Hi guys,

I'm new to the 951 world, but am looking at purchasing an 86 951. However, I'm on a somewhat tight budget and so I was wondering what the average cost of ownership of one of these cars is per year assuming most maintenance was done by the owner. Now I know this dollar ammount varies greatly depending on the car, but I would like to get just a general idea of how much you guys spend per year on maintenance for the car (mostly just parts). This does not include performance upgrades, but rather preventative maintenance/fixing stuff. I'm looking at purchasing one that has all of it's service records and is around 100k miles so at this moment it seems to be in fairly sound mechanical condition.

Thanks in advance,
Brian

 

If everything is as it should be my guess is <$1000 a year if you do the work yourself. I think that is the key part to 951 ownership having work done is VERY expensive alot of local places charge 80-90hr. to work on them. Also there are the usual expensive items clutch(~$2000shop rate), belt and water pump job(~$1000 shop), etc.. If it is upto par though and you do the work yourself I think they are a great value but keep in mind these are 14-18 year old cars... If you tell us where your from maybe you can meet up with some local guys and get a better idea.
Good Luck!

Zack

 

I would guess that my budget is about $5k per year for the street car…..
Of course that includes track tires, several sets of brake pads, try a different turbo or two, some funds towards a ‘bigger better’ engine…
If you really want to go racing figure on $10k a year…

If you are really sane and keep away form that you should figure on $1k if you start with a sound car. Typically the first year or two will be more because you have to fix what the previous owner didn’t (unless you get very lucky).

Chris White

 

Being retired and on a somewhat fixed income, I've noticed that the most expensive time is the first year of ownership.

I've had 3 944s. My first was an '84 with 103K on the odometer, and several mechanical issues. This was perhaps my most "expensive" car because there was so much to do initially. Once I got things squared away, owning the car was very inexpensive until the head gasket failed.

My '87 has been fairly inexpensive as well, but I knew going in that I was going to do some of the major items immediately, so I made it a point to set aside "repair funds" before hand.

My '86 951 is a different story. I did not plan to buy the car (although I really, really wanted a 951!), but the timing was right, and I just couldn't pass it up.

The car was in decent mechanical condition, with a few minor issues. Every thing was hunky-dorey until I broke an exhaust stud during an exhaust gasket replacement. This of course required removing the head, so I got to do a head gasket, coolant flush, a belt job, and a whole lot of cleaning.

As far as repairs go, if you do all or most of your own work, the major expenses are for your time and parts. For example, a clutch job will cost you about $500.00 in parts and 3 or 4 days in labor. A belt job will run about $100.00 or so, and can be done in one day.

The only job that I can't do completely on my own is a head gasket because the head needs to be taken to a machine shop. However, the shop I use (and I've taken 3 heads to them) charges a flat $168.00 to disassemble, clean, inspect, and reassemble the head. Installing new valve seals (which come in the head gasket kit) is $20.00, and installing new valve guides (which run $4.00 to $5.00 each) is also a flat $20.00.

With that said, I highly recommend shopping around for a machine shop NOW, before you need one. That way you know where to take the head and what to expect to pay.

As with any vehicle there are certain "required" maintenance items, not the least of which is timing and balance belts. There are several opinions about when these belts need to be changed. I ascribe to the "Immediately after purchase and every 30K miles there after", philosophy, and so far (knock on wood) this practice has not failed me.

To sum up, you will no doubt spend a considerable amount initially, but as the car is driven and you take care of the "nickle and dime" stuff, you will discover that not only do you have a car that is a blast to drive, it is darned near bullet proof.

 

How many miles do you plan on driving per year? I have spent just under $3500 in maintenence parts while owning the car, but that included a new clutch and tires. I have owned the car for 6 years and have put on only 22,000 miles. If you added up all the parts and labor for the last 10 years (POs included) and 30,000 miles it is just under $12000 including everything but fuel (1500 in performance parts and a new 4k paintjob are included). Hope this helps.

 

If your budget it tight, I'd suggest you find something more reliable than a turbo and that has cheaper parts.

These cars will nickle and dime (actually, more like $20s and $100s) you to no end unless you happen to get a really good car. I've owned the car ~6 years and keep a rough spreadsheet of costs. So far I've racked up $8,300 in parts costs and $8k in labor. Granted, I likely do more preventive maintenance than most since it's mostly a track car.

