Theres a car lot down the street with a brown (ugly color, lol) 83 928s 5 speed coupe for sale....been there for over a year.... went in with my friend cause his dad is interested in either getting one of those or a C4 Corvette... After talking with one of the guys for about half an hour, he was amazed at how much i knew about the 928's and cars in general (wow....and he works with cars, i just read about them and stuff! LOL), and said that if we'd buy it, he'd sell it for 5,500 (the price on the window is 7,900) Anyway, its in decent shape......cosmetics are the biggest problem....paint is scratched, a few dings here and there, doesnt need to be repainted to look good, but up close it will probably always look sorta crappy unless its repainted.... Interior is OK...dash isnt cracked or anything, the carpet could be replaced, the seats are OK....no tears or rips in the leather, but its worn out..... A few little things here and there need to be re-attatched or replaced, nothing that a few bucks on eBay couldnt fix over time..... My friends dad had taken it for a test drive over half a year ago, and said the engine ran really nice, the tranny was good except the 1st gear wasnt synchronized....dunno if it came that way or just needed a new synchro. Anywho, it DOES have fairly high miles.....AND the odometer apparently no longer works, so thats whats the BIG problem is. We've got a vin number if anyone has carfax and can run it, the guy claims its a clean car, but i'd just like to make sure. Does anyone have any experience with these cars? any key things to look for? 5,500 is a decent deal for a 928s..... I guess I didnt take any exterior pics (or the guy accidentally deleted the one i thought i took...he was VERY amused by my camera phone, LOL), but the exterior is in fairly good shape. Any advice? Thanks, -Chris Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'd say run away . I own an 86.5 928S right now (a big improvement over the 16v cars, 288vs234hp, S4 brakes and suspension...) and I picked it up five years ago with 60k miles for 9k dollars, no stories. Car is an auto though... These cars can eat your wallet very quickly if anything goes wrong! Parts are not so bad (see 928intl.com for a general idea), but labor can eat you up if you can't fix it yourself. If you want a 928 badly enough, take your time, find one that is clean and has a nice color! Try to hop up into an 85 or better, with preference going to the 87 and up (Again, far better car). Surf over to rennlist.com and check the 928 board, ton of info there. -Jason
I'd run away too... That engine looks filthy & it may be running nicely now, but just wait 'til all those neglected vacuum lines start leaking Besides, it's just a US car with 288 hp. You can get a nice euro with the full monty 300 hp for the same money or less (I did) with an engine compartment that looks a bit more like the one in this photo... A US '83 in that shape will have a hard time pulling $3500 on ebay.
Having owned 928's all I can say is that of all the potential money pits out there....they are one of the best......heh. Which is exactly why they go begging at resale time.....except for the last series of GTS models apparently. We have a 1988 S4 in our shop right now (local car....full records....rare 5 speed....good color combo....etc)......the guy has receipts for $14,000 (All figures are in CAD $)......of repairs that he has accumulated over the last 3 years of operation.....and the car now needs about "another" $ 8,000 to repair it today (two blown head gaskets, tires and a steering rack are required).........I offered him $ 8,000 "as is" and he balked. In 3 years this car will have had more spent on repairs than it is worth on resale, and it still has more life left in it since it's a "good-above average" example of the marque........that thing you looked at is a parts car IMO.
OK I talked to my friend, he didnt like what I told him at all..... He's the type of person that believes everything that a car dealer will tell you....no matter what and just cause it ran the time that his dad took it for a test drive he thinks the engine is 'Nice' I told him that the advice from everyone that replied was pretty much to skip it, and his reply was 'you just want to buy it for yourself' Meh, I tried.......his father has quite possibly the worst A.D.D. ever recorded, lol, so i guess they'll do what they want..... Anywho, thanks for all the info and help....if they come asking for advice, i'll let them know what you guys said Thanks though, -Chris
Poor guy, he's going to get burned. These cars like to be driven! If not, they just fall apart. I drive my car all the time, and it has nary a mechanical problem, but when I let it sit a while back, I was constantly fixing things. I wish I could just talk him out of that 16V S. Those cars are pretty weak... even my 32V S isn't that fast... And brown is a hideous color . Buy it for 3k or walk... if that... -Jason
actually, the guy that is trying to sell it kept on talking about "oh man this is just like the one in Risky Business....you seen that movie? ive had people come in and ask if its the same one thats in risky business.....", i just laughed...lol
928's are great cars if maintained. I like them and have owned 4 in the past. Because of cheap prices for a lot of car, many change hand multiple times to pass on the $$ to the next owner who thought he was buying "a bargain". For a 928, like a Ferrari, you must expand your search beyond the local car lot in your town. There are plenty of well maintained cars out there. I can find 83's all day long that could show at a local Porsche parade and have no issues for under $9000. The particular car you're looking at would have you well over $11k into it in no time and it will still be a fright pig with terrible cosmetics. Remember, all those parts are stamped with Porsche part numbers and they do not come cheap just because the car is. Also, Porsche dealers do not charge less $/hr just because the car did not cost much to buy. It costs the same to work on a $1500 924, $3000 944, $6000 928 as it does a 2002 twin turbo.
Where to begin? First that example pictured is truly one of the most neglected i have seen and i would judge a book by its cover. Second a well maintained 928 is one of the best built and most reliable exotics. Third the problem is that there are so many versions from 79 to 95 with many small but important differences and so few in total that even porsche mechanics are clueless with them. If yours is 87 or newer and "slow" then its a pig. If you are going to buy one be prepared to do a lot of studying and a fair amount of work, have a decent budget and enjoy the ride, otherwise you'll just help make mine more rare. T
