wheatdog

Learn to do as much of the necessary maintenance & repairs as you can. If you have to take it to a Dealer or "qualified" Porsche shop for all problems, your money will dissappear at a spectacular rate. The only way I've been able to afford mine is by doing all my own work. Of course it also helps to be an old fart like me with lots of previous experience so the work is done right.

JCP911S

Buy a well maintained car to begin with... pay top dollar if necessary... neglected cars are a nightmare and will bleed you dry.

$100/mo for maintenance is a reasonable budget... but the problem is the repairs are expensive when they occur... so you will go 10 months without putting a dime in the car and then get hit for $600-700 for something... so you need to establish a $1500-2000 cash reserve, so you don't get caught out.

Also, either do alot of the routine work, or find a reliable local independant Porsche mechanic that will work with you to keep costs down.... do not go to a dealer... you'll get killed on repairs.

Overall lifecycle cost of owning these cars is quite low as depreciation is probably nil.... but cash out of pocket can be more than a Honda...thats for sure

rentadate

you don't need to have a 6 fig salary to even maintain a porsche. I am 21, and have owned 75 targa with minimal amount of maintainence. I like the year that you have chosen. If you decide to get an early 80's then I suggest an MSD ignition. My permatune went out after 10 days of signing the paperwork and would cost around $1000. I got an MSD for about $275, and installed it in an hour with a custom mount on a polyethelene cutting board where the Permatune once sat.

I make barely anything. I probably only make $100/week and have a large saltwater aquarium to go along with that "salary." I also use my porsche everyday. Doesn't matter the weather. I particularly love snow in parking lots. The porsche is a lot harder to spin than I origionally thought.

Whatever choice you make get a leakdown test. (i got lucky, my engine was rebuilt 2K miles ago). If you have a clutch cable, be sure to always have one handy. I suggest:

www.dartauto.com

George has the best price I have seen so far on most parts. He's quick and very helpful. If you need any more advice I suggest a reputal porsche mecanic.

Look for him in Denver Colorado.

Eisenbud

He has been working on porsches for many years now. Very knowledgeable and a great resource.

enjoy

-Nick

gerry100

I bought my '86 in 2001 from the original owner, well cared for with records.

Not including the purchase price of the car and associated taxes, the last 23,000 miles have cost me 78 cts each including gas, tires, some basic upgrades ( turbo tie rods,Bilstiens etc) and one whopper of a top end /tranny rebuild ( $6800).

I do the easy mech work myself. The rest done by a local Porsche specialist.

If I were to sell the car today the final number would probably be close to 90 cents a mile. Without the top end, which could happen much later to another car, it woud be around 70 cts/mile.

My '94 Vette wound up at $1.00/mile. Much less maintenance but much more depreciation and much less fun. ( My Carrera has 18 track days).

At the other extreme is the wife's Honda CRV, which will probably come in around 40 cts/mile.

$70 -90 cts mile is not bad for this much fun.

Your problem is more likely the uncertainty of when the big bill$ come and having the cash to cover them.

Good Luck.

g5o

I spent the money up front and have not had any problems in 13 months. The only thing that required repair was the motorized antenna (replaced with standard). Cost was around $25-30 and its lighter than that big 'ol electric one. I saw that the PO was paying $750-$1,000 for routine maintenance (15,000 servies), etc. and I've been doing it all myself ($120 in parts).

So far I have successfully done the following (and I am learning everything for the first time):
- removed A/C (compressor, condensors, hose, blowers, intr controls, everything)
- installed new air intake boot
- new drive belt/adjustment
- oil/filter changes
- distributor cap, rotor

Next weekend:
- new ign wires and plugs
- fuel filter
- valve seals

Soon:
- carpet

The stuff I spent bookoo bucks on was the 9" fuchs and painting the stock decklid (and selling the Carerra whale tail). It's extremely gratifying when you do it yourself and learn more about your car (if that's what you're into). The cool part is that what I can't figure out from the shop manual, Rennlist or Pelican has everything. The good folks here are my best resource.

Cheers!

-Chris

dougpt10

Dumped my Audi and drive a daily 04 TL. Only had the P for less than a year and only cost me an oil change so far. I'm hoping it stays as reliable as I hear it will.

