I was driving down the highway through a town with a population of 145 people, when I noticed a car for sale alongside the road. Granted, the car didn't look impressive, but I knew instantly it was a Porsche.

I drive up and park next to it and it's a blue-green 1978 Porsche 928 "Shark", with an odd-shaped solid spoiler on the back.I wasn't sure, but I believe it was a turbo. I didn't look too hard, but I saw no immediate rust, the rims and tires were newer, (with custom porsche rims) and most of the "roughness" was cosmetic and could be cleaned or fixed easily.

The owner has it for sale at about 10,000$, the cost of the owner's daughter's tuition for college. It looks a little rough, but certainly drivable and in good condition. He's desperate to sell it however, and didn't even clean out the inside. So I figure I could talk him down in price to maybe 7000$-8000$, depending on how badly he needs the money, he may have other ways to pay for the tuition also and could take a 2000$ dip.

I live in western Nebraska, and cars like this come across once in a lifetime. "If it isn't brand new or sitting in someone's garage rotting away, then it's a ****ty car." so to say, because finding someone selling an older vehicle with any value like that is really hard in low-population areas.

After looking at this car, I came home and realized I had fallen in love, the look, the mechanics, I've always loved Porsche, but this was fantastic. I did some research, and noticed this car isn't just rare for this region, it's rare all over. And FAST.

Right now I drive a 1998 Ford Mustang with the 3.8L V6, with about 150 HP and a top speed of 115 (I've only personally had it reach 107, but given a longer stretch of road I could pull 115 I'm sure) Nothing special, it's worth at most 4000$, with a new paint job maybe. I have another 1000$ I can put to a new car, but otherwise I'm pretty tight on cash.

The problem is price, he gives 10,000 or best offer. He HAS to sell it, so I can talk him down, but I'm not sure where I could find the other 20000 - 5000$ for the car before it's too late. But if this car is really this rare and valuable, it might be a good investment. I don't know for sure however, that's why I'm here.

Is it worth sticking my financial neck out a little for such a rare opportunity? Or are the 928s not valuable or enjoyable enough to make use of it?

I can do a follow up tomorrow, or find the owner's number and give him a call, but if it's not worth the buy then I won't bother. I know that Porsche's require pricey maintenance, but let's assume best-case scenario and this guy took good care of his baby. Should I snag the deal now, before someone else does, or just keep driving past it and let it go?

What do the experts say?

 

I wouldn't be caught dead picking up a 928 on the side of the road without a professional inspection. Too bad I literally just walked in the door from a visit to the Sidney, NE area, I could have probably checked it out. There were no 928 turbos, they were all NA.

IMHO, you can own a hell of a lot of different porsches before you can afford to own a 928. There are a lot of different avenues to buy Porsches out there, don't limit yourself to just your area (I also saw a 74 911 and a late 944 in Sidney while I was there).