Anyone here own a 911 and one of these older awkward breeds? They seem very cheap to scoop up, how are they to work on and maintain?

 

944 will be a alot easier and cheaper to keep on the road.

 

When I bought my 95 993RS it was the last year for the 928GTS. I could have bought it way cheaper than importing the 993RS. I think less then 75 were imported to the USA that year. I always remember that car as being very a comfortable grand touring car and perhaps collectors item. Rumor was there was several 4 door prototypes built, perhaps an ancient predecessors to the Panamera. 944 through 968 where plagued value wise by their humble beginnings as the 924 planned for Audi.

 

I had a 1994 928 GTS...I LOVED that car. If you ever get a 928, a GTS is the ONLY way to go! ;-)

 

There's a beautiful 1992 968 cab for sale in my area. I can't stop looking at the ad...

 

i had a 944 turbo. I grew to hate the car, the timing belt has to be retensioned every couple of thousand miles, and the car had numerous exhaust leaks to fix. Parts(aftermarket, and OEM) are very expensive. For a car that is only worth $6k, it was SO not worth it.

 

928's are crazy complex, and thus, crazy expensive to fix and maintain. They were far ahead of their time, technology-wise, but you pay for that.

I'm also a 944 fan. However, for what you get, they are also very expensive to maintain, although not as bad as 928's from what I hear. The "Foes" (front of engine service) must be done religiously (I don't recall the interval) or you risk lunching the engine if a timing belt goes (interference engine). And, this service is not cheap, around 1500 or more, if I recall correctly. They are certainly cool though. When I was looking for a fun daily driver, I almost pulled the trigger on a 944 about 3 times, and finally ended up with and e36 m3. Approx. same purchase price, huge aftermarket support, easy to work on, very good handling, and pretty damn quick with 240 hp. Good luck!

 

944 was my first car, then a 944 turbo. I had a complete love hate relationship with the 951, but it was a blast. If you work on your own cars (and they are very easy to work on), they aren't expensive to maintain. It won't touch your 996TT, but you can get 370rwhp or so for fairly cheap, which isnt bad for <3200lbs.
I will say, the day I sold my 951, it was very liberating- but I have always thought of going back to one...

 

We had a 928S in the family and spent about $15k in <4 years in repairs, maintenance, etc. I don't know if the S4, GT or GTS versions became more reliable and easier to work on but, if that is not the case, they are very expensive to keep. Awesome cars but expensive.

I had a 1988 944 Turbo with close to 300hp with a few mods from Lindsey Racing. A lot of fun in the track and very quick too - from 0 to 110 mph was just as fast as my then 2004 996 C4S! The timing belt needs to be changed RELIOGIOUSLY much sooner than the specified factory interval - I wouldn't go more than 25k miles on one. Nevertheless, it is not $1500 to do so but < $500 in all my years with them. The belt gets retensioned after a few hundred miles and you don't need to worry about it again until it's time to change it.

Now, one has to make absolutely sure that one buys the car with nothing needed to be done! Front A-arm bushings go bad and can now be replaced by so called Charlie Arms (hope I have this right) or can be rebuilt nowadays, front hubs can crack if taken to the track but there are better aftermarket replacements, recent rod bearing replacement is a plus otherwise should be done before tracking the car or if there is high mileage, condition of the turbo sure it doesn't need replacement or overhaul (has a cooling pump that needs to work once engine is shut off), the torque tube that goes from the bellhousing back to the transmission can wear with high miles, the rear hatch trim needs to be in good condition as a new one was $1500 5 years ago from the dealer - unless you can find a good used one for < $500. Clutch replacement takes a lot - and I mean a lot - of hours but lasted me more than 40k miles and when being replaced a three piece crossmember can be installed to cut this time substantially next time. Headers can leak but you can get Billy Boat headers for this car. If you really want one there is a website and online forum with plenty of parts and support for the 944 Turbo - it is a fantastic car for the money but the homework needs to be diligently done. The 1987s and newer ones have a better oil pan. Ideally you should get a 1988.5 Turbo S or 1989 Turbo which is the same spec as the Turbo S but with additional exterior colors. Hope this helps!

