UKKid35

My car has just today completed 30k miles in my hands, over three years, which means i have spent $300 per month on gas (at UK prices). I've also spent a little on repairs (cam belt failure) and tyres (I've yet to get more than 6k miles before they go bald). I'm probably spending money rather slower than you, but I suspect you are more demanding than me, or rather you have been in a position to rectify problems more quickly. Indeed my only regret is that there have been few occaisions when I've been able to drive the car without something irritating me. There always seems to be something that isn't quite right.

Joe '87 S4

6K and the tires are bald? I have 17K on mine and they still look brand new. For the past year and a half (since I got my Momo steering wheel) I've been cornering really hard and actually trying to wear the tires out because the next time I replace the tires, I'm also getting rid of the flats and getting new rims. Mine are Pirelli's and they take a beating but won't wear down???.

Gregg K

When I bought my '79, the owner told me he had spent $40k on it over the years he had it. So you are not alone. Hey, it could be worse- you could be like me, and have it just sit in the garage. There's nothing so sad as an 89 GT just sitting and looking pretty. My last place had the roads to die for, but I sold and moved. And my new property appears to be crap for driving. So the car has sat for about as long as I've owned it. But it sure is pretty! Damn how I miss the days when the roads were wide open, and radar guns hadn't been invented. Sigh. I really had fun....Oh, yeah. Back to reality. Look, $60k is not a lot of money any more. I just called my realtor, and the property I bought for $285 in 1999 is going for $950k. What can you do with $60k? Buy a Hummer? Travel a little bit? It certainly won't buy much real estate. So be glad. Money won't buy you happiness. But a 928 comes pretty close to it.

poc62

I don't dare to add up my car repair, maintenance, toys, and race related bills. It will depress me. As long as when I am driving my car down the Hwy and it put a smile on my face everything is peachee

Daniel Dudley

I still have a 124 spyder 2000 turbo in the garage with 10K on the clock. I bought it because I just wanted a ''little more'' than my '80 spyder was giving me. I had about 2300.00 into the '80' and drove the **** out of it for four years and 25 thousand plus miles. Changed the timing belt and pads, electronic tune up, and sold it to a friend three years ago. He still thanks me every time he sees me. I got about 90% of all the pleasure you can get from a car with that beast. Cost per mile, it was cheaper to leave my truck at home and drive the fiat. Thats right, it was cheaper to own, insure and maintain that car than it was to pay for the gas on my truck. So on to the turbo. It cost me five times the price to get that going well, and still I wanted more. It had a lot more steam by the way, esp. in the 60 - 100 range. Faster than a 944S to 110. But I had gotten that car perfect, and with less than 11K on the clock, I wanted to ''save'' it. So I bought my '80 928 5spd. I should have sold it for 8 thousand when I had the offer, but there was something about that car that had me hooked. There is a reason they call us addicts. I can't tell you why 928s do it for me, but they do. And owning one has opened doors for me to drive other porsches, jags etc. to the point where it would be hard for me to go back. That is why I made the move up to the '89GT. Not for any logical practical reason, although I can pretend that as a well maintained car it will be more reliable and cheaper. No, there is something more going on here, about fulfilling a desire. Not to mention the Dreaded Zoom Factor. Knowing what I know now, I'm sure I can run a 928 for less. But it's not about the money for me. A new mustang would be cheaper. I may even take a test drive. This is after all, my bus. And Steve Mc Qween did drive a mustang. But he also drove the big P

Kolbjorn S

BC, if I can chime in with cost of ownership from the Middle East ....

I bought my S4 nearly a year ago, one owner, with extensive service history - every single invoice from P-car dealer since delivery March 14, 1987. Total cost for PO 1987 - end 2003 was equivalent of US$ 32,350.
Average of some $2,020/year.
(All bills for maintenance / servicing / spare parts only).

In my near 1 year of ownership I have so far spent some $1.9k

so statistically over here, it's 2k/year to run such a machine.
US is certainly expensive..!

But anyway money aside, what else can bring this smile on your face....

