vitaminC

Just curious, what s the 'average' maintenance costs per year for a 968? I would probably drive ~7k miles per year, and trust a local independent shop with most of the work. I can do stuff myself, but it's not really how I prefer to spend my time.

Thanks.

968workaholic

Depends on the year and what has been done already. Hard to say without some info about your car.

vitaminC

Well, I don't have a 968 yet, that's why I'm trying to get some idea of what sort of yearly upkeep costs I would need to budget for...

wwboater

My 92 968 Cab has around 140K on the clock and we drive it about 2 or 3K per year. In the last year and a half I have spent under a grand. That includes T belt and WP with rollers and 2 used fog lights. I still need to get 2 rebuilt control arms and an alignment. Of course I do all of the work my self. If I sent it out it would cost much more.....

saxman

I've heard many people say expect to spend ~$2k a year on upkeep, but doing stuff yourself should bring that down.


Of course, you'll also find that once you have the car you want to spend a lot more than that on upgrades.

Lord_Galva

Stuff I did to my car during the first year:
$150 PPI
$1500 Koni's
$500 Heat shield
$300 Wheel bearings
$400 Drive axel thingys
$100 Distributor & Coil
$800 16" Cup I's with new Bridgestone Potenza's

Total $3700
I put 12k miles on it in 10 months.
Most of that was just me wasting money but it was worth it. The only things that were nessesary were the Heat shield and drive axel things.

Stephenwz968

What heat shield went bad, and how come it was so much to fix? The one above the muffler is just a metal plate...and the ones over the torque tube can be spotwelded or bolted on...the ones in the engine bay same thing...I'm just curious...

RajDatta

Usually the cost is high at the begining and progressively drops as less and less items require maintenance. Most people tend to ignore our cars so be ready to shell some $$ up front. It all depends how meticulously the car was maintained by the previous owner. Just about every car I have bought, no matter who the owner, I ended up spending quite a bit the 1st yr and this is when I do all the work myself except pinion bearing (hopefully will start doing that soon as well).
Things like pinion bearing, belts, cam chain and pads, front seals, rear main seal, clutch are all items that will pop up at some point.
All these items are somewhat time consuming so the repair cost are on the high side.
So, you are better off getting a car that has all its items addressed even though it might mean a higher entry cost. In the end it will still be much lower than getting it done.
Raj

saxman

This is a somewhat similar list to what I see pretty often... adds up, but a lot of things aren't really needed... were done because the owner wanted to do them.

Lord_Galva

The heat shield in question is the one in the engine bay.
It was bent because the center bracket holding the exhaust pipe after the cat, was missing causing the pipe to vibrate.
The vibrations shook the exhaust manifold so much, due to the amount of driving I did, it bent the heat shield.

Jason Judd

This is a question that NEVER should be asked...

More importantly, you should NEVER, EVER, EVER ,under any circumstance, attempt to chronicle, list, put to paper, or spreadsheet, these costs!

You'll thank me in about 3 years...Trust me.

Jason

Todd951968

I've owned my car (a 1992 with 69k miles now) about 8 years and put about $8-9k in it for maintenance and repairs. This included a clutch job 5 years ago for $ 1200, two timing belt and water pump jobs, a heater core, A/C switch to R134, one set of tires, and several oil, coolant, and transmission oil changes. On average, its about $1k, per year over the last 8 years. I'd budget $ 1,200- $ 1,500 though for cost increases. Just know, as others have said, that you may spend more some years and less in others and that the higher costs usually come within the first year or two of ownership, as you discover what the car really needs.

You'll get the best value out of the car (cost per mile) if you drive it about 9k miles per year; this gets the most out of the timing belt / water pump cost since you will chage it due to mileage and age rather than just age.

notthd

I recently sold my 94 coupe daily driver with 218K miles on it.

I have driven it from maine to floridia to San Clemente to Longview washington- one of the best cars ever owned

I only changed the belts at 100K and 200K. My tech said the newer materials could stand up to the miles and most were replacing too often but there was a signicant risk if they failed. I had no leaks, never replaced the clutch, replaced the CVs at 180K and a waterpump with the belts at 200K. The car Ran fantastic when I sold it and she had a detailed inspection by the new buyer- compression was perfect- clutch still had 25%- found the shifter had a little slop due to a wore out bushing. Made it hard to go in reverse sometimes-but that was it. I spent only 3-4K in 8 years. It was one of the most dependable cars I ever owned. I was religious with oil changes and ran Mobil one............

Maybe I was lucky

jeff968

i had great luck with my previous 92 968 cab. I owned it 10 years and put 24,000 miles on it during that time. The only unexpected expense I had was a thermostat, a battery, and a water pump. I did replace the belts twice, front brakes, and regular maintenance but I thought the car was fantastic and very reliable. So I have a new one now, i hope it lives up to the old one.

RajDatta

In general, the cars are reliable but there are a couple of known "gotcha" in there. One of them is the pinion bearing and the other is the cam teeth/tensioner pad failure. If you buy a car that has had these items addressed, you already saved yourself a good $3-4K in maintainence. If the car is devoid of oil leaks, thats another $2k saved and this is taking a complete reseal into accnt. Besides that, its 60K for belts/rollers if driven often or 4 yrs. Otherwise, they are pretty solid.
By doing some of this work, you can lower your ownership costs considerably.
Raj