Do you have the service history of the car? All servicing done on it ever? That's one way to start finding out the issues. We can help to diagnose.

If you want her driving reliable, expect to spend at least $10,000. More if you take her to a competent Porsche 928 mechanic. I'm not saying this to deter you, just stating the facts. I've already got about $4,000 in my '86 and I have yet to scratch the surface.

If you want to keep her, expect to wrench. We have amazing FREE resources to help you do the job. You just buy the parts. Sometimes you can even get them free from a fellow 928 buddy! Heck, drivers will even come by and help you out if you're in the area!

Not going to lie, when you're in your 20s (shoot, I'm only 2 years younger than you when you first bought her) it's all about the ride. Don't beat yourself over that decision. I get a lot of compliments and stares when I drive around in my 928, sometimes people calling out as they drive by the house when I'm working on her. It's a Porsche. It's a damn nice looking Porsche too. It's a 928. Al Pacino and Tom Cruise drove the darn things in classic cult movies! And they still get the girls giggling when they hear (or feel) the power of that mighty V8 up their legs.

If you want to keep her, you have to commit. If not, sell her (or part her) and move on.

As far as the mechanic issue is involved. He has partial fault for not addressing your issues. However you are also to blame for going back all the time. You need documentation to prove he did wrong if you want to sue in small claims court. You need clear written agreed terms of service and if they were fulfilled. That's a tough sell from your story. You were too lenient.

+ Stuff

Your hatch is popping most likely because the rubber liner in the release is deteriorated or missing. The piece, $30 easily found at 928 R'US, provides the seal otherwise there's too much gaping to put pressure on the lock to keep that heavy hatch from popping and bouncing while you drive.

780-800 idle is normal. My idle is about 780-820 normally, sometimes 900, but always consistent and smooth. I need to adjust the CO2 a bit.

 

SRSLY ??? ^^^^ Roger C......The drip may be easily cured by throwing in a can of stop-leak oil additive. Today's oil, for the most part, do not have the necessary swellers to keep the seals at an appropriate size. Anyways, this is cheap, won't hurt and can yield fantastic results.

This advice is just asking for a fire under the hood.

Since the OP has been driving and refilling for 4 years dont you think its about time to plug the leaks for good?

This is the kind of owner that the new owner will villify due to poor resources for maintenance.

From listening to the OP this is not a car he should own as he is not equipped to fix it properly nor does he have the resources to have it fixed properly

 

Don't give up on it. But don't blame the mechanic either. Post your location and maybe there is a competent 928 mech in the area that we can recommend. Every problem you've listed has a fix. If you do the work yourself, it can be quite affordable. I you plan on keeping the car and having a professional do the required maintainence, you better have a FAT wallet. These cars aren't cheap to maintain. The very known saying around here is...

"that car is $10,000 away from being a $5000 car"

To an extent that's true. If you don't know what to look for.
But remember.. When they are right, there is nothing like them.

You are in the right place. We can and will help. But it's time to suck it up and handle this car yourself or just let it go. Do yourself a favor and lose your crappy mechanics number.

Good luck!

 

Give up, dump the car, get a Miata. When the Miata starts to break take it to the nearest indy Mazda repair shop, and let them diagnose and repair your issues.

I don't think you are well suited to owning a +25YO Porsche that has been thrashed before you got it, and thrashed by you as well.

I encourage you to sue the shadetree guy. It will be a lesson you won't soon forget.

 

you'll never find a lawyer that will be interested in your case. He/she does not exist. If you go pro se, you'll never recover a penny, even if for some far out reason you win some small judgment. Don't further clog the already overburdened court system with this nonsense. Also, listen to your dad's advice.

 

i'll give you credit for stopping short by saying "it would appear".

little off topic, but.. went to college. lived there in an apartment with 3 roommates. graduated. got my own place about 5-6 years ago. recently moved to a bigger place a couple years after that. my girl comes over to hang out. vice-versa. i guess i'm doing somewhat alright. could be better though. the parents part of it, i did mention it to them after i made the down payment. but hey, what can i say.

i'll take the blame though. this probably confirms that i should have got straight to the point instead of making my 928 story confusing.

that's a very good point. unless i'm doing it myself, when fixing a car ends up costing more than what the Blue Book value probably shows it as, that says it all. a small judgment in court probably wouldn't equal the labor someone would charge to even pop the hood open. you guys are right though. the 928 is a car that you really have to be dedicated to want to have and to keep. buying it just to buy it. not a good look. as much as i love having a car that you don't see on the road often, there comes a price tag with that, as i'm seeing. i have a lot of thinking to do.

 

Is the "shift" button on your keyboard also broken???

 

I'm not sure why you kept going back to the "mechanic" once you realised it was a back-yard job. You should have acted on your first impressions and walked away. These aren't the sort of cars that you can expect your local k-mart mechanic to fix, let alone a backyard mechanic.

Poorly metained 928's are a money pit unless you are mechanically inclined.

 

to save face from the prior person's post, i think you're kind of over-reaching a little bit now with this one. i don't feel, as a man, that i'm better than anyone to where i can criticize someone on anything, whether it's online or in person. but i will spread the word if i have see anyone typing like that, to refer to you first. thanks again.

You are definitely right about that. Of course, these things don't hit me until after the fact. Figures with my old Saturn, I never encountered mechanic scenarios like this.

 

Good thing you kept it short

 

No offense but maybe you should consider driving a Saturn again instead of a 928.

I think most 928 owners here have other transportation as well as you never now when the 928 will decide to take some time off.

 

Another 928 ruined.

 

From the first post.."running a separate fuse for the fuse pump around the fuse box itself since i may need an entirely new one " . I would bet that he hard wired the fuel pump to run all the time the key switch is on. Probably because the L H Injection brain was failing and no longer could turn on the fuel pump. Then it is very easy to fill a cylinder with gasoline if the key is on without the engine running and one or more injectors is leaking. Then when you do start the engine it can fire on one or two then try to compress a cylinder with too much liquid in it. That can easily lift the cylinder head or split a cylinder both very bad things.
You had four years of driving which means it should have had $5,000 to 8,000 of repairs. You have used up most of the good of that car, time to move on !

 

James Bailey, very good deductive reasoning, that is certainly a viable possibility.

Or,

The white smoke could simply be burning steering fluid as mentioned earlier.

And,

The rough running could be due to numerous possible problems caused during a spark plug change.

First thing is to check oil for coolant and coolant for oil.

 

Dibs on the air box.