after some 928 advice from you lovely poeple
Discussion
Morning all,
currently looking at the possibilty of getting something a little different purely for the weekends, and the 928 is squarely on my radar. I have loved the looks since i was 12 , but have never owned or driven one. Budget would be about 10-12k, and would only do 2-3k miles per year, Is this a good idea? What are the major pitfalls to watch out for, are the servicing costs astronomical? also whats the best model to go for?....I am guessing the S4
thanks in advance for any help and advice
pete
currently looking at the possibilty of getting something a little different purely for the weekends, and the 928 is squarely on my radar. I have loved the looks since i was 12 , but have never owned or driven one. Budget would be about 10-12k, and would only do 2-3k miles per year, Is this a good idea? What are the major pitfalls to watch out for, are the servicing costs astronomical? also whats the best model to go for?....I am guessing the S4
thanks in advance for any help and advice
pete
snazza said:
Morning all,
currently looking at the possibilty of getting something a little different purely for the weekends, and the 928 is squarely on my radar. I have loved the looks since i was 12 , but have never owned or driven one. Budget would be about 10-12k, and would only do 2-3k miles per year, Is this a good idea? What are the major pitfalls to watch out for, are the servicing costs astronomical? also whats the best model to go for?....I am guessing the S4
thanks in advance for any help and advice
pete
currently looking at the possibilty of getting something a little different purely for the weekends, and the 928 is squarely on my radar. I have loved the looks since i was 12 , but have never owned or driven one. Budget would be about 10-12k, and would only do 2-3k miles per year, Is this a good idea? What are the major pitfalls to watch out for, are the servicing costs astronomical? also whats the best model to go for?....I am guessing the S4
thanks in advance for any help and advice
pete
Well, maintenance will be a lot. They're complicated cars and not that young. However, they are solidly built. I saw one go flying into the armco at the n'ring, and then just calmly drive off again to report the substantial damage to the track, with minor battle scarring... awesomely tough. Just be prepared for fuel and maintenance 'issues'. The S4 is certainly the most likely candidate. GTSs are too rare. Make sure you get a very good inspection and don't be afraid of walking away. Maybe join Porsche Club GB and see the for sale section of the club mag, Porsche Post. There's also a 928 forum at the pcgb website.
I haven't owned any but have driven a few and I would recommend against using it so little.
As luxury cars featuring complex and dated electr(on)ics they need to be used regularly to retain good reliability.
I'm pretty sure they cost less £/mile when driven 10k miles per year than a mere 3k.
IMHO that V8 is best tuned and most enjoyable in the GT in which it sings more convincingly than in the others.
A great piece of car you will love if chosen (very) carefully.
As luxury cars featuring complex and dated electr(on)ics they need to be used regularly to retain good reliability.
I'm pretty sure they cost less £/mile when driven 10k miles per year than a mere 3k.
IMHO that V8 is best tuned and most enjoyable in the GT in which it sings more convincingly than in the others.
A great piece of car you will love if chosen (very) carefully.
Edited by Thom on Wednesday 2nd August 18:26
Absolutely superb...so long as you avoid the woof-woofs which unfortunately, constitute the majority for on sale.
As Dom says, they can be pricey but other than the 70,000 mile cambelt service, a well maintained one is a definitive granite hewnee.
I've had two, a mid 80s 4.7, 310bhp S2 then a later 5.0 320bhp'd S4 (auto) and both were quite simply, transports of delight.
Mind you, the first one took some finding and trawling through a veritable landscape of scrapyard candidates - by now, I'd imagine the worst ones are the stuff of tears.
Bought the S4 from John Hawkins of Malton, who I'd strongly recommend. Ran this car for years, did Europe in it and it never, ever missed a beat. I still watch the camcorder footage of it's departure wondering when I shall revisit the classicism?
Not quick by today's standards but joyous handling and the quintessential GT. I have joyous memories of a sustained 150+ blast from Montpellier to Carcasonne in the days before The Bliar Witch Deceit took hold.
I always made sure each journey was accompanied by a good dollop of German heavy rock, invariably 'Blackout' by The Scorpions.
Indeed, few cars could lay claim to nurture upon the driver so strong a compulsion to sport a risque moustache and wear black, leather trousers about town. Mercifully, I resisted just in time but the power of the design will resonate down the ages.
Your budget will get you a goodie.
DeR.
As Dom says, they can be pricey but other than the 70,000 mile cambelt service, a well maintained one is a definitive granite hewnee.
I've had two, a mid 80s 4.7, 310bhp S2 then a later 5.0 320bhp'd S4 (auto) and both were quite simply, transports of delight.
Mind you, the first one took some finding and trawling through a veritable landscape of scrapyard candidates - by now, I'd imagine the worst ones are the stuff of tears.
Bought the S4 from John Hawkins of Malton, who I'd strongly recommend. Ran this car for years, did Europe in it and it never, ever missed a beat. I still watch the camcorder footage of it's departure wondering when I shall revisit the classicism?
Not quick by today's standards but joyous handling and the quintessential GT. I have joyous memories of a sustained 150+ blast from Montpellier to Carcasonne in the days before The Bliar Witch Deceit took hold.
I always made sure each journey was accompanied by a good dollop of German heavy rock, invariably 'Blackout' by The Scorpions.
