What is this car worth - 928s4 (there is a back story)

I had this car new back in 87 and I know where it is. It has been off the road for 15 years parked in a climate controlled garage. It was not "stored". It was driven into the garage and just parked there. It has not been started since. I have made it VERY clear to the current owner what ever she does do not try starting it now as it will more than likely do catastrophic damage to the motor. I know the current "owner". She is a buddy of mine going back to the sandbox when I was in kindergarten. We talk every now and then and she has not been wanting to get rid of it. However a couple weeks back we spoke and she implied that she may be willing to part with it. Or at least she said that she would think about it instead of flat out no.

Anyone know what that car would be worth? It is an 1987 928 s4 with about 100k on it. It is a manual car. It was in good running order when it was parked but it has now sat for 15 years.

These in good running order are between 10-20K depending on the ware and paint. Really nice ones are between 30-50K. If this car was running it is a driver condition car. It has some worn leather (normal) and there are surface scratches and some chips in the paint. The car was used as a car for 100k miles.

This car would need everything gone through and a hole host of parts replaced. There was nothing wrong with it when it was parked that I know of. She just got tired of driving it and wanted a newer car. I was thinking 3k would be a good starting point for me to offer as I can see putting 7-10K in to it with out much trouble and that is if there is nothing really wrong with it. On the other hand it is in a climate controlled garage that is free of rodents and vermin so I am hoping that it is in reasonably good shape.

So what say you all? Does 3K should fair? I don't want to "get a deal" unless she knows she is giving me a deal and is ok with it. I want what to pay the fair market value for this car as we have been friends for almost 45 years and I want to keep the friendship.

Dean, buddy, $3-4000 is where I'd stop. There was a cosmetically nice, black 88 at Adesa back in April with 98k and a slight tick in the engine and it sold for $4600 after auction fees. All I can say is yikes!

I think three is fair. I'd consider $5k if you have to, based only on sentimental value.

The values on these cars baffle me. You can get non runners for $500 all day long. Perfect cars are in the high teens. I never used to like them but I'm starting to. They all scare me a little, but not as much as they scare a lot of other people. It sounds like you need to own this car again. If so, offer three, but have another two grand available if you need to grab it short notice. Any more would be a deal breaker for me.

I really think that the best one in the world shouldn't cost more than ten grand unless your goal is to win the 928 class at a PCA concours.

The S4's sounds great with the rear muffler delete

Way I see it, the money you are about to blow getting this thing back into shape is going to make a few thousand in purchase cost either way seem trivial. If she really is a good friend going back to the sandbox, why would you feel good about bottom dollaring the sale?

Ask her what she wants, and if it is not absurd, make her happy and buy it. If she ask too much just assume she is still emotionally attached and let her enjoy.

Good S4 manuals regularly run in the mid teen. Even scruffy pre s4 runners are hitting mid three to 6k.

It will need a timing belt and tensioner ASAP, beyond that potentially lots of rubber bits and a fuel system clean out.. They are all 15,000 cars. Some just haven't had put into them yet.

They are not that scary to work on, especially compared to modern electronics.

After you have the car, in your garage, is not the time to have a hard dollar number that you will not exceed. You need that number gong in.

We have all know that is the rule and blow past it without a second thought.

The real question is are you one that lives for the quest, or not.

Buy the car, we are all ready to follow the adventure/folly. For the record, I really like this car.

I'm thinking 5k or so. I recently bought a running, but raging pos, 86 auto car for $1740. It made it the 40 miles home, which was a pleasant surprise. You'll want to do the timing belt and wp job right off the bat, but it's not a horrible job on those cars.

I am not worried about the work at hand to get I running or the cost. I don't want to low ball her. I don't think she has a clue as to the cars worth. I really don't know what it I worth on the condition it is in.

928s4's are on the rise big difference between the mid year 928's. The early cars and the s4's and last of the series cars been rising steady. A good 928 s4 is a safe investment and a very usable classic.

There's a pretty good support community on rennlist. There's good people on the 928 board.

Mostly what I see for bigger maintenance stuff is torque tube bearings, timing belt and chasing down electrical gremlins and vacuum leaks. The fuel system rubber is common replacement items. There are some good upgrades for TV tensioners. I'm due for a timing belt. Did an oil pick up gasket, oil pan gasket a while back. Stuff takes time but isn't all that hard. Values are on the rise for them. Main thing to remember is that they were hand-built super cars for their time. They require care and feeding. Many were neglected.