On other threads, $1-2k per year seems to be a relatively sound assumption.

 

Like others have said, the first year is more expensive. Im into mine for several grand already, however ive been doing loads of preventative maintenance AND upgrading it, plus all the while im in there projects. Doing the work yourself is key. If you can restrain yourself more than I and avoid spending money to make it go faster, then youll be a lot better off

The other trick is to stash the reciepts away, all stacked up neatly. That way when you put another one on the pile, you only ever see two, the new one and the one under it... You have attained true Porsche ownership when you dont bother asking for the price when you order something, and just hit yes to whatever shows up on the interac card screen...

 

I pretty much agree with everyone else, $1 - 1,300/yr, 4th year $2000. I didn't spend anything on my car last year except oil changes as far as required maintenance. Upgrades, well those are hard to justify as "required". I think these cars can be very dependable daily drivers. Learn to do the basics, do them on/ahead of time and have fun. Good luck with your purchase.

 

Based on my experience, I agree with what most people here have replied with. My 951 and 968 both seem to require about $1,300-2,300 per year in maintenance, on average. This should keep maintenance items in check and the car fresh and reliable. However, I think its also important to also factor in your mileage when determining "how much its going to cost you". Some items, such as tires and timing belts, may get old before they get used up. This is the critical point where some owners want to stretch out the cost another year and save a little with the hopes of getting all the mileage out of a particular wear item. For example, I put only 18k miles on my 968's timing belt over 5 years (already?) because I don't put many miles on the car. Timing belts are good for 30k miles or more OR for about 5 years. Assuming $1,200 for complete t-belt service ( including rollers seals,etc.) the normal cost is about $.04/mile if used at a rate of 30K within 5 years. I am at about $. 0667/mile, which is 33% higher. Same goes for tires. I have tread left but they are starting to dry rot. Both items are entering into the "delayed maintenance" category whereby, I can still use the car as-is but run the risk of failure due to wear or (in my car's case) age. Many cars for sale fall into this category. Its safer to just budget (and spend) the money per the recommended schedule and enjoy the car, more or less, depending on how often you drive it.

 

These estimates of +- $1000 are basically what I have heard too (DIY'er ONLY). Also, performing preventative maintenance tasks will also help extend the life of the car. Such as just keeping parts clean if you notice them getting dirty, always changing out your motor oil and transmission oil on time. As long as you treat the car with respect and give it back what it gives to you, it won't bite your head off.

 

The first year is hell. You'll find yourself nit picking pulling things apart, finding broken, mis-repaired parts, and things that are just wrong. After the 1st year it isnt bad though (well atleast I can say that I havent replaced anything that NEEDED replacing yet.)

 

I just spent $420 to change the distributor and rotor cause somehow they broke while I was driving. Parts only added up to $100, labor was the killer cause they had to diagnose the problem, do a compression check, etc..

 

I didn't spend anything on mine last year (then again I didn't drive it at all).
Kidding aside - I agree with the rest. First year is BIG bucks, then it settles down to about a grand a year. If the car doesn't have records - DO THE BELTS BEFORE YOU EVEN DRIVE IT. Consider yourself warned - in a friendly way. And while you're in there, do the water pump and the rollers as well. Cost to have this done varies - but figure on $1500 if you let someone else do the work. Also - DON'T USE A REBUILT WATER PUMP - buy a new one or you'll likely have to do it all over again. Finally - ignoring the belt job can be VERY expensive. When (notice I said when and not if) the belt goes the valves will hit the cylinders and the resulting repair costs can easily exceed the cost of the car (assuming you bought it cheap).
Other than that, these cars are a blast.

 

I've spent several thousand in the last couple months correcting many things that the previous owners "missed." I'm not even sure of the total yet because I haven't seen the credit card bill yet this month. I've owned the car a year now and I've put on about 2500 miles. It has 88k on it. It's one of those things where you go in to fix one thing and find 4 or 5 things more to fix than you expected. Parts are expensive, but pretty easy to find.

 

"If you have to ask, its not for you." I remember reading that when regarding the price of a supercar.