Thinking about an 83 Euro S 5-speed.

[Trip..]

Here are a few pics of the car I'm looking at and thinking of buying. Can you guys take a look at them and tell me what you think the price should be? I have this same question on other forums, so if you've already seen this, I apologize.













The interior 1/4 are separated and looking pretty rough.


The paint is cracked but looks decent from 10 feet.


The motor is a M28-11. The trans was rebuilt 3,000 ago and the car runs like new. No smoke on startup and power is smooth.

Here is a quick startup vid, the motor hadn't been started in a few weeks. No smoke on start!
YouTube - 83 928 Euro S, 5 Speed

He's asking 3800. I live in Michigan near Detroit, so 928's are pretty scarce around here, so the price is a bit higher. So please keep that in mind when thinking about price. I have driven this car and it's in what appears to be perfect running order, just the interior is cashed. The 1/4's bother me, but the separated seats do not. (They've been recovered, poorly)

It's a little dirty, but it's complete.




YouTube - 83 928 Euro 5 speed.

Looks like the MM are squished flat, the motor doesn't move.

The TB/WP hasn't been changed since the seller bought it in 92, but I talked with the guys at 928intl and they said the 16v motors are usually not interference motors? If I buy this, I plan to change the tb/wp and switch over to a Porkenensioner.
Cont below...

[Trip..]

The rear interior quarters are shot, so are the hood/hatch struts, so I didn't get a good shot of the interior quarters with the hatch open, but here's one through the window.




Here's how it sits, buried behind bicycles and baby toys, at least he is still keeping it in his garage.


The paint is cracked. This is only visible if the sun is just right.


Some kind of weird black goo on the dash, seller thinks it's adhesive seeping through the leather? Do you guys know what it is?


I did manage to rub some of it off with my fingers in this pic.


I know it's rough, but I really do want this car, but I'm having a hard time convincing the seller that it isn't worth the 3800 that he's asking. He's had the car for sale since November and only had just 3 or 4 guys look at it and we've all said the same thing, it's overpriced.

He bought it in 92 for 25 grand and he's having a hard time selling it so cheaply, especially since he had the trans rebuilt and a new master cyl/brake booster at a cost of well over 5 grand.


Sunroof, windows, seats, heater and A/C, rear wiper, headlights, etc... Everything electrical works except the rw defroster.

Seats were recovered with a very stiff vinyl that feels about like a cheap tennis shoe. The hog rings are visible and can pinch a cheek if you move just right.

I agree that 2000-2200 is a better price, but this is Michigan, most of the cars around here are rusted out, this was imported from Germany in 84 to Vegas and it stayed there until 92 when this guy bought it. It appears to be relatively neglected. But it is completely rust free. I also yanked the carpet back and checked the CE box, I was happy to see it is unmolested and clean. No burnt wires or anything stupid plugged in, with the exception of an alarm, it's perfect. 14 pin looked ok as well, but I didn't mess with it too much though. I didn't see any burnt wires, I didn't separate the connector in fear that it could cause problems and I could be forced to buy the car.

The plastic bag over the washer tank should be a good indication of the mechanical skills and laziness of the seller. Little things like that are all over the car. He didn't know how to turn on the fog lights, use the headlight squirters, or what the headlight adjuster was. It only went in for service if something broke or mad the car undrivable. For a guy that's owned the car for 20 years, he knew very little about it.

The car still has the Euro dual exhaust, but it has a cat bastardized into it, the welds were performed by Stevie Wonder himself. So needless to say, the welds leak, but there aren't any "Catalyst" stickers anywhere on the car, so I should be able to get the cats removed and have a pair of test pipes installed. No smog tests in MI. Seller installed an Ansa muffler some time ago and the chrome tips have since rusted off, but the exhaust sounds pretty decent other than the leaking welds, and it isn't as loud as the startup vid shows. My camera has a sensitive mic. It's pretty mellow, until you step on it.

Thanks for your input and all comments or suggestions are welcome,
Trip..

[EIPtuningR32]

you should have just transfered your youtube name to pelican.. lol poopdogsays

[EIPtuningR32]

dude. from my experience with the same car, except mine is an '82, its a real pain if its not right. holy flapjacks this fruit is spoiled. i love the car though. its my baby.... its a bad baby though. the kind you wanna prop the head up in a door-jam and just slam away until either the baby breaks or the door.

[Danglerb]

Why quibble about the purchase price? Whoever buys that car is going to have five times that into it before long.

My 3 point rule, drive train, interior, and paint each count for a point, less than two points is a parts car, like this one. Its one point for drive train is questionable since it hasn't been driven much in years and a number of serious issues can show up in the first thousand miles or so.

[Trip..]

Poopdog was the name of my Rottweiler. He was my best friend, so his name lives on with my YT and Email names...

As far as going by Trip.. That's what my screen name is everywhere else. I'm known as Trip on many online forums, a few of which, I Moderate. I don't have many posts on here, but I've been a member for a little over 2 years, I lurk more-so than type.

Thanks for the reply, interesting and slightly morbid, but thanks all the same.

[Trip..]

It's daily driven in the summer and garaged through the winter. I don't know where it was implied otherwise? If I was misleading I apologize.

The trans was rebuilt and clutch replaced 3000 miles ago.

This car is NOT a parts car, but thanks for you input.

[neil30076]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Why quibble about the purchase price? Whoever buys that car is going to have five times that into it before long.

My 3 point rule, drive train, interior, and paint each count for a point, less than two points is a parts car, like this one. Its one point for drive train is questionable since it hasn't been driven much in years and a number of serious issues can show up in the first thousand miles or so.

Which is why i have been saying in posts that at best this is a < 2K car - and I would not give 2k for it here in SD.
But, Trip, I do understand the shortage of possible cars in your area, and would probably still buy it if i lived up there - but under 3K!

