PorscheG96

Bit of a rant here and there's not much technical info, but...

I remember when I used to laugh at some of the stupid prices for new Porsche parts from the dealer, but after buying a few little maintenance things today and spending over $200 I just don't find it funny anymore. Please don't think that I'm upset about spending $200...that's a drop in the bucket, doesn't mean **** to me, but it's what I GET for $200.

Prices have become SO HIGH for parts that it feels like I'm pulling down my pants and bending over when they ring up my bill in the parts department...I literally feel like I'm being raped, except having not actually been physically raped, I just imagine that this is sorta what it feels like.

So what did I buy today that's agonizing me this way?

4 rubber camshaft seals [1 donut & 3 pucks]
heater control valve
oil pump drive gear

I could understand a drive gear costing like, $50, but $150 for a ****ty plastic valve that can be had from the plumbing aisle of Home Depot and 4 seals??

What's worse is a few days ago when I ordered the parts from the dealer, I also wanted a new timing belt tensioner arm and expected that a new one would cost $125 - WORST CASE SCENARIO, right? Wrong! $280 for an aluminum arm with a gear on it!!! This is why I can't take it anymore...when something costs two times MORE than the worst possible price that I can imagine then it makes me feel stupid and I have no way to justify buying it. And I remember when a good-sized repair bill was like $500 but now it's not even $1000...expect to pay around $2000 if you're thorough, and that's just parts!

So I'm not sure how feasible it is to continue owning Porsches, especially old ones, because parts prices alone are killer and I'm not even paying any labor these days...

jeff968

I hear you Trevor but it could get worse. Once the parts aren't available at the dealer the price could then go way through the roof. I saw it with my Mopars during the eighties. I purchased new taillight assemblies for my Challenger in 1980 for $100. They went NS1 shortly after that and the prices skyrocketed. I sold them 7 years later for over $2000. Unfortunately, unlike my old mopar, my 968s collector value hasn't kicked in yet. The guy who purchased my taillights had a Hemi Challenger which was worth about $30K at the time and is now worth about $150K, justifying the cost of the taillights. Our 968s, even the mint green ones, are no where near that. Also, remember most of the 968 parts went back to Germany so I'm sure they are covering their shipping. I think we'll see a lot of 968s (and other older Porsches) parted in the years to come since owners won't be able to justify the cost of repairs/restoration. Jeff

StewHatch

Not to kick a man while he is down, but I think I saw something recently that stated there's a readily available Audi HCV that fits - made of steel - for less than $50.

RajDatta

That porsche HCV is nothing but an easily available part from any vendor. I bought them from Paragon for $25. It's the same unit, they just scrub the company name off it. You should return the porsche part and get the same part from elsewhere.
Just checked the part, its $22 at Paragon.
Raj

wi54545

Did you check Sunset Porsche? Just wait till you have to replace those M030 rotors. Ouch!

Luis de Prat

So true. We should consider ourselves lucky that Porsche Classic is still sourcing and selling parts for these old cars through the dealer channels. I'll take pricy Porsche parts over a pricy 'new' Porsche car payment any day.

The high cost is also due to the fact that parts for cars no longer in production for 10 years cease to be subsidized by the Porsche factory and are comparatively more expensive than parts for cars still in production. There was a pretty scary article by Peter Morgan in 911 & Porsche World a few years ago alerting enthusiasts about this. I cringe at the thought of what Boxster and 996 owners have coming when their decade of factory subsidized parts is up. Think of the prices on all those electronic parts...

At any rate, for our cars there's almost always a less expensive aftermarket alternative, although the quality is seldom quite the same, e.g., M030 rotors, as was said.

thirdgenbird

this seems to be why 924-968 values have taken a big hit. i have a strong feeling the entire front engine line will see a fair amout of attrition in the next five years.

jeff968

But on the plus side, especially with the 968s, they are very well thought out cars and very reliable. Over 13 years of 968 ownership my cars have been great just requiring care and regular maintenance. on top of that, many of the repair/maintenance tasks can be perfomed by owners.

PorscheG96

Yeah I think you're right.

I don't feel comfortable buying many parts that aren't from the dealer because the quality is poor and it's more likely that these parts will fail and cause more problems. Seals and belts are a good example. Unless there's some kind of list that we can put together where it's been shown that cheaper alternatives will work OK for certain parts...

RajDatta

Trevor, the heater control valve that Paragon sells is the same unit. I checked it and would not have put it in my car unless I was 100% certain its the same part. I am a stickler for oem so I make sure I only use oem parts. Same goes for the low pressure clutch hose. What they sell is exact same as what you would buy from Porsche.
Raj

ltc

Clearly $200 isn't a drop in the bucket and evidently means something to you, otherwise you wouldn't post something like this.

As a wise man once told me (back in the 70's when buying a Cadillac)....." if you have to ask what the gas mileage is, perhaps you shouldn't buy a Cadillac".

BTW, a (reman) OEM crate motor for a 996Turbo is about $26K...and a used 996Turbo is worth around $40K....such is the nature of cars.

LTCMontana

Another way to look at it...

There are cars still on the road MUCH older than ours. If you insist on staying with OEM, your desires will come at a huge cost. I beleive as long as there are resonable numbers of our cars on the road (remember about 90% of the parts on our cars are interchangable with 924/944 platforms), suppliers will provide those parts. You can still get Bosh parts for 50/60's era cars. BOGE shocks are available for 356s!

As Raj clearly states, if you do your homework, you can save a lot of money NOT buying from a dealer. Paragon is a fantastic source. Sunset Porsche is also (even though they are a "dealer" their parts dept knows where their allegiance is.

Drive em. Fix em. Enjoy em.

Rich Sandor

Thats your big mistake right there. Even the DEALERS will sell the aftermarket parts if they can. Plus, the factory parts are not always superior. And to be clear, the factory parts are not always made by Porsche.. they are almost all subcontracted out.. just because the box or bag they come in says porsche on it, doesnt mean it's made by porsche..

Luis de Prat

I don't think anyone was implying that Porsche made the parts. The quality issue stems from the fact that OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and OE (original equipment) are seldom the same, simply because manufacturers supply different quality parts to Porsche than to aftermarket vendors.

Brake rotors are a good example of this, where Zimmermann supplies Porsche with radially vented units that are corrosion treated on the hats and edges, whereas buying the equivalent rotors from Zimmermann vendors gets you a bare metal rotor that is not radially vented and gets surface rust on the hats and edges, albeit at a much lower price than OE.

Rich Sandor

Well you can get both the expensive and cheap rotors from the dealer, and you can get both the expensive and cheap rotors from zimmerman directly, or from any distributor.

I just don't like it when people assume that dealer or OEM is best. I work at a dealership and quite often we use aftermarket solutions because they are cheaper than from the factory, and in some cases a better product as well.