PS, CT - a '80 in Dubai wow, didn't know they still existed! Keep it!

bcdavis

Well... Still debating...

The main thing I was thinking about, is the fact that what I would like, is something like the Phat 928...
Something with a completely new interior, more horsepower, body kit, etc...
So I am just wondering if the euro is the best starting point.
I might be better off starting with a late model s4, or build one from the ground up, like Jeff has done.

Otherwise it will just be a continual job to keep all the old parts up to snuff...
There will always be some sort of wire or switch going out,
even if the engine and transmission are perfect and rebuilt...

So it seems like I would need to start from scratch, or start with a much newer car to begin with.

Hoyo

bc.

A friend of mine has lost 100K this past 10 years just by buying new cars and selling them after a year or two. He had no "relationship" to either one of them.
60k does not sound too bad put into something that gives You something back.

Geir

Flight_951

I've owned my 944 turbo for 4 years and spent too much on it as well. There's a book -- "The Gold-Plated Porsche : How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures" by Stephan Wilkinson -- that talks about this type of thing. I have the book sitting on my desk at home, still gathering the courage to read it. It is supposed to be quite good though.

bcdavis

Hahaha!

fabric

I considered the financial costs of getting a new car. I wouldn't have spent $60k on a car, but I figured if I wanted something somewhat (note for later, I said somewhat) comparable new that didn't cost an arm and a leg, I'd get an Infiniti G35. Similar performance, features, and even has the pod that adjusts with the steering tilt. I figured that after the ~$10K I spent on my 928, even if I spend 200% of that cost while I'm driving it, I've still not met the purchase price of said G35. I've barely bought a loaded Mustang GT with that, even. While I could have really bad luck, I'm fairly confident that will last me at least a few years (knocks on wood). The downside is I pay as much as a neat, but unremarkable new car, the upside is I drive a Porsche for less than something not nearly as cool. I think I can live with that.

Th Dude

"There will always be some sort of wire or switch going out"
BC,
Come on, man... Sounds like you really want a problem free vehicle... Here's the bad news...IT DOES NOT EXIST.
Spend as much as you want $60K, $100K...**** is going to break, thats the nature of the beast. Go down to the Ferrari dealer...look at the 2004's in the shop getting "some sort of wire or switch" replaced.
If you really want to build a car from scratch, do it. But do not have some delusion that nothing will break.

bcdavis

Yeah, but my car is in the shop more than I drive it, because I can't be driving around with my windows not working, or my instrument lights out, or the red warning light on, etc, etc... There seems to always be something going wrong with random items. And yes, once I fix a problem, I do not encounter it again. But soon enough, something else acts up. Maybe the windshield wipers won't work right, or whatever.

If I were to build a car from scratch, I would try to make it as simple as possible.

Because I agree, that the more complex modern cars are, the more likely they will break.

I hate to see what happens to today's sophisticated vehicles in 10 years.
They will all be useless.
Those electrical systems are just too fragile.

Ron_H

BC:

Buy a 914/6. Simple car. Honest. Straightforward. Engine out in 1 1/2 hours and back in again just as fast. Lots of parts available, some off of a VW Rabbit and others off of a 911. Lots of those around. Seats suck. When it rains, carry a waterproof coat and tarp. Delete the radio 'cause you can only hear it at a stop sign. Bounces around alot even on relatively smooth roads, but I like that myself. Lots of luggage space with 2 trunks; swallows up my camping equipment for a weekend at the races and then some. And.....it will smoke my 928's butt anyday of the week. Even if it is a little "raw" it is simple and will cruise at 120 all day. Grin from ear to ear. May require a little tolerance if you need to use it to get to church.

Anyway, I like it. Wish I had a good knee so I could drive it again. Anyone know how to install a Boxter tiptronic into a 914/6??? (there's some cash in it for you.)

perrys4

I saw a kid the other day driving a 69 Chevelle SS that was all fixed up. I thought, Damn, he is doing it right. He has a car no one else is driving. Easily modified. No smog crap to deal with. And best of all it will retain most of its value and likley could go up. I am thinking Volvo p1800 again....