Is this S4 worth pursuing?
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Joined: Jul 2001
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From: New York
Well, just reading betw the lines, I bet it is a divorce which is why the car is at Tammy's and he isn't. Moving ahead, it could be fairly priced. Needs a PPI or some kind of inspection. Could just need a battery to run and drive. I would plan on a new head gasket, but it may locomote OK for now. This sounds like a good possibility as project, if only to get it back to DD status.
Moving further ahead, if this doesn't work out, I suggest you get to Hershey in April and see a lot of 928s and a few 944s and talk a lot of smack with owners.
There I said it, "Hershey"
Moving further ahead, if this doesn't work out, I suggest you get to Hershey in April and see a lot of 928s and a few 944s and talk a lot of smack with owners.
There I said it, "Hershey"
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 850
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From: Humble, TX
I have to agree that a lot of the time it is money. But many times it is frustration over how much of a POS the car has turned out to be combined with the cost to get it sorted.
Sometimes it is better to walk away and cut your losses.
The original owner of my car died after using it as a DD and 83K miles. The car was parked and covered in a garage for 13 years until sold by his estate.
Sitting that long, even in a heated garage is NOT good or cheap to sort out.
Sometimes it is better to walk away and cut your losses.
The original owner of my car died after using it as a DD and 83K miles. The car was parked and covered in a garage for 13 years until sold by his estate.
Sitting that long, even in a heated garage is NOT good or cheap to sort out.
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From: Up Nort
"Pearlized white" - need to see the paint code on the door jam. I thought there were only a couple true pearl white 928's in existence.
It could need $10k in work, it could need a battery and a turn of the key.
The blue GT Anderson picked up started without issue after sitting for 7 years. Sure it looked rough and Rob is doing a full restoration. Reality is it didn't need all that work just to be a driver:
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...l#post11818528
First drive:
IMO the car is potentially worth pursuing if:
1. The paint and interior checks out - if it is real pearl it has to be perfect IMO
2. Owner is willing to come down on price. I think it's a bit high for a 7 year hibernation.....unless again......it's one of the ultra rare pearl white cars. I'd pay a premium for that.
On the flip side of the coin, I've seen plenty of cases where someone buys a "healthy" car, gets a full PPI (and it passed) only to have a head gasket fail a year later (not necessarily a 928).
We all have this mentality that after some magical number of days our cars turn into pumpkins and need a full restoration to be driven again.
To be on the super safe side, maybe pull one belt cover (since the drivers side can be a pain....) and inspect the intake tract for mouse debris and make sure the timing belt doesn't look like a shredded rubber band before turning the key.
I do not disagree, but it's not always that complicated. I know more than a few classic cars that were parked for winter storage, life went a different direction over the next 6 months and the car became a secondary thought to their routine.
In many cases a newborn was the reason and they had no financial need to sell the car and no longer any time to enjoy it.
Always in the back of the mind: "Next weekend I'll pull it out....." and next thing you know a few years went by.
It could need $10k in work, it could need a battery and a turn of the key.
The blue GT Anderson picked up started without issue after sitting for 7 years. Sure it looked rough and Rob is doing a full restoration. Reality is it didn't need all that work just to be a driver:
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...l#post11818528
First drive:
Drove the Cobalt home from Mark's this morning, she runs fine- a little 'sleepy' feeling (50% 6 year old gas can't help....) and the motor mounts are tired but tracks straight, brakes straight, shifts well, etc. And the (original.....) fuel lines didn't burst and burn it to the ground.
1. The paint and interior checks out - if it is real pearl it has to be perfect IMO
2. Owner is willing to come down on price. I think it's a bit high for a 7 year hibernation.....unless again......it's one of the ultra rare pearl white cars. I'd pay a premium for that.
On the flip side of the coin, I've seen plenty of cases where someone buys a "healthy" car, gets a full PPI (and it passed) only to have a head gasket fail a year later (not necessarily a 928).
We all have this mentality that after some magical number of days our cars turn into pumpkins and need a full restoration to be driven again.
To be on the super safe side, maybe pull one belt cover (since the drivers side can be a pain....) and inspect the intake tract for mouse debris and make sure the timing belt doesn't look like a shredded rubber band before turning the key.
So one day the owner just decides not to ever drive their car again ?? That usually happens after they have spent a lot of money on it getting it " fixed " and then something else goes wrong which is too expensive to fix or they are afraid it will be too expensive.
Or it is unreliable stalls out so it becomes garage art.
Or it is unreliable stalls out so it becomes garage art.
In many cases a newborn was the reason and they had no financial need to sell the car and no longer any time to enjoy it.
Always in the back of the mind: "Next weekend I'll pull it out....." and next thing you know a few years went by.
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Any broad generalizations will always have exceptions plus the idea of finding a time capsule barn find at a great price is much the same as lottery tickets where people still buy them even though they KNOW that their odds of winning are nearly none existent. The THOUGHT that they might win, that dream, is often worth the price.
Anderson has bought thousands of cars....and fixed a handful what or those odds ???
Anderson has bought thousands of cars....and fixed a handful what or those odds ???
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From: Up Nort
My 87 everyone had destined for the crusher since it wasn't worth the risk....no repair history, limited use for 15 years etc...
What did I end up with? An all original car with exceptional paint, mechanically very sound and only needing the flappy repaired and the cruise fixed....oh yea and that dash fiasco that's kind of my fault.
But I guess based on what we know about this white one, its just a parts car......???
I keep saying this. If the chassis is straight with good paint and a decent interior it's worth the risk...price of entry is between you and the seller. Mechanicals are always expected on aging cars. Few are perfect and there will always be unknowns. If it was stored properly....get it back on the road.
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Mark is in business to make money.....in a very few instances it made sense and dollars to not part out a possible "parts car" but you are correct his down side risks are much lower than most as he has the ability to efficiently part out any mistakes. Plus he is never emotionally attached to the cars.
If this white car really is a factory pearl and the paint is nice that would make it very rare indeed.
If this white car really is a factory pearl and the paint is nice that would make it very rare indeed.
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Chantilly VA
Yours is just one example of what your car has needed.....not a statistically meaningful sampling, perhaps you got really lucky even if it may not feel like that 
Given that the definition of automobile is a self propelled vehicle used to ground transport people......something not running and driving is a pile of suspect parts..... it is NOT a car !! It ONCE was . Might again be.
Just about anything can be restored no matter how much it costs......
Given that the definition of automobile is a self propelled vehicle used to ground transport people......something not running and driving is a pile of suspect parts..... it is NOT a car !! It ONCE was . Might again be.
Just about anything can be restored no matter how much it costs......
I am almost 11k in on my $2500 purchase with 2k in parts still to go into it and I have no time to do it. Who will make this work happen? Well it has to be me. FFS it took almost 60 hours just to get my passenger seat looking right without recovering it and may be $100 in conditioners and products to find the correct process.
For me this 928 is a labor of love, a project that I can throw some $$$ and time at once in a while and I will get it there.
By the time I do get there the tires will need to be replaced, wires hoses etc. will all be another 5 years older. I will have to start the process ALL over. To make it a daily requires work.
I think that your number for a daily is high at 2k per year but it could be reached soon as the parts become NLA.
Time and $$'s are the only thing that will keep these cars on the road.
Michael
Last edited by michaelathome; Feb 8, 2015 at 08:59 AM.
