Hi Jamie
Im only down by Stoke on Trent so not that far from Manchester if you want to have a drive down anytime and go out for a blast - feel free.
I concur all that Brett has said above. These cars love to be driven and do not take kindly to kid gloves and blankets in garages with lots of polish....without enjoying the driving experience regularly. These cars love to be driven and driven hard every now and again. I have attached below a copy of an article I wrote for the TIPEC magazine a few years ago which I have attached if it helps give some background to 928 purchase.
My summary advice was..........
Buying a 928!
The best advice I can give to anyone who is looking to venture into Porsche 928 ownership is to look at the car first & DON'T drive it! Only drive it after you have fully checked the car out & looked round it, under it & inside it!
Once you drive a 928 for the first time you get hooked & all brain activity is completely screwed!
These cars easily impress the new buyer just because they are a Big V8 with 5.0L under the hood!
Take another 928 owner along with you if you can - this is invaluable!
Use the 928.org web site and forum as well as the TIPEC forum.
Other than that, look at the car with your eye's open & if you think it is worth the challenge and you like the colour & the specification of the car & how it drives & feels - then Go For It! And enjoy the exhilaration of 928 ownership and membership of the 928 list & various Forums.
You can tell a 928 driver - He's the guy with the permanent grin from ear to ear after a good drive in his 928!
Steve Jones------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Jones
1989 928 S4 Stone Grey Metallic Auto
Bizman928@hotmail.co.ukI bought my first 928 - a 1980 Minerva Blue model - 5 years ago after watching Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear do the challenge to find a Porsche for £1500 - and he got a 928! So after watching this.....and realising that my childhood dream Porsche 928 could be in reach....I trolled the web & ebay and drove the country to test drive some cars.
I found the site - 928.org and was inspired to buy a 928 in the confidence that there was an amazing support network available to service & repair my potential purchase. After seeing and driving several horrors & worrying cars..My Minerva Blue 1980 928 4.5L cost £1650 and I drove her 150 miles home with no problems. It needed dashboard electrics sorting, no dash lights, but other than that the only problem I had in 2 years of ownership was my brake cable and horse shoe brakes collapsed needing replacing and my rear CV joint boots I found were perished while I was doing the job. A cheap fix at £19 for the CV boots and £40 for a S/H replacement brake cable & linkage from my local Porsche breakers - "Only9" in Waverham, Nr Nantwich. Also used "Jazzy Porsche" in Leeds who has always been very helpful in supplying good quality cheap parts. All this was done with the extensive help of 928.org and the forum community which is a great inspiration and help to aide ownership of this great mark!
The only problem with this 928 was the interior wasn't in great condition and I purchased a new 1/2 leather set of seats from good old ebay for £100 as well as a complete new roof lining for another £70. Unfortunately I never got to fitting all of these before upgrading to my S4.
3 years ago I decided I would search for a newer better condition model and update my 1980 Minerva Blue 928. I searched for around 8 months or more and viewed & drove over a dozen cars. I had seen the price of an S4 come down to my budget - circa £3,000 and so, I wanted to find the best example I could for this price bracket. Most of the 928’s I drove were disappointing - the drive was like a go-kart on some with no suspension and hard lumpy steering. I contacted the 928.org forum list and asked if this was what I could expect from an S4 compared with my standard 928 & was invited to drive a number of members cars of the list to see what a good S4 should feel like. What an amazing response. I contacted Rod Lonsdale near Ashbourne local to me and went for a drive with him in his amazing black G Reg S4. It handled amazingly and as I was expecting from the S4's. I was hooked more than before and determined to find a good quality S4 within my budget. I continued my hunt on the web, pistonheads, ebay and more. I was about to give up back in Feb 2007 as every car I had seen was not really worth having - including a gorgeous silver S4 with the bump strips removed & 18" wheels which "looked amazing" - but, although I nearly bought this car, I got a full MOT test report and then an RAC report & posted this to the 928.org list for their comments. What came back in replies stopped me from buying this car after there seemed a lot of "unknown problems" and wary comments on rotten shock & spring covers! Although I had fallen in love with the thing by this time - but, as all the advice says........don't go by looks OR the roar of the big V8.......use your HEAD not your heart!