On the other hand, I sold the car, bought a 968 Coupé which I kept for a year, sold that and bought a 1987 Carrera Coupé and this has been a great decision - very little spent on maintenance, easier to repair and much more reliable although much, much slower. The build quality on my '87 Carrera is in a different league to the 944 Turbo though the 944 Turbo is also built to a high standard, though lower than the 911 of course.

 

Well, I do ALL my own work as I'm sure you guys figured out from my posts. Or at least I try to, so maintenance would not be an issue. I can also get most parts at 20%below wholesale as I have a lot of friends in the business. I really don't need another car, but you guys know how it works

Anyway, this one in particular grabbed my interest. I pulled an autocheck and it doesn't look bad, of course that means nothing on a 27 year old car.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/ctd/2434469841.html

 

Adam,

It would behoove you to spend some time on the 928 Rennlist forum. You'll get all the info you'll need. I got my 928S4 3 years ago, have loved it. It was definitely a car way ahead of its time. Many of the horror stories about them come from cars that weren't maintained. Those well cared for are pretty bullet-proof. The guys who do their own work gind them pretty easy to maintain. think you'd be very happy with one. From the looks of that 928S you're considering, looks like you'd have your work cut out for you. The guys on RL will be able to give you more advice.

 

I have a 944 that I just picked up three mouth ago. In my stable I have 996tt, NSX and a few other goodies. Hands down as a DD our a toy to go to the market and shopping its a great buy. I like many hated the car. But as the market on them is as low as it gets and after having the pleasure of driving a few at local AX events the car is very under rated. It handle look nice and performance is good for a 80s sort car. BUT do you home work buy one that has had regular service their is ALOT of junk on the market. I do most if not all my own work on my cars so its not bad at all I would have no problem driving my 150k mile 1986 944 on a 600 mile trip. I went around the car and replaced what was needed for about 400 bucks and a few trips to Pick A parts. I now love the car and for spirited driving day to day when you don't have time to bring out the others Its a great car, puts a smile on my face daily. You will notice many have high miles Why thay where driven the motor is strong its the little crap that gets you but like I say used parts are my friend.

 

I have had a black/black 928s4 and burgundy/tan 944. I must say that I enjoyed them both. I loved driving them and looking at them. I hated the bills.

Either I didnt make enough or they were to expensive to maintain. Now that I think about it it was that I had too many cars, I didnt make enough money and those 2 cars were to expensive for me to keep right. i had a car for each day of the week while I was single. Back then in the stable I had Jeep Wrangler, Mercedes S500, 2 911s, 928s4, 914 2.2 and 944.

I too have rethinking going back to getting both to add to what i have. i recently saw a relatively rare 928s4 in town, if my wife will let me have it i will get it.

 

awkward breed more like best of breed


The 928 is still just about the best car you can own. The feel - the fun factor - of driving one is hard to match. I have driven some cars and been around a lot of others and not one interests me more than my 928. (have not experienced a 599gto, One-77, or aventador yet, but that's about it)


If you see a good one, one with showroom quality paint, a full leather interior in good condition, and an after-market exhaust, it can't be beat for all-around ownership. The shape is stunning, the driving position is perfect, the sound incredible. NEVER have I ever felt anything but totally secure in that car, built like a tank, corners like a go-cart, and responds to every throttle command.


Working on one once you get to know it and read the info available is actually fun. But they are very complicated and need to be kept in top shape.


The PRE-1987-S4 body is the best imo, meaner, more agressive, BUT really only 1985 and 86 are desirable. Big bump in power, 84 and earlier to tame. The best model and good ones as rare as a GTS are the 85 and 86 LH Euro models, the grey market imports. Hard to find in good condition but worth the effort.


the intake on my 85 Euro

 

cool little tidbit about the Euro model, it set a record back in 84 for averaging 156.2 MPH for 24 hours at the Nardo test track. That means it was running well over 160 mph while on the track for a 24 hour period to account for pit times for fuel, tires, driver changes.

That shows the capability of this model, 27 years ago. Imagine if they had kept it up and only improved by 1 mph per year since then.