924Board.org

[Kris924S]

I have had my 88 924S since 2003. In that time it has been down more than it has been road worthy and I have paid more for repairs than spent to buy the car.
When I bought it, I had all the things done by a professional that one should do to maintain a used 924S. The belts, motor mounts, struts, etc. Cha-Ching.
It spent the last summer in the shop having the head rebuilt. Drove for about a week and the starter burned up-literally. Back in the shop for another week and a half. Drove it for three days and was involved in an accident (side swipe) where it received damage to the drivers front fender, door, and suspension. Had the suspension repaired and parked it. That was the first week in September. In December it was due for emissions. Started the car and was having a brief conversation while it was warming up before taking off, and the head gasket blew-again...smoke and fluids everywhere.
I had planned on fixing the body damage immediately but came across difficulty finding the parts (decent ones) and it didn't happen. Now that the head gasket went again I am at a crossroads.
Anyone know what a fender and a door should cost? I've gotten variable prices. Is it normal for a salvage yard to sell you a gutted out door although it is all electronic? Without a mirror? Without the door handle?
I also wonder about the engine...Perhaps it might be less of a headache to buy another engine that works already?
Even with all of the trials and tribulations I have been through with my car, I do love her dearly. I would like to bring it back if possible but am starting to wonder if I am kicking a dead dog.
If anyone could please give me their opinion on this I would appreciate it.
Thanks!
Kris

[RIPDOTCOM]

I bought my 88 924s for a cool grand. The body is in excellent shape but the motor needed a ton of repair. I ended up spending $2400 on the head, front engine service, water pump and some other things. hindsight is 20/20 If I could do it all over again I would have bought a $800 engine off of ebay and dropped it in myself. On the other hand, the car is simply awesome, I can't get enough of it.


I'm sure you can get a door in good condition for $100-$150 with everything on it. Fender for $75-$100.00 www.car-part.com is a good resource and a lot of these places are real reasonable on prices. Hell, you could probably get a longblock with low miles for under a grand.

[gohim]

Head gaskets don't blow without a reason. Why did it need the head rebuit? Did the timing or balance shaft belt break necessitating the repair?

Why did the head gasket blow again? Was there something that caused the engine to overheat last time, that didn't get fixed by the shop, that caused it to fail a 2nd time, or did the shop fail to install the new head gasket properly? When you had the head work done last year, did you have the "front of engine" service done while they were in there, or is your car due again (3 years since you bought the car and had the initial work done, right?).

Either way, you need to talk to the shop about the work they did. Was it an authorized Porsche Dealership? If so, you have a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty on the replacement parts, and Porsche will cover the labor to R & R.

Why did the starter burn up? That's a rare failure. Starters break, they don't normally burn up. Of course, the shop could have failed to tighten the wires up correctly, and they could have shorted out and destroyed the starter. Were the wires damaged?

It isn't the car's fault if you didn't have insurance and somebody plowed into it. Did you park it in a safe place, or someplace stupid?

You should be able to buy a complete, used door for less than $100. Did you know that the door from a 944 will work fine? The fender should cost you less than $100 if you shop. I take it that you didn't have insurance.

Buying another engine will not solve your problem. Even if you buy a running engine, you are going to have the expense of doing the "front of engine" service, and the clutch, and the cost of installing the engine (10-12 labor hours). And you still won't know how long that engine will last.

If you were to give up on your car and buy another 924S or 944, you will still have to run the car in and have the "front of engine" service done to reset the clock, unless you get written proof that the work has been recently done.

Seems to me that if your car is still decent or can be made decent for less than $2000-$3000, you might as well keep it. Talk to the shop that has been doing the mechanical work, and see what sort of warranty repair you car get out of them, and go from there. If you give up on your car the way it is right now, it's only worth $300-$500. But if you're ready to give up the $300-$500 will be a down payment on another car. Just know that the next car will cost as much to prep to drive as fixing your existing car, and you already know what's wrong with your car.