How much should I ask for my car?

[dtw]

Hey guys! It is time for me to sell. This wasn’t planned – I love this car to death, and it never fails to bring a huge grin to my face when driving it. However, I am putting this car and my almost new-to-me ’05 911 C4S up for sale. Why? I found a local 996 twin turbo with the exact color and options I’ve always wanted, and I was able to inspect it personally. I’m pulling the trigger on that car, but that means the 928 and the C4S have got to go.

I’m looking for some input on where I should price my car. Mechanically it is in really excellent condition. There are a handful of items left to fix in the electricals, and the paint/interior are in good driver condition. How does one go about pricing such a car? I’m at a loss – any thoughts are welcomed. I don’t have recent pics, but there are plenty in my past threads – the majority of the work I’ve done has been documented right here on Pelican. Just search the 928 forum for threads started by dtw. Here’s what I’ve worked up so far in terms of a listing:

This car is a 5 speed manual, US market 32V car in Meteor Metallic over Brown full leather. Approximately 80K miles. Also has factory limited-slip differential. This car fires up happily on the first turn of the key and will be a great daily driver with just routine maintenance for years to come. With all the upgrades and intensive maintenance work I’ve done, this car runs super smoothly, and extremely fast. With the X-pipe, the exhaust has a wonderful low rumble and growl, and makes fantastic sounds under throttle. Before doing the intake refresh, I ran compression and leakdown tests; everything came back highly consistent across all 8 cylinders with great results. When doing the intake refresh, I had all the hard parts (intake runners, plenums, water bridge, valve covers, etc.) powder coated in silver. All hardware and brackets were correctly re-plated in yellow cadmium.

The entire drive train has been sorted out, from intake to axles and exhaust:
-exhaustive intake refresh, including sensors, valve cover bits…over $1,000 in parts here alone
-rebuilt the throttle body, including the sealed ball bearings on the shaft - no more 'whistling' intake
-all fuel and vacuum lines replaced – no hunting idle, no ‘off’ odors
-new ignition wires, plugs, distributor caps and rotors
-rebuilt torque tube with Konstantin’s Super Bearings
-replaced all bushings in shift linkage, plus clutch throw-out arm bushing – shift action is excellent
-resealed transmission and filled with Redline MTL (including 2 quarts with LSD additive)
-swapped in complete front and rear ’86.5 suspension and brakes, including ABS pump, vacuum assist module, proportioning valve, sensors, and brain (ABS is functional, but currently throwing a code due to mismatch between front/rear wheel speed – this is due to the tires I put on). Also installed brand new S4 master cylinder from Ate.
-new water pump and timing belt installed at 68K/3 years ago
-replaced failing exhaust hangers with fresh pieces
-replaced all vacuum diaphragms (except defrost, which is working fine) and vacuum lines behind dash for HVAC system. Re-sealed recirculation box and blower housing. Tested all vacuum solenoids (all good); climate control is now working great (and quietly – no more hissing)
-new front wheel bearings
-injectors cleaned and flow-tested by Witch Hunter
-new window regulator switches
-rebuilt oil cooler lines
-re-booted CV joints (all)
-new hood struts and hood release cable parts
-Fixed the rear brackets on the center console
-New ball bearings on the radiator fan shaft

Upgrades include:
-Euro-spec Bosch H4 headlights (8”)
-X-pipe w/new 02 sensor installed
-PorKensioner timing belt tensioner
-PorKen chips and torque rings
-Late-style Porsche fuel pressure regulator
-17” Cup-1 wheels (Italian replicas) installed
-New front spoiler (original Porsche) and hardware kit, still in great condition
-Complete S4 suspension, including 4-piston aluminum calipers

The bad:
-Paint and interior are ‘driver’ quality – not necessarily ‘bad’, but not concourse either. Normal wear for age, including some warpage of the dash, cracking on the instrument pod, and split driver side seat bolster. Some dings and scuffs in the paint.
-The bulb control module, which has been replaced with a known good unit, is still throwing a code for the brake lights. All the lights, including the brake lights, work fine. I’m not sure why it is throwing this code, and haven’t done any heavy testing on it yet.
-Cruise control is inop, but appears to be related to the above – cruise does not function if the BCM has a fault
-Central locking/alarm, windshield washer jets are inop
-AC blows cold, but needs a recharge every spring. We put dye in the system last time around, so next time it goes into the shop it can be leak-checked.
-Rear tires are ready for replacement

[Mrmerlin]

sounds like a 14K car ;
pictures would be a good idea

[Danglerb]

7 days on ebay with plenty of good pictures and clear description and you will know the value to a penny, plus it will be sold.

