DriftFreak

I have been wanting a 911 for the longest time, ever since I created this account, but it was just a pipe dream then. I'm now in a much better place to be able to finally afford one (I think). It's now or never so I'm just gonna do it.

I've decided to go with a 997.2 for a peace of mind regarding the IMS stuff, and it's in my price range. I'm mainly looking for a base C2 manual or pdk with less than 60k miles for ~40-43k. I think that's a reasonable range for what I have seen. I'm open to a C2S if it's a little more, but I don't think the chances of that happening are too high. Though, I do have some questions for you guys. Can anyone give me a ballpark number on how much maintenance costs on these yearly assuming I can find one with 40-60k miles? I've been going through a ton of listings lately, but it's really hard to find the right one or I'm just picky. I'm open to going anywhere in the US for it and have it shipped if need be though that'll cut into my budget.

If anyone has any advice for things I should watch out for on these cars or the buying process, I'd love to hear it.

php

My car fits the bill, 997.2 Base manual with 50k ish miles. I browse for newer cars all the time but not sure if I'm ready to sell mine. Was my first 911 after all.

Now on to the question. Mine has been very reliable (no mechanical issues so far and I've had the car for 5+ years now). Just routine maintenance. The only thing outside of that I had to do was a new battery, and also the driver side door handle spring broke, which is a $25 part, unfortunately labor was $300. Other than that, my car burns some oil once in a while, I just top it off. Based on this forum, some cars do and some doesn't. I don't drive mine daily so that could have something to do with it too.

Oil change - approx $220 at the dealer, a little bit cheaper if you go independent. My major service was approx $1400 at the dealer, independent shops could charge you a few hundred cheaper. Tire replacement for all four is between $1500 - $2000, brakes for all four (including rotors since you can't turn them) will be between $2k and $3k depending on where you go. That's about all the info I could give you based on my experience as my car had no issues. Definitely recommend.

This is my 2nd Porsche. My 1st was a 2006 Cayman S, had that for only a year, but again not a single issue. Quite satisfied with the Porsche sports cars so far. Not gonna comment on the SUVs/Sedans.

kcheves

These cars are easy to work on. If you can do the easy maintenance (engine oil and filter, brake fluid/pads/rotors, engine and cabin air filters) they are surprisingly affordable to operate.

Iceter

I agree. My '09 C2 is a daily driver. I do brake jobs myself and the next oil change will be at home. Doing basic maintenance in your garage can save you a ton of money.

The dealer prices given above are spot on. So, alot depends on how much you will be driving and how much you do yourself.

I have owned my car for almost 7 years and put 60k miles on it. I have 79k on the car now. I have replaced 2 batteries, the motor mounts, pads and rotors at all 4 corners at 40k miles (and they're due again soon) and also replaced the door latch as noted above. I did all this myself. The 40k service was pricey and the 80k will be, too.

I will have my water pump replaced at the 80k service as a preventative measure.

The cars are expensive to maintain if you compare them to a Honda or Chevrolet, but probably cheaper (and definitely more reliable) if you compare them to a BMW,, Audi or a Ferrari or other high-strung exotic.

75Outlaw

They are out there. I paid 41K for a 2010 Cab with PDK and leather interior upgrade with bose, navigation and the iPhone option. No other real stand out options. 31K miles as well. even had 6 months of aftermarket warranty. That was at a dealer, it took a while to find but its a fantastic car.

Personal opinion time. I have a track car and I drove the S and the base and even looked at PDK turbos. The base car is great for street driving. It never feels under powered and it rev's quickly. The PDK is fantastic though not as good as the PDK in the 991, not sure if its just programming or if there is a mechanical difference. Mine has the 18 wheels and on bad roads like we have in LA that helps. Top goes down quick. I really like the standard 14 way non sport seats. I have very wide shoulders and am thinner at the waist and they fit me perfectly. I would not buy a car with the non power seats though.

DriftFreak

Really appreciate the prices you gave.


Good to know they're fairly reliable. I'm probably only going to drive it ~6-8k miles a year so I hope all I need to do yearly are oil changes. Then brakes and tires whenever I need them plus the major services every 40k. Do you think extended warranties are a good idea on these? I know that's a bit vague as I don't have any pricing on them, but if they're pretty reliable and scheduled services won't be included in extended warranties anyway, I should just go without one? Also, is it worth having the dealer do all maintenance work rather than doing it myself just so I can have some service history and keep the value a little higher when I want to sell it?

sandwedge

As somebody else said, regular maintenance isn't bad and the basic stuff is pretty easy to do on your own like engine and cabin air filters or an engine oil change. Even if you don't want to deal with these things yourself, my dealership charges around $200 for an oil change just as an example.

