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Where would you take your newly acquired 928 for a first drive?
Now I’ve got the car I’m planning on where to go for a first drive.
If you had the chance to take your 928 on a first ever drive, where would you go?
I’m thinking of a drive to see my parents 180 miles away as a surprise for my Dad (he doesn’t know I’ve bought it yet!), as he always loved the 928 but never bought one.
When I got my Elfenbein Perlglanz 1988 S4 it came from an E bay ad posted in California,
I was living in SLC Utah at the time, and flying a Lear 35 back and forth to Miami twice a week.
I actually won the auction while sitting in the managers room of the Hotel in Opa Loca FL.
on his computer and placing the final bid of 10,300.00
This was 2004.
It turns out though that the car I had just won had been stolen by a contractor working at the owners house.
The owner was a commercial film maker and was currently on assignment in New Zealand filming something.
About two mins after I was notified via E bay of me being the the auction winner,
I got an E mail in my Ebay mail that said.
I dont know why my car is on E bay, (The Owner)
but its not for sale and I have the title.
So then I got an email from the seller AKA (the STEALER)
asking that I put an immediate deposit of 5000.00 into his paypal account,
I asked him to produce the title and take a picture and send it to me along with a copy of his driver license,
and he said all he had a was a duplicate title application.
I said OK let me get home to SLC and we can sort this out.
When I got home to SLC the next morning,
I got a phone call from the CA DMV Police.
The investigator was asking if I had paid any money to the Stealer/ seller.
I said no not yet, but he wants me to deposit 5k into a paypal account.
The investigator says dont pay any money to anybody as a 30 day title hold has been placed on this car.
He also asked for any info I had for the stealer that I passed on.
So then the owner calls me and says about the same thing and was asking if I had any identifying info for the Stealer.
The owner tells me where he is in NZ,
and that his friend has gone to his house in CA. and car is not where he had left it at his house.
The stealer it turns out had the car towed from in front of the owners house,
as since it had a dead battery it was not moveable and it was accumulating tickets.
The Stealer took the car to a shop where they installed a new alternator an new FPR and a rebuilt LH computer,
these parts were needed to get the car running.
NOTE the battery was in a marginal state but could be charged up enough to start the engine
The Stealer had also forged a document to request a duplicate title .
Anyway I never paid the stealer any cash,
the DMV cops couldnt find him or the car.
The owner came back to CA.
and 4 months later I got a call from the Owner.
He was asking me if I still wanted the car (as I had never gotten any info about if it was ever found)
It turns out the car was found stashed in a private garage and reunited with the owner,
and I have no idea what ever happened to the stealer.
The title hold was released the forged title applications were deleted.
The owner asked me what the final bid price was I told him 10300.00
He said would you buy it for 8500.00?
I said sure would, does it run?
he said yes but it needs a battery,
You know when you hear this thats just the tip of the ice berg,
LOL sure it needs a battery..
So I fly into LAX from SLC get their about 9am
I use my jumpseat authorization this saves lots of cash for a quick flight.
Get picked up go to the car and look it over,
it has been parked on the guys lawn and the sprinklers have been spraying mineral water on it for some time maybe weeks,
.as the rear window and the right side windows are all white from dried water stains same for the paint
The paint was still in pretty condition but just very dirty.
We went to pep boys down the street and bought a new battery and came back,
I put the battery in it and hit the key and BwaaWaa she fired right up.
I moved it off the grass and parked it in the street,
went in and paid the guy and chit chatted for awhile then took off back to SLC
First stop the 76 station I pull in and go to fill up the tank and look under the car,
and I see oil dripping from the trans area and the rack.
So I go get a qt of ATF and then refill the PS tank as its empty,
as soon as I start the engine the oil is draining out the bottom of the rack.
I shut it off then cut off the PS belt.
So next I go take a look at the trans and the tank is low it needs about 2 qts my guess,
oil is coming from the grate.
With the engine running I notice that the trans is only leaking in neutral and reverse ,
but in park or drive the dripping stops.
I hustle to the Pep boys and buy 4 more qts of ATF,
then find a tall curb and back the car up on it ,
slide under the car on a piece of cardboard and add two qts till its full.
I jump in hit the key put it in D and the drip has stopped,
So away we go to SLC .
The rest of the trip is uneventful except I have no power steering, it is not much of a problem ,
but the off and on ramps are challenging.
While I was in the bidding process for this car I found that a place called Motorsport was also located in SLC,they has 12 928s for sale.
and that I found a place called RennList,
I was surprised to find a 928 forum and that pictures of the car I was bidding on were posted to the site,
with back round info about the special nature of the car.
I went to Motorsport and after walking around the place and chatting with Garrity and Dave left with a part time job fixing 928s.
I would make a few local trips to verify that the car is happy,
then check things over for leaks and tire pressures,
if it all checks out take a long ride
Yep I’ll go for the longer ride to my parents after some short test runs. I’ll have just got her back from Paul Anderson at 928 Specialists so all should be well, but a bit of testing can’t do any harm. It will be my Dad’s birthday too so I just need to be sure he doesn’t think it’s for him! 🤣
I was living in SF when I bought my '82 in "94. Saturday, the first day after I bought the car, I thought I'd make a trip down to visit some friends in my old stomping grounds in the Santa Cruz area. Made a stop in SC and then headed down to Aptos where I used to live up by Nisene Marks Wilderness area.
I was heading back north towards Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 when a cop car came up behind me. Cop followed me for a while then slowly pulled up on my left side, passed me and drifted right so that he was in front of me. He then drifted to the right and fell back so that he was beside me and then drifted back and pulled in behind me again. I was wondering what the hell was going on when he turned the lights on.
