VerySideways

Wow, you guys spend a lot of money on your cars.
I do about 24k miles per year, and i see a 12k mile service at £210 (about US$370) and a 24k mile service at £430 (about US$800). Also rears last me 6k miles so i need 4 pairs at £380 a pair (US$700) and fronts last 12k miles, so 2 pairs at £280 a pair (US$500).
So, that's (700x4)+(500x2)+(370)+(800) = US$4970

Okay, so i guess i spend $5000 a year too, but i use the car every day and do over 24k miles in it! How much mileage do you guys do for your $5k a year?

Stummel

About 5K USD a year as long as car stays stock.
More hp equals more maintenance costs.

Do not forget that you have will experience very little drop in value of the car, especially when you keep the mileage rather low.

If it is your daily driver you pay 5000 USD for having at least twice a day absolut fun for 200 days every single year. I feel that WOT in these cars is worth at least a 50 USD. So the turbo saves you a lot of $$$.

midcont

Tim,
Heres my one years ownership costs with a 14,XXX mile two owner car:
15,000 miles I did the 30k service (time rather then milege) --$1200
17,000 miles I had the V1 hard wired into the ashtray --$100
18,000 miles oil/filter change --$200
19,000 miles I put on bilsten HD's --$1900 installed
20,500 miles reglued the sunroof leather which was releasing --$175

now at almost 22k miles. the car has been mechanically sound and a pleasure to own and experience.
what you will spend on upgrades (both necessary and not) depends on what your looking to get out of the car. Certainly a 40 or 50k mile car with all the upgrades done that is well maintained is a better buy then an low milege unmolested example, it just depends on what your looking for starting out.

Keep in mind though that this car will nickle and dime you for a few hunderd here and there (like my sunroof leather...and i think my boost guauge is on the fritz) and thats just a fact of life you need to accept with a car of this age. going forward, I'm sure to experience larger mechanical issues that will cost more to fix.

Peter S 993tt

Well actually the AC in the 993tt works very well - I havent' had a problem with it at all except that the condenser fan balast resistor failed - a common problem $100 for the part and I replaced it myself. I'm planning to do the oil cooler one too. FWIW if your fans go either off or high and no low - then this is the problem.

As far as the 5000 per year, that includes having my HVAC system cleaned because of mold - I know weird and definitely not normal. That led to a couple of extra expenses - new heater valve on the driver's side $100 part I did myself becuase it shorted out, and a new airbag controller for $1000 because that shorted out too due to the water from cleaning the HVAC.

Gordon Attar

Sideways
75% of your running costs are tyres, I dont think thats representative, try driving in a straight line more often and stop doing donut's in the local supermarket.

Tim 252
Find the right car, the right specialist(to keep costs down) and have it inspected.
remember 993's are meant to be the most reliable of the Porsches.

Seriously my specialist says and I've seen the comment many a time elsewhere that the Turbo's are generally the most reliable on a like for like usage basis because they are basically over engineered due to the stresses, strain's and heat.

Obviously the Turbo's and ancillary's are extra costs, though the $1500 I've seen quoted hear for replacement/refurbish is v.reasonable and only the 24k service is an extra 75%.... so with the exception of some of the worst scenarios rearing there ugly heads which can happen with any car there, surely is not much in it.

One last comment dont drive one unless your serious, as there will be no going back.
Regards
Gordon

Woodster

I spent $19,000-20,000 total with what started out as an oil leak.
when I was done the car was perfect and would have only needed normal
oil changes, etc for next 30,000 miles. It had about 40,000 miles on it (?)
when I sold it.
I would have a minimum of $5000 ready and able to be spent on initial
maintenance items. In my humble (but experienced) opinion.
MK

ca993twin

I bought Waldo 3 years ago with 49.5k miles. The previous owner had to replace the leaky steering rack, the clutch slave cylinder, and the fan resistors. Most of my expenses were... ahhh... "optional" (upgrades that I chose to do). My maintenace expenses were tires, brakes, and eventually, the 60k service. When I decided to sell Waldo (for Rufus), I had the leaking valve cover gaskets repaired. This was shortly after an oil change where the infamous "Mahle" oil filter was used. Sure enough, my turbo "needed" replacement. Might have been its lifetime, or it may have been the wrong filter, but in either case, Waldo got a pair of Stage 1 turbos from Kevin. Clutch is still original at 68k miles.