The biggest issue I can recall is that for most of the 928's the wiring turns black. Making solving eletrical issues a nightmare. This was due to some german ruling that wiring had to be biodegrable in the 80's... At least thats what I recall a conversation about them ten years ago discussing...

Fully low mile manual GTS will go for 50k. not an S4.

Haven't had a problem with black wiring so far on my early 86. Fairly common is that the fuse box is directly below the evaporator. Evap gets clogged with debris or water entering and it drips on the fuse box with ensuing electrical havoc. 87-88s are very similar to the 86s. Later models have a different interior and more electrics. Ground straps can also be an issue. There are about five or seven of them (I forget) that should get a good cleaning. If you're doing the work I don't see more than about a grand in getting it going. Interior leather can get expensive in a hurry though.

Odometer gears are made of play doh and break around 100k. The gears are only about $25, but the dash needs to apart to replace which gets expensive if you're paying people to do the work.

Hvac motors and wiper motors tend to go out. Hvac motors are about $700 from Porsche or $100 with a tweak to the housing. Wiper motors are rebuildable (I have spare bearings if you ever need). So are quite a few of the switches. Just lots of little stuff that accumulates, like the electric motors, latch cables, brittle plastic from age. Some bits interchange with 944s and 911s. Some stuff is just fiddly (like three washer pumps).

The workshop manual is a 9 volume binder set that goes for about $750 for orint or $75 on CD. Mostly you have to be a bit GRMer to keep costs down. 928 international and 928s R Us are your friends.

Mad_Ratel wrote: The biggest issue I can recall is that for most of the 928's the wiring turns black. Making solving eletrical issues a nightmare. This was due to some german ruling that wiring had to be biodegrable in the 80's... At least thats what I recall a conversation about them ten years ago discussing... Fully low mile manual GTS will go for 50k. not an S4.

And that is interesting because the spec's on the cars say that the 87 S4 is a faster car. I am betting it is weight as the cars in the 90's were loaded down with all kinds of stuff. The late 80's porches were still relatively simple cars.

1993 Porsche 928 GTS

• 0-60: 6.0

• Quarter Mile: 14.3

1987 Porsche 928 S4

• 0-60 mph 5.4

• Quarter mile 13.7

Times I get are from here.

http://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/porsche-0-60-mph-times/

Don't know how reliable they are.

I have worked on a couple over the years and I don't know why but I found them to be easier than the 944. I think I may be tgat they are bigger particularly in side an there is just more room for my stumpy hands. As for the motors I found that they ate about the same access as the 944. Parts I am aware of the p car tax. I have had a p car of some sort in the driveway since 1986. I have developed a large rolodex of suppliers. You have to if you want to own one of these cars. Paying for ser if and repairs is crazy expensive but I have always done my own work on my p cars. I find them easy to work on as I have worked on so many.

I think I am going to give her a call tomorrow and be a bit more up front about my wanting this car back and see if I can at least see where her number is on it. I hope it is not somthing like 7k. But then again I really want this car so I would probibly pay it to get it. I still think that at that money I would be ok money wise if I discount my labor to minimum wage.

I have nothing to add on the what it's worth front, but what the hell do you do that you could afford a new 928S4 at 22?

I think the S4 models are really neat cars. The smooth bumpers really transformed that car, IMO. While I didn't care for the early ones, the S4 is very cool...especially with the manual transmission. If the current owner is reasonable on price, it sounds like you'd really enjoy having the car back. Go for it!

I own one of these cars.

The prices have been on a rapid upswing the past year. Even a basket case S4 with a M/T is a $8-9K car.

Anyone quoting this car less is not familiar with the market. Manual transmission cars command a significant premium over the automatic in 928s.

Anything other than a 80-84 US model would be a good investment.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: I have nothing to add on the what it's worth front, but what the hell do you do that you could afford a new 928S4 at 22? Don't do as I do (or did) LOL I don't regret it at all but hind site it would have been MUCH better to have kept the $$$$$ and invested it and just purchased the best used one I could get now.

I was single and have been working commercial roofing and living in an apartment with two other friends. I had zero expenses and I was making 80-90K a year since I was 18. I made bank and decided to spend it. I mean who is thinking about retirement at 22.