when i got my car i made sure that the miles were low! when i got it last year it said 22,000 now its at 22,848.

 

me too, i bought my 2002 w/ 16200, and three months later have put about 1200 miles on it. it has a full, no deductible warranty until end of 2011.

it looks/smells/drives like it's brand new and i'm glad i diligently looked.

 

Welcome to the world of Porsches. I suggest to learn as much as poosible about your car. This will save you alot of money in a long run. As for me...I have a C4 and been pretty lucky with mechanical issues. Maintenance is vey simple with these cars. Coming from a minimal mechanical abilities....I was able to do my whole 60k mile service + complete brake job...rotor, pads, sensors, and fluid flush. Also diagnose my MAF failure, with the help of Durametric and Renntech.org. Oil changes are simple that you can do yourself....and save a lot of money. Overall, these cars are pretty reliable. Go check renntech.org. That site is very imformative.

Good luck

 

I have felt your discomfort a few times over the years with my Porsches. +1 on learning everything you can about your car. I spent thousands of dollars on my 951 and my Boxster S to take care of the things I knew I'd have to address. I'm expecting the same on my 996, but I plan to do as much as I can myself. I'm working with a GT3 owner in the PCA who is willing to teach me what I need to know.

As a husband/father with little kids, I know that "look" you described. But, I think it goes away in time if you're responsible about how you handle each repair situation. And, when the Porsche is running right, try not to make it the "other woman." I always tell my wife that my Porsche is my obsession where most other guys spend hours watching/playing football, baseball, golf etc. It helped and now she's an avid supporter.

Bob

 

BTW as stated.. learn to do your own work... it saves you BIG...

 

I try not to drain our savings for P-Repairs as I have other sources of income besides my day job... The "look" only last a couple of minutes.... thank god!
I have 2 small companies that where suppossed to support my toy money (guns/knives/watches/whatever) and I'm tapping into it. that's why instead of mods, it seems I'm spending all that money into repairs.
I know how to replace the cabin filter, air filter, serