I bought a really clean 87 Carrera Coupe at the end of last year (after a PPI, of course), with 86k miles on it. I am just starting to get into some fairly expensive maintenance costs. Mine is a weekend driver and I expect to put less than 5k miles per year on it. Would some of you please give me some idea of what I should expect to spend in yearly maintenance. Anyone done a $/mile calc on your own 911?

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

When I bought my '88 Carrera, there were a few things that I just had to fix - the A/C, the sunroof cable, and the hood shocks (front & rear). After that, the car was really one of the most reliable hassle-free cars I have owned. The normal maintenance items I would do were:
1. oil & filter change every six months (approx 3K miles) ~$26.00
2. rear tires every 20K miles $300; front tires every 40K miles $300
3. Valve adjustment every 2+ years or when I start to hear some valve chatter $800
4. Alignment every four years $400
5. Shocks, bushings, misc. every four years $600
6. Recharge A/C every two years $200

So figuring I drove the car about 7000 miles a year, over five to six years that would translate to $0.09 to $0.10/mile.

Some things I do myself, others I hand over to the mechanics. While a Porsche's routine maintenance is probably higher than most cars, you are not plagued with the multitude of costly repairs found in other cars (how's that for a generalization).

Adrian: please document the costs you have experienced.

 

We bought an 87 Carrera with 87K - also very clean - and it was one of the most reliable cars I've owned. In the two years I owned it (traded it in for a 95 and still miss it) I was surprised at how little maintenance was required. I drove it almost daily - and we added about 15K miles per year

Costs included:
Oil change twice a year: $140 per at mechanics
New rear tires: $500
Alignment: $100
Fix rear sway bar that separated from chassis (makes a funny clunking noise when you take corners) $200
Misc. electrical work $200
Gave up on AC.

Other than that - it ran like a dream. No oil leaks ever. It did have an aftermarket Ungo alarm system that was not hooked up properly - caused the car not to start periodically, usually after a long drive. Cut the alarm wire to the ignition and never had a problem after.

Good luck!
-Michele

 

15K service: $700
3K oil changes:$65 with 20/50 kendall
brake pads w/necc: $90 per axle

 

hmmm...I thought that regular maintenance was oil every 3K, (fairly cheap) valve adjust every 6K (not so cheap). Is that just being totally ****?

The bigger question for me is what are the projected maintenance cost differences between an '87 carerra and an '80's SC? Assuming they are similar relative mileage, and that the SC has the usual upgrades (pop off, tensioners, spring-centered clutch). My wife's argument is not to buy an older/cheaper SC because I'll end up spending a bunch of money on repairs. Actually I think she wants to get a Boxster (instead of an older 911), but that's another story.

 

I think factory manual advises adjusting valves every 15K miles. I know that is true for the 964 Turbo and I would expect the same for normally aspirated cars.

I would not expect any more maintenance from a 911SC than a Carrera except those thigs which would natually degrade from exposure - rubber seals, paint, bushings, etc.

I've owned both - the SC is more of a car I would take to the track - free revving, lighter weight, more aggressive, and easy to maintain. The '88 Carrera was more civilized and better for the road. The best feature of the later Carreras is the G50.

 

Yep- valves every 15k. JBH- I don't know how you can say an oil change is $26, it costs me more than that to do it myself (I do use Mobile 1). Adrain- if your car is as clean as it sounds and you are only putting 5k on it a year (drive it at least once a week- non-use is worse than lots of use) you will have very low maintenance costs. By the way- does your car have the orig. clutch?

 

911's do not suffer fools gladly.
By that I mean, when owned by mechanically unsympathetic drivers, the troubles and resultant expenses come thick and fast.
Otherwise, general maintenance costs should be moderate.

If your car had a "fool" for a PO, it may take several thousand's of dollars to get it sorted out.

 

JBH,
I dug through all the records and this is what I found:

Year $/miles
87 .01
88 .02
89 .13
90 .03
91 .26
92 .10
93 .33
94 .66
95 2.21
96 .43
97 .38
98 .17
99 .50
00 .99
01 2.02 To date

The car is in excellent shape but it took some money to keep it that way. The costs are really eye-opening (eye-popping?) for me.

Thanks for you response.
Adrian

 

Carnut169

My car did have the original clutch which went out during some "spirited driving" (nothing stupid like burnouts or anything). I just had the clutch replaced with a spring center, along with a new pressure plate. Looking through the records I found that the release fork and bearing had also been update in 1995. On the way home I noticed that my air conditioning was kaput. The problem was found to be the high pressure line leading to the condenser in the front. It had a big cut in it. Another expen$ive repair.

I hope I am through the major stuff.

Thanks for your post.

Adrian

 

Oil Change for $26 assumes about $18 for a case of oil and $8 for the filter and copper gasket rings for the plugs.

I am quite sure I will take some criticism for saying this, but I don't see a need for Mobil 1 if you change your oil every 4 - 6K miles. The advantages of Mobil 1 are
(1)longer intervals between oil changes
(2)broader temperature range of appliication
(3)better oxidation stability under high temperatures.

Since I always change oil after every DE, Mobil 1 just seems overkill and nearly doubles the price of an oil change. In all the years I have used conventional oils (Havoline, Valvoline, or Castrol)I never have had any oil related failures or problems.

Having said that, I will probably start using Mobil 1 in my C2 Turbo just to add an extra degree of protection for the turbo - the engine I am not worried about.

 

Not to sound like a wise-guy or anything, but if you drive your 911 15K a year for 5 years it will still be worth about $20,000.00 if it's taken care of if you decided to sell it after owing it for five years. You'll have maintence and repair issues that will run thousands, maybe even over $10,000.00 total (assuming you need MAJOR work, which you may or may not) over this period.

On the other hand, you can go out and get a new Toyota Solara for about $30,000.00, pay minimal maintenance and repair costs on it, and in five years it will be worth about $10,000.00.

The costs of a newer car may be hidden from you in monthly payments, but have you really lost $20,000.00 on your 911 after owning it for five years? I doubt it.

I guess my point is to calculate vehicle depreciation into the cost of a car as well. When taken into account, I think you'll find the 911s are relatively cheap to own. Since you won't even be driving your car 15,000 miles a year (unless you REALLY drive it like crazy on weekends) I wouldn't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to sell it for almost as much as you paid for it.

Just my opinions, take them for what they're worth.

Bill Wagner

 

Bill:

That is a very wise observation - it requires, however, that you buy your Porsche used and at the flat part of the depreciation curve.

I just bought a '91 C2 Turbo with a recent rebuild and lots of very good upgrades for just under $40K. The original sticker price was over $100K, so I get the impression that Porsches depreciate fairly quickly early on, but then level off (sometimes even hold flat).

Bests value in Porsches seems to be those that are 8 years or older.

 

This is my argument to my wife. Sure, I could buy a used Audi TT for a bit under $30K, and it would be covered under warranty. But if I want to sell it in a year or two, you know it will have dropped at least 10%/year. I figure if I buy this well maintained '89 carrera I'm looking at, in 2 years I will hopefully only have spent about $2K in maintenance, and could sell it for almost exactly what I paid for it (if the recent trends hold up...which I think they will, especially with the economy going south..I think there will be a few people looking to get out of newer P cars, and looking for good older/cheaper ones).

The key seems to be to buy smart/lucky. Get one with low enough miles so when you sell it the next buyer doesn't flinch (at 117K for the one I'm looking at, I think I'm at the upper end of that spectrum, but not too bad), and make sure it is well maintained so you don't sink a bunch of $$ into it quickly. Easier said than done though...