Parts Car advice

944CS · 06-23-2011, 05:47 PM

Hey guys,

I have the opportunity to buy a pretty ragged 928S with a running motor, no trans, for $750 - is this a good deal? What parts are valuable on these cars? I think this particular one is too far gone to try and save, although the body is straight. Thanks for your advice.

Landseer · 06-23-2011, 06:08 PM

No.
Body parts are basically giveaways at this point in time.
$750 will buy you a complete car that might actually be rescue material.
Don't waste your time or money.

Pete R · Pete R's Garage

it's a lousy deal. He should pay you to haul it off. If it's ragged as you say with no motor and tranny.. what are you going to sell? The only thing that would be worth anything is the brakes and suspension IF it's an 86.5 or newer. and even then you looking at a lot of work and aggravation just to break even. Yeah the body may be good but for the most part most of these cars have good bodies, (they don't rust), so if someone has an ugly car it usually just needs paint. Accidents are usually the only thing that requires panels, and those are few an far between. Now if your idea is to buy 2 or 3 and make 1 good one, well that may work.. but to part out.. I don't advise it.

MPDano · MPDano's Garage

Run Forest run!

Here's a link to my Outstanding Deal for 900 large

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-928-technical-forum/583848-900-1983-us-928s-latest-leo928s.html

Danglerb · 06-24-2011, 02:05 AM

Would depend on the model, exactly what looks good and what doesn't, where it is and how far I would need to tow it, and how nasty it would be to work on.

No reason to just pay the asking price either. Its not unusual to get soaked $100 to $200 to have the chassis hauled away depending on details like title.

Landseer · 06-24-2011, 03:51 AM

Its the little bits and pieces, in excellent shape, that have the majority of value.

Usually these are the trim or periphial parts with weakness in design.

They are often intact on wrecked cars, previously maintained.

But usually gone or broken, true-to-form, on junkers.

Running engine is a plus, but the logistics of proving its running condition (since undriveable) then removing / packaging / selling it is quite involved. I just threw away a running 944 engine with newly machined head --- just cause it was such a major hassle to remove it all. But if you have a big garage / farm, no neighborhood restrictions, a parts washer and a post office close, you might be able to recoup 2/3 of what you spend. But shipping engine intact or body parts isn't in the equation. Those often get sold local only, and more often dumped. So, more like lead, not gold, though that could change 5 years from now if petrol is still available.

tmpusfugit · 06:57 AM

Having scrapped a 928 recently I can certainly add to the cautions above. If the car is a 32 valve engine it might, repeat might, be worth dragging home, at say the price you mentioned. But, by the time you pull the engine out, other parts removed, scrap disposed of, paperwork done, and pieces you keep or resell cleaned up and stored or shipped, you will be very lucky if you make minimum wages.....and you will have a bunch of stuff that will not sell at any price to fall over for the next xx years...

In my case (1981 car) I gave away about 1/2 of the parts pulled, scrapped the body (cut into small pieces so I could move it without a trailer, got $46 in steel scrap, another $55 in aluminum scrap) sold several pieces of glass, used the tires and rims on another 928, gave away the interior and seats, sold the gas tank, used the hatch latch assembly on another 928 etc etc. On a dollars and cents perspective I broke even, maybe, if I don't count my time as worth anything, don't count the cost of dragging the beast home a few hundred miles on a rented tailer, and don't count the required cost of paperwork and the like...oh, and I offered the 5 speed with TT, clutch, pressure plate etc on this list and others for as little as $200....no buyers at that price originally...I still have all the suspension lingering about, no one really wants the OB stuff these days....and no, none of this stuff is for sale today....just offering insight into my results, your mileage may differ!

DougM · 06-24-2011, 07:03 PM

I recently parted a '84 Euro S. Purchased for $1500 plus $400 ship. I purchased it for the later model '87 5 spd in it worth about $2000 itself. Also, I have an '84 Euro S so I figured that while I was rebuilding my car, I could take the best of both cars and sell of the rest.
Net result: Sold the cars cost in parts in the first day alone. Made a few dollars more on different bits and parts. My later model 5 spd trans is now free. Sold the roller with Bilstein/Eibach suspension still on it as well as the bottom end of the motor for $300, but I needed it to be a roller. For me it worked out because you can learn a lot dismantling a car. I also got lots of extras for free and helped a lot of people get their cars closer to completion with some rare Euro S parts. Also had some help from a local 928 owner who got free stuff for his time. This is all with my labor and his at $0. I could have sold a lot more, but it just wasn't worth my time/$ at a certain point. Running around boxing and shipping the random parts for $50 is not worth my time.
Would I do it again? Yes, if it was a more valuable car and I was redoing the exact same car for myself. If it was a random '81 or a later model auto trans car I would not.
If you need the money and have the time to dismantle and sell, i guess you could generate some income through the boards and EBAY with any 928. That is because some of the parts may be worth more than the whole car as in my case.

Landseer · 11:07 PM

He's a bmw mechanic and a serial 944 car parter according to his past posts.

Danglerb · 06-25-2011, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougM

I recently parted a '84 Euro S.

All depends on the model and whats good, and where you are. In SoCal I have fair chances of selling body parts to people local enough that shipping isn't an issue.

I did enjoy a lot of the taking apart, but as you take apart a car the space to store it INCREASES, and you don't have to sit on the parts too awfully long before the loss of space exceeds the value of any parts sold.

By the time many sellers get around to calling something a parts car, it can be the sort of mess a tow truck driver would refuse to pull up on a flatbed.