NickT

I DD mine for 6 years, one failure that was really my fault in the end.. took a few years off and now I am back to using her as a DD..

Gotta love my 928 at 25 years old and still going STRONG!!!

The Forgotten On

I DD mine 7 days a week, although it is an older 81 model, it still runs very well. The steering isn't too heavy if you have the bearings in the steering column replaced, they often fail like mine did and make it a pain to steer. If you can wiggle your steering wheel it has failed. Worn tie rods can make it heavy too. I never baby it and have caught up on on deferred maintenance. Check the auto transmission cooler lines if you have them, I've lost 1 litre of fluid in 5,000 miles, you don't want to roast your transmission. Only the ignition switch has failed me. They are great DD and great cars in general, just be sure to have everything running right before you put a lot of miles on it. Have fun driving!

Catfood

Drove my past S4 for 4 years and 30k miles. Maintenance was up to date and I drove it everywhere during all types of weather. I changed the oil and put gas in it. Not a problem. Driving it more than "occasionally" really helps them.

dr bob

Mine's coming up on 25 years old now, and has been a DD for me until early this year. I still drive it regularly, just not to the grocery store any more. I've been stranded twice in 18 years. Once in the garage with an expired battery, second time at the end of the driveway for a fuel pump relay. I do maintain it religiously (some call it fanatically...), for the confidence that I can jump in it at any time and drive to New York and back with no worries.

Buying one without this kind of history opens you up to everything that has been neglected during its previous life. You get to baseline every bit of maintenance that's beed deferred or not documented, and that can be pretty daunting. Many work their way slowly through that list, and continue to just fix things reactively. I hate being stranded by stupid stuff, so I have a more aggressive method. It's cheaper and easier in the long run.

mickster

If you are looking at S4 consider 1989 as a sweet spot-with LSD. The 90-91 has PSD but also has airbags (Weight and 1st gen-very powerful if they go off); the 91 has additional sound proofing.

5 Speed 89 S4 or GT are great; 87-88 have differential gearing for better MPG than 0-60 times.

I think it's the best bang for buck.

Like everyone said, it's all about maintenance. The key though is you are not driving every day and these cars like to be driven daily (Ask me how I know!)

SMTCapeCod

I'm sorely tempted to search for threads from those that post 'no problems' and 'trouble free"! Buy I can be hyper literal. My opinion is- you take a big hit upfront, either paying a big premium for a documented sorted car, or else getting a promising example up to the baseline. Thereafter, it depends on your standards/expectations and ability to roll with some non-critical deficiencies, or not. The more you know about the cars, the more you know about the minor things your car needs, in my experience.
Up to snuff cars likely aren't that much more intensive to maintain than many other platforms, but you have to know parts may be a day or more away, are costly and go up in astronomical increments and truly skilled techs/mechanics are scarce.

MFranke

My 88 S4 was my only car from 1993 until 2004, drove it everywhere, and was a very reliable DD - really great memories with it.
In 2004 I moved north where the winters were nasty so I bought a sacrificial DD car to suck up the foul weather abuse while sparing the 88 for nicer months.
In 2009 I moved back south, recently acquired some additional 928s, and now I really don't care to drive anything else but the 928s.
Keep them fresh and the 928 is exceptionally reliable in my book.

Shawn Stanford

I had a Shark with 240k on the clock - and the clock had been broken for some time. It had electrical issues, it idled high, the instrument pod was dead, no blower moter, shifting was like stirring a bowl of Jello, etc., etc.

However, it never left me stranded. I drove it at least once or twice a week for a year, then my son drove it daily for several months. It went on a number of day-long trips, too.

It sat for a year while I was deployed and that was it. It never started again while in my possession. After the flood got it, it went to someone in upstate NY, who did get it running again with relatively little effort.

dprantl

I had a US '86 as a DD for 8 years, now I have the GT as a DD for the last 6 years. I have put 140k miles on these two 928s in that time. Drive them daily and keep up on maintenance and you will be fine. If you don't want a chance of getting stranded:

- For an automatic, check flex plate preload and install a superclamp
- Replace all the fuses and important 253B relays with quality replacements and clean up the board while you are in there
- Rebuild the LH ECU
- Replace the in-tank fuel pump with a strainer if there is one (or get a modern quality replacement hose that doesn't disintegrate in 2 years)
- Have the injectors cleaned
- Replace the O2 sensor with the correct stock one unless it has been done recently
- Buy a new battery ground strap (even if it looks good, they are cheap)
- Clean all the ground points
- Replace the heater valve and its short hose
- Replace the radiator cap with a correct new 928 one

Some other things you may want to consider:

- Rebuild the MAF
- Replace the alternator brushes
- Intake refresh (gaskets, vacuum lines)
- Change all coolant hoses
- Buy a spare driver's inner door handle and keep it handy

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

Jerome Craig

My '86.5 was a DD for 13 years and my '87 was a DD for 7. I always got "there" and I always got "back". Sold the '86.5 @ 236K miles to a guy who used it as his DD!

Jerome

DJF1

Maybe on the minority here, but I have yet to see a "trouble free" ownership and certainly in my case I've been burned. If not one thing its the other. Currently my 928 sits in the garage again ( was supposed to be my daily driver) this time with a blown high pressure power steering line which i thought I had addressed 20K miles ago.
In my book unless you know how to fix them yourself then compared to an aircooled 911 its risky. All the time my 928 was "in the shop" I was driving my 911 which has twice the amount of miles on than the 928. It did not let me down once like every aircooled 911 I have owned for the past 13 years.

I may sound bitter and disappointed and I guess I am. I'm not a wrench nor want to be one. I was looking for a reliable daily driver as well and I was subscribing to the school of preventative maintainance and you will be ok. I have sunk more than 20K on that car in 2 years. It has not been the case I'm afraid and now I have run out of money and time.

Bottom line is that the 928 will never be as reliable as an aircooled 911 from the later years. its more complicated, more needy and many things can go wrong and they usually do.

brealytrent

I wasn't....

Kevin in Atlanta

I have owned and driven 5 928's of various vintages. Only my 87 ever left me stranded. Once when a slave hose blew and once when the CPS connector came off - that one I blame on me. So, as long as the maintenance is up to snuff these cars are very reliable.

7391420

Again great info here, and I think I'm convinced that I could give it a try-again!

I know how reliable 911's can be, I've had three of them but I've never really been a hardcore 911 guy. There is just something about the design of the 928, and how safe you feel in one..

7391420

The other thing I realized today was that I don't honestly remember the last time I saw a 928 on the road around here.