As for things to watch out for, in my opinion for a 997.2 it depends on if you get a manual or a PDK. The 997.2 engine seems almost fail proof so I would feel very comfortable owning a manual 997.2 without a warranty. Same car with PDK, probably not since I had a PDK failure on my -09 C4S that cost $14,000. Covered by an extended warranty but not something you forget about. Also, you're looking at cars with miles in the 40K to 60K mile range. There's a required 60,000 mile service on the PDK. Had mine done about a year ago and it cost me just short of $1,500 if memory serves. May have been a few other unrelated items included in that total but it's a rather costly service no matter how you look at it.

So if maintenance cost and repair costs are a concern, get a manual. Just me and obviously because of the PDK failure I went through I wouldn't own a PDK car without a warranty. Not because the failure rate is high (pretty rare based on feedback here and elsewhere) but because the dealers still aren't allowed to open up the units and fix what sometimes may be very simple repairs.

So that's my gripe with the PDK. Love how it operates but the fact that with a few exceptions, if it goes bad it's shipped back to Germany and you have no choice but to buy a replacement unit. I hear prices have come down and you may be able to find a salvage unit but an expensive affair no matter which path you choose to get it resolved.

mujeriega

Haven't had my 997.2 C2 PDK as others but most maintenance can be done by yourself as long as you have someplace to work on the car. Only thing done at an Indie was the transmission and clutch fluid change (6 yr/60k) which cost $500. Everything else is reasonable to do yourself and is probably worth the savings. The only thing that has been hard was the spark plugs and that is only because getting the heat shields off and on were a puzzle.

DriftFreak

Seems like I should definitely consider doing most of the simple stuff on my own and I suppose I would just keep my receipts for service history.

On a side note, What do you guys reckon a 09 C2S with 50-60k should be around? I was browsing the classifieds seeing if there were any recent sales history on what something like that would go for, but the range seems fairly large. I did see one of the more recent listings from a few months back https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1123407 and whether or not it was sold, is this a good example of what to expect from C2S prices or can I find something similar for a little cheaper?

chuckgm3

This will largely depend on the area of the country you're looking in. I was resigned to 997.1's at first since that's all that I could find to fit my budget, but I put an offer in on an out of state vehicle on Ebay last week and got my '09 C2S 6MT with 41k miles for $42k. I knew this was a good deal, but the Porsche/Ferrari shop in Los Angeles that I took it to for a PPI literally offered me $50K on the spot for it.

Finding a 997.2 with a manual transmission proved to be very very difficult. Porsche says that about 38% were 6MT, but apparently those who have them, just aren't selling them. I'd say if you find one for less than 50, ****** it up.

sandwedge

38% is far and away the highest number I've ever seen for manual vs. PDK since it was introduced. Where did you get that number from? Almost double the common consensus of 20/80 which would explain why the manuals are so hard to find.

chuckgm3

You might be right. I went looking for the article I found that listed 38% but that may have been for 997’s overall. I know that the .2’s got a lot more PDK. Here’s an article from 2016 that mentions an even lower 15% MT rate although this would have been for 991’s I would imagine 997.2’a are similar

”At the moment 85 percent of Porsche’s global 911 production comes equipped with the PDK automatic, although that figure is trending downward of late.”

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a1...g-as-possible/

GTSence

One other point to know is that the maintenance is specified by mileage and age. For example, a major service is due at 80k miles or 8 years. My 2011 only has 35k miles, but it is still getting the 80k major service this summer. Tires are another good example... replace every 6 years even if they aren't fully worn... although you have bigger problems if there is a Porsche in the garage and the tires age out before wearing out! Good luck finding the right car!

C4SDayton

That 8020 might be accurate for last several years, or even overall for 997.2, but for 09 when PDK first arrived, I would think the manual take rate would have been higher still, until new buyers realized how much better the PDK was than Tip. Plus PDK was about 4k upgrade in middle of recession.

Stéphane Lepage

Been said more than enough times and I couldn't agree more.... if you are not the littlest mechanically inclined, you better be rich, cause the dealer will rape you with your pants on. But then again if you are rich, you can afford one that is still under factory warranty.

Example. I just changed the driver door handle pivot spring and for that $30 part, the dealer was charging me 2.5 hour. That is $360 in labor!!!

Well, I sat down, checked the youtube tutorials, drove to the local parts store to get the door moldings removal tool and tackled the job. 2 hours later, I was done!!! Cause I was taking my time and it was the first time.

Here comes the spicy part. Once I was done, I realized that I had forgotten to tighten 2 bolts from the inner door panel cause I had considered to also change the lock cable. I was afraid that those loose bolts might cause rattling, even if my Targa rattles more than enough already.

So I dove-in again and 25 minutes later, I had undone and redone the whole thing!!!!

Food for thoughts....