what's an 87 s4 5 speed worth?

[petrolblue83911]

I'm considering looking at a buddy's s4 5speed as a trade for my 83 sc coupe...

My first Porsche was an identical car, and I loved it,

-what would a 75k mile pretty decent s4 5 speed be worth these days?? and how are you guys finding the reliability of 928's to be these days??

-I've put 18k miles on my sc over the last 2 yrs, and haven't had any sig. work done except for rutine valve adj, and brakes. Can I expect similar from a good s4, or are lots of niggling problems killiging these cars at this point???

Thanks!

[Barbapapa]

I would say about 16k. You hear the gamut on reliability but I found my old 85 the most reliable car I ever owned. I put about 30,000 miles on it starting from when it was 4 years old and never had any problems. I think the main factor for you is whether the car has been kept outside or owned by someone unable to afford proper service. An 87 that's garaged most of it's life will be seem a new car compared to one that's sat in the weather, cosmetically and probably eletrically too. 928's don't wear out mechanically, it's the electrical gremlins that can cause grief. Oh, and timing belts, they must be replaced occasionally. if they stay on too long and break the valves would be bent on a 32v motor.

[Danglerb]

928's need a professional inspection before you can do more than guess at a fair price.

[m21sniper]

I agree. Get your mechanic to do a PPI.

[petrolblue83911]

I will definitly get a PPI on this, -the car is cosmetically excellent in and out, my main concern is finding records on the belt/tensioners/pump service. The other issue I forsee is that my old 928 mechanic no longer is in the area, and I don't know any shops out here that like to work on them...my 911 is easy, I do most of the work, but what I can't do I have done by a local shop that specializes in 911's-esp air cooled.

so, assuming that it is a sound-no accidents, origional paint, etc.. clean car with a more or less perfect interior, and has around 75k miles, 16k is around the going rate??

[m21sniper]

I actually fix my own 928 exclusively. To me the "928 is easy", but 928s are what i know.

check the kelley blue book and NADA websites for the exact values of your vehicle in your specific zipcode(as that affects price).

www.kbb.com
www.nada.com

[petrolblue83911]

M21,

-what kind of work have you done on it, -and what do you have for facilities?

-I have a nice big garrage, and I do most stuff like brakes, valve adj, oil, exhaust, etc...

but my impression of my former S4 was that aside from oil changes everything seemed intimidating to get into??-maybe that's not really the case?

[Danglerb]

928's outside of a the few low mileage late model cars demanding very high prices, have no set or book value that means spit. Too few cars are sold in much too great of varying conditions.

$16k for an 87 5 spd with 75k miles sounds fair. So does $10k, or $22k, depending on the actual condition. Plenty of nice looking cars aren't worth $10k even.

Good luck.

[Rixter]

there are a number of shark owners in the Boston area, try Rennlist to hook up with them
if you don't want to go over there just PM me and I'll hook you up with a couple of them

[petrolblue83911]

Thanks for the advice guys,- I'll let ya know how it turns out.

[rhjames]

I look at several places for "selling" prices (not value).

1. eBay
2. PCA's website
3. Pelican Parts (sometimes there are cars listed)
4. Rennlist
5. Autotrader/Classic car Trader

Just from these few lists you can draw up a pretty accurate price on what you're looking for.

But like everything else in life, it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

EX: 2 928 GTS's were listed on Ebay. One was $25K, the other $70K. Both were black, w/5-speed, low miles (less than 30k).

Difference: one was a 1993, one was a 1995.

Question: would you spend another $45K, just because it was the last year the 928 was produced? Not me personally, because I'd take the other $45K and buy a '60s Hemi Mopar for restoration (assuming I had boat loads of money just sitting around.)

Short of that, get the (reliable) inspection done before you buy......

regards---rhjames

[DanielDudley]

I recently sold my S4 for 14.5, but it was probably worth 17. I wanted a quick sale. If you don't plan on doing the work, a qualified mechanic is essential. While I think a well sorted 928 is a reliable car, I don't think thay will ever have the bulletproof reputation of the SC, nor are they as simple to put right. Awesome cars though.

[petrolblue83911]

I ended up passing on this car. It sold on E-bay through a local dealer in Natick. I think the car went for 12-13k.

I passed because upon close inspection the car had recently been painted and had 0 records. I think what it sold for was about right, although the shop claimed that it was origional paint which was a straight up Lie, so I hope whoever the buyer was didn't get screwed.

[Herr-Kuhn]

My 1988 turbo conversion car was purchased out of LA for $10K on the nose. It has 160K on the clock and is as clean as any I have seen given the mileage. The interior is nearly like new and the car came with $30K in receipts. it had a decent respray (though not to my standards) done some time ago and came with a GTS rear bumper, mirrors, shifter knob, becker stereo and CD... along with plated twist wheels. I'm sure the car could have brought more, so I was lucky to have found it (many people wanted this car). Expect to pay a premium for a 5-spd car. Mine could have easily brought $13K even with the miles.

[Danglerb]

About third to a half of the cars that "sell" on ebay don't complete the transaction, at least not at the auction price. Many sellers have a classifieds ad mentality, and hype up the condition more than it merits, and that doesn't last through even casual inspection. I feel really bad for the guys who buy and have one shipped.

Its hard to resist a nice looking car that "needs some work" I know I couldn't, but its a lesson that can be expensive.

OTOH I haven't found a car I prefer to the one I have after looking another 3 months or so.

[Herr-Kuhn]

I bought my car in California off of description only and a brief drive by inspection. It took me just about 4 weeks to locate it. I was lucky on my find. There are cars out there, you just have to keep looking.

[Danglerb]

Did you get TommySocal's car?

I looked at that, but was too green to buy.

[Herr-Kuhn]

No, mine was owned by an older gentleman. My car is Silver