Cop asked if I knew why he stopped me. I said no - I didn't have a clue. He said He stopped me because there were no plates on the car. I said ahh, I just bought the car yesterday and the seller had personalized plates on the car - which he kept. Showed the cop the bill of sale and explained that, since it was a weekend, I hadn't, yet, had a change to get the car registered in my name. Cop smiled and waved me on my way. .
My First drive was to the garage to take care of oil pan leak, rebuild severly leaking steering rack (2016). Then the long upper end - timing belt refresh. My car was not sorted (Maint record was a battery and stereo).Enjoy your ride.
I picked my car up from in Pennsylvania, where my friend had given it a once over and put on new tires. I then drove it to Boston, to Pittsburgh, Lynchburg, Asheville, Memphis and on to Denver. The only trouble was the previous owner forgot to tell me that he had turned off the hot water to the heater core, but that was an easy remedy (he had installed a shotoff valve). It was a delightful road trip.
First drive for the new owner who bought my 89 S4 back in 2013 was a long one. New buyer was in Dallas, I lived outside Boston, he was going to have the car shipped, but asked if I thought it could make the drive from Boston to Dallas? I had just had new WP, TB, and idler done and new tires, I told him shouldn’t be a problem driving it down. He flew up to Boston with a friend and drove it all the way back to Dallas with out a hiccup! He sent me a picture of the odometer turning 100k outside of Nashville on the way down! Not a bad first ride!
My 1st drive in my new 928, I purchased my car in Aptos Ca. 11/22 drove it 20 feet onto a flatbed, had it transported to Campbell Ca. had $13k in maintenance done (55051 miles) drove through the Sierra's 250 miles home 7/23, it now has 55815.
Best to do a series of shorter drives with a check-over after each one. Have the fuel lines been replaced? Regardless yes or no, a fire extinguisher is a great back seat companion.
Last edited by husker boxster; 03-20-2024 at 09:50 AM.
My first drive with Blumaxx, a well preserved 78 that I bought sight unseen from a seller in Central VA, ( back in the day when you could buy even really good ones for a song), I flew into DC for a wedding, caught a ride 2 hrs south, picked up the car and proceeded to drive it over 2000 miles to Bozeman MT. No better way to learn your car. Had one little mishap that turned out to be a loose fastener on the alternator. Other than that it was a great trip. I did bring a small pouch of tools, and of course a credit card and AAA card. Just go for it!
My first 928 was an excellent adventure and somewhat unexpected. I was flying to the cottage from Florida and arranged to test drive a 1988 S4 5-Speed in Venetian Blue over Dove Grey. It had Cup 2 wheels, a Club Sport steering wheel and extensive maintenance records. I expected to stroll back into the Detroit airport and board the next flight north. Nope! I was blindsided by the car and could tell the minute I saw it that it was coming home. So after a spirited test drive I called the friend I had traveling with me and let him know that I was going to try to beat him to the cottage (an impossible feat) and pick him up at the airport. The cottage is some 4 hours north of Detroit and the layover was only three hours. Alas, luck favors the prepared (or in this case, crazy). His flight was delayed by a couple hours and as he was walking out of the airport with our bags, I drove up. We called it a tie!
After a 10 day vacation and using the car every day I jumped in at 4:00 am and arrived at my home near Palm Beach at 2:00 am! My only rest was a 6 minute quick doze on an off-ramp. I arrived rested and was in surgery by 7:00 that morning feeling rested and happy.
Car ran flawlessly over the 2,400 miles I put on it in the first 11 days and I drove that car many more happy miles. Drooman maintained it and ended up buying it after I bought the 90 GT Outlaw.
I was hooked on 928's
My wish for you is to enjoy and trust your 928 to take good care of you, they are remarkable long trip cars!
I bought my first 84 S at a classic car dealer in Swiss unseen on the phone.
It‘s the car in my avatar. Back then my relationship ended and I had the feeling I must make me a gift.
In the ad the price was 4.500 €, second owner was an architect and the ad told me engine has grinding noises.
Took a drive to Jochen, ask him if I can buy this car, this was the first conversation with him, now we are near 18 years friends.
Got his ok and flight to Zurich, Taxi in a small village and after purchase drove the car to the border to pay customs.
From the border to Lörrach in the Black Forest with a big grin on my face, after that with the car travel train to Hamburg.
From Hamburg to the Landsharks shop on the car trailer.
Engine noise wasn‘t the timing belt, the alternator was sized.
The good old days, 928 for pocket money! My dad drove me to the airport, Good memories, a few years later he died on cancer .
The classic dealer told me, 928 will be selling for a lot of money in the future! Nice guy, my 928 was the cheapest car at his place.
Shop existed till today and the daughter is now the boss!
In the ad they have interesting cars, and a nice 86 S. Swiss people are pedantic to their cars, good place to buy classic cars.
#1 across the borough of West Chester PA, #2 From Mt. Holly NJ to WC, #3 from Portland Oregon to WC, #4 from Manchester VT to WC, #5 from Springville AK to WC (developed noisy front wheel bearing on the trip), #6 from Houston TX to WC, All of these were without PPI, only the word of the seller and about 1/2 hour to look the car over then hit the road). Total miles driven getting home was probably about 8K for these six.. #7 trucked from Seal Beach CA to WC!! (dictated by my age and costs to fly/drive etc,. This one had a PPI by Greg Brown).. All were '87 - 95, and most had about 50-60K miles, but highest two were 112K and 149K
Always enjoyed the drive, trying to find new routes I'd not driven on before, and just getting to 'know' the car whether the trip was 15 miles (#1), or 3K miles (#3)
03-18-2024, 10:16 AM
Where would you take your newly acquired 928 for a first drive?
