Maintenance

Technical Information and Restoration Parts for the 928

Investment Vs. Driving

To date the 928 has proved to be a very bad investment. The cost of maintenance, initial high price and rapid decline in value has made them unattractive to investors. In recent years a number of low mileage cars have come on the market suggesting that there is finally a give up or in investment terms a "wash out" in pricing.

For a car to become a collectors item there are a number of characteristics that are important. The first thing to consider is the number of cars produced. Typically the very early models with the lowest serial number possible and the very last of the cars produced are the ones that appreciate the fastest. Where there are high production figures and features that are undesirable the appreciation is much smaller.

In the case of the XKE that was initially considered a undesirable high maintenance car the 2+2 with automatics, the early 4.2's and the first smog years were less in demand.

Looking at the price structure of the 928 today it appears that the later S4 models on up still command a good price, followed by the 85 EURO, the late 1986's and finally the very early cars. Five Speeds are preferred over automatics and command a higher price for comparable condition. The least desirable appear to the years from 1980-82 with the three speed automatic.

Maintenance Records

Porsche owners tend to be anal over previous maintenance records. While this may be valid for a very low mileage or later model car in most cases this should not be a real concern.

With a car that can be 15 or more years old, the treatment by any previous owner is secondary. Current physical condition is far more important than if the Previous Owner (PO) religiously changed oil ten years ago. I have never seen a car engine destroyed by the lack of oil changes - except maybe while racing. It does not matter if the oil was changed at 3000, 5000, 10000 mile intervals or every time the car was used.

Age takes its toll and things that fail with age will fail no matter who the PO was or what they did or did not do and often how many miles the car was driven. A car in storage will still deteriorate after so many years.

One of the main reasons that Porsche was not successful with the 928 model was the cost of maintenance. When the car sold for $50K plus, a $500 maintenance bill did not seem out of line. The initial high price tag reflects the 928 as a world class high performance sports car with state of the automotive art technology. The limited production numbers and the quality of parts keeps the price of parts and repairs high. While the purchase price of a used 928 is probably one of the best dollar for dollar buys in the sports car category, the purchase price is kept low by the high cost of maintenance. It is highly unlikely that an owner can recover the cost of maintenance incurred during ownership.

The high original purchase price and maintenance costs are actually an advantage for the new buyer. There are very few sellers that are selling cars for more then they paid for them. Thus the initial asking prices is often unrealistically high. Unrealistic prices discourages potential buyers creating a soft market for 928's. In an attempt to increase the appeal of the sale the owner will often do maintenance ahead of the sale. A patient buyer can take advantage of defects and an unrealistic selling price by being consistent. A number of the 928's that I have purchased have taken weeks to get the price to an acceptable level. After the seller has shown the car numerous times and had a few sales fall through they are more open to a low price offer.

As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to budget the initial purchase price of the car for first years maintenance for older models and one half the purchase price for newer models day from 1987 on up. If the money does not go for repairs it is easily used up in performance enhancements like exhaust systems and wheels.