[Trip..]

That's why I put this question up on here as well as R-list, I'm trying to get a general consensus...

*This post has been edited from it's original posting.*

The reason I'm, "Quibbling" over the price is because I don't have an expendable amount of money. In fact I have a set amount that I can afford to spend. This car is about the best of what my budget allows for the options I seek. Many of you guys have a much higher spending allowance, but with 3 kids, a wife and a mortgage, I don't.

I'm looking for a decent driving car that looks good enough to make me happy, this car meets that criteria. I had a much higher spending limit, but I just bought my 2 16 y/o cars for their B-days. That money came from my 928 fund. So now all I have left is about 4500 total and that includes gas and insurance/plates.


Trip..

[neil30076]

Trip, If you think i was putting you down, I was not- and I apologize. If you check out my many posts, you will see i willingly provide info, tech bulletins, etc to anyone who needs them, as do MANY others on these boards; and I will do so for you as well.
We are providing feed back to you to ensure you make the right decision.
My first 928 cost me $44k, the second $1100 the last $3000, and i am retired, so i do know what you are going through.
Please feel free to PM me for any help you may need, manuals, etc.
Sincerly....

[JK McDonald]

Hey Trip, You will wind up with a ton of money into this car to refurbish it. The current owner has obviously decided to take lots of up-keep short cuts over the years ($$$ for new paint and interior). I've found that often means he has taken many more serious short cuts in the routine maintenance areas - oil changes. The neglected timing belt/water pump are perfect examples.

I just recently bought another somewhat running 84 auto (I know, I know ) 111,000 miles with an over due timing belt/etc... scrubbed front tires, near perfect seats, 1/4 panels-dash shrunk-up, and nice paint for $1,300. An offer of around the 2K mark for the 5-speed you are considering is reasonable, otherwise you should walk away from this one.

One other comment - It appears to have No A/C on the temp control panel. This would be a major fault to many.

Just my opinion, Michael

[Trip..]

I edited my previous post a bit. My apologies for jumping to conclusions. It's hard to tell a persons attitude when there is no emotion.

I have no intention to restore this car, all I was thinking about was replacing the rear 1/4's and throwing on a set of seat covers. That's about it. I read that it's a non interference motor, so I'm gonna drive it and have fun with it providing I can get it for the right price.

I've been dogged on rlist and a few other forums when I mention this car. I don't know why? I know it's not perfect, but it's definitely not a parts car. It runs and drives too well.

I know the seller is lazy and doesn't like to spent money, but he swears that he's religious when it comes to oil changes and if you read what I wrote above, the engine oil looks like it's fresh from the bottle.

I understand from a restoration point of view this will be an expensive car, but I'm not going to restore it, I just want to drive it and have fun with it. I mean after all, it's just a car and I've owned over 85 cars. I lost count when I got into the 4th gen F-body's (Camaro/Firebird.)

Again I'm sorry I snapped, but I've been ragged on about this car and I have no idea why? The motor alone is worth 2500? Other than the 84-86 Euro, this was the most desirable of the S models. More sought after than the 85-86 US cars.

[Trip..]

As a heads up... The seller did try to update the car. He had it resprayed and had the seats reupholstered, unfortunately, both had horrible results. Helen Keller said it looked OK to her though. lol

[Pete R]

I agree with Danbergs theory. To be honest the couple grand everyones mentioning here is rather irrelavant. If your just going to drive it and have fun as is, all that matters is how much it's worth to you. If your thinking about restoring it .you will have to spend that $2k many, many, many times over. It's mearly a drop in the bucket to restore it. So the original price means nothing. If 928's are limited in your area, it may be worth a trailer rental and a couple days on the road to bring something in better shape home. I saw on here somewhere.. "there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche" take it from a guy that bought a rough car... the best way to describe it is, everytime you walk by your bathroom throw $100 in the toilet, now do that all day everyday for 10 years. that's feels about right


btw it's an interference motor.. so think about a belt change with associated parts

[gbgastowers]

Originally Posted by JK McDonald

One other comment - It appears to have No A/C on the temp control panel. This would be a major fault to many.

Just my opinion, Michael

That's what my Euro control head looks like and the AC components are all there(but not charged). Gunar

[neil30076]

AC on/off is part of the slider control on that year, YES, it has AC. The AC button came in later.
TRIP
- go buy the darn car before someone here or on rlist buys it out from under you !
- and get to work on it :-)

[Trip..]

Dangler, when you see that I'm asking a question and you think you have the best put-down or some other nasty thing to say, just keep it to yourself, it's better for me to wonder if someone is an anus that to have them prove it. Make sence?

For some reason every chance you get to add your 2 cents whether it's on my posts or others, you always have something negative to say... Keep it to yourself, because your negative opinion matters little to me. I haven't researched your attitude on here, but I know on r-list you are very opinionated, most of which is negative.

So you don't like my car, good, I personally take pleasure in knowing that. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to know that I bother you.

It must be great to try to intimidate people while sitting in front of the computer.

So the next time you have something negative to type, what are we going to do?

[Trip..]

Back to our regularly scheduled programing...

[neil30076]

LOL, just replied to your PM...

[Trip..]

Thanks for the comments guys. Any "Constructive" criticism is appreciated. I have a bit of a bone to pick with the other guy, but the rest of you guys seem pretty cool.

I was told by 928 International that any of the 16v motors are not interference, I have also read that in several threads all over the web that they are interference motors. I really have no idea. I've read it both ways.

I do intend to do a tb/wp swap along with a PorKen tensioner, just because it should be done. That's a given with any 928 I buy, even if the seller is showing me receipts for having it done, how do I know it was done correctly, unless I do it myself.