00, 10' paint job (I live on 2 miles of gravel roads so never seriously considered putting a $5000.00 paint job on her), interior ok but presently in the process of new leather front seats. Lots of little things that would have cost a fortune if I did not do them myself. But I enjoy the satifaction of getting her working like a clock. If I would have had the work done at a shop, I would never have considered the car as the cost would have been far too high (and no fun for me!).Figure by the time I'm done I'll have $10,000.00 invested in her but I have no intentions of selling her.

Unfortunately there are people out there that either see the Porsche name and figure they can make a fortune flipping it or honestly know they have a $1000.00 car but want to sell to someone for $4000.00. When I first started looking, I came across an '82, red paint in good shape but the interior looked as though the windows had been left open for 5 years. Asked when the timing belt was last done and the mechanic said they replaced the "timing chain" 3 months before! Got into an argument about timing belt or chain. He insisted they had chains! And all this for "only" $10,000.00! Always glad I waited - except I liked the red paint and knew with a good polish, it would be very, very nice.

Maybe I'll head back there and see if it is still for sale?

pcar928fan

I don't know how you guys get the different URL's for various threads (my URL window always says www.rennlist.com and never changes) but if you want to see what $3600 can sometimes buy and what another $7k infusion of cash looks like go to my thread on EURO85. It is the red car in my avatar and look at the 1st or 2nd page at the initial pics of the car and then look near the end for what it looks like today.

It was a bargain that I just couldn't pass up, but now is so nice it turns heads everywhere it goes and I have actually been offered $10k for it...didn't take (and yes it was a SERIOUS offer!)

The title of that thread is LACL for $3600 or something like that.

neilh

James, right click on the topic on the main page, select copy link, and paste it into the message.

BigCavolo

I got one that's better than that one for half the price. Search this thread "86.5 FS".
By the way, it is sparkly clean now in and out. I think I'll have to put it on Ebay this weekend. just make sure you don't jump into it without knowing everything wrong with it. I did, twice...

bcdavis

It really depends if you are aiming to have the car be perfect or not.

If you start with a cheap car, and want it to eventually have a perfect
interior, perfect paint, beautiful engine compartment, and every
electrical gizmo working perfectly, then it will cost you a LOT to
get it to that "like new" condition. I can guarantee you that it will
be much cheaper to just buy a late model 928 in good condition,
than to take a basket case back to perfection.

For me, I just can't handle when things like the AC doesn't work right.
So it might end up needing a new compressor, new control unit,
new vacuum servos for the vents, and so on... So even something
as simple as AC might be a multi-thousand dollar job. If you could
just ignore the problem, the car might run fine, and still be a lot of fun.
But if you are going to want it to work like a modern new car does,
without any glitches, it may end up costing you way more than you
think to get all those little things sorted out...

Podguy

The AC should not cost 1000s of dollars to fix. It might if you let a "professional" work on it. The AC is a fairly simple thing to repair. The parts are common and reasonably priced.

As far as a restoration it is often better to start with a nice car, but if you are going full bore why not start with the biggest piece of crap you can find. The only critieria I would have is the car not having been trashed in an a major accident. You want to start with a straight chassis - everything else gets replaced. It costs no more to recover trashed seats than it does seats that are barely cracked. The same with most interior parts.

It is rare to fine one with a good dash and pod no matter the miles. And unless you are paying up for a car with 20K miles then the rest is immaterial. You are better off getting a year and model that is desireable so that when you are finished you have something. I would prefer to restore an 82 Euro S than a 82 US model that no one will ever want. Evan a car with 20K miles will require a frame up restoration, the only real savings will be the paint job.

UncleMaz

I agree with PG, especially the last part. Pick a model that you want as close to your specs as possible. As I was in the process of restoring my US MY 80, I felt a feeling that I would somehow be wiser to be spending my money on a more desirable model early body style like a Euro or an early 32 v car. In the final analysis, the difference in the final cost of restoring the two cars would have been close enough to make an easy justification for a model more desirable.

I am sure I would have enjoyed the 80 very much, but i can't sleep thinking about the 1985 I am trying to put on the road.