Rufus (100k miles, 14k on total Ruf Turbo R conversion) nailed me with an bad alternator almost as soon as I got him off the truck. He is still in "upgrade" mode, so too new to know what maintenance items are left to do.

Peter S 993tt

Steve - I recommend that you do what I did - convert to the single belt RS setup. My alternator failed because of the faulty idle bearing for the fan. We replaced the whole thing and the alt belt kept popping. The solution was to go to the single belt - never had a problem since.

GoldenBear

I have a stock 96 993tt that I've owned for 3 years. I drive about 3-4k miles per year. I put new tires on it when I bought it, paid for the 60k mile service one year after ownership ($1800) and have done 2 oil changes ($150 a pop). Maybe I don't drive it enough (or modify it enough) to have major problems, but this car has been rock-solid from day 1. Compared to my Range Rover, well... don't get me started.

jmcd33

I should add that I bought the car with 70K+ miles on it and have put an additional 40K miles on it in approximately 18 months. I do not believe my car is unreliable or prone to issues.. Based on the mileage and constant driving I do, things wear down. I dont understand how you can buy a car of this type and not drive it alot. I have put more miles on my car in the past six months than many have since buying it new in 1996. To put my $20K figure in perspective, I have spent about .50 cents per mile in maintenance and repair which in relative terms is far less than the folks who are spending $5K a year and driving in the single digit thousands. I simply dont understand how you can only put 2K miles a year on this car., I have two other pretty decent vehicles (which I admittedly have driven less since getting the TT) and I still rack up the mileage. I prefer the TT for long road trips as well as daily commuting, grocery runs, etc. I drove the TT to miami and back the first weekend I had it, I have done D.C. and back a few times, Vermont and back, St. Louis and back, DE.etc. etc. Cost of ownership is relative to the owners usage of the car. When the engine finally dies I will upgrade it and start the process all over again. There is a guy at my shop that has a beautiful 993 with 190K miles on it... so at the rate 2K mile a year owners are going... they will be dead before they get the full driving opportunity out of their cars. In conclusion, I pay less and get more out of my car than others. As it relates to the premium/discount associated with the secondary market and low/high mileage examples, the concept of stored value and depreciation or (gasp) appreciation is negligible when you factor in time in the seat. If you take a moment to evaluate your own cost per mile metric and add in depreciation for your car, you will find that you will have paid less per mile when you sell it if you drive it more, than if it just sits in the garage. Do we not buy (pay money for) these cars to drive them in the first place? Drive your cars!

Peter S 993tt

You obviously don't drive in New York or Manhattan.
The car doesn't come to the city if I can help it - I have cracked rims on these potholes, nevermind my back. Also - I personally don't like driving it in the snow or when there is a ton of salt on the roads. I don't think you have these problems in Texas. I also like this model in particular, and I don't like the 996tt, so - if I break this one too badly I can't just go to the factory and buy a new one. This is the car I want and I will drive it the way I want when I want and where I want. Am I clear?

jmcd33

You are clear, but I still betcha wish you could drive it more like me!

Peter S 993tt

On that note - you are probably right - a$$ in seat time is priceless.

Peter S 993tt

PS - it's been some day today - sorry.

GoldenBear

This, of course, is a major reason people end up SELLING these cars, they don't feel they are getting "enough" out of the investment. But that is a completely personal decision. You drive yours 25,000+ miles a year, and feel you are getting your money's worth. I drive mine 3k miles a year and equally feel I get my money's worth. In fact, I would shoot myself if I had to drive that many miles a year, no matter what the car. My commute to work is 2 miles. I get infinite pleasure driving on the back roads here in North Carolina, and have taken several trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I get only a little pleasure, and in fact a hell of a lot of stress driving the car to the grocery store, worrying about the redneck in the F250 King-cab that finds it funny to park over the line next to me. Last weekend I was released from all home-duties and washed, clayed, polished, and waxed the P-car... and loved every minute. I love owning my car, driving it, washing it, babying it, and that has very little to do with how many miles I put on it a year.