Akerlie

Panzer9,

Is that a photochopped pic ? if not what is the size of those wheels ?

worf928

Ya think?

Yes. It is photochopped.

Akerlie

LOL nice work.

Been thinking of a 928 myself infact, what do you guys think about a 78' model ?

dcdude

Oh, that explains how you guys got over here. Well, welcome, and thanks for the input! I think you'd be pleased with how much we help each other. It's a matter of survival!

Guilty! and I know John meant "cult" as the highest form of compliment and admiration!

Steve 96C4S

Since we're cross referencing all sorts of stuff on this post, be sure to check us out on bimmerboard.com when you get your E38 740il. You will LOVE this car! I have an '01 too - but the short wheelbase version. They are a steal now!
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/e38/

Steve

bart1

Just as an aside, sort of, a 968 has many of the qualities of the 928 and is a great car. More stuff to go wrong than a 993, but cheaper to operate over the long run, I think.

cobalt

I will chime in.

Both are great cars and very different. There is nothing redundant about a 928 when comparing it to a 993 or 964. If you throw a 996 or 997 into the equation then you can start using redundant to compare them. As others said the newer 911's are similar to the 928's in the respect of size weight and creature comforts.

I have always been a 911 guy myself but have owned 2 928's, honestly my GTS is a great car, probably one of the best GT's made. To date 10k miles and not a single issue other than a fan speed control contact that needed cleaning. But I can say the same thing for my C2 and turbo also well maintained and trouble free.

When buying any of these cars used you get what you pay for and records are a key factor. If any of these cars are well maintained they should give you years of trouble free fun. If not it is pot luck. When working on a 928 you can see it was a more expensive car to produce although I would not say that makes it better. The 928 especially the GTS is a GT. Overall feel is heavier, steering is slower and less dramatic, the engine revs slower and even the windows and windshield wipers move slower. That doesn't make the 928 a slow car it is just designed to be more comfortable with more room and more comfort. Once driving the 928 for a period of time you start to appreciate all that I mentioned as a positive for comfortable cruising as you move along the roads at a fast rate of speed that doesn't feel rushed or hurried. A 911 on the other hand is the exact opposite. Faster reving, quicker turning and a sports car sense of urgency about it. You need to keep the revs up or you are out of the power band.

There is a feeling to a 928 that no 911 can offer. It is laid back comfortable and has a V8 sound and feel. Torque is tremendous at any RPM and when you break 4k rpms it pulls very strong and accelerates at a deceivingly quick pace.

With that said if I had to keep one it would be my turbo with the GTS in second and the C2 a not so distant 3rd.

If you can find a nice 928 I would recommend a GT or if you can afford it a GTS 5 speed preferably. IMO it is a great compliment to a 911 and having a car for different occasions and different driving conditions is a beautiful thing.

Good Luck

cobalt

I agree I had one before my Cayenne Turbo although I would take a CT over a 740 any day. Although a 928 and 740 couldn't be more different.

sty3x

Can I just say I've always wanted a 993? When I lived in Miami a white one passed me on the MacArthur Causeway and it made the most beautiful sound ever...

Kolbjorn S

As long as you get an unmolested car which has a documented maintenance record and has been somewhat regularly driven, and you do preventive maintenance on it, it is prettly reliable. Since even the newest 928 is 13-14 years old, condition and equipment - IMHO - is more important than just getting the latest model available. A 5-sp 928 beautifully complements a 993.

dcdude

You, sir, have excellent taste! Even though our E320 Estate gets the job done, I miss my E46 greatly. I'm 6'3" wife's 5'11" dad's 6'4" and I would love me some "old" 740iL (and maybe a 928). 740iL has to be the buy of the millenium now. Wasn't it no trouble to spend $90K on those when new? Pre-navi sounds appealing. I forsee a big useles hole in the dash in coming years and I just bought my dad a Garmin 350 for Xmas for $157! Those portables are slam-dunk no brainers!

dr bob

Owned both, they are different cars for sure. 911/993 drivers find the 928 feels heavy/ponderous. I call it stable and forgicving. 928 owners find 993's twitchy and more easily excited. Owners call them more responsive. I watch car commercials where they tout getting the blood boiling as a "feature". That was really cool at one point in my life. The 928 does pretty much all of the things a 993 will do, without the twitchies and excitement and blood boiling. I also like being able to fit a couple sets of clubs plus weekend luggage, rip off a few hundred miles easily, and play a round. The 928 traffic/enforcement profile is more subtle so I can drive faster without worry. I see more 993's than 928's by a huge multiplier. It is my daily driver.

That said, I do all the work on the car thanks to a shortage of competent talent. I do have a couple fall-backs that are less than an hour away if I find something I don't want to tackle. There are several 928-specific parts vendors that help keep the parts available and affordable, but nowhere near the masses of 'specialists' that sell parts and services for every Porsche except the 928. Performance parts and services ditto-- the 928 is a redheaded stepchild thanks to lack of any serious factory race programs and the small volume of cars sold. Still, maybe $10k, you can upgrade suspension, and add a kompressor for engine output past 500hp.

The good news for buyers right now is that you can get a lot of value in a 928. Like any Porsche, you'll budget for bringing any car up to your standards. To make a used 928 a very reliable driver, I look at baseline maintenance stuff like hoses and gaskets, motor mounts, shocks, brakes and tires, and come to a maybe $5k number before cosmetics. A car that's been abused or neglected mechanically will be more $ obviously. You'll want a moel-specific PPI of course. Good news is that there is a great group of 928 supporters on Rennlist, many of whom would be happy to help you decide on a car and maybe do at least a basic PPI with you.

----

The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Every religion started out as a cult, then gained acceptance through the numbers of believers they were able to attract. Some cults can be subsets of or share members with other cults or religions. There is no real requirement that a cult or religion needs to focus on diety to exist either. No shrines in my garage, no tax-exempt status, but I do enjoy driving the car.

dcdude

I was just thinking about that. Since you're in La La, who are the wrenches, pray tell? The usual suspects: TRE, Callas and Hergies? I expect them to be "911" shops, but I'd love to be wrong.

Lopez

I have a '79, which is a lot like a '78. I like the older cars for a couple reasons. First, they are the most simple (no computers straightforward mechanical ignition and fuel injection systems, somewhat simpler wiring harness) and I personally prefer the un-spoilered look of these cars. If you want a 5-speed it's easier to find one in the earliest models - it seems like the percentage of automatics sold went up every model year. The same thing goes for cars with no sunroof or rub strips - not that you can't find them in later cars but I think you'll have more to choose from in an early car if you want that. Of the 16v USA spec cars, the '78-79 have the hottest factory cams, and they are a bit less heavy than later models.
Disadvantages to the early cars are age (obviously) and cost of some parts - conventional wisdom is to throw away your 4.5l motor if it needs a rebuild and just get a 4.7 as the parts are prohibitively expensive. The early 4.5l cars also have fewer options for easily tuning in more power as there's not much you can do without major engine modifications besides bolt on a supercharger - and even then you don't have the engine tuning tweaks available on a car with more modern electronic fuel injection. Later 5 speeds have better synchros and are less likely to develop grinding in 1st and 2nd. Later cars also have single-disc clutches, which are less of a maintenance hassle but many people think the early multi-disc clutch is superior and have reverted their late 5-speeds to the early design. The early cars also have less capable versions of the suspension (and weaker brakes), although all the suspension / brake parts from an S4 will bolt on an OB if you want to update it.

Akerlie

thank you Lopez

The reason i am considering a 78' is that since it is 30 years old i only need to pay the VAT on it and not the $15000 tax that i would have to pay on a 29 year old car.