So after selling my 944 that I spent way to long dealing with that ended in a sad departure, I realize, I miss my car so I am looking at getting another one. I am looking to get something other than a 944 and looking between a 968 or a 928 and decided that I will post in both forums and get opinions...

Sw What I like and dislike....

928 1987 - on...(don't want anything before then)

Pros:

I like the body style more then anything before 86.
V8...more power...always good...
More sites out there for parts/upgrades

Cons:

Most I am seeing are autos...and the manuals are 5 speeds.
Interior doesn't look as updated as a 968.

968

Pros:

I like the style a bit more
Interior looks more updated
6 speed manual

Cons:

4 cycl.
Lack of performance sites

If anyone can post your thoughts and opinions, please do.

Thanks,
space

 

I love the 928s too but they are big cars. Drive one (if you haven't already). The biggest complaint i hear 928wise is that they are over engineered, hard to work on, and costly to repair.

The 968 is the final evolution. The 968's have most everything worked out. They are unique, beautiful, fun to drive, easier to work on, and modern in almost everyway. I vote 968. As for more performance, you can add a chip or the latest bolt on supercharger kits.
IMHO.
Jeff

 

I completely agree with Jeff. I have a 968 cabriolet and a 944 Turbo and the 968 is superior in every way. Granted, when the 951 is "on-boost" it's violent and oh-so-fun but the 968 is incredibly civilized.

If you're after more performance, there are a few modifications that will make a difference but for the most part I can't imagine that you'd want to. The 968 coupe had a 0-60 time that was comparable with the 951. Parts really aren't any harder to find than for the 944 and really don't cost that much more. For me, ease of ownership and a superior driving experience seals the deal.

 

If I had to drive to LA, I'd like a GTS. For a fun day in the twisties, it's 968 all the way. Since my 968 is my fun car, you know where my vote is. But I'd really like to make that cross country drive some day. The 928 styling, like the 968, transcends time in a way few cars do.

 

read everything JEFF is saying and multiply it times TEN. i had a 928. it killed me... incredible to drive but it's a bit heavy. OVER ENGINEERED and poor quality for the price. not much different than a Ferrari.

buy a 968 and do ALL the maintenance until the engine dies. then install a Chevrolet LS 2. properly done, you will be driving one of the best cars in the world with minimal problems.

 

Bah. I have one of each in the garage, if you think the 928 is a big car then you think a VW Passat is a big car. The 928 is a little bit bigger than the 968 but it has a 32v 5 liter motor making 80 more hp. They haul ***. They are also a car designed with money as no object from a clean sheet of paper and it shows. The 968 is a great car but it's a car designed as a VW/Audi parts bin car that they took a potato peeler to in 1992 to round off the corners. lighter, yes. Better in the corners, yes. But the 928 is the daddy. If I had to pick just one I'd pick the 968 but only because you can get a supercharger and a cabriolet for the 968, and I like open-air motoring (and I have an A8 for highway hauling.) The 928, designed as an alternative to air travel between Munich and Berlin is the quintessential Gentleman's Express and ***** out supercar for under ten grand these days. Flat out amazing and a technological wonder.

If you do not need to get the top down check out the 928 and just see what the engine and chassis have to offer compared to the 968, Full ride height adjustable, double A-Arms, Weissach axle... uncompromising greatness.

So if you do not want a cabrio buy a 928S4 5 speed or a 928GT and never look back.
-Joel.

 

Why don't we go at it these way & compare the two of them: 968-3,086pds -928s4 -3,595pds 511pds more for the 928. / 968-240hp--928s4 -316 hp 76 more hp but more weigths. Performance 968 -0-60 5.9 ---- s4 0-60 5.5 / top speed 968-156mph ---- s4-165mph a gain of 9mph for the s4. MPG ,city & hyw----968 -17mpg/ 25mpg ----- s4 12mpg/19mpg. Now those figures apply only if both cars are in tip top shape. Regular maintenance on a 928 will requier to double everything either it's sparks plugs & wires -dist & rotor ect ect witch mean spending double of the money you will for the 968.Agree with what was said above the car is fast ,was meant to cruise on the authobann at 100 mph all day,but how often are you gone to cruise at that speed on the USA or CAND hyw.Don't get me wrong here I really like the 928 since I spend quite a bite off time looking for a decent one before buying my 968 but after weighing the pro & con
I decide on the 968 & don't regret it.

 

and then came the supercharger, zero backpressure exhaust, and added unsprung weight from the GTS big brakes holding the 968 down. just making 340 horsepower, vs/price. doing more with less... game over.

 

928s are not like Ferrari, why do you say that?
968 has the added maintenance and risk of the cam chain tensioner breaking trashing the head, cams, valves and possibly the short block if the valves fall in the cylinder. The 928 on the other hand doesn't have this problem, people don't even touch their chain tensioner on their S4. My friends 94 GTS has more that 200,000 miles on the engine and it still runs great.

If the problem is power you can add a super charger and have more than 400 rear wheel HP, probably the same cost as adding a super charger to a 968.

 

owned them both... '94 968 & '89 928S4

Depends what you are looking for:

968: ultimate 944 line, agile, quick, reliable..
928: powerful, sophisticated, expensive to fix, unreliable

That's been my experience...

 

Please, what made the S4 Unreliable?
just curious
most of the time these cars become unreliable because of the previous owner not taking care of the car or having someone work on it that does not know what their doing.
There is nothing about the S4 that I know of that's unreliable other than normal maintenance, like timing belt change or water pump change.
I never had a 968 and should probably not comment on it. However, if you do search you will find out that the chain tensioner system on the 16 valve 944 and 968s is Unreliable and it could break and destroy the whole engine, So it needs to be changed often. This is Unreliable. I realized this because I was going to buy a 91 S2, which has the same engine in the 968 except the vario cam, you will find 88 944s that have the early 8 valve engine swapped into them, probably because the original 16 valve engine failed and was expensive to replace.

 

"owned them both... '94 968 & '89 928S4... " me too... same years make and models. same exact result.

 

The 928 is pretty darned reliable if whoever is maintaining it knows what they are doing. Yes you need to buy 4 more spark plug leads and an extra cap and rotor for the 32v models, not that big a deal though as you do not have a variocam system eating cam sprockets or concern about the pinion gear failure.

928s with the ladymatic (like mine) can have a failure of the thrust bearing due to a shifting of the torque shaft but there is an inexpensive fix for that that seems to work. This is not an issue with the 5 speeds.

Both cars can have issues with switches and HVAC heads and stuff like that.

-Joel.

 

Hi namasgt,
You are more than likely correct - I'm not sure there are inherent reliability differences. There are good and bad examples of both for sure. We tend to form our own impressions and biases based on experience, usage etc... and in my case the 968 has been a good experience and the 928 a bad experience. Others will I'm sure see it differently.

 

Hi Brianh

I agree with you. I personally love the 968 styling and plan on getting a hard top 6 speed in the future. They are definitely much more rarer of a car compared to the S4 models and a good example will more than likely cost more than a similar condition 5 speed S4. I just want the OP to make sure he checks the chain tensioner or have it serviced as soon as possible, if he decides to buy a 968.