Road & Track Editor In Chief considers buying a 355

Jim, that is funny. The 928 is one of those cars that is cheap to buy but can be very expensive to maintain, from what I have heard. I guess there is alot of misinformation out there regarding 355 headers. As you know, I am not paying anywhere near $6000 for mine.

 

Editor can only afford a whoopdie ?

Makes you think....

 

Magazines - he's lucky to still have a job. It sucks, but print is dying.

Erik

 

Compared to an F355 which is expensive to buy and expensive to maintain.....

 

True. But when you buy a F355 you are not getting one anywhere near the cost of a used 928. I think most people know what they are getting into when purchasing a Ferrari, unless they purchase the car without doing any research.

 

Exactly.

 

Have you ever driven a 928? They're very good cars. But, they're a GT, not a sports car - even the later GTS cars. I would be all over a 5 speed 928s or s4 for $3500.

 

Right on. I just bought what I anticipate will be a very nice FULL exhaust system for around $6K from Nouvalari (except cat bypasses, they came from QV London I believe)....so that's headers, top notch ceramic coating for the headers, Y-pipe, cat bypass pipes, and muffler, all for less than one set of Tubi headers. It can be done.

Also, if you are worried about maintenance costs, the 928 is one of the LAST cars you should buy (as is a 355). By comparison 3.0 and 3.2 liter 911's and even 3X8's/Mondials are cheap to maintain and relatively bulletproof.

 

Sorry guys coming over from the 360 section. I have a 1979 928 that I've owned for over 16 years. I also go onto rennlist occasionally.

The editor is a f#$%#ing idiot to choose a 928 over a 355. The 928 is one of the most unloved cas by porschephiles. I bought mine back in 97 thinking I better get it before it turns into a collectible. Well it's worth less now then when I bought it for $5800 bucks back then. I could probably get $2500 bucks for it now. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful and reliable car. I've replaced only 2 things that have kept it form running, an alternator and a clutch. She's a driver but not a mint example. That's the key. If you want mint, you're going to pay dearly. He's going to put $5000 dollars into it and the stupid car is still only going to be worth.. $3800 bucks. It's a pain in the @$$ to work on, parts are for the most part ferrari expensive if they can be had at all. Then, at every C+C and PCNA gathering you're constantly justifying to others that your car is a "real porsche".

With a 355.. nobody ever wonders if it's a real ferrari. And given depreciation is as it is.. you sell it for the same $$$ as you buy it for. I'll even bet that an S4 and a 355 will cost you the same if using an indy over the same time frame.

Edit: just read it was an 87'. For $3500 bucks he'll put ALOT of money into it. If it's an auto he's got Thrust bearing to worry about. Good luck....

 

An '87 is an s4, if it's a stick he'll have no trouble selling it for more than $3500 even if it's not running. The 'problem' with the 928's is that most of them were actually driven and have 100k miles plus on them at this point. The low mileage cars in good shape with a stick are not cheap as there aren't many, unlike the dime a dozen 30k (dubious) mile 355's out there. A low mileage GTS is actually more expensive than a comparable 355...That said, I wouldn't spend that much for one. I'd buy any 5 speed s4 with some miles on it for $3500 I could find, though.

 

OR he coulda got a 5 speed 95 GTS for $109k
Porsche : 928 GTS Coupe 2-Door in Porsche | eBay Motors
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I've done told them over there on Rennlist that "they're an idiot" if they spend more than 30K on a 928... regardless of miles. They're just not worth it. Esp when DB9's and 05' and later Vantages hit the market at below $40k. It's the car the 928 would have become.

Get a 355 with 30-40k miles on it and drive it for 5 years and put 10-15k miles on it. At the end of the day you're going to be able to sell it for above $30k.. provided it isn't junk or in an accident. $3500 is the price you pay for a 928 that needs work or has 100k+ miles. It's also what you'll sell it for if you're lucky at a later date.

I'm very familiar with the Wilhoit example above. It's been for sale for a few years now.

Edit: Just read its an auto. If he hasn't released tension on the Thrust bearing, he might have a machined block to deal with... Auto $4, nothing special.

 

I don't know the 928 market, but this car's price seems high. You are starting to approach 993TT S prices with higher miles, and you can certainly find a nice 993TT with low miles cheaper than that.