So, I put my money back in my draw and started to wonder if my quest was in vein. However, as if by Devine intervention, I saw a 928 S4 come up on ebay at midnight 1 night & I immediately emailed the seller for more info. He responded back at 1.00am and we discussed all my questions & concerns on the phone the next morning. I drove up to Cumbria - 200miles away to see the car & test drive it. I had found a good example - I thought - and started to go over it time & time again as it seemed "TOO" ideal for my budget & what I was getting in the S4 in front of me! The only thing I had to deal with of major consequence was a noisy torque tube - not a big problem according to the 928.org list members replies.
I bought the car the next day for £3250 delivered to Manchester for me inclusive in the price. Stone Grey Metallic 928 S4, 135k miles, Full leather white seats, all electrics work fine + seat Memory, digital dash, Roof & Window switches bottom out in centre consul, Great 17" Cup Alloys. Full Service History and Full owners Manual etc. Original Porsche Air Compressor in Boot along with Plastic bags of Spare Cam Belt, gloves, overall, Wheel bag etc! Amazing find I thought! Had it valued immediately around the £6,800 mark so I was well pleased!
My new 928 S4 is metallic Stone Grey - looks like a new current Porsche colour - in my mind anyway - I have had the Torque Tube replaced by Dr Anderson - £500 and a great guy to spend time with, extremely helpful and knowledgeable - and I have sorted out several gremlins along with replacing a leaking PAS - £45 repair @ Pirtek and a few hours under the car. Radiator leaked in LH end cooler, bought S/H Behr for £200 as new from "OnlyNine" in Nantwich. I have fitted a 3rd Brake Light which greatly helps the safety of the car and is a welcome modern update. I have replaced Tyres and brake shoes all round but don't consider these to be normal consumables on any car – currently running 235/40/17 ZZ3 Avons on the front and 255/40/17 ZZ3 Avons on the rear with EBC “Greenstuff” pads all round. I have found what I consider the perfect S4 example for my budget back then - circa £3.5k and with the great help from the 928.org list & a network of Secondhand parts suppliers I can keep this fine example on the road well within a £1000 budget per year. I drive it almost daily and will use it to take my kids to school just for the excuse to drive it! as well as using it for some sales calls to give it a good run.
My AC doesn't work as usual but cruise control works great - amazing how you can get full kick down on cruise control if you hold the stick down.....scary first time you use it!
My current list of to-do's includes....
- Tailgate release only works if you have the tailgate open??? duh?
- Slight fuel smell - Y piece connector for replacement fuel vapour connector needs replacing at the weekend - again
- slight whirring noise behind the dash - maybe HVAC
- Getting no heat to footwell but OK in rest of car - HVAC problem
- Slight lag on full power when kick-down pressed - Possible MAF problem or HVAC - Plant to get it to JDS for check
- I plan a Cambelt change next year
- Hamilton & Palmer Alarm needs sorting
- Regular 6 monthly checks on my FlexPlate to make sure any problems are avoided.
This to-do list is typical I imagine of most 928 owners and better than some.
Buying a 928!
The best advice I can give to anyone who is looking to venture into Porsche 928 ownership is to look at the car first & DON'T drive it! Only drive it after you have fully checked the car out & looked round it, under it & inside it!
Once you drive a 928 for the first time you get hooked & all brain activity is completely screwed!
These cars easily impress the new buyer just because they are a Big V8 with 5.0L under the hood!
Take another 928 owner along with you if you can - this is invaluable!
Use the 928.org web site and forum as well as the TIPEC forum.
Other than that, look at the car with your eye's open & if you think it is worth the challenge and you like the colour & the specification of the car & how it drives & feels - then Go For It! And enjoy the exhilaration of 928 ownership and membership of the 928 list & various Forums.
You can tell a 928 driver - He's the guy with the permanent grin from ear to ear after a good drive in his 928!
Steve Jones
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