911mhawk

I know there have been many posts about the cost of ownership and what to look for or expect when considering a purchase. Frequently questions are posted where the goal seems to be gaining an understanding of what one may be getting themselves into.

While the turbo is a relative bargain for the performance level, some things could certainly surprise one with a weak stomach. I thought it would be good to share reality from experience over a first year of ownership.

Last December a co-worker started telling me about how he was going to get a 997t and what a good bargain they looked to be. I started looking too, then joined this site 1/20/15 to educate myself a little bit. On 2/28, I had a very clean 03 X50! All stock except for F14's, and a factory new engine that had been installed 14k miles earlier. New engine included all new accessories, K24's, etc., so I figured I'd mitigate some possible maintenance items right away.

Asking price was $49k, we settled at $44k with a numeric shifter and FVD steering wheel that I had to reinstall since the PO knew the car would sell easier "stock" and the performance stuff is worth more sold separately. More on the "stock" car BS some other time...

So, I did all filters (this means charcoal & fuel too) and all fluids right away to get to know the car a little, $400 maybe.
UMW tune about a week or two into ownership, $1,000 (best $ spent).
Set of NT-01's about a week or two after that, another $1,200 (2nd best $)
Brake pads, rear rotors and Motul bleed, hood and decklid struts, say $600.
Inner tie rods, Tarett: outer tie rods with bump steer, monoball strut/shock mounts, Cup Series LCA, dog bones, sway bar links $3,200
Alignment $200
Might as well replace the 3 radiators while cleaning them (experience with plastic tank radiators tells me they always go out when you're far from home and can't do it yourself for cheap) $1,200 + about $200 in hoses.
Wheel Stud Kit $240
Another set of Nt-01's $1,200
Pagid rs-29's & more Motul- $700
UMW lightweight flywheel and clutch kit $2,400
997 trans mount and RS motor mounts $800, if I remember right.
Coolant reservoir, level indicator, cap, clutch slave, accum, master - $900

The good news is that some of this could be deemed unnecessary and thus your ownership experience may be cheaper! Additionally, I didn't include the cost of some track outings that may have sped up some of the abouve maintenance/mods. The good news is that for the $14,240 listed above, I got over 8k miles of use!

One thing the track definitely sped up is my trans rebuild, oh joy!
At least for that $10k I'll have new GT2 internals, steel synchros and a cooler to keep from cooking it again.
Oh wait I said cooler, another $1k...
NEWBS - make sure you read the transmission cooler stuff before you shake down your ride at the track a few times!

Oh yea, I almost forgot the best part...I have some hybrids from Kevin on the way to offset my maintenance spending with mod spending.

My point with all this is that if you think you're going to have a bargain supercar, realize those words in combination are relative.

Anyone else want to share their fun?

jeanmarcboilard

First year: clutch, rims, tires, tune, external wastegates, plugs, coils, fluids, filters, hoses. I'm in the $10k club as well. No track days yet.

Can be a bargain to buy (mine was not) but it's definitely not a bargain to maintain. I imagine my maintenance costs will go down next year, but then again, I am planning on hitting the track.

Atrox

First year: oil change and a new ignition switch.

Other than gas I've sunk about $200 bucks on my ride.

So there is the other side of the coin for you. The fact that the engine was replaced didn't scare you away from this car?

sanyata

Being as $8,800 of your list appears to be unnecessary elective items and $2,400 in tires the remaining $3,000 seems in line with what should be budgeted for initial cost of ownership. What was the mileage on the car when purchased?

88mmm

Either the op is trolling or has enough money to just throw it around. Maybe you bought the wrong car for 44k. Anyway most of the things you replaced\paid for in the first year will last a while and have nothing to do with annual maintenance.

jumper5836

Money well spent making it a endurance track car, probably can keep up to practically everything out there on the track. I am sure more money into brakes will be needed. Still quite a bargain the compared to a gt3.

Th Dude

Nice list.
I sure hope, for your sake, that you addressed those troublesome coolant fittings when you dropped the engine to do that clutch job.

Olemiss540

Being a somewhat recent 996tt purchaser, this list of first year necessary maintenance is extremely helpful for my budgeting purposes. Would you say about $1500 a month would be sufficient for use in our cash flow budget? I have extensive background in the BMW scene from taking 8 years to transform a garage queen into dedicated track car, so I look forward to saving some money now on maintenance thanks to the Pcar.

One quick question: I am still on the original tune on my 2003 with 60K miles, how many more miles can I expect prior to having to repair with UMW or similar?

It seems like folks in a small way like to prove how much money they make by describing how much money they spend. I for one applaud your efforts in proving the 996tt is still the ultimate supercar for the wealthy regardless for what they can be purchased on the used market!

Atrox

Seems that op had the right mind set to tackle all these items and keep the car in top form.

I don't plan on tracking my car so this list seems more geared to that mindset. By no means would I have bought this car if $1500 was the average monthly cost. If that was the case I would have financed a brand new one. The appeal for me partly was the fact that this is a dependable car and budget conscious people can and do afford the cars.

x50type

I have had my 996tt 102 months, average monthly cost excluding gas, insurance and tax is $33.00.

BillZ260

2002 6spd car, have put about 3k of the 4,500 I negotiated off the asking price into the car. 6000+ miles in my 6 months of ownership. Been really happy with it.

911mhawk

The PO provided all the supporting documentation/receipts from the Porsche dealership that he ordered the new engine through & install it. I looked at this as part of the reason I paid a little more than others could have been had for. The other reason was that I wanted blk on blk and it was nice to get a local car that had complete records.

911mhawk

54k

911mhawk

This is what I was thinking too. Hopefully I get a couple years with lots of fun miles, many track days and much less spending.
I have thought about w.hat else I'd prefer for similar dough and can't come up with anything, yet.

911mhawk

I'd say $1,500 is way more than you need to budget, unless something expensive fails, or you want to improve things.

Depends on what has been done in those 60k for parts.
I believe most tunes are for good and last forever but could be wrong.

My point on spending was that if you plan to really drive these cars and get bent on making them better, you can quickly go man overboard