RicoJay

I may get chastised by the guys on this board who do their own work, but I'd recommend being *prepared* to spend $2000 per year in maintenance if you're taking it to a dealer/expert shop. That said, it's still worth it IMO not just because the cars are fantastic but also because they don't depreciate. So while a person with a new Acura might not notice the 2K per year leaving his wallet in depreciation, you WILL notice the bill for valve adjustment, brake bleeding, oil leaks, etc.

I owned a 951 for 5 years until it was totaled by a cop's ignorance. I paid 11.5, got 8.4 in settlement, and sold the wrecked car for 3.8 on ebay. That means in absolute terms, I made money on my investment. The 8-10K I spent on maintenance and repairs, mostly on timing belt/water pump/turbo boost issues was well worth it because I didn't lose that amount in devaluation.

The appeal of these cars (911 3.2) from a maintenance perspective is that there isn't really much that can go wrong or is notorious for going wrong. If you get an 87 to 89, you won't have to worry about the pesky 915 tranny of ill reputation. My excel sheet of maintenance items is far shorter for my 911 than my 951.

gerry100

Not sure I'd call the 915 pesky, but they do have wear problems and are sensitive to adjustment.

Once you upgrade the bushings in the shift linkage( $50-70 bucks and a few hours of amatuer labor) and get it adjusted right, the problem is gone.

The internal wear causing a difficult 1-2 shift was dealt with during my top end rebuild ( there is a lot of labor in removing and reinstalling the engine so whenever your shop has it out you should take care of things like this) and now it works great.

This is all included in the 78 cts/mile I talked about earlier.

You'll save $3-4K on purchase price by going pre '87

rentadate

I would recommend going for an 83 SC. Those engines were known for reliability. Whatever he does he should NEVER get the 2.7. That was a nightmare of an engine. It was horrible. Before I got the 3.0SC the 2.7 sucked a valve when my mom was driving it down a road for no reason what so ever. Apparantly the SC motor by all accounts seems to be the best value for your $.

RicoJay

Yes but the SC involves dealing with a carb system, and many daily drivers would be better suited to the Motronic. I'm not sure how the 3.0 could be called more reliable than the 3.2. They are essentially the same engine and are equally reliable.

gerry100

Correction - My '94 Vette wound up costing $1.30/mile.

Irrelevant except it reminded how little I drove the 'Vette so depeciation and fixed costs were spread over fewer miles.

It had to be top down weather and I had to be in the mood, I'm always in the mood to drive the Pcar- it's just a matter of waether and road conditons. Miles on the Porsche are accumalting at about twice the rate as they did on the Vette.

bourgeois911

An SC with carbs?

2002M3Drew

No carbs...SCs had CIS (mechanical) fuel injection.

Tarheelexec

My opinion which I am sure will provoke disagreement is... yes Porsche's are expensive to maintain and if you don't do the work yourself very expensive since most Porsche shops (and dealers) get about $80-90 per hour for labor....Also parts for older Porsches are very expensive. I have a 83 911SC. It's okay and in reasonably good shape but cheap to maintain....no way.
I've had six (6) Mercedes and four (4) Audi's as well as this Porsche. All German cars are expensive! My daily driver is a Lexus 420LS and it is the best automobile I have ever owned bar none. Also the cheapest to maintain as it is absoultely bullet proof and runs like a jeweled watch....always, In net Yeah a Porsche sports car is fun to drive but when maintenance is compared to say a 20 year old Honda Accords or Toyota Camrys, etc for parts and labor there is no comparison. German cars need much more maintenance and cost much more as well.....At least that is my view.....

CN

Mine had 63,000 Km on it in 1999 when I bought it for $39,000 CDN. Now it has 140,000 km on it and I could still squeeze $34,900 CDN on a resale. Total parts replaced so far are: 1 DME Relay, 2 sets of front & rear tires, 1 voltage regulator, 1 Battery, many oil changes, 1 heater blower, 6 spark plugs, 4 hood shocks, new momo wheel and shift ****, 2 headlamp bulbs, 2 timing adjustment, 4 sets brake pads & rotors, 1 set floor mats, pack of fuses. This is definitely the cheapest vehicle I have ever owned. If I sold her now, I will have had 7 years of 911 Cab for $10,000 plus gas, insurance and taxes. That includes depreciation.