twlai

I am thinking (more like in the process ) of buying a 997.1 (2006) C4 to be
my daily driver.

this will be my first Pcar, what are the quirk that i should be expecting?
from what i read, 911 is the best "everyday" supercar, and i've been
wanting a porsche for a long time, but how much $$$ or inconvenient
will i buy into?

after research here, many post said the main expense is new tire every 12000 mi.

what about :

can i bring it to jiffylube for a quick oil change?
or should i do it myself instead?
can i have firestone to do tire change/mount and alignment?
how often should i do alignment?
how long does brake last? Clutch?
how easy to change brake/rotor DIY? (may go to track)
Some post said not use Mobil 1?
Brake fluid bleed/flush ?

what other maintainence will there be?

You can probably feel it, I am getting quite nervous now, in a good way

twlai

also how long does the spring & shock last?

fast1

I have never seen a Porsche of any year at Jiffy lube.

Spokane5150

can i bring it to jiffylube for a quick oil change? I wouldn't. Do it yourself for peace of mind. Use a Porsche Filter and Mobil 1. It'll take you and hour but you can examine the filter and the oil. I do mine every $5k miles. So if you pay to have Porsche do it you're in at about $150-180. Air Filter and Cabin Filter is another $200.

can i have firestone to do tire change/mount and alignment? Yes, that shouldn't be a problem. Tire Rack or Discount for tires may be better for prices on tires. You'd have to check if Firestone would even touch the car. Alignment isn't brain science but I suspect you could find a fantastic Independent Porsche Mechanic that would do the alignment or make a recommendation. Tires every 20-25k miles and $1900 a pop.

how often should i do alignment? If you don't hit any pot holes I can't see you doing an alignment for many 10's of thousands of miles. You'll notice abnormal wear issues in the tires like cupping or wear on the inside or outside edges and pulling of the steering wheel if the car is out of alignment. I've probably only had one alignment in 30 year on 20+ cars.

how long does brake last? Clutch? Proly 25-30k on the brakes and 50-100k on the clutch. It depends on the driving and how hard you are on both the brakes and the clutch. Some people go a long time on both but some some them fast. Brakes around $2000 DIY unless they're carbon and then $10k.

how easy to change brake/rotor DIY? (may go to track) Easy! You have to replaced the rotors because they are cross-drilled. The Track will smoke your brakes fast. You'll find DIY for brakes on this forum.

Some post said not use Mobil 1? Yes....cannot go wrong with Mobil 1. Jesus uses Mobil 1.

Brake fluid bleed/flush ? I'd say if you can do this yourself do it every year to keep that fantastic brake feel especially if you plan to drive year round. Brake fluid is cheap. You'll need to replace the brake fluid before and after each track event to be safe and guarantee you fluid is up to the task.

what other maintainence will there be? Probably need to do plugs after 4 years or 50k miles I think. You can also do this yourself. Some guys replace the coils especially if they are up around the 50k miles. But if you do it at 4-years and you only have 30k miles like mine then you probably can pass on the coils.

You can probably feel it, I am getting quite nervous now, in a good way [/QUOTE]

After the kids are gone I'm thinking about getting an older 911 C2S and using it as a daily driver and using it for track weekends. Something to rag on a bit. I think you'd be very happy with the 911 C4S. Great car and solid mechanically. There are some issues with the Intermediate Shaft IMS and the Rear Main Seal RMS but if you have the car completely examined by a Porsche Mechanic he should be able to give your new car a clean bill of health. Some people go with extended warranty. I don't plan to extend my warranty. If you're a big DIY Guy then go to www.suncoastparts.com and check out all the parts cost there. It'll give you a good idea on the cost on some of the stuff.

Spokane5150

Just a guess but I think the shocks would be good for 80k miles. You can buy Bilstein or have yours rebuilt from what I understand. Depends if you car is equipped with PSAM but either way someone makes an after market shock.

twlai

Spokane5150,

Thanks for your detail reply. The car I am looking at already has 66k mile on it,
and the seller claimed he just did the 60k service at a porsche dealership.
The RMS and IMS is on my mind, and may be I should dump $3k to change the clutch
and upgrade the IMS and RMS.....
what about extended warranty? there are so no different company that offer aftermarket
warranty, and i heard many of them are not that good, and they are very expensive.
Anyone has good experience with good warranty company?

twlai

80k is good... that means i have 10k left...
i like to keep it stock, as i read the stock has wonderful balance as a DD
and weekend tracker.

