Discussion
OK, after many debates with myself I'm now keeping my 348 as I really don't want to part with it.
However...I really want an automatic car with 4 seats to drive in the winter & maybe to work & back.
I was thinking of changing my g/f's jeep for a Merc C43 but decided to save a bit of money.
My question to you is, if I was to buy a 928 for about £4k to £6k (ie maybe an early S4) am I inviting trouble. I'm not too worried about insurance & petrol etc but more thinking, is it likely to cost me a packet? Is it comfy to commute in and out of London etc and how reliable are they?
Your thoughts greatly appreciated gents...
However...I really want an automatic car with 4 seats to drive in the winter & maybe to work & back.
I was thinking of changing my g/f's jeep for a Merc C43 but decided to save a bit of money.
My question to you is, if I was to buy a 928 for about £4k to £6k (ie maybe an early S4) am I inviting trouble. I'm not too worried about insurance & petrol etc but more thinking, is it likely to cost me a packet? Is it comfy to commute in and out of London etc and how reliable are they?
Your thoughts greatly appreciated gents...
Check out www.rennlist.com as there is a 928 specific group on there.
The cheaper the second hand supercar, the bigger the wallet you need to run it.
It's a simple rule and it hardly ever fails.
I bought a Lotus Carlton at the bottom of their price range and paid out 7k in maintenance and repairs over two years. The 928 is a Porsche, granted, but it is very expensive, very heavy and very complicated Porsche compared to a 944 or a 911.
I imagine the mechanicals may be fairly bullet proof, but if a clutch goes it will be expensive. Brake pads and rotors will not be cheap. I've heard that a new onboard computer will be 2k to replace if it has broken down. And of course, you have 8 spark plugs to replace not 4 or 6
Far more sensible would be a Porsche 968 coupe - a standard one, but LHD. You can get these for about 8.5k now and they are cheap to run, quite classy and modern inside still (unlike the 928!) and have four seats (ish). Not slow either, as they have 240 bhp in Variocam form if I remember.
Glad you're keeping the 348 - sounds like a nice one from oprevious posts. I am a pussy now as far as running costs are concerned, hence me getting a 964RS, not your lovely GTS, when it was offered for sale!
Cheers
Domster
>> Edited by domster on Thursday 18th July 17:18
It's a simple rule and it hardly ever fails.
I bought a Lotus Carlton at the bottom of their price range and paid out 7k in maintenance and repairs over two years. The 928 is a Porsche, granted, but it is very expensive, very heavy and very complicated Porsche compared to a 944 or a 911.
I imagine the mechanicals may be fairly bullet proof, but if a clutch goes it will be expensive. Brake pads and rotors will not be cheap. I've heard that a new onboard computer will be 2k to replace if it has broken down. And of course, you have 8 spark plugs to replace not 4 or 6
Far more sensible would be a Porsche 968 coupe - a standard one, but LHD. You can get these for about 8.5k now and they are cheap to run, quite classy and modern inside still (unlike the 928!) and have four seats (ish). Not slow either, as they have 240 bhp in Variocam form if I remember.
Glad you're keeping the 348 - sounds like a nice one from oprevious posts. I am a pussy now as far as running costs are concerned, hence me getting a 964RS, not your lovely GTS, when it was offered for sale!
Cheers
Domster
>> Edited by domster on Thursday 18th July 17:18
Craig - NO!
You're buying a farmyard lifeform that goes 'gobble' for this kind of money.
The fact is that there are lots of tired, thorougly sh****d out examples in this category.
You get a lot of punters buying them quite cheap, only to realize it's a £60-70k supercar - with servicing costs to match. Failure to grasp the nettle in the service area = guaranteed lemon and many cars have suffered at the hands of Kevin the Cozeh driver.
You MIGHT get a decent S or S2 going privately for 6 or 7 but there is a limit below which you're uncovering dog after dog after dog. My experince of S2 then S4 is that if you pay a bit over what passes for common wisdom you'll be ok. Good S4s are - if anything - on the up so don't expect a decent one for less than 10k.
