geo wrote:
Hi, first post, but I'm getting straight in, just been to look at my first 928 S4 (1990, 77000 miles) the body looks in perfect condtion (for it's age), engine all looks clean and tidy, of the major sytems everything except the a/c seems to work, but the inside is pretty tatty. The car has cream leather with blue piping, but the edge of the drivers seat back is badly worn, actual right through in two places.
The car has no tax or MOT so I only took it on a very short trip round the block, the ABS light stayed on and the matrix display said ANTILOCK OFF... but when I got back to the driveway I switched off then back on and the ABS light went out, and the ANTILOCK OFF warning did not come back on, which should I beleive (the car has not been used for about a year). Also on the short, low-speed drive the steering seemed very heavy, is this normal (I'm used to very light steering in my Shogun I think). The matrix display also indicates that the car needs serviced.
The seller claims to have full service history, which I haven't seen yet (was a bit short of time and he only lives five minutes away) so will go back tomorrow.
The seats have electric height adjustment, but manual backrest adjustment and manual slide. The electric windows, mirrors and sunroof all work fine, but the hatch release knobs don't seem to do anythng, it does open with the key. The internal roof light is missing, door ones work fine.
There car has an aftermarket laserline alarm/immobiliser fitted.
Given this description, what would you think it was worth?
Thanks
George
Oh I also meant to say, two of the tyres are marginal (legal but only just) and all 4 rims are kerbed.
Well, just to provide a bit of balance to the argument -
- hardly any 928s have working air conditioning, so unless you were particularly keen on getting it fixed that's £2k (according to Brett) that you can ignore
- there is an ABS problem, the reason the warning did not come back on after you'd switched off and restarted is that the ABS self-test only happens once the car reaches a certain speed, if it doesn't move then it won't spot the fault. As to what it may be, it's probably one of the wheel sensors gone bad or the relay, both of which are common failures, but it may be something else.
- the steering will feel heavy, compared to more modern cars
- I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "The matrix display also indicates that the car needs serviced." as the 928 doesn't have a mileage-based service indicator, the message is actually another fault - the two most probable messages are either 1) "Toothed belt service" which means at the very least that the cambelt is too slack and needs inspection/retensioning but, depending on the service history (if you ever get to see it), may well mean it's time for a new cambelt and probably a new waterpump too (since these are often fitted at the same time as a precautionary measure) and the car should be driven very gently until this has been attended to. You'd have to ring around for the latest price but to get this cambelt change plus water pump plus rebuild of the tensioner and replacement of any other bits that need doing whilst that part of the engine is being serviced could easily run to £1k if you aren't doing the work yourself
2) "Brake pads service" - the brake pad wear sensor has been triggered, could be related to the ABS problem, might need new pads and sensors
- the seats sound like they are the relatively rare sports seats which were lighter (due to having fewer motors) and had bigger bolsters (which might explain the extra wear if the previous owner was of above average girth), I think they were a special option in automatics and should be listed on the option code sticker in the boot or in the driver's manual. Alternatively, given your impression of the tatty state of the interior relative to the bodywork and if there's proof that the mileage is genuine, there's a small chance that the car may have had it's interior replaced for some reason
- the hatch issue could be something as simple as a fuse or bad connection, 928s do tend to suffer from electrical problems, especially if they're left standing, but I should point out that a "simple" fault may prove very time-consuming to track down
- as for the alarm/immobiliser, if it works it probably doesn't affect the value of the car but bear in mind that it may need removing or replacing some time in the future
- tyres and wheels, well the price of new tyres and refurbishing wheels can easily be researched, the S4s came with 16" wheels so these 17" ones are an upgrade that many owners fit as it makes the car look more modern and depending on how fussy you are and how badly they're kerbed you could possibly live with it. It's not possible for me to tell from the pictures, but if they are the proper fitment (see loads of stuff elsewhere about 928 wheel fitment and front offsets - it's one of those subjects that crops up regularly) they'd be worth keeping
Overall then I'd go along with what the others have said - don't rush into buying this one because it's nearby and the auction ends soon (when I used to watch the auctions on ebay most of them never seemed to complete, the "winning" bidder never paid and the car would appear again, so that may well be the case with this one too). Instead go and look at other 928s, they'll all be slightly different and you may find the one that feels "right" - owning a good 928 is a constant pleasure, owning a bad one can lead to despair and big bills. You might also consider getting an inspection by a Porsche specialist on any one that you're seriously considering buying.
And to answer your question (finally!), as this car may need quite a large initial investment to get it roadworthy, I would consider £3k - £4k to be the sort of money that I would consider sensible - not that I'd want it if the interior is as bad as you make it sound.
However, remember secondhand goods & cars are only worth what somebody is prepared to pay for them and it's a buyer's market for 928s.
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