PHX 911

One of the "quirks" is you'll find yourself getting up at all hours of the night, walking out to the garage, and after fawning over it for a few minutes, head back to bed with a big grin on your face.
Personally, I have the dealer do mynoil changes and brake flushes. They're about $200 for each, but considering the intervals, it's not worth it to me to do them myself.

USMC_DS1

If you DIY then it's relatively inexpensive. If you go to the p-dealer then consider getting a night job as well. Seriously... the parts are no more expensive then other brands like BMW, Lexus, etc... use pelican parts or Suncoast to buy parts. All the jobs I've DIYed (flush brakes fluid and engine coolant, 3 oil changes, change air filter and cabin filter, replaced battery, service/clean radiators and add the 3rd radiator, changed spark plugs and coils, plus others) so far are very doable especially if you have experience with other premium car brands. As a reference I've spent ~$750 on parts over the past 1.5 yrs doing my own maintenance including the 48K mile major inspection on my '08 C2S... now with 52K miles. That cost includes a new water pump which I've yet to DIY. Of course, a poorly maintained used p-car purchase that is out of warranty could mean thousands in repair... engine replacement, for example, is $20K+ Just make sure you get the DME report and a good PPI on the car in question.

what about :

can i bring it to jiffylube for a quick oil change?
or should i do it myself instead?

I would not use jiffylube... they will not likely know/understand how to deal with the car's unique jack points and therefore may damage the under carriage. It's also easy to DIY, takes about and hour, and there are plenty of write-ups on RL to help you get thru this. Like other members I've also posted DIY's re this and other jobs if you search for some of my old DIY postings.

can i have firestone to do tire change/mount and alignment?

Avoid... use a reputable Porsche independent shop instead.

how often should i do alignment?

When the alignment feels off or perhaps when you change tires.

how long does brake last? Clutch?

Depends on how you drive. I have 52K miles of mostly highway... no need for a change yet.

how easy to change brake/rotor DIY? (may go to track)

Relatively easy DIY especially if you've done a complete brake job on other cars.

Some post said not use Mobil 1?

I'm still under warranty(CPO) so I stick with what Porsche recommends. MB-1 0W/40. You can find it at Walmart for ~$5.49/qtr. BTW, Porsche does post a TSB which lists all of the approved oils if you really want to use something other than MB-1. Look to renntech.org for this and other tech articles and DIY postings.

Brake fluid bleed/flush ?

Easy DIY. Two nipples per caliper. Otherwise similar procedure to any other car.

what other maintenance will there be?

I would recommend the proactive water pump change at 50K-60K miles. I'm about to do this myself... the part is waiting for me in the garage.

You can probably feel it, I am getting quite nervous now, in a good way

Most important part of keeping maintenance cost low is to find the right car upfront... take your time and shop around. We're all here to help. GLW search.

aaks38

Unless you have the income that goes with owning this type of car, you need to learn basic auto diy if maintenance is your concern.

Depending on where you live, property tax can be a pain on owning a car such as this..

On a different note, at first youll worry about rock chips, scratches etc etc, so think about a clear bra.

twlai

Simple DIY like oil change and rotor and pad I can do.
Not sure about waterpump , coolant flush and such.

Sound like tirerack and bring it to a local Porsche shop to mount
is the way to go.

Other than rms and ims failure that may be expensive to
repair, it seem that the car is pretty rock solid with proper
maintainace.

I think I can handle it.........

Hella-Buggin'

You'll need some decent walking shoes since you'll always be parked at the far end of the parking lot.

Oil, please no jiffy lube. My dealer charges 175 for an oil change and I think that amount twice a year is cheap insurance to have them in the lookout for potential issues.

rolex11

asks38,

What does property taxes have to do with owning a porsche?

Yet anothercrisis

I think what may be on the posters mind is that in some states folks pay local property taxes on vehicles based upon value. Obviously, not specifically because it is a Porsche, this year I will pay over 1000 in County property tax on my 997.2. That is quite a bit more than I will pay on my 99 Chev Tahoe beater! Specifically it is about 950 more than I will pay for the Tahoe.

Renzsport

I initially got suckered into a not-so-good extended warranty. A couple weeks later I ended up canceling it. The deductible was half the limit of what they would pay for repairs and it hardly covered anything!
To me getting the right car is more important than extended warranty

+1 on the property tax?, you get asked what you drive?! just tell them a toyota corolla