John at Specialist Cars of Malton is my reco for 928 talk - you'll get a spotless, sorted car from him and no crumby advice.
Cambelts at 70k are a biggie but as long as the car's 'proper' it remains THE supercar bargain. I love 'em to bits and they sound WONDERFUL (funnily enough, the 4.7 from the S2 has more woofle than later 5 and 5.4 litre monsters and it's real world torque translates into slugging power that will still surprise many.)
If you can, DO IT!!!
You're buying a farmyard lifeform that goes 'gobble' for this kind of money.
The fact is that there are lots of tired, thorougly sh****d out examples in this category.
You get a lot of punters buying them quite cheap, only to realize it's a £60-70k supercar - with servicing costs to match. Failure to grasp the nettle in the service area = guaranteed lemon and many cars have suffered at the hands of Kevin the Cozeh driver.
You MIGHT get a decent S or S2 going privately for 6 or 7 but there is a limit below which you're uncovering dog after dog after dog. My experince of S2 then S4 is that if you pay a bit over what passes for common wisdom you'll be ok. Good S4s are - if anything - on the up so don't expect a decent one for less than 10k.
John at Specialist Cars of Malton is my reco for 928 talk - you'll get a spotless, sorted car from him and no crumby advice.
Cambelts at 70k are a biggie but as long as the car's 'proper' it remains THE supercar bargain. I love 'em to bits and they sound WONDERFUL (funnily enough, the 4.7 from the S2 has more woofle than later 5 and 5.4 litre monsters and it's real world torque translates into slugging power that will still surprise many.)
If you can, DO IT!!!
Thanks for all your advice guys. Dom, I had thought about the 968 route. My mum has a very nice convertible & its great to drive.
I'd quite like my G/F to use whatever I get occasionally so think I'd probably have to go for RHD and probably tiptronic despite the performance consequences.
I'll keep thinking. Thanks again.
I'd quite like my G/F to use whatever I get occasionally so think I'd probably have to go for RHD and probably tiptronic despite the performance consequences.
I'll keep thinking. Thanks again.
If you want some advice from current owners, and leads on possible cars for sale, try the www.928.org uk mailing list. [declared interest]I'm one of the founder members [/declared interest]
A RHD 968 3.0 Coupe tiptronic fits the bill, but you've thought of that.
Another good value, but lesser sports car IMHO, is a RHD BMW E36 M3. These are cheap as chips nowadays and easy for the missus to handle. If your budget is lower I would seriously conisder an E36 325i/328i coupe. I'm not sure what else comes close for handling/performance/reliability/residuals, pound for pound.
>> Edited by domster on Friday 19th July 15:06
Another good value, but lesser sports car IMHO, is a RHD BMW E36 M3. These are cheap as chips nowadays and easy for the missus to handle. If your budget is lower I would seriously conisder an E36 325i/328i coupe. I'm not sure what else comes close for handling/performance/reliability/residuals, pound for pound.
>> Edited by domster on Friday 19th July 15:06
Had three of them over an eleven year period, and they were superb. I wouldn't look at anything except an S4, but finding a good one needs more then good luck.
They all seem to have done close on 100,000 miles and that's not what anyone wants!
I suppose one or two eccentric characters have a low mileage miracle stuffed away in their garages, but how do you find them? Probably a 'wanted' ad in things like the Owners Club mag. Intensive research vital, but if you did find a 'goodie' it would cost you next to nothing to run.
Buy a Mondeo and laugh at the rest of us...
They all seem to have done close on 100,000 miles and that's not what anyone wants!
I suppose one or two eccentric characters have a low mileage miracle stuffed away in their garages, but how do you find them? Probably a 'wanted' ad in things like the Owners Club mag. Intensive research vital, but if you did find a 'goodie' it would cost you next to nothing to run.
Buy a Mondeo and laugh at the rest of us...
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