There’s much written about enthusiasts spending too much money at the height of the pandemic on “fun” vehicles, especially recreational assets that begged owners to become overnight overlanders. We’ve seen a fairly dramatic price correction in most instances, but we’ve also witnessed plenty of cars continue to accelerate price-wise. The Porsche 928 is one of those cars that will not be growing in value much past where they landed in the pandemic phase, and the seller of this 5-speed manual-equipped 1982 Porsche 928 listed here on eBay is letting it go for peanuts after not getting very far in its restoration.
It really is amazing how people turned themselves into passionate stewards of a hobby or some outdoor activity as soon as the “lockdown” hit. Chances are if you weren’t into camping before your social movement was limited, you wouldn’t be into camping after your first road trip. In the same vein, if restoring a needy European car in your garage wasn’t all that enticing when you had the option to meet a buddy for a beer at the local pub, just sticking it in your garage wasn’t going to change your passion for mechanical repair. The 928 is also a fairly significant undertaking for a casual project, especially as parts become harder to find.
Now, the seller made a good move in buying a 5-speed version of Porsche’s front-engined GT car, but this alone is not enough to drive a strong sale price. At the moment, bidding is sitting at $600 with no reserve, so someone is going home with this car. The fact that the seller couldn’t even put the wheels back on and drop the car to the ground tells you a lot about where he’s at with this project; he’s done. The 928 needs to have its timing belt and water pump changed if the last service date is unknown, and that’s either a chunk of your time or a bite out of your wallet if you have your shop tackle the job.
Recently, a story began circulating around the internet about how a collection of 928s was discovered rotting in the California desert. This gives you some indication as to the value of these cars when found in project-grade shape, which is to say not much. In checking recent auction results, a similar 928 with a 5-speed in running condition was a no-sale at around $12,000, and you likely have at least $10,000 in work to get this 928 to reliable condition. The numbers don’t lie, which is why it’s always smarter to buy a car like this in decent shape. Yes, you can some out on top with a needy air-cooled 911, but not a water-cooled 928. What do you think is a fair final bid for this no reserve project?
Based on a projected 5-6k for timing belt/water pump service….Nah, go park it in the gully with the other ones – they can hang around the campfire at night and talk about the good ‘ol days…
More likely, they can hang around the campfire like in Blazing Saddles, trading gas flareups.
The cars were dead in the water just after they were introduced. Too big, too heavy. and all sorts niggle electronics problems. When I was service managing for the Porsche dealer and service outfit we’d get two to three of the cars in a week with problems that shouldn’t be on cars that new. This one will be a parts car at best.
It was the best car Porsche ever built, V8 in the front and rear drive, big doors and lots of glass. I bought one at auction in 1988 and drove it as a daily driver for 15 years with no mechanical issues at all and by some miracle never even got a parking lot door ding until one mornig a lady putting on her makeup rear ended me at a stop sign. Hilariously she told the officer “this is the second time this has happened, my husand is going to kill me” The car was still driveable, so I took the insurance payout and kept the car. It sat around my shop for a few months until we decided that we needed a pickup and I thought-” A pickup is just a car with a box on the back- I have a car and I can build a box. We were racing late models then and hauling some heavier stuff around so we cut away the damaged rear body, bought another rear section complete with axle assembly from a Porsche wrecking yard and grafted it all together into a 6 wheel truck. I used the truck daily for a couple years and then wondered if this thing would attract anyone and put it on Ebay. Within hours of the ad appearing, a guy in Germany bought it and wired the money to me- I had the money in my bank within 3 days of placing my ad. Drove it down to Long Beach and put it on a RoRo ship and away it went. If you search You Tube for a 6 wheel 928 you will find one which the guy claims he built himself. It is a different color and has different wheels than mine, so I am not sure if it is my old car or one copied from mine.
With the exception of certain years and models, this is the best place for a Porsche. In the garage on jack stands.
A better place would be in the crusher. These cars wrote the book on “money pit” even while they were running.
It was unfortunate because the 928 had very good qualities and as a design was about as good as the 1970s got. But (1) it wasn’t a 911 and (2) its problems damned its name. By the time values depreciated to the point where it became associated with low-level drug dealers and people with maxed-out credit cards, the final nail was in the reputational coffin. The late-build GTS models seem still to have a following.
I was postgraduate in England and in the motorway i drove my Bertone-Fiat X1/9 against one of these cars. I was surprised that he couldn’t get away from me and then i tried to pass him at top speed. I succeded but as i was passing, i heard ‘bang’ like noises from its engine which explained why i got past this 928. I assumed that it was serviced incorrectly or not at all.
Sold on 4/24/2026 for a high bid of $2,126.51, there were 12 bids from 7 bidders.
Steve R
Wow, there are so many people who are gluttons for punishment and not very smart with money. If you like these, i personally do not but they do have their fans, why not get a complete one that is ready to drive , but still maybe needs a little work to keep you busy for maybe 5-6 grand? I just don’t get it.
Once again, auctions reveal the real market value of this stuff. It’s usually not much.
I’ll keep this simple.
This is a car that we love and would love to have, but it really is a car that you will hate once you own it.
Feel free to “like” the truth.
Your two happiest days are the day you bought it and the day you sold it.
When running and operating properly- A great car. When not- a paper weight. if you want one spend the money and get a good example. It’ll be way cheaper than attempting to restore one, which will probably ruin your self esteem, your bank account and possibly your marriage.
Wife wants it gone…
The design team really laid an egg with this body work and Schutz schoulda been schot for approving it!
More time in the cooker could’ve produced a great classic and the car world is the poorer for it.
I know this is a worn trope but do an LS swap (I cannot think of the company that provides the pieces for the conversion)You get more power , better reliability and save some weight.
You wind up with a reliable cruiser.
P-l-a-n-d-e-m-i-c is the proper word
Thazz right!
And it’s still going on all around me in canukstan ,