How unrealistic is it for a 17/18 y/o to own a 928?

Spyker,

Unless your parents will be providing you with fairly good funds for maintenance I would highly advise against it. Here is the problem with the generation of cars you are looking at....

924/944/928 - Front engine, rearwheel drive porsches. Rather than their 911 cousins which are expensive, but not insane on maintenance, these particular cars have high maintenance intervals, have very little room for failure (except the 924) and have very high maintenance costs.

For instance, did you know that for a period of time that the 944 had HIGHER maintenance costs than many of the 911 models of their time?

The 928 has very little room to work in the engine bay, making maintenance time taking a lot longer. On top of this, the 928 has a giant belt driving the system for the timing belt, it's almost 8ft long. The belts require frequent replacement (recommended the same intervals as a 944, which is 3-4 years or 40,000 miles) and the cost of timing belts on the 944 and 928 can be anywhere from $1500 to $2000 at your local dealer since it's also highly recommended to replace the water pump, various pulleys and other goodies down there during those intervals to keep the car happy.

Porsche also recommends brake flushes once every other season on those cars. Not bad if you do it yourself. Unless once again you bring it to a dealer.

On top of this, the 928 has very hard parts to get ahold of. With a lot of the actual remaining parts dwindling in the united states, many of the parts get shipped from germany, so you get to wait on them, pay the shipping costs on top of it. Not to mention many parts are becoming NLA (No longer available) for the 924/944/928 and you have to rely on a lot of aftermarket vendors.

The cost of owning one of these cars can easily run you into the ground if you can't keep up with it. And should you ever need to do engine work it'll be an arm and a leg at your age.

Just so you have an idea of what you are dealing with here is a list of generic parts to buy for your 928 that are wear items that will at some point need replacing that most owners will go through during ownership. Mind you these are the cost of the PARTS, not the cost of having them installed at a dealer...

Brake rotor: $120 - Each.

Brake pads: $70 front - $75 rear

Fuel Filter: $25

Distributor wire: $130

Distributor cap: $65

Distributor rotor: $15 ($40 for late models)

Ignition wires: $182 for early models ($336-521 for late models and type)

Clutch kit: $1000-1200 (nope, that's not a joke)

CV Joints: $200 each

Axles (if you ever mess one up or it needs replaced: $500

Rear wheel bearings: $101

Front wheel bearings: $9-12

Water pump: $355

Timing belt kit: $300+

Radiator: $700-1300 (depends on the year and model, and unfortunately the 928 and 944 are prone to clogging really bad, hopefully you never have one clog, but some PO's will hide a leaky radiator by using stopleak, which eventually clogs them)

The things such as radiator and cv and axles are rare, but not unheard of from an older 928 that hasn't had them replaced. However, don't put it out of boundary. If you'd like a better idea of what it will cost to own... i'll link to directly to a pelican parts page which you can see the price of any part on a 928 that you want.

If the above isn't shocking to you and you can swing it, then go for it. However, if you can't pocket the price for keeping up with maintenance on such parts, it's very easy for the cost in maintenance of the car to outweigh the purchase price of the car in several years, even if you do the maintenance yourself.

Again, if this is not an issue, go for it. The cars themselves run like a clock, and reliably as well if you take care of it. I've driven a lot of different Porsches and the 928 is a kick in the pants to drive. I greatly enjoy that generation of cars, the 924 and 944 are fabulous cars, and the 928 was a really great addition.

I will repeat something that I tell many other people on here inquiring about the cars: Buy one that will require almost no work and is in great shape. A CHEAP PORSCHE WILL BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE PORSCHE YOU WILL EVER BUY.

If you have the cash for a certain year 928 then I wouldn't say ownership is unrealistic, I would say at your age, sinking money into such an old car is unwise. Even doing all the maintenance work yourself you can expect to spend anywhere from $1500 to $5000 per year or routine maintenance and the occasional aging or worn out part. Don't get me wrong, a well sorted 928 is very reliable but they aren't getting any younger. At your age there are better places to put your money.

Bottom line is you are going to do what you are going to do despite the advice given here. Being stubborn won't hurt us, just you and your wallet. 928's aren't going anywhere, wait until a few years after college and a good head start on proper appreciating investments before throwing money into the ground on a depreciating asset.

Visit www.rennlist.com, 928 forum and you'll see even the best sorted 928's are costing owners a pretty penny to keep on the road. Nothing compared to new car payments on a 997 or GT3 but if you could afford those cars, you wouldn't be sweating the purchase of a 20+ year old 928 in the first place.

P.S. Pelican parts isn't the only place for 928 parts. 928 Iinternational www.928intl.com is another as is www.928motorsports.com and www.928gt.com

Spyker. Go for it. Life is to short to worry about what other people think. I suggest selling both as the 928 is all you'll need and it will make the 924's feel like go-carts. By the way, don't be one of those snooty stuck-up porsche owners that make us normal ones look bad. Don't look back.

Simply put, I could never be you.

I love american made cars too much. I love working on them. Experimenting with them, and changing out parts. You can't very well do that on a Porsche. True, they are a nice machine, but honestly, I couldn't deal with it.

Go ahead and sell the old one to get a new one. I dunno. I'm not an expert on a porsche. I actually don't really like the way they look, but every one has an opinion. My advice to you, is to go with the more powerful of the three. Pick something that you will be able to drive hard, be rough on, and be able to get it repaired when you break it.

At your age I typically recommend cheap throw away cars, because usually people learn by mistakes, many, many mistakes.

But if you are up to the responsibility and can afford it, a 928 is a good investment.

I believe they will start going up in value, as they become more rare.

They are well built and reliable.

A bit of both I think! My bed is the most contentious issue between us - given the sliver that I seem allowed to sleep in, then I would definitely say 'pet owns the bed'! The rest of life - we share!

GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIND INSURANCE WITH ONE OF THOSE

uh huh..