4/5/6k Porsche 928 v 944

[hugoagogo]

OK, Whats the pros and cons for the money of a bottom(ish) price 928 and a higher priced, newer/better 944 (or I suppose a 924 turbo) (these are prices in germany I'm looking at, quite a few 928s at 7/7.5k euros, I could be tempted by a cheaper deal of a LHD uk one I suppose, reg and insure it over there)

928 pros - 'specialness/exoticness', relative rarity, and as well as autobahn cruising performance v 944 cons - quite common, different kettle of performance fish
928 cons - obvious running costs (but how much might they be?), for the price it might be a higher mileage, less than perfect example v 944 pros - more to choose from, for money better mileage/condition

or else just tell me about something else to talk me out of a Porsche (love 6 series bmw, SEC mercs, but dunno if that's what i want)

[markmullen]

Much as I love my 928 they are an expensive beast to keep up to, mine is in pretty good nick for a 19 year old car (there are a few cosmetic bits to do but mechanically sound) and yet I still pit near enough £7k into it last year, see my profile for details.

Mileage isn't such a big issue with the 928, mine has done 187000 kms and feels to have just found its legs, the engine feels nice and gutsy. Fuel economy isn't bad at all, roughly 20mpg out of a 5 litre which I don't think is bad, especially when pushing on.

I don't use my 928 every day, it is a weekend off toy, I'm not sure it would make a good daily drive. It is a special occasion driving it when I do though, it has a lot of prescence, people who have had me follow them have said it is good to see filling their rear view mirrors.

Give me a shout through my profile if you need any more details.

[johnjr]

My uncle had both

A 944 turbo and a 928 S4

944 was a (awesome) trackday car and 928 a everday car!!!

Has sold 928 now and now has a supercharged XJR

still has the 944 though

john

[hugoagogo]

cheers, 1st (only) reply from someone who's name is spookily like my own (top secret) name

nice car, german plate?
car would be a weekend and holiday thing, occasional weekday use to replace my bike. fuel consumption sounds ok, but not really a prob

any particular week spots to look out for?

[anonymous-user]

I had a 944 S2 Cab. Great car, didnt cost me a penny other than regular servicing in the time that I had it.

[FUGatso]

Have owned 944 2.7 and 944 turbo as well as a 928GT, I would suggest for the money a decent 944S2 as a better all round bet.

[markmullen]

hugoagogo said:

cheers, 1st (only) reply from someone who's name is spookily like my own (top secret) name nice car, german plate? car would be a weekend and holiday thing, occasional weekday use to replace my bike. fuel consumption sounds ok, but not really a prob any particular week spots to look out for?

Yes, its a german LHD import, I am the first keeper in the UK and registered it here back in November 2004.

There are some weak spots, as with anything with a lot of goodies and 19 years old the electrics can be suspect and cost a lot to repair. There is also an issue with flex plates in the gearbox, these can cause a major failure. I am not a mechanic so don't know the exact issue but it is well documented. Parts are easily come by, I bought an entire dashboard from eBay for £52, a climate control unit for £25. There is also a guy over here who can rebuild ECUs which can be an expensive failure.

If you are ever in the UK and fancy a run out in mine give me a shout.

[hugoagogo]

cool, I am sometimes back in co durham

the 928 is what i want, but I think the 944 is probably what i should get
there again, who said we should take the sensible choice?

[markmullen]

hugoagogo said:

cool, I am sometimes back in co durham

Cool, I am only down the coast in Scarborough, give me a shout.

hugoagogo said:

the 928 is what i want, but I think the 944 is probably what i should get there again, who said we should take the sensible choice?

Exactly, I went in to buy an E38 740il and came back with the 928!

[alexkp]

I would go for a tidy 944S2 everyday. They are very well put together and sorted and excellent to drive.

I also think the design has hardly aged. They look very nice in metallic blue too.

[silverback mike]

I have had two 944's, they are excellent. If you can go for a turbo, do so, but otherwise an S2 is still a great car.

Just make sure the belts and tensioners have been doen recently otherwise you're in for a large bill

[lenny007]

I was looking at this sort of thing last year.

Re: 944, the advice i was given was to pay about £6K for a tidy one and then budget £1K per year for maintenance. It might not cost that but you can bet on the fact that somewhere down the line there'll be a £1500 to £2000 bill coming.

Re: 928. 4/5/6K? Sounds like the maintenance costs for the first 3 years on it.

Gotta remember its a £70K car now with £70K running costs. Parts ain't cheap and they are getting more scarce by the day.

