oldfrat

Hmm, not sure how I feel about the following article in the latest PCA newsletter.

Brad



I've always thought that the Porsche 928 was one of the most beautiful cars ever created — while also being fast, comfortable and a great handler.

After years of periodically checking eBay for just the right shark, an opportunity arose that I couldn't pass up: a free 928! A friend of a friend had a 1986 928S automatic (darn) that she wasn't driving, and for which she wanted to find a good home. The car was 22 years old at this point, and had been mostly sitting for seven years.

My friend drove me out to pick it up and there it sat — covered with leaves and dirt and looking like a derelict. But shock of shocks, I turned the key and it started. I added some gas, checked the oil and the tires and drove it the 50 miles home. A good bath the following day made it look almost presentable.

The interior was fine, barring a dead radio, and wow was it fun to drive. It was really fast once you got into the higher rev range, and no matter what, it sounded great. The faster I drove, the more it hunkered down and chewed up any turn or curve southern California could throw at it. A great weekend car was mine — for free!

Until:

a leaking water pump, (oh, and while the engine is apart, we'd better replace that timing belt and do a complete tune-up)
several new batteries (never could diagnose the electrical system problem)
a new radio (bought an original equipment replacement Blaupunkt, but it never worked)
new (used) wheels and new tires to replace the pitted wheels and worn tires it came with

Suddenly, my free dream car was still a dream, but far from free. I still enjoyed it immensely, but shortly after all the above drama, it got hit pretty severely in a parking lot by a bottled water delivery truck.

Although the water company paid for the repairs, I had to find a used door skin to keep my 928 from being totaled. Then, what the heck, I ponied up the extra to have the car fully repainted. When it was finished, it looked really gorgeous.

But shortly thereafter, it demanded:

a new master cylinder
a new air conditioning compressor (the A/C was never a strong point)
a few more new batteries

The incessant problems were causing me to drive the car less and less, especially in the heat. So, as much as I loved the car and wanted it to hang on, I realized it was only being kept alive by artificial means — the life support provided by my checkbook.

A full, expensive, restoration on a car that was essentially worth nothing was out of the question, so I made the hard decision. I took a pitifully small check from a 928 parts outlet and pulled the plug. The car became an organ donor, in the hopes of keeping other beautiful 928's alive.

Someday I may have another shark (a manual this time). And who knows, it may have a little piece of my "free" dream car buried somewhere inside.

polecat702

There are no " FREE RIDES, " what an *******.

As a side note. Articles like this are why I'd never buy a PCA membership, always gotta be putting down the 928!

dr bob

Sometimes we conveniently 'forget' that ALL automobiles are depreciating assets at best. When it comes to used cars, there's a reason that the 'free' car he found was actually free. Cars get parked because the accumulated maintenance needs exceed the owner's perception of the value of the car, and that value relative to some other transportation option. So this 'free' car has a few things that we typically take in stride. Water pump and timing belt? Every car needs that done in the first years of ownership, so no surprise. AC needs attention? You are hardly alone. Electrical system bleeding current a little? Takes some diligent sleuthing but is hardly uncommon.

I'm just not seeing why the writer decided to pack it in and sell the car, unless he finally got the bill from Cali DMV for all the back fees and registration costs, with penalties. A $60k car sitting for seven years would gather a huge amount of fee liability, easily enough to "total" the car even if he never got a scratch on it himself.

bureau13

Stupid stupid stupid article. WTF was the author thinking? And why is that more pertinent for a 928 than ANY other almost 30 year old car? It almost seems like he's blaming the 928 for having been neglected for years, for getting hit by a truck, and for his own idiocy in constantly replacing batteries rather than finding the actual electrical problem. This guy needs to only own new cars with a warranty.

Richard S

I bet he promptly went and purchased a basket case 911 and is happily spending all his money on fixing/restoring it while his PCA friends cheer him on.

Rich

the flyin' scotsman

man that article is incredible.......my S4 runs fantastic and its 27 YO.......it did cost more than free though and has had some maintenance

Chalkboss

Beyond stupid. A free car... and a 928. He does not deserve a 928, much less a free one. My S4 is the best car I have ever had the pleasure of owning, and I have owned a variety. Any car will require maintenance, especially one sitting for so long. Unfortunately articles of this tenor do nothing to promote the 928 in the Porsche crowd, but someday collectors and car enthusiasts will pull their heads out of their backsides and realize what a gem has been lurking there right under their noses this whole time.
In the meantime, we already know!

bogdann

Should have been an editorial on the article stating the writers expectations were totally unrealistic.

James Bailey

there are no more old Basket case 911s......at least not for much under 25K !!! read a little about Tulip Mania and you will understand the state of the current Porsche collecter market

The Forgotten On

That writer really must have no basic skills on working on classic Porsches. Why would he complain about an electrical fault that could easily be found in an afternoon with a light.

And scrapping a car that seemed to have very few actually hard to fix problems is beyond stupid. You are all right, he didn't deserve it in the first place. Especially after wining about issues on a FREE Porsche that is almost 30 years old.

hacker-pschorr

The odds of this car ending up at a dismantlers is rather high:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...on-copart.html

GeorgeM

When you say PCA newsletter, do you mean your region newsletter? Which region?

oldfrat

National PCA E-Brake News e-mail, dated 1/6/15. Third article: "Pulling the plug: Did I do the right thing?
By Roger Kraemer "

Brad

Ladybug83

Funny how the car started after 7 years of neglect, but when he started putzing around with it, it started eating up batteries. Genius

Bertrand Daoust

That guy got a car that cost around 60k$ when new for free and didn't even want to put the right money to bring it to a respectable condition. And find a way to complain...

Brad, from my side I feel bad reading something like this from PCA.
Incredible.