The_Remora

Hey guys,

A close friend of mine who is new to Porsches and 928s sort of fell for this '85 S3 on ebay that was originally at a current price of $6,555 when he started tracking it. I told him it looked okay for that price but that it wasnt' my favorite out of the cars he was considering. Anyway, he bid up (likely fake bidding war with broker imo) and "won" the auction at $15,000. He can afford this, but doesn't know much about 928 market values and would need it to be basically a near perfect car that he could use as a daily driver and that would hopefully at least hold its value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...EF:MOTORS:1123

It's being sold by a 'broker' by the owner. Broker told my friend that the car was basically perfect and road trip worthy. My friend got tickets for he and another friend who's into vintage bimmers to fly half way across the country and drive it back to the east coast... tomorrow. My friend then asked for more verification of the service history and found that the last service performed was in 2011 and that the car has 4k miles on it since then, and was never brought back in by owner to have the timing belt re-tensioned after 1k miles. Also, he doesn't know anything more about the car that is presented in the 14 camera-phone quality pictures on the ebay auction. No PPI, no VIN check, numbers verification, options or paint verification etc.

I told my friend that I wouldn't do it. That he should RUN based on the limited data he has on this car, especially for that price. If it were more local and he had gotten it for closer to the $6555 it started at I would say good luck and have fun.

So, I've seen you guys eye-ball cars and see all kinds of red flags in the past. What do you think of this car, and is it worth the price and would you deem it likely to be road trip worthy?

Thanks and any insight and advice is much appreciated. Just looking out for my friend who's a great guy. Advice appreciated either way, even if its completely different direction than i've urged him (hope i didn't screw up a good car for him...) I'll direct my friend to this thread (he's not on Rennlist afaik)
Chris

Flint Ironstag

Sounds like he's in too far to back out.

- get it on his insurance
- bring a credit card
- have fun

928 at last

RUN

docmirror

Well, it's a very nice car, but it's also at the top of the price point. I would say it's about right price. Not a bargain, and not a rip off. Good parts is a 5 speed and looks unmolested. If he wants a car that won't have many problems for a few years that looks nice it's priced about right, maybe a bit high.

The_Remora

Thanks so for advice so far, guys. Either way, will be good opinions to take into account by experienced crowd here.

h011yw00d

Have Porken FedEx him some chips and a spare FPR (and you know you got one, Ken)... Put them in before he leaves the broker's.

I fell in love with mine too... and I'm still worthless

Adamant1971

I second that. There are at least 4 or 5 nice cars for sale around here that you can get for half that.

Find something local and don't rush a purchase.

Bilal928S4

From the pictures looks in very good condition. The steering wheel leather cover stitching seems to have come off from the top portion.
The service that was done 4000 miles ago included what?
There are no engine shots or any pictures of the under carriage to show any leaks or lack there of.

mj1pate

Top dollar for a 90's GT, which it isn't. He'll probably have to write off at least $5k right away. At least it's a manual, reasonably low miles

otisp

Well, to provide the more optimistic viewpoint...
I did somewhat the same thing. Wanted a 928 since they first came out when I was about 14 and finally bought it Easter 2012. There are really none around here, so the one I bought was from Las Vegas. Bought it sight-unseen and my son and I flew down and the PO met us at the airport. We drove it the 1200 odd miles home and had a BLAST.
I did however buy mine off Rennlist, and talked to the PO quite a bit first. Of course I was a bit worried about what I would find when I got there, but he was honest and the car was as he had said, and pretty well maintained.

I think your friend paid quite a bit, but hopefully he'll have a great trip back home. Regardless, he'll find lots of help on RL for any problems he has with it, just like I have.
He might also want to join the 928OC before he goes to pick up the car so that he can access their roadside assistance list.

h011yw00d

C'mon, he's flying to the home of Risky Business and driving home a 5-Speed 928. He's livin' the DREAM!!!

Nicole

I kind-of hope that this is where 928 prices are going. But I don't think we are there... OTOH, this might get us closer to setting a new higher standard.

Landseer

Best of luck to the new owner!

danglerb

Vin for reference WP0JB0927FS860459
Ebay, top dollar price, no carfax, no ppi, make sure he packs plenty of KY lube.

Look at the bidding, he is paying DOUBLE the next highest bid which is from a zero feedback bidder.

d***c( 53) US $15,000.00 Jun-09-13 17:52:19 PDT
d***c( 53) US $15,000.00 Jun-08-13 07:47:49 PDT
d***e( 0 ) US $7,519.00 Jun-06-13 17:27:44 PDT
d***e( 0 ) US $7,319.00 Jun-06-13 17:26:30 PDT
d***d( 37) US $7,088.00 Jun-06-13 17:02:02 PDT

Ebay auto auctions get bailed on all the time when buyers see cars for real instead of cell phone picts or do some inspections.

GregBBRD

Keep in mind that many $5,000 dollar cars need $10,000 worth of mechanical work...before you have them painted and the interior redone.

This means that a $15,000 1985 model can be a complete rip off or the best deal around...totally depends on the individual car.

Get someone who knows 928s inside and out to look at the car, make a list of what it needs, and go from there.....especially before trying to drive it on a long road trip.