Indeed, few cars could lay claim to nurture upon the driver so strong a compulsion to sport a risque moustache and wear black, leather trousers about town. Mercifully, I resisted just in time but the power of the design will resonate down the ages.
Your budget will get you a goodie.
DeR.
I haven't owned one (yet) but it has always been one of my favourite cars. I used to chat about them regularly with the independent who used to service my 968 Sport - he'd owned several and looked after many. Definitely get a detailed specialist inspection - there are apparently a lot of very tired ones around just waiting to empty bank accounts. Major problems as I understand it are generally the electrics rather than the mechanicals - some of the most complicated electrics on any car supposedly and if they go wrong it can be scarily expensive. Another issue for you to think about is that I was always told that they are a car that need to be used. Sitting around in a garage doesn't do them any good at all and your mileage at 2-3k sounds very light. If you're only doing that many I guess that will also be relatively few actual starts as I'm sure you'll be using it for some serious driving trips. Don't let it put you off, just plan on lots more miles!! Find a corker and enjoy it for what it was made for - crushing and shrinking continents 
they're yum. There's a fellow with one who I've seen driving away from Sevenoaks station car park, it sounds heavenly, and still looks decent today. I don't think it's really dated that much, especially if you put a later design of OEM Porsche alloy wheel on. If I had one I'd do more than 2-3k per year though! And I second Thom's advice to do plenty more miles. As to electrical reliability, there was a horror story re: ECUs, but there's an enthusiast electrical engineer chap who fixes them at reasonable cost - there was an article about him in 911 & Porsche World IIRC, you may have to dig it out.
cyberface said:
there's an enthusiast electrical engineer chap who fixes them at reasonable cost
John Speake at www.jdsporsche.com/
I also had to satisfy my Porsche cravings by buying a 928 first - it had always been my dream car, too. I ran a black 928 S4 for seven years and loved every minute of it: for me, the ultimate GT car. I did only about 4k miles a year, so thirst wasn't a problem - in fact I was surprised to find I could get 21-24 mpg out of it on normal runs, dropping of course to about 18mpg on short, urban driving. Maintenance wasn't excessive, either - adding in the various odd expenses like tyres, a bent steering rack (my fault), some paint touching up and an annual full service, my costs averaged about £1,000 pa + fuel - cheap for such luxury in much-admired transport.
The engine is unburstable if serviced properly - my indie had a regular with 250,000 on the clock, still running faultlessly. The advice given in this thread is correct - make sure you have it checked by an independent, knowledgeable mechanic. As for price, you should easily get a good one within your budget - I had difficulty selling mine 3 years ago when it was a low mileage immaculate 1988 car in full working order, and eventually went for £5K!
The engine is unburstable if serviced properly - my indie had a regular with 250,000 on the clock, still running faultlessly. The advice given in this thread is correct - make sure you have it checked by an independent, knowledgeable mechanic. As for price, you should easily get a good one within your budget - I had difficulty selling mine 3 years ago when it was a low mileage immaculate 1988 car in full working order, and eventually went for £5K!
Guys,
thank you so much for all your replies....very helpful indeed...I will defo get anything I find fully inspected by a specialist before I part with any readies. So it seems that concensus is that I should do more than 3k miles a year. Well I guess that means doing a couple of trips to our place in france and following in derestrictors tyre tracks!!(although the soundtrack will be stoner rock....ala kyuss
).
Cyberface ....I think I have seen that one you are talking about driving around bat and ball /sevenoaks area ....and it is
. Thom ...thanks very much for that link .....think that may become invaluable!!
right so the hunt is on!!! will let you know how I get on
cheers
Pete
thank you so much for all your replies....very helpful indeed...I will defo get anything I find fully inspected by a specialist before I part with any readies. So it seems that concensus is that I should do more than 3k miles a year. Well I guess that means doing a couple of trips to our place in france and following in derestrictors tyre tracks!!(although the soundtrack will be stoner rock....ala kyuss
). Cyberface ....I think I have seen that one you are talking about driving around bat and ball /sevenoaks area ....and it is
. Thom ...thanks very much for that link .....think that may become invaluable!! right so the hunt is on!!! will let you know how I get on
cheers
Pete
I run a 1990 928 GT as a track car. I am also completely restoring a 1984 928 S2 5spd. Lastly, we have just formed a team, which will run a 1987 GTS engined S4 5spd in the Nurburgring VLN next year...
Just to give you an idea: I drove my 928 GT from London to Bilbao and back over two weeks. Then I went to the Ring, did 25 laps over two days and then, I attended the 928 Track day at Castle Combe where the car posted 1m 29 sec on street rubber. All in all 5k miles in 28 days. I needed new brake pads. That was it...
Buy one!
P.S. If you need info - send me a message and have a look at my profile...
Just to give you an idea: I drove my 928 GT from London to Bilbao and back over two weeks. Then I went to the Ring, did 25 laps over two days and then, I attended the 928 Track day at Castle Combe where the car posted 1m 29 sec on street rubber. All in all 5k miles in 28 days. I needed new brake pads. That was it...
Buy one!
P.S. If you need info - send me a message and have a look at my profile...
Edited by cheburator on Thursday 3rd August 11:20
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