WICruiser

After 11 years of ownership I am serious considering selling my '85 928 Auto. I am hoping to get some input on value from this educated group before officially listing it. Like most, if not all 30+ year old cars it is far from perfect but that being said it has had a fair amount of loving care in my ownership. Odometer says 90k plus miles but it is know to not have worked both before and during my ownership so know real way of knowing the miles.
Location - Chilton WI
The good:
Crankshaft end play measured and well in specification. Super Clamp installed just for good measure.
Top end refresh, timing belt (complete with all rollers, tensioner, rebuild etc), new water pump approx. 10 years ago. Total miles since this work less than 5,000 (part of the reason to sell). Basically at the same time: all new fuel lines, and other rubber engine compartment components, new distributor caps and rotors, power steering pump rebuilt with all lines and reservoir replaced, and steering rack replaced. I didn't pull the cam covers but all of the intake parts, fan support, etc. were powder coated. New tires at that time.
Over the course of time I have also: installed new CV boots on rear axles (joints appeared very good), replaced all of the diaphragms in the HVAC control system, cleaned the electrical panel and all ground connections. Re-lubricated the sun roof system, replaced the sun roof motor, and the sun roof seal. Replaced the front and rear bumper shocks, added a front spoiler and the skid plates to protect it, added an air dam and alternator cooling hose.
Installed a used original 85 radio and amp and I have all the speakers but they are not installed.
New battery a year ago.
Starts and runs good every time I get it out.
5 bar plus oil pressure cold and at speed, 3 bar at warmed-up idle
Stored in a heated garage winters, only driven by me in summer - typically dry weather.
The bad:
Missing the charge post cover (I know, I know - just never got around to it)
Windshield cracked (has been the entire time)
Plastic dash and instrument pod cover
A/C does not blow cold (never investigated why)
Cruise control doesn't work - I thought I had it fixed but didn't stay fixed
"Typical" wear on driver's seat outside bolster
Rear internal quarter panels came from a 79 (or similar) and are not tight to the rear quarter glass.
Speedometer is sluggish going both up and down (worse cold)- had the head unit tested and came back OK so I don't know what the problem is.
Coolant warning light is always on. Tested level sensor and pressure sensor to no benefit so I suspect a wiring problem but have not pursued further. I just reset the warning light after starting.
There is small leak in the power steering that appears to be a bango bolt at the steering gear but multiple attempts have not stopped the very small oil spot on the garage floor.
A few small cracks in the front fenders.
Package trays were never reinstalled (but I have them).

I will include the full set of shop manuals and an assortment of used parts if desired.

Any thoughts about a reasonable listing price would be appreciated.

Roger
aka - WICruiser

WICruiser

I knew I would forget some thing:
All of the brakes have been redone with new rotors and rebuild calipers.

Mrmerlin

she looks a little tired,
but as the prices are rising this might have been a 5K car a few years ago now you might get 8K to 10K.
I would do some clean up work ,
powder coat or strip and polish the cross brace,
get the hot post cover sorted out.
new hood switch,
add on a new foam hood pad
wash the top fan shroud and the intake tubes, maybe spring for new stickers
tidy up any other loose ends maybe spring for a new set of carpets,
not too much if you install them yourself
fix the drivers seat bolster or find a new set of seats.
fix the door inserts with a different color maybe like the floormat color,
and put in the proper clips to attach them,the screws are not how its done.

WICruiser

Thanks Stan
These things are always hard to decide how much to do given that all the clean-up still leaves it and old car. That being said I didn't do anything special before taking these pictures (may be obvious) and finding time to do things like you mentioned is always a challenge.

Mrmerlin

as is try asking for 6K

safulop

Around here it seems that the jump post cover adds at least $5K

WICruiser

I guess for 5k I need to invest in getting that detail resolved.

safulop

It seems that the missing jump post cover (which mine was missing for some years) is like a "sign of neglect," so it gets magnified into this big red flag that is just as bad as four flat tires or a missing engine.

WICruiser

I my case the more significant sign of neglect is the lack of operating miles. Only running around 300 miles a year is clearly not what this car really wants.

It was never intended to be a show car, or a garage queen so I focused on the functional aspects and the rest just got lost.

Mrmerlin

I just put 1200 miles on my 1988 S4 this weekend for SITM

WICruiser

I wish I could get away like that. Only "home" weekends as it is and the combination o family and house/property commitments make it tough to get away.

WICruiser

Any further input of estimated value wold be appreciated. Nothing wrong with Stan's input but I alwys like a second opinion.

Thanks

GT6ixer

An 86.5 model just sold for $8500 on Bring a Trailer at no reserve. His was in better cosmetic condition than yours, though perhaps not as original. 86.5 are also more desirable because of some of the S4 bits they received.

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1986-porsche-928s-2/

I just spent the last 6 months looking at just about every ad for 928s that I could find in the search for my car and just based on pictures alone I would put your car in the $5-$6K range. Unfortunately if you are short on time like you said, your are only going to get bottom dollar. People see the ripped seat, the carpet pulling away from the center console, cracked windshield, screws in the door pad, and immediately they think "project" or "defered maintenance". At least that's what I did when I came across similar condition cars as yours during my search.

On the plus side it's original and you actually have done some maintenance, but if people are like me they won't read your ad to see that if the car looks tired in the pictures. So I strongly suggest having it detailed and presented in its best light before taking any pictures. And please make sure you close the ashtray! Don't want to give people the idea that you smoke in the car (even if you do).

GT6ixer

I just read Stan's estimate after writing my reply. So yeah, looks like we agree on price.

WICruiser

Thanks Nate
Some of the more obvious cosmetic things are easy enough to do but the seat bolster and some of the other areas are more involved than I am probably going to do. It seems like interiors are either good or a mess and it is easy to spend a lot of money without a significant return on the investment. I seem to recall an infamous saying here that most of these cars are only $8000 in work away from a $5000 car.
Maybe I will bite the bullet and put together a list of projects I need to do over the next year and see where I get.

Thanks Again