Baron009

I'm just wondering are there any people around here that actually take their Porsche to a professional mechanic to get maintenance done? I'm a short-on-time person so I probably will not end up taking the DIY route for the most part. Just wanted to hear what sort of experiences people have had and also what relative maintenance costs are for well cared for cars.

Most of the people I've talked to who have 944's around here don't do the work themselves and their estimates for $/year were usually lower than what people around here have been saying. So either they've found a cheap mechanic, or they're lying, or people here are exaggerating or some combination of the above.

I'm looking at driving around 7 000-10 000 km (NOT MILES) a year and I don't plan on driving in the winter. This is considerably less than what the average daily driver sees, so I don't expect maintenance to be 5000 a year ( on average) or something insane like that...

PeteL

If you start out with a well sorted out car, and keep up on the routine stuff, I think it is easy to keep it under 5K a year. It all depends on how good the car is when you start. And about mechanics, it is hard to find a good one that knows these cars like this list. I have given up on them because on several occasions, the list advice proved to be better than the mech. Good luck.

iloveporsches

There are a number of people on here who take it to places to get work done.

There are also a number of people on here who have taken it to places to get work done and got hosed by the shop for extraneous repairs and parts, or just shoddy work in general.

Baron009

Well, if I buy a nearly 'flawless' car and even if I go to a mechanic for most repairs I suspect that I shouldn't have to pay more than about $2k CAD a year on average. Now if the clutch goes or something maybe it'll be a little higher for that year. If repairs are going to cost more than $3k a year I might as well just invest my money and start saving up for 911.

edit: BTW I've done some reserach into shops and checked out a couple very reliable mechanics - according to word of mouth. One actually is like a friend of a friend who has worked on Porsches for over 20 years. So finding one should not be a problem for me. I don't see how you guys have run into so many problems with shops, I guess maybe we just have more honest mechanics here in Canada.

Kevin Baker

The "key" is finding a well maintained car to start with. IF all the maintence has been done you should be in great shape, as these cars are very reliable. If you have to play catch up with problems someone else didn't want to jack with, you'll be in for some large repair bills.

kinda5150

see how honest they are when they know you have no frickin clue what you're talking about.

SidViscous

I don't know who is paying $5k a year in maintenance. In modifications maybe.

As to Candian Mech's. Sorry, but no. I work with plenty of people from Canada, and I've heard stories.

Like Kinda says. Roll into a shop qualified to work on a Porsche without a knowledge of what it entails. They see Porsche and the mechanics eyes go like $$

I spent about $1500 this year and did most of the work myself. I repaired my hatch for $30 in parts and an hour or so of time. Take it to a dealer and it will be an expensive venture. You'd be much better off learning your car. It's a rewarding experience. Not to mention the fact that it really pays off when your 200 miles from home and you know enough to patch it or fix it.

If your not willing to get your hands dirty, don't buy a 15 year old car. Porsche, oldsmobile or Mercedes. Stick to new cars.

And you can save up for a 911, but the TCO is much higher on those cars.

billybones

It does not cost a fortune to keep these cars up. If it is broken to start with it will.. clutch by the way will cost you 1500 alone. This is the nature of the list. this is where people come with broken cars.. so it SEEMS like it is a problem. Also translated this is Race list. aka modifications and extreme conditions. But for just driving around the car is well built and is almost a classic depending on the year. Thus some applied abuse. Drive a 911 and then drive a 944/951. You will buy a 951 if you value driveability and handling with power. If you want status... still buy the 951;-)

wjk_glynn

Here's a detailed list of the maintenance, repair and upgrade costs for my S2:

http://www.weissach.net/WP0AB294XMN410197-History.html

Its a sample of one but you'll get the idea.

Karl.

Randy_J

A lot of truth in the foregoing - and Sid called it on the money - "If your not willing to get your hands dirty, don't buy a 15 year old car. Porsche, oldsmobile or Mercedes. Stick to new cars. "

Having only owned new or near new cars for 20 years, it was great to get back into cars that I could actually touch without voiding the new car warranty! Other than getting a few tools and the proper manuals to do the work, I actually find that I SAVE TIME doing a lot of the routine stuff myself, and that includes fixing what the dealers mess up. I've changed a clutch on a 944 NA this year, rebuilt the front lower control arms on 2 turboS, changed all the fluids in several cars, and made a lot of good friends along the way.

What amazes me is the extent of shoddy work out there from so called dealerships and specialists - I mean wiring harnesses HACKED OFF, bolts left undone - not loose, just plain undone - and missing clips, pieces, parts etc. upon return from service. I just had to repair the DME wiring on the 968 Cab after it came back from the dealer under the PO warranty.

So look for a car that has been well cared for - maintenance receipts or a log book for servicing. If you find a good car - buy it and join the local PCA group and learn from them - either home maintenance or the recommended shops.

BeerBurner

I'll do as much of my own work as I can, but I'll still leave some of the bigger problems to my mechanics. Fortunately, one of my roommates is a former P-mechanic (with tools!) which is definately helpful in the DIY rhealm...

BB.

triscadek

I bought my 87S in Sept. 03 with 148000 mi. on it now have 186000 on it.

I didn't have the time or facilities and paid to have the clutch and timing belts done, also am **** about preventitive maintainance and replace quite a bit of smaller things myself.

Also Iceshark light kit and wiring, ss brake lines, clutch master and slave all hoses belts etc. And in 2 years even with tires too, I know that I have spent nowhere near $5K

sweanders

I leave all of my stuff to a Porsche mechanic, one of my best friends. I usually come over to his place and lend him a hand when he is working on my car and sometimes somebody elses when it's an interesting model.

So I basicly pay only for the parts and very little for the time. And I've helped him with other thing around the home of his place like getting his kids computers that my company was gonna throw away and stuff..

I guess I'd do a lot of work myself if I wouldn't have had him as a friend..

jsonnen

Baron i have all of my cars reciepts since new, and the average yearly upkeep and maintenance has been around 2,000 dollars per annum. So being in Canada you will probably spend a little more due to higher priced parts! Just my 0.02 cents! Good luck

Baron009

Thanks guys.

Karl your link is a great help. Gives me a better idea of some of things I should expect etc.

I also noticed that labour is way lower where I am. The shops I've looked at charge between $75-$80/hour Canadian which is like ~$60/hour US. A lot lower than the $95/hour Karl was paying.

The car on the top of my list checked out fine at a PPI except for:
-A/C system empty
-A/C button will not stay in
-steering rack may be starting to leak
-weak vacuum system causing heat to stay partially on
-vacum leak under intake manifold

Everything else checked out fine, with brakes at 90% pad left. Fluids up and clean. Engine, power steering pump, power steering pump hoses, and transmission all dry with no leaks. New struts.... etc etc.