bcgreen

I am thinking of purchasing a Boxster S, probably a '02, but was wondering what the yearly maintenance cost works out to be?
I am planing on using the car as a daily driver.
Thanks

Dwayne Williams

That really depends on how much you drive your car. I have an 01 S that I don't drive that much, couple thousand miles a year max. Porsche does recommend an "annual service" package for cars like mine that don't get driven that much. I just had that done for about $168 at the local dealer. They change the oil. replace filters, check fluids, etc... Sure you can do all that yourself, but I'm lazy... That's the only work it's had done to it since I bought it about 7 months ago. Now, once you get into the major service intervals the costs go up a lot. You can control costs a little if you find a local Porsche-savvy shop to do some of the work instead of the dealer. Particularly once the car comes out of warranty.

bcgreen

I usually drive around 10 - 12K per year.

Sean M.

Choose tires wisely. The Pirelli PZeros that came on my car wore out after only about 12k miles. That would mean shelling out more than a grand a year for tires alone (plus mount, balance, alignment, etc.).

I switched to Kumho Ecsta 712 and have been very pleased. (18k miles on the Kumhos, plenty of tread left - and they are great tires.)

kjtar

Looking for actual $ figures here, for 15k, 30k scheduled service/scheduled maintenance. Indies okay too, just need a benchmark before getting too "excited" and go back to a (gulp) Miata.
Thanks,
TomR

Turboflyer

AS much as I love my 01 S if cost were a real concern, you would be way better off with a Miata. I had the Anniversary edition. Thats what I sold to get the S. I would take a look at the new turbo Miata, real sweet, easier to service in all respects. Just my opinion. Lot a bang and fun for the buck, but not a boxster for sure. Call a dealer and ask for a quote on the serrvices you just mentioned.

RexColtrain

Typical 30k service prices range from $650 to $950. 15k service seem to run $350-$500. Oil changes are usually $175, although it's very easy to do yourself, as are some of the other services. If you can find a car with fresh tires and recent major service, you should be in good shape.

sasilverbullet

Maintenance costs - I just got through figuring them out. But it depends on whether you have the work done at Porsche or yourself/indepent shop.

Tires will last about 25K, if you drive conservative - about $800 to replace

Brakes will last about that long - four rotors and pads all around the cost for parts is about $750.

Clutch seems to last about 30K ish, depending on how you drive. Parts alone for that is $750.

Oil changes - I change mine every 5K miles - 10 qts of Mobil 1 is about $50, plus the price of a oil and air filter, brings that to about $75 for a DIY oil change.

The way I figure, my own 'mikey' math, you need to budget about $200 a month for maintenance if you're a DIY'er. If you bring to dealer for everything, you need to own a bank!

Sean

The bulk of the 15k and 30k services can be done by the DIY'er. Stuff like:

pollen filter
air filter
oil & filter
spark plugs
bleeding brakes & fresh pads

The only times I've needed the dealer have been "check engine light" issues, which so far haven;t amounted to much (thankfully).

For the typical price a dealer charges for the 15k servicing, you can stock your garage with tools and do much of the work yourself.

Doug&Julie

...umm...could you elaborate on where you got this little bit of info? The clutch in my 944 wasn't replaced until 156,000 miles. While I certainly don't expect that kind of mileage from every car I own, I would certainly hope my Boxster's clutch will be good for AT LEAST 60k...and I'm hoping for the better part of 100k. (Keep in mind, I don't track/autoX my Boxster. ...yet.)

bcgreen, I think Boxsters make excellent daily drivers, by the way. I don't have any really hard numbers since I've only owned my car for 13 months, but I can tell you I had to put new tires on the car right away and I've only done an annual oil change at my independent mechanic's. ...oh, and I've driven about 12k miles. (My car now has 23,500-ish) I drive it year 'round, but don't put many miles on it over the winter. (That's what the Subaru is for!)

bcgreen

Its great to hear from you guys. I still haven't really made a decision on what used car to buy. But I will have to soon, because I put a for sale decal on the back of my MB 300CE and let my wife take it to work. Within the hour she sold the car to one of the workers there who likes BMW and MB.
So we were out test driving a couple of cars she likes, but still no decision. We test drove a SLK, which she liked the idea of it being a conv. but yet not as easy to break into as a soft top. To me its a little boring in the exterior and exceration is just okay. We also liked the BMW Z4, but we would have to spend $2600. for the option. hard top. The 3.0 was a pleasure to drive and also had a nice exhaust note. She was not too excited about the Boxster when she drove it a few months ago and I have yet to test drive the car. The same problem with the 350Z soft top, which is her favourite, but too easy to break into. The last car is the Z06, which is pure American iron, is not a soft top but sure is a hoot to drive and not too difficult to work on myself and the parts may be cheaper. The Boxster probably will retain its value longer than say the Z06, but the maintenance with Z06 might offset that. So all in all we are talking about the $$ being in the same ball park for all these cars, give or take a grand or three.

kjtar

I forget which year 911 it is that has that sliding "Panoramic?" top-sunroof kinda thing? (All auto books are packed in garage waiting for someone to buy the house.) Or, you could always look around for a Ford Sunliner! (Probably about the same money...
Tom
http://www.tomandkarenspage.com/5640gateway.html

Ray S

Boxster Maint. costs are not high at all. The oil change interval is 15,000 miles and is no more difficult than changing the oil in any other car. If you have a dealer do the work for you it is a little more expensive than other imports but not drastically so. Most of this is due to the fact that Porsche specifies Mobil 1 and that the hourly labor rates for Porsche mechanics are slightly higher than that of other makes (all of my Boxster oil changes have been less than $100 but more than $50.....take the long interval into consideration and it's about the same as any other car).

There is a roughly $500.00 service at 30,000 miles (spark plugs, oil/filter, air filter, and multi item check list). At 60,000 miles the poly rib belt that drives the alternator, power steering pump, and A/C must be replaced. At 90,000 miles the transmission oil is replaced, and every 2 years the brake fluid is replaced.

That's it! The Boxster is not at all maintenance intensive, and my 2000 model has been the most trouble free vehicle I have ever owned (not one single problem). The cams are chain driven, it has maintenance free ignition, and automatic hydraulic valve adjustment.

Baron009

You got me wondering. It seems that dealers are a lot more common than private shops where you are. At least that was the impression I got.

Around here in Ontario, I only know of one Porsche dealer... the one in Toronto. I'm guessing there is something like a 5:1 quality 'Porsche' shops to dealers ratio here.

Curious...

sasilverbullet

on the clutch - I've been hanging out at PPBB.COM, and that's my brains computation from reading posts for the last 6 months about when folks' clutches go out.

About 30K is about it as an average...