[Eplebnista]

I have a 928 and can make several observations.

1. In normal driving the car feels heavy and certainly not nimble. The more you flog it, the better it gets. One of the contradictions of loving a 928 is that you almost have to beat the crap out of it to discover how good it can be. It excels as a Grand Tourer, which has its drawbacks because we have speed limits and the car is geared for inter-stellar travel.

2. Maintenance and reliability - Follow the old adage of buying the best car you can find and afford and budget a reserve. In the 85 and up cars, timing belts are critical because the 32V engines are interference engines. Fuel lines are critical replacement items on any 30 year old fuel injected car. If you buy a 928 that hasn't been maintained, catching up with deferred maintenance will be costly. If you can't or won't do the work yourself, you will go broke unless you find someone who really knows these cars. Like any Porsche, factory parts are obscenely expensive.

The good news is that the 928 crowd has a great presence on rennlist and the depth of knowledge, willingness to help and member wrenching ability is unparalleled. If you need to fix something, you will find five people who have done the same thing already and can give excellent advice.

I bought a car that had been pretty well cared for. I had to do the timing belt and water pump, replace fuel lines and replace some coolant hoses that were new on the car when it was built in 1986. My only electrical issue was a taillight that went out when the bulb monitoring module developed a bad solder joint. Otherwise everything works as it did in 1986, including the AC. If I keep the battery charged over the winter, it starts whenever I want it to and runs like a moose.

If you want to buy a 928, now may be the time. Although 928 owners have been musing for many years about whether prices have hit bottom, there are signs that market values, particularly for well sorted cars - are one the rise.