Mr Bean

How realistic is it to keep a modern Porsche for 200k plus miles? Two of my last three cars made it to 250k miles. The one that didn’t make it was totaled when I hit a deer. I’ve been hearing that cars were getting increasingly complex for the last thirty years and every time I get a new car I get more milage from it. I understand a new PDK transmission can cost up to 25k to replace, but if you got the manual Carerra S, can you keep it for 20 years/200k miles?

detansinn

Miles don’t kill cars. Sitting and disuse kills cars.

If the 911 is driven regularly, kept in a rodent free garage, and regularly scheduled maintenance is followed, it’ll keep going and going. If you start deferring maintenance and/or just let it sit for long periods of time, that’s when the trouble begins.

I wouldn’t worry about the transmission. The transmissions are overbuilt for the task at hand. You’re not going to break the PDK with regular use, it won’t spontaneously fail, and you’ll never have to replace the clutches. At some point, the manual transmission will need a new clutch, but no big deal.

PASM and dynamic engine mounts are probably a bigger area of concern, but if you’re actively using the car, you’re less likely to have issues with seals, etc. Cars that get regular exercise have fewer issues with systems like these.

Folks get worked up about electronics, but you can still play an Atari 2600 from more than 40 years ago. For electronics, corrosion and rodents are your biggest worries. Barring poor heat management in the overall design, electronics generally are not going to fail. There’s an important exception to this — flash memory can fail if it isn’t used properly, ie. too many writes (see failures in early Tesla’s).

Again, with the “rodents”? Have a cat on your property and/or traps in your garage, because rodents love the taste of wire insulation. I have multiple friends whose cars had to be towed after sitting a few weeks in a barn or garage, because the mice chewed up their wiring harnesses. Replacing a wiring harness can be a cripplingly expensive repair and long wait, even if covered by your insurance. The shorts caused by the chewed up insulation can lead to a series of nightmarish issues with various components.

Porsche has been good with hardware updates for things like the PCM. If you’re still driving your 992 in 20 years, you’ll likely be able to pick up a Porsche Classic updated PCM. If not, there will be some other aftermarket solution for vintage 992 owners.

I’ve already got 27k miles on mine. It’s more stout than when I bought it new. It still looks awesome. These are quality machines and not something that’s just going to fall apart in a couple of years. Drive it, maintain it, and keep it in a garage when you’re not out adventuring.

F8Driver

Good technique goes a long way to clutch life. Replacement is not a given with a well driven car and the clutch can easily exceed the life of other consumables.

detansinn

True, I’ve gotten 90k miles out of a clutch, but 200k on one clutch is asking a lot. 😜

aggie57

If anything with use and maintenance modern cars will last longer than cars of 10/20/30 years ago. The materials are better, oils are better. Just don’t always believe those long service intervals.

ipse dixit

It's not the number of miles that matter.

It's how those miles are accumulated that matter.

A poorly maintained car (no regular oil changes, WOT on cold starts, etc.) will not last much past 50k, or even 25k.

A well maintained car (regularly serviced, proper warmup, etc.) will last well past 100k and 200k and longer, assuming parts are still around for ICE automobiles when you reach 200k miles.

rouxeny

I think this is likely to be my last fun ICE car. The future is electric. Those cars will be fun also, but not the same.

I hope to keep it for a long long time.

politeperson

Even though they are galvanized, they can all rust. I have replaced many body sections in cars that are fully galvanized but are now over 25 years old and being restored.

I would investigate the wax protection given to the car from factory.

Wax-oiling the seams and closed box sections by a firm that knows what they are doing would be an excellent idea, especially if you live in an area where the roads are salted.

Every car car a body waxing sheet showing the locations of the entry point for the probes. The instructions will also advise which product to use for the different areas.

With regards to clutch mileage, out local independent Mercedes garage used to service a Mercedes W124 wagon (320TE) that was petrol blue. It had one owner from new and was on the same engine clutch and gearbox when it rolled over 500,000 miles.

I doubt it was driven in a particular sporty style however! I wonder if it still exists.

detansinn

The body panels on a 992 are all aluminum. The chassis itself is aluminum. There’s very little steel in these cars — just a couple of members within the car.

Given the construction of the 992 and Porsche’s anti-corrosion efforts, I wouldn’t expect rust to be an issue over the next 20 years. Heck, Porsche’s corrosion warranty is 12 years on these cars.

drcollie

I drove my first Porsche to 232,000 miles (1970 911E) and along that journey had to do rust repairs, syncros, valve guides and heat exchangers. But that was it. I drove that car like I stole it, and it never let me down. Original clutch and suspension all those miles. I abused that poor car so badly that one of my favorite things to do when not autocrossing on a Sunday was to take it into the nearby national forest and do fire roads as fast as I could go, because no cops - right? Jump the car over small hills, crash through streams, the whole bit. That was 46 years ago, and I finally sold it because my girlfriend was complaining too much about the fact it didn't have air conditioning and wanted my to buy a new Mazda RX-7, which I did (huge disappointment, that car didn't last long)

Now I have Porsche # 7 / # 8 / # 9 in the garage. They have all been rock solid unlike the flaky Aston Martin and BMW's I have owned as well. Porsches are meant to be driven, and driven hard. Sure, you will have expenses along the way like any machine, but overall they are tough cars unlike other semi-exotics. Many here on this list worry and fuss over a paint chip or some function on the PCM not being to their liking, or they get a little cramp in their back because the seat doesn't fit them well. Pffffft....stop going to Cars and Coffee and go find a fireroad and drive it. FUN.

colnagoG60

There's no way a 40 year old joystick is still working, with regular use.

detansinn

The leaf switch Wico ones still do. 😜

colnagoG60

Those were game changers...but if those aren't broken either, you're not playing right.


Back on topic, is the PDK similar to the VW DSG, in that it is modular, with separate control unit, hydraulic pumps, et al? If so, those may be weak links. Although it looks like some indie shops are venturing out to replace bad sensors, which previously initiated a whole trans replacement.

ipse dixit

The only way I keep my joystick working is with regular use. Especially after 40 years of use.

politeperson

True,
But it all turns to dust.
The 992 has plenty of steel to protect.
The aluminum could do with some help too judging by the bubbling on mu XK120 and Land Rover Defender on which I have had to deal with aluminium oxidation from underneath.
Cars corrode from the inside out, that is where the wax needs to be to stop the oxygen.
Then they last forever.