DaveK

.... on Autotrader, and if you've seen my other thread you'll know why.

I haven't decided for sure I'll sell it - but I've woken up this morning sick of ploughing money into my C4. Love the car - but I am beginning to tire of the fact that I pay a big bill to sort everything - then get another big bill next time.

As I say - I'm still not sure that I'll definitely sell it if I get calls (and at the moment it's still with the mechanics anyway). But if you do hear of anyone looking for a 90 model C4 (156K miles, excellent condition, lots and lots of bills) - then let me know. I want about £16K.

Christer

Dave

I am sure we will no doubt debate this offline, but I just thought I would say that I do understand your position. I also know who you use for servicing and whilst they are a very good outfit, they are certainly not cheap and also in my limited experience do not use 'creativity' to resolve problems that might crop up...As I have now tried 3 different independents, I can safely say that they are all very different operators but not necessarily of different quality. What I have noticed is that the cost of services though differ quite a lot (in some cases up to 20% in my estimation). I know that you won't necessarily sell your car if you get an offer, but I would certainly have a think about who to use and when, when problems come up - it could save you money (and hassle). You know if you need a lift back from anywhere if another independent is not close to you, just call. God knows I owe you a few favours.

I'll speak to you later in the week if not on here!

DaveK

Hi,
I must admit - I have decided that if I do keep the car, I will probably move the servicing. I don't think they are doing anything wrong - and won't say anything negative about them - but it does always seem to cost more than I expect (and I remember someone else making the same comment once).

GaryN

Hi Dave,

I know the feeling... My car goes to the same independent as yours and when the yearly MOT comes up I get scared...VERY SCARED!! This weekend I used another Independent for my MOT / Service and made sure I watched what they were doing (So I don't get any "Creative" bills) and I must say it wasn't too bad. I got out there £800 lighter (including 2 new rear tyres) at least it better than last MOT/Service £2.8k..

Keep Faith, Dave

Cheers
Gary '91 C2

DaveK

It's a difficult balance though. When I looked through my service records last night, I noticed my first service was £600 (was with a different independent which I only used once) - and I've never had one that cheap since. On the other hand - 6 weeks after that service, my brake pad warning lights came on - which I wasn't very impressed about.

vove

Dave, I've been feeling the same lately, but I haven't advertised. Will you be getting another 911 though?

DaveK

At the moment - if I did sell - definitely not. I've spent lots on mine sorting problems - and I don't want to buy another one where I'd have to do the same thing again. What frustrates me is that I have spent lots on it - but it seems like it's an endless cycle. It's a lot more reliable these days - but it still costs a lot when the service comes up.

If I did sell, I'd probably look for something 3 or 4 years old - Jap or German. Don't know what though.

Weissach

If you are worried about something simple as your brake pad warning lights coming on, you should sell. This is not a car for people who can't do the maintenance work themselves. This is the reality of owning an any old car, especially a Porsche...

DaveK

I am not worried about "something as simple as (my) brake pad warning light coming on".

What I meant by that comment was that I had just paid someone to service my car - and I do not expect to find the brake pads are worn out 6 weeks later. I assume that a service would have checked this, and told me they need replacing. My point was that sometimes you can get a cheaper service - but that's not always a good thing.

Bins

Dave, what would you consider getting in its place?

Christer

That's bulls**t. Look at me, I am the happiest owner alive and I haven't done a single thing myself to the car. I didn't even replace my own spoiler wall when it split!

DaveK

Bins,
No idea - that's one of the problems if I sell it.

But at the moment I'm wondering if that matters. I have a 175mph motorcycle which I used to do about 10K miles a year on - and since buying the car, probably do 1K miles a year on. I'm thinking that if I did sell, I'd just use the bike for a while and then see how I feel at the end of the summer. Would probably be a choice between a £15-20K newish car (no idea what) - or a basic get-me-from-A-to-B car, with the assumption that my bike is the "fun" thing I need (like it used to be).

Weissach

What I mean is; you must do the maintenance on these cars yourself for them to make economical sense. Since you complained about repair bills, I'm assuming that you don't do your own work.

These car are actually very economical to own, only if you do the maintenance yourself.

Greg_L

Dave,

I can only guess which servicer you use, based on what i've heard from others that have been somewhat surprised by the final bill. Why not tell us the name, you have not said anything negative, you'd simply make some of us who are considering them get quotes from other places first. ie. doing us all a favour

Very sorry to hear about you contemplating selling.

best,
Greg

DaveK

I agree partly with what you say - it would reduce the cost. I do actually do some stuff myself. But to be honest, I've reached the point in my life where I don't want to spend my weekends under the car. And some of these are major tasks - swapping the steering rack / changing the evaporator are not exactly 5 minute jobs - plus, the parts alone for those total almost £1K so I'd still debate that it's very economical.

I guess we all have our own acceptable limits - and this varies between us. I know it's an expensive car, and within reason I accept that - and since I don't want to do most maintenance myself I accept that puts the bills up. But - there is a point where it becomes a bit silly and has too much of an impact on my disposable income. It's likely this service will bring my total service costs in 2.5 years to around £13K (after I've removed the "non essential" stuff from the calculations).

To my mind - that's getting fairly unacceptable. It's averages over £400 a month.