Hi All

I have the chance to buy a 1987 928 s4 auto, 160,000 miles.

car has been sitting in a garage for the past 3 years without running and the owner says it has an engine coolant leak somewhere. He thinks its either a WP or a gasket but can not say for sure. Body panels are in very good condition but needs painting, interior good, wheels rims unmarked, electrics ? braking system ?
ive read on the net of the horror stories that these car can have but still want to have one.

What are the main issues I should be aware of before I commit to buying this one.

Are they really that difficult to fix as im very handy with the spanners.

Apart from checking engine timing, crank thrust bearings, cylinder compressions, fuel system is there anything else I should be looking for.

Regards

 

They are not that difficult to fix, however they can be time consuming.

As every third thread states be prepared to put 5k in.

Best advice, that I totally disregarded, is to get a PPI done by someone with good 928 experience.

Jump in the water is warm, and it's not dangerous despite all of the sharks.

Good luck

 

Well, I checked out that 928 this morning and gladly walked away from it. I found a number of big issues with it such leaking trans, badly corroded various fluid lines, big oil leak from engine (somewhere), damaged chassis, steering geomertry not right and many other things wrong. Thanks for your advice, search continues.

 

Happy hunting. I've been nearly overwhelmed with a good car, but I had little experience in serious mechanical work. It seems that even experienced guys can get a little flummoxed with the sophistication of the 928 - hours of fun if you enjoy a challenge. Looks like you've done your homework well, so you know when you're looking at too many hours.

When you get a second, add your location to your profile, at least enough to tell us which side of the road you drive on. 928 owners should certainly keep their affliction confidential, but we're all family here.

 

to be more accurate most 928s require at least $2,000 a year to keep everything working as intended and be reliable. More if you pay typical Porsche repair labor. The $5,000 repair number is actually too little for most neglected 928s and yes MOST 928s get neglected because of the perceived too high repair costs relative to the buy in price.
So when you find one parked up for several years just multiply those years times $2,000 PLUS add in whatever was wrong that caused it to be parked in the first place
It is now very easy to spend $10,000 on 928 repairs not counting paint. Great hobby but a terrible investment thus far.