Non-BMW: Info on Porsche 928s

[mbonder]

I'm considering buying one of these. Its a 1981 model, 928S, I've got the general specs and gone to see the car just briefly (parked down the street from me). I would like to do a little more research before actually talking to the owner and taking it for a ride.

So...what should I look for? Anyone have any first hand experience/knowledge of these cars?

Matt

[Bimmerista]

Its maintenance hell if you buy a car that wasn't maintained well. My father owned a couple of them (He made sure he bought well-maintained cars) and they were great cars. They are not fast cars and they don't handle the best, but they're great cruising cars.

They are belt driven (timing belt is about 7ft long!) and they don't get the best gas mileage. I really like the styling of them and they're awesome cars to go on long drives with.

[FredK]

It's a good cruiser. Quiet, supple, torquey. My friend has one with obscenely low mileage.

It is a porky car, though. I'd never buy one because they're boring and costly to maintain.

[der affe]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO run from them like Bubba in the prison shower.

it will drain you to maintain it. they are rarely propperly maintained because of the high cost. losts of dash cluster issues because of the tilt that are EXPENSIVE to fix.

they are a cool car and WHEN everything is working and they are running correctly they are neat.

i liked them until i had to work on them and saw how expensive they were!

[mbonder]

Well that's two pluses and one minus, you guys aren't making it easy on me!

This specific car is actually rather rare: 928S "Ferry Porsche Edition" officially known as the 50th anniversary edition. Obviously only produced for one year. These were never offered in the US and there were only 140 made worldwide.

As previously mentioned, I have not checked out the car totally yet, but the sticker in the window states that it is 100% original with 72k miles on it, which boils down to only 4k miles per year. Apparently the AC/heat works, no real problems, doesn't look like it has rust/damage whatsoever.

I'm really just wondering how much this "euro" special edition car is worth because there are so few I don't really have anything to gauge this against to determine whether the price is right.

Matt

[der affe]

see if you can get info through PCA without giving the location away. buy it cheap and flip it, drive it and pour money into it. you're choice.
the market is not great for rare car at the moment though.

[der affe]

also remember that the front fenders and hood are alum that has been hard annodized and a fucker to fix if it has been dented. bondo or new pretty much. they tend to tear in an accident and don't weld very well in a repair. headlight motors are $$$ too.

[bwanac]

bleh... have never owned or driven one but they seem to be a poor mans porsche now...

[mbonder]

This car has zero damage, no dents etc, really looks like its been sitting in a garage for most of its life.

I'm thinking buy low and sell higher for a profit. I don't really have the long-term finances to keep the car for myself (and I think I'd rather have a 911 variant). I'm more trying to determine what its worth before talking to the owner.

Matt

[der affe]

there is a bunch of 928 info here

http://pcarz.com/user/administrator/blogs

928 people are f'ing weird too you want the most unmolested car your can get to flip to that crowd.

140 special "50th Jubilee" 928 S models were available outside the USA and Canada to celebrate the company's 50 year existence as a car manufacturer. This model is also sometimes referred to as the "Ferry Porsche Edition" because his signature was embroidered into the front seats. It was painted meteor metallic and fitted with flat disc wheels, wine red leather and special striped fabric seat centers. Similar 911 and 924 specials were also made for ROW markets.

[nmlss2006]

they're not 'weird'. They're 'right': if you're selling it as a vintage, it has to be original. If it's not original, it's not vintage, it's what we like to call 'a hack'. I know a lot of people in the US think otherwise - I just went to a BMW CCA recommended local restoration place, very highly recommended everywhere else, too, who had a beatiful 69 mustang.. with modern suspension, wilwood brakes, modern AC and modern steering. To most people outside the US, that car is worth a lot less than the paperwork to transfer ownership ($46.50, less if you register it vintage).
IRT 928s in particular, if you're trying to flip it (which it seems you are) keep in mind that the market for Porsches is **VERY** low right now so do NOT repeat NOT go by historical prices in factoring a profit or you will get hurt. Special editions are desireable *if* all the features are original and intact - and that car has the federalisation issues to deal with so... tread very carefully, see what work has been done to it (especially IRT the federalisation) and check everything three times.

[mbonder]

Well the car has been in the states and is registered in NJ, so I'm guessing it was brought over as a grey market car back in the day. Again I haven't looked into this deeply yet, as I'm trying to determine if I have the type of finances to pull this in and sell it for profit.

The car is all original, that much I know. Took a look through the interior and the engine bay with the owner's father who happened to be outside when I stopped to check out the for sale sticker in the window. It definitely needs to be cleaned up, but there are no aftermarket parts on it whatsoever, in fact, it looks as though the owner hasn't really driven it much lately and its has sat in a garage and started every week by the father.

Sidenote: I can't stand when those damn restoration experts (like the ones typically on TV), rip apart an old car and don't restore it to ORIGINAL condition. Bugs the hell out of me because its almost like a classic died rather than was saved.

Matt

[Massive Lee]

Sidenote: I can't stand when those damn restoration experts (like the ones typically on TV), rip apart an old car and don't restore it to ORIGINAL condition. Bugs the hell out of me because its almost like a classic died rather than was saved.

Usually happens when a car is beyond the stage of period correct restoration. Better than crushing.

Lee

[mbonder]

Nothing is beyond period correct restoration!!

[lennon]

I just went to a BMW CCA recommended local restoration place, very highly recommended everywhere else, too, who had a beatiful 69 mustang.. with modern suspension, wilwood brakes, modern AC and modern steering. To most people outside the US, that car is worth a lot less than the paperwork to transfer ownership ($46.50, less if you register it vintage).

what the hell are you talking about? a lot less than 46 dollars?

OP is the 928 automatic?