Hi all,

last week I took the plunge and picked up a 1992 C4 with 100k on the clock, full engine and gearbox overhaul at 64k miles. This car was kept beautifully and the ex owner even won a concourse in Northern Ireland with it.

However, I am coming from driving a Honda S2000 for nearly 4 years and not one single thing went wrong with it... it was ultra reliable. I have this underlying feeling that MIGHT be taking away from my huge pleasure of owning and driving the 964... will it let me down as it's 15 years old with 100k miles clocked up.

From your expereince, will a well looked after example keep going and going on maintanence alone or should I be putting cash aside for inevitable problems? I am not using it as a daily driver... only 3 days a week to and from work and then at weekends....

In short.... how reliable are good 964s?!

 

Wow, if anyone can give you a solid prediction on any car's reliability years forward, I want to talk to that person. Seriously, I have owned my 964 for nearly 15 years and with any car of this age, there are items above and beyond the obvious engine + gearbox to tend to. For example... shocks are most likely overdue on a 100K car and an occassional oil line or belt rupture as well as electrical gremlins are to be expected. Perform a valve job with rotors, distributor cap, gaskets, plug wires, and you are easily over $1K.

In short, I would set aside at least ~$1-$2K per year for maintenance if you are handy and doing most of the work. Porsches are not cheap to own and the dual plug 964's and 993's are among the most expensive air cooled Porsche to maintain. 964's are reliable but repairs and maintenance can be costly and more so on C4's.

Good luck.

 

Adrian, Mines's had a few probs, all expected with age. In a nutshell I would agree that typically it will cost £1k to £2k per year.

 

And then add the same again for all the mods that you won't be able to resist doing to it

 

If you came from an S2K to a 964. They are totally 2 different cars. If you are worried about paying for small tidbits, better go back to the S2k. In a nutshell a few $$$$K per year is nothing compared to the enjoyment and attention over an S2K.

I drove my 89 C4 and put 15k miles on it the first year. Only thing I had to do was put an new oil line on. I emphasize what I had to do and not what I wanted to do....... lol's. If you love it the way it is, then your costs will be not too bad, if you like to modify for personal taste, then it gets slippery.

Jeff

 

I dont understand why people want to enjoy the 911 and are so afraid of them.

These are reliable cars and with age a little fix here and there is required. Even if it cost a few $1000 whats the problem?

If you cant swing the repair costs why would you buy one?

I am not trying to be a dink but this question has been posted here 2X's in the past week. I researched my purchase and I know the risks and cost associated with these cars. If it breaks I will fix it no matter what the costs.

Simply because a 911 is not a car it is a part of me. This is how I see it.

 

Yes. That will be a wise thing to do...secondary muffler bypass, dual outlet muffler, cat by pass, open air box cover, clear indicators, rs ducts, suspensions....etc

 

Some things will break - it's inevitable with a car of this age.

However - to put it into perspective, I had to go to France at short notice at the end of last year - a round trip of about 1,000 miles. For various reasons I had to use the 964 - and I was absolutely sure it would get me there and back no problem. In fact - when I had to go again later, in a car that was 10 years newer I was tempted to still take the 964 because I trust it more.

 

The other thing you have to consider is deprecation cost. Unless the 964 has super low miles, these cars have about bottomed out. You'll be trading maintenance cost for depreciation. A thousand or two per year is better than the depreciation per year on most sports cars.

Shawn

 

Some clutches can last a lifetime of the car. Engines & trannys too. So most of your maintenance will be in traditional items, such as fluids, filters, and odd-ball things. Anything you can do yourself will save considerable money, and any terribly expensive parts can be found used at a discount by buying used on Pelican. There are plenty of ways to save money and ways to spend it, but your car is going to be reliable, all things considered.

It is not, however, a Honda, but what Honda is missing, the Porsche will make up for.

 

During that era Porsche made some very high quality vehicles. Aside from the wear and tear items the other stuff will hold up very well. Remember,--there are no "no maintenance" automobiles,--not really.

 

G'day Adrian,
What do you want to hear?
1. You will never have any problem at all with your Porsche, in fact it will run on air and your wallet will mysteriously refill itself, your Guinness will never be empty, and women will throw themselves at your feet...
or
2. Just like any vehicle, your 964 will cost you money to maintain, but unlike any run of the mill mass produced heap of ****e, it is not designed to fail and make the manufacturer more money in repairs.

hmm, reading back on that, maybe a combo of 1 and 2

Well done on your purchase, you wont regret it.

To Murph: I've got a Honda, mind you its only got 2 wheels, weighs 205kg wet, 84kw, V-four fuel injected, gear driven cams...

 

Ok guys, don't shoot me. what Adrian is talking about is a reliability comparison between what he's used to driving and a 15 year old 911. We have to admit a 964 won't likely be as reliable as most Japanese cars and therefore Adrian should be prepared to spend a little bit extra on the occasional repair and generally keeping the car on the pavement.
But of course you're all 100% correct about the fun factor of a 964compared to the Honda. Although I haven't had a Honda S2K, I wouldn't consider one because it doesn't have the 911 appeal.

 

I have had my 89 C4 for 10 years and have 98k miles on the clock. I have never gotten in and not had it start. I have averaged a bit less than $1k/year in maintenance (mostly routine, plus a clutch, an axle). That is higher than a newer car, but I bought it it for 26,800 10 years ago and it is probably cost only $1k/year in depreciation/mileage. So I could have bought some generic Asian car like a Prelude 10 years ago for the same $, it would be worth $2k now, and even if I had zero maintenace expense on it, it would have cost me more.

 

All good points made above! Just to add my 2 cents, I was in the same dilemma when I was on the verge of buying my 964 this past summer. I remember talking to my other P-car buddies about how terrified I was of the horror stories I'd heard about people walking out of repair shops with $2000-$3000 repairs for things that didn't seem like they should cost that much. I had talked to a couple of Porsche specialist shops and asked for examples of typical costs for various repairs and it only reinforced this fear. I bought the car anyway. Have I had some repair expenses since I bought it? Yes, some actually quite high. Do I regret buying it? Absolutely not. After a while you get a feel for which mechanic you can trust to be fair and honest, which repairs should be considered urgent and which can be delayed or even done yourself. As a couple of others have said, any car that has over 100K miles and is 15 years old will need repairs periodically. But most don't have the soul or the smile factor of the 911.

ps. My car has 142K miles on it.