[AJLintern]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

[softinthehead]

its a question of how much risk youre prepared to shoulder to feed your passion. allowing for the odd exception, on balance a 944 will be cheaper to run (considerably) and will provide a large dollop of the passion/fun you seek. if a 944 isnt enough for you then youve already made the decision to let heart override head (which is fine, they are after all a passion for all of us here) in which case it matters not how much you spend because its worth it to you. In the same way some people spend £10k a year on golf membership, or paragliding etc etc.
my vote is 944 all the way. brilliant car, loads of fun, cheap as chips really

[tertius]

softinthehead said:

my vote is 944 all the way. brilliant car, loads of fun, cheap as chips really

Wot he said

[cheburator]

Ok, ok, I am biased and thus I will put the flame suit on now and will say it loud and clear :

As much as I like the 944S/S2, it cannot be compared to a well sorted 928 S2 Manual/S4 Manual/GT. The 944 is very good Porsche, whilst the 928 is probably the best ever GT car...

Yes, the 928 is more expensive to run, yes, it is more complicated, and parts are more difficult to come by, but no 944 bar a tuned turbo, will provide the same oomph. It has taken the normally aspirated 911 nearly 20 years to catch up with the acceleration which a 928 Manual provides from 70-80mph onwards...

Someone will say that a 944 will outhandle a 928... Well, bollicks to that. A factory test driver in the 928CS/SE/GT in 1989 did a full lap of the Ring in 8m : 38secs. That's only 3 secs slower than the BMW test figures for an E36 M3. I don't think a factory 944S2 got anywhere near that figure...

There is a tremendous amount of knowledge on [url]www.rennlist.com[url] with regards to the 928. The UK also has two mail lists, which have been great. Paul Anderson of 928 Spares in Stroud, Chris Sanderson at Loe Bank and JZ Machtech know everything there is to know about the 928 and offer very competitive
rates...

Lastly, I have never seen one of these produced for the 944...

[tertius]

cheburator said:

Ok, ok, I am biased and thus I will put the flame suit on now and will say it loud and clear : As much as I like the 944S/S2, it cannot be compared to a well sorted 928 S2 Manual/S4 Manual/GT. The 944 is very good Porsche, whilst the 928 is probably the best ever GT car... Yes, the 928 is more expensive to run, yes, it is more complicated, and parts are more difficult to come by, but no 944 bar a tuned turbo, will provide the same oomph. It has taken the normally aspirated 911 nearly 20 years to catch up with the acceleration which a 928 Manual provides from 70-80mph onwards... Someone will say that a 944 will outhandle a 928... Well, bollicks to that. A factory test driver in the 928CS/SE/GT in 1989 did a full lap of the Ring in 8m : 38secs. That's only 3 secs slower than the BMW test figures for an E36 M3. I don't think a factory 944S2 got anywhere near that figure... There is a tremendous amount of knowledge on [url]www.rennlist.com[url] with regards to the 928. The UK also has two mail lists, which have been great. Paul Anderson of 928 Spares in Stroud, Chris Sanderson at Loe Bank and JZ Machtech know everything there is to know about the 928 and offer very competitive rates... Lastly, I have never seen one of these produced for the 944...

Not at all, bias is GOOD

I for one do not doubt for one moment the abilities and capabilities of the 928, but for the money we are considering here (iro 5-6K GBP) I do think the 944 is the better buy. For that money you can get a very well sorted S2 that will have a very low likelihodd of big bills in the near future. I'm not convinced the same is true of the 6K 928.

best

Dan

[cheburator]

tertius said:

Not at all, bias is GOOD I for one do not doubt for one moment the abilities and capabilities of the 928, but for the money we are considering here (iro 5-6K GBP) I do think the 944 is the better buy. For that money you can get a very well sorted S2 that will have a very low likelihodd of big bills in the near future. I'm not convinced the same is true of the 6K 928. best Dan

I see the logic... But if you look hard enough you can get a very good 928 for around 6k. You will be surprised... I know that a decent, honest 1987 S4 Manual went for 4k recently... Marquis Rex's old 928 S4 Manual sold for 7K on eBay last night and that car was nothing short of great... I bought my LHD 928 GT with a brand new spanking engine inside for 6k and my 928 S2 Manual was around the 6k mark too 3 years ago...

[tertius]

cheburator said:

I see the logic... But if you look hard enough you can get a very good 928 for around 6k. You will be surprised... I know that a decent, honest 1987 S4 Manual went for 4k recently... Marquis Rex's old 928 S4 Manual sold for 7K on eBay last night and that car was nothing short of great... I bought my LHD 928 GT with a brand new spanking engine inside for 6k and my 928 S2 Manual was around the 6k mark too 3 years ago...

Fair enough, though I still suspect it will be easier to find a good 944 at the 6K mark than a good 928.

I, of course, am also biased since I had a very nice 944, which cost me £6K. I also know feck all about 928s ...

[burriana]

cheburator said:

Marquis Rex's old 928 S4 Manual sold for 7K on eBay last night and that car was nothing short of great...

i do wish I'd known about that - he knows how to look afetr his cars