I have the money to purchase a 951.. finally. But how much more should i keep for "unexpected costs" future maintnence etc. The car i might purchase has 153k. It is completely stock and i plan on keeping it so. In stock form how reliable are these cars?

 

You have asked the 1 question we all cannot accurately answer. Many things will play into how much you will end up spending.

- Condition Of Car
- Previous Life Of Car
- Maintenance Of Car
- Who Will Work On It?

1st and foremost, you must remember that what ever model 951 you intend to buy, it is at least 14 years old. For a car, that's pretty damn old. These cars will go a very long time if taken care of and maintained properly.

You will want to get a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) by a Porsche Dealer or Porsche mechanic. They will list all the items that need to be addressed, or all the ones they can find.

If you know the car was beat to hell by the previous owner(s), chances are you will have issues. In the same right, if a car was babied and sat in the garage, they will have problems as well once you get them out on the road.

Be sure the car has a nice paper trail. If there are receipts from oil changes to clutches, that's good. Over the course of 14 years and 155k miles, there should be some pretty good documentation. If he said he lost it, or did not keep it, you have no idea how the car was maintained.

Finally, shop labor is $75-100 an hour in my area. With 153k on the clock, I would wonder what the clutch is like.. and if you gotta replace it, $700 in parts, but about 15 hours shop labor. Most clutch jobs cost $2500-$4000 on our cars to have them do it. If you are good with a wrench, you can bang it out in a weekend.

Finally.. cost.....
If the car needs nothing out of the ordinary except for consumables (oil, brakes, belts, etc) plan on $1200 a year. Sometimes you'll spend $500 a year, sometimes $5000.. but the average over the life of the car is about $1200 a year.

I suggest you use the search function to the top right of the screen to look up more questions you may have. Learn all you can before you dive right in.

 

hmm i dont think i will be buying one now =\ perhaps i should go for a 3 series like every other inexperienced driver around here.

 

3 series? no way man...in 2 months you will regret not getting the 951. If your tight on cash go for the less expensive 944 NA.

Parts and labor on a BMW aren't much different from a Porsche or Mercedes...neither one is domestic, so you'll being paying alot anyways.

Ths $1200 a year that Perry suggested sounds about right. Just make sure you find one in top condition and you will be fine. Like he said the clutch is probably one of the most expensive repairs, so make sure it is perfect.

Also, Porsche dealers charge up the ***, i have yet to take mine to one. However, you can find many "euro"-specialty shops that will do the same quality work for much less. When the linkage in my transmission went out, the Porsche dealer wanted to intall a whole new part for $2000, but Motorworks of DeKalb fixed it right up for $500 and its been perfect ever since (almost 10 months ago).

Also most maintanence you can do yourself: oil, fluids, brakes, hoses, belts (not sure about timing belt though)

Bottom line...get the Porsche, you won't regret it...and if you find yourself sinking too much money the first year, they don't depreciate much when they're this old, so you can probably sell it out for close to what you paid for it.