Radman

Hello everyone! Glad I found this resource. I'm 12-18 months away from purchasing a new vehicle. I plan on spending 35-40k and just happened to notice that used versions of my dreamcar fall into that category. So now I start the process of justification to the wife. Part of that justification will be what the average yearly maintenace costs are. I figure in my price range I should be able to get a 95-00 with 40-70k miles. Miles aren't much of a concern, good maintenace is. Which brings me back to my point. How much on average? How much does a top end rebuild cost? How often is it needed. I've seen some people say that if you question the maint costs then you can't afford the car, but I believe that to be silly. So please, just post what model you have, I'm looking at anything with a tiptronic(justification to the wife again), and what you estimate yearly maintenance costs to be. This should be a great resource to any newbie looking at getting one of these fine vehicles.

And yes, I know the 99 and 00 are 996's, not 993's, but I like to keep my options open.

Thanks in advance!

Jason

OldGuy

I bought my turbo in Sept. the clutch went out in 2 weeks
it cost $3500 to fix that and other things that needed attention
while the motor was out. So if you figure that in the first 2 weeks
I spent $3500 and lay that out for the whole year then 52 weeks
times 1750 would be about $91K for the year in maintenence.

But seriously folks, the 993 is pretty reliable if you do all the
routine maintenence. The 996's present their own problems
like the rear main seal issue. the 993 is the last hand built
911 so factor that in. Tires wear in about 10K miles especially
on AWD models. From what I understand the Tips are pretty
indestructable so no clutch replacement needed but do
research on them and see what costs are associated with
the automatics. brakes are going to be an issue( normal
wear).
I have
heard the rebuild for valve guides for carbon build up is
around $4K. there are plenty of threads here in the archives
to answer most questions you may have. use the search
feature and look stuff up separately in both the 993 and
the 996 forums. If you are going to go topless then research
all the top issues that go with older sports cars. But most
of all have fun on your search, that is half the fun. Be prepared
to go nation wide. Plan on $300 for a pre purchase inspection
and $1500 to ship from one coast to the other. East coast
911's may have fewer miles because they get stored for
winter. West coast examples get driven all year round.
Justification to your wife can be the best part. most of
us have made up the biggest fibs in our lives to pull the wool
over the better half's eyes. Mine was " I need a 911 or a mistress"
which do you preferr?" My wife said "get a girlfriend she'll be
cheaper!"

Jeff 993TT

My annual costs are about $5000 ( insurnace, registration, maintaince, mods )

Yes, figure on the mods being part of the annual cost. This year is a big one for me with my suspension, paint work, motor mounts, tires, brake rotors, etc.

I feel kinda of depressed now that I think about it.

Labatt

Jeff -

The grass is always greener... I'm depressed I haven't done all the mods I've wanted to yet...

Radman

Thanks for the replies. I'll definitely keep my options open on locating a car. In fact, that's part of my reasoning for getting involved in a couple forums. It would never hurt to have another enthusiast or owner take a look and give their honest opinion. Oh, and screw shipping . If I'm going to fly out to look at the thing, my butt is sitting in the drivers seat on the way back . Anyways, thanks on the info for the top end rebuild, it wasn't as bad as I was thinking.

Jason

Radman

Hmmm. I really thought insurance would be more than it is. I was quoted ~1200/year on either a 96 or a 99. I was expecting double. Better deal for me I guess.

Jason

deleonl1

Will you be doing the maintenance on the car yourself? Another way to save a lot of money. Check out p-car.com ... there's a great DIY section.

JPS

Robin on www.p-car.com has all his maint costs as well.

Radman

I definitely plan on doing as much of the maintenance as I can myself. I was a nuke machinist's mate in the navy so am comfortable with pretty much all things mechanical. Electrical too for that matter. Thanks for the site reference.

Jason

David in LA

Besides budgeting for oil changes and annual maintenance I would budget for 6 new tires every 2 - 2 1/2 years (two sets of rear and one set of front) so figure $1000/yr for tires. I would also add $3-5K to your initial budget upfront to fix any issues that invariably come up within the first 6 mos of ownership (something always comes up )...if nothing comes up then use this for your mod fund

I personally am not fond of the 996 but if you go that route I would stay away from the early years even if they are under an extended warranty given the drivetrain issues.

Radman

Thanks for the advice David. I like the looks of the 996 but had concerns about the early years myself and will probably pass on them in favor of a 993. Not sure why but the 993 just looks more like a 911 to me. I'd actually budget 4 tires/year already and priced them at tirerack. Excellent idea on the slush fund, what's another month or two wait to get a car right? Figure wait 6 months to see if something major breaks, then get some quality upgrades.

Where does everybody go to test drive some of these beasts? I really don't want to waste a dealers time when I'm at least a year away from purchasing, more likely 18-24 months. None of the Porsche dealers in my area carry pre-99 911's. Is it worth trying to build a relationship with the specialty dealers? Join a club and beg? I'd love to get my wife in one and see what she thinks about it. If I can bring her over to the dark side then I'm golden.

Jason