924Board.org

[BethaNy]

Okay, so my Dad calls me and tells me a guy he knows has an '88 924 (s, I believe- you can tell it said 924S on the back, but you know how people put better badges on nicer cars, etc) that is for sale. Car's exterior is in great condition- paint looks nice for it's age, it still has some shine to it; the only problem is some dents on the pass front fender and a little scrapage on the bumper- no big deal. Interior is fair, the only rust is under the battery and quarter sized which we discussed fixing. Car runs great and will blow the tires off.

It's a manual, he has replaced the clutch & pressure plate recently, has replaced all kinds of things including the lights and gauges in the dash. The dash is a little cracked here and there- but that is no big deal. The only problem (mechanically) he could think of was that it needed a clutch for the AC compressor, which is unnecessary unless you want to run the air, and may need some struts on the back before long, but not right now. Car has aftermarket stereo components and has been taken care of, as far as I can tell.

Now, when he got the car it already had the replaced gauges or something (I am not quite sure what exactly he said), but the actual mileage of the car is unknown. He has had it for about a year and has put 6k on it. Not knowin the mileage seems to me to be a pretty big deal, but I know it happens all the time for various reasons. In his time of owning it it never has stranded him or been anything short of reliable.

The guy is asking $2500 for the car, I was pretty much just wanting to know what you guy's thought about that. Fair? Low? High? If I choose to drive it for a while and sell it in a year or two will I be able to get a decent amount back out of it?

Please let me know what you think- I really appreciate your time


Bethany

[Khal]

Like, y'know, that's a totally cool car, OK?

Welcome to the 'board.

Not 100% sure about the price but it seems reasonable to me (from what I've read here) if the car is in good running condition.

Yes, an '88 is a 924S, not a regular 924. The major difference is the engine, which is a 2.5-litre Porsche-designed engine, effectively the same engine as a 944. The older 924 has a 2.0-litre Audi-based engine. There are other differences, too (just about everything except the body shell, technically).

The main concern is the "front-of-engine" service. Search for posts by one of our members, gohim... he explains in it great detail every chance he gets But basically, if you don't know when the service was last done, you should plan to have it done immediately... and it ain't cheap.

Just go into it with your eyes open. These cars can be expensive to fix when things start going wrong.

Good luck!
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'80 924 Turbo

[D Hook]

Can you give us a hint as to where you're located?

From your description, it's close to the right price but it really hinges on when the timing belt/front engine service was last performed. Ask the owner for a receipt of the work done. Don't let him dodge the question as this is THE most important work that needs to be done on a timely basis or you will soon be the proud owner of a very large, very expensive paper weight in your driveway.

Your location will give people an idea of the current prices in your neck of the woods and you may even be able to talk someone with a little more experience into doing a PPI on it for you.

Good luck and welcome to the board!
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'80 924 n/a SOLD

[gohim]

Welcome to the Board.

Sometimes we see several new people coming to us around the same time, considering buying a car that sounds like the same car someone else is interested in.

The 924S does not rust the same way that the older model year 924 cars do. Someone was just asking about a 924S, and he descvribed rust on the battery tray, and a bend front end or front fender also. Could be the same car, or might just be a coincidence.

What you may not be aware of is that when you see serious rust popping up in one place, the odds are it is probably also eating the car in other places. Body work (rust repair) is VERY EXPENSIVE.

The service that others have mentioned is referred to as the front of engine service. It needs to be done every 3 years or 30K miles, whichever comes first. The cost will run between $1500-$2500, depending on where you live, where you buy the parts and who does the work. This service cannot be done by the corner gas station, or the guy that fixes Hondas down the street. It must be done by a competent mechanic that has the special tools that are only used on there water cooled Porsches. The tools are expensive so only the people that work on these cars will have them.

Lots of people sell their cars when this service is due, because they don't have the money to have it done. Not getting the work done becomes very expensive when the timing or balance shaft belt break and the pistons hit the valves. (Repair will cost between $2500-$4000, depending on who fixes it, and whether you include trhe cost of the service that should have been done before the belt broke).

There are 2-3 people each month who report that they had a belt failure, or a friend of theirs had a belt failure. Read the Search the archives for some of these discussion threads.

The 924S is the best of the 924s, and the least expensive, fully civilized Porsche you could probably buy right now. But, like any older performance car, they do need their maintenance and service done on schedule to stay in good running reliable condition.

[RIPDOTCOM]

Man, im loving this post. i picked up a 924s a couple months ago in immaculate condition (gotta get some pics up) It has a brand new original red matched enamel coat of paint (supposedly $1800 as stated by previous owner) The car is simply beautiful but I bought it for $1000 knowing the timing belt had gone and took the valves with it. Unfortunately i had not considered the additional $2500 I just paid out last week to get it back to tip top shape. It runs like a dream now but like the others said, it is one hell of an expense to get fixed if something goes wrong. I would definitely add the cost of the front engine service to the cost of the car.

[BethaNy]

First of all let me thank you guys for taking the time to help me out.

Now, I believe the guy has just recently started considering selling it, only due to the fact that he is taking care of his granddaughter and the backseat is not too car seat compatible.

He said he had recently done a "major tune-up", so I do not know if he means front engine service or not. I will find out tomorrow. I do believe I recall him saying that he had had the timing belt replaced recently, though. I will find that out tomorrow as well.

As per my location, I live in Louisville, KY- the gentleman doesnt have a sale sign on it or anything, my Dad saw it and just asked what they ran as I had been looking for a car to have some fun with because 1) I dont want to "soup up" my dub and sacrifice reliability and 2) even "souped up" its not going to be all that great anyway . I had been kind of browsing for an A2 GTI, but my Dad mentioned 914s and said they could be had for pretty cheap. A 924 would be a better choice, so I am glad he inquired.

Anyway, when he asked he was informed that said gentleman had been toying with the idea of selling it for something a little more practical. Now we have our present situation.

I was really wondering about the price being in the right ballpark was because of the lack of knowledge about the number of miles on the engine. I dont really know a whole lot about the longevity, and if I am going to be buying a $5000 new motor this time next year I do not know if buying it would be too smart of a move for me in my present situation.
As per the rust, arent the 87.5+ underbodies galvanized? My being under the impression that they are leads me to not be all that concerned about that spot of rust....but I could be wrong.

SO- I guess I will have to find out a little more about what maintenance has been performed before I do anything else. I will let you guys know what I find out.

^_^ Thanks again.

[WhoDak]

The battery trays can cause the rust if drains get plugged and the rubberized coating gets weakend by the battery chemicals. Then water will get into those areas and not drain for a while. That's a very common place, and really the only common rust area on 924's after 1980(?) when Porsche started galvanizing all the bodies.
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Mike
'82 924 N/A
'91 Toyota Pickup SR5 4x4 Xtra cab

[Khal]

[gohim]

The entire body of the 87 924S is built from zinc coated steel. The zinc coating protects the cat body from rust, unless it is removed (usually because of damage caused in a car accident, where the zinc coating was removed by the body shop during sheet metal repairs and not replaced, or when the car is repainted (and the body was stripped to bare metal and not treated to a galvanizing coat) before being repainted.

A new clutch is a good thing as long as quality parts were properly installed. A correct clutch replacement with all new parts often costs close to $2000.

If the ac clutch pulley is defective, it needs to be replaced immediately. The ac clutch pulley is always rotating. It only stops rotating when the ac compressor is engaged. If the bearing in the ac clutch pulley fails entirely, the belt will get thrown off or broken, and you instantly lose the power steering and the alternator.

Ask the Seller to see copies of the receipts for the work that he says he had done. A new OE Sachs or Genuine Porsche clutch set costs $600-$700 in parts. As far as the belt change goes verify that the Seller's paperwork shows a complete front of engine job (timing and balance shaft belts, front of engine oil seals, rollers, pulleys, water pump). If all of these parts were not replaced there is a good chance that one of them will fail before the next belt change is due by mileage or time, and the complete front of engine service will be required.

Many uninformed owners (and/or cheap owners) choose to have only the belts replaced, not knowing that the failure of any of the other components that are supposed to be replaced will cause belt failure. The cost of the labor for the service is not increased significantly, virtually all of the parts need to come off for a belt or water pump change anyway. The total cost of the parts will go up a lot, since you are changing many more parts, but then you can relax in knowing that you haven't left a ticking timebomd under the hood that could have been avoided.

The timing and balanceshaft belts MUST be inspected and retensioned at 1-2K miles because the new belts stretch enough to make the belts DANGEROUSLY LOOSE if not retightened. After the first belt inspection, the belts need to be inspected and retensioned every 10K miles until they are replaced.

A good A2 GTI is a fun car, but not necessarily cheap either (in good condition $2000-$4000). A2s can be just as old as 924S or older, and they get loose (VW was cheap with the welds on the chassis) were a with old age. There are lots of performance parts available for them, but the parts are not cheap. The high compression A2 engine is also an interference engine with a rubber belt which will bend or break valves if you do not do the belt replacements on time, except the belt replacements are easier and MUCH cheaper. A bigger problem is the large number of A2 GTIs and Jettas with bad transmissions (close ratio box manual transmissions) due to a design/manufacturing flaw.