rpm's S2

Fairly simple actually... in general cars that are manufactured to a low to medium price point and designed for a mass audience tend to favor reliability over performance and design, i.e. Toyota Camry. Owners of these cars expect a basic transportation experience for a minimum of trouble and cost.

Imagine the outcry if an IMS-like problem had struck Toyota or Honda. It would have effected literally hundreds of thousands of cars, with potentially catastrophic impact on sales. In the wake of the IMS problem Porsche sales have skyrocketed.

As cars get more expensive the market generally segments into 'luxury' and 'sport.' Manufacturers can prioritize design and performance at a higher level, and while not necessarily sacrifice reliability, they can place less focus on it than in a Camry. To gain higher levels of performance requires closer tolerances, higher levels of stress and heat, and lighter materials. All of this contributes to higher maintenance costs and greater potential for failure.

Cars of these types are purchased by people with a greater ability to afford maintenance and repair - and who usually only keep the car during the initial warranty period. Therefore initial repair costs cause less damage to the brand/model than they would to a less expensive, mass-market car. And original owners rarely shoulder those costs. Additionally, owners of sports car usually have several other cars in the garage - and are supported by dealers with equivalent loaner cars during repairs - so time out of service for repairs does not significantly impact owner loyalty and satisfaction.

Bottom line: Expensive sports cars are generally less reliable and require higher maintenance than your average family sedan. Owners tend to accept that trade off for the pleasure of the driving experience. With that in mind, I've found my 996 to be a fairly reliable, well-built car... after I replaced the IMS bearing and had an RMS leak repaired.

GearC4Se

Interesting thread, comparisons often benefit from a calculation that involves "rate" such as dollars per mile or dollars per month, so I've put all my car's repairs on an Excel spreadsheet and included miles and dates, then I can look at the rate of spend on repairs over time, even slice it up by years or by 10k miles groups, and it's helpful to give to the next owner as well as doing the calculation of when to sell- if dollars per mile are increasing significantly it may be time.

So my car works out to be $113/month or $0.53/mi, that does not include the original purchase price (which would be easy to do) nor gasoline but includes everything else. Ive done the IMS and RMS, light switch, a few batteries, fluid changes, tire changes, a cam selonoid, water pump and getting ready to replace the x-pipe and cats.

Dennis C

If I had followed this rule, then I might still own a 996!

KNS

This might have been 'accepted' in decades past but it is really an outdated concept. If I am paying $100,000+ for a brand new luxury/GT today they had better deliver to me a car every bit as reliable as a Camry. The bar these days is simply set higher (by the luxury car brands themselves), their marketing and advertising wants us to believe that that's the way it is.

Taking time out of my day and going to the dealer to return a defective car and pick up a loaner would be a pain in the a$$ whether you make $50K or $250K.

m3driver

$50 a yr, in oil changes...I only change the oil once a yr

JimmyChooToo

The current 6.3 V12 engine has a MSRP of $130,000. Wow.

rpm's S2

No 100K sports car is as reliable as a mid-size sedan or full size pick up. None. Zero. And they literally can't be to do what they need to do.

And while it's no sports car, my 2012 Cayenne just needed a water pump at 42K. A water pump. Tech told me they see it all the time.

Seeeu911

Routine maintenance is so important for a DD
Air filter after 6 months of DD