[stepson]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

7 days on ebay with plenty of good pictures and clear description and you will know the value to a penny, plus it will be sold.

+1 just make sure the reserve is high enough that the sales price will reduce the sting and regret of giving up one of the finest GT cars made and the example that you had owned prior to the sale you had full knowledge of it's strengths and flaws. There's something to be said for that.

[Landseer]

10-14 makes sense.

Bulb control unit sound like it is calling-out a mismatch in bulbs or a dirty tail or rear marker light fixture that works, but has higher resistance than its twin on circuit. The one I sent was indeed known-good.


My neighbor has a pair of 996 turbo cars. They are truly awesome. These things accelerate like a magnetic drive roller coaster. Terrifyingly quick. Complicated too. Be prepared to re-epoxy the coolant tubes.

[911 tweaks]

hey dave...I didn't know u were into these water pumpers...
I wish I knew about this car a while ago...maybe I can reverse my direction on an early air cooled...
these r THE best street GT cars for sure...they rip u face off when running correctly...and that sharkish back slanting front end...almost 850 ish but way better...
good luck...bob

[dtw]

All, thanks for the feedback regarding price range. I appreciate it. Sorry for the late response, the last two weeks have been chaotic.

The car is a really good driver, all-there example. I think ultimately Dan may have called it, the best thing may just be to throw it on eBay and see what happens. I could at least link it here and at Rennlist.

Landseer - how did your part out go? Do you still have those seats? Yes - the 996tt is extremely fast - I'm definitely enjoying it so far. I've done a lot of research on them and have noted the coolant tube issues. Whenever it needs a clutch, maybe I'll just drop the whole drivetrain and do the coolant tubes at the same time.

Here are some current pictures.

[dtw]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

7 days on ebay with plenty of good pictures and clear description and you will know the value to a penny, plus it will be sold.

Yup - going this route now.

No reserve eBay auction:

Porsche 928 S | eBay

[harborman]

I would have set a reserve but it sounds like you want to get rid of it for sure. Good luck on the sale. A really clean, documented low miles car, in exceptional conditional should demand $18.000.

[MPDano]

GLWS. Great looking car, my favorite year.

[dtw]

Originally Posted by harborman

I would have set a reserve but it sounds like you want to get rid of it for sure. Good luck on the sale. A really clean, documented low miles car, in exceptional conditional should demand $18.000.

I've been watching the S3 manual trans cars for years and know how much they tend to bring, so I preferred to generate more enthusiasm by going no reserve. It'll fetch whatever it fetches.

$18K is only a pipe dream for me. The cosmetics aren't there, and there are still some systems that need to be fixed.

[SolReaver]

Currently 6K at 1 day 21 hrs to go. IMHO most action hits at the last min. You have some good interest there and a sweet car. I am going to say 12 (ish) and likely a bit more. Good luck to ya.

[SolReaver]

Winning bid 7500.

[riber.bentsen]

Wow, what a steal with all those mechanical upgrades and pm.

[Mrmerlin]

someone got a great deal on a solid 5 speed

[dtw]

Thank you for the comments, guys. Deposit has been received on the car, and it appears it is headed off to Belgium. It was a really solid price for the buyer - how many options are out there for a 300hp Porsche under $10K? Huge loss on my end considered what I've put into it, but now I know 928s, so no big deal.

These are amazing cars – they are incredibly well built and a blast to drive. Still, this car has taken up a way disproportionate share of my project/wrenching time over the last 4 years. I’m starting a restoration of a beautiful ’84 911 factory widebody or ‘M491’ car, and really can’t be spending so much time on the 928 anymore.

Based on what I have seen in the market for the last year or so, I did think the estimates over $10K for this car were pretty high. The only cars that I see commanding premium pricing are cosmetically and mechanically solid, and have most or all of their systems functioning. The ‘everyday’ cars like mine are still trading below $10K – even with a 5 speed, and I had personally estimated $7.5-10K as the sale price. So, I got the low end of my own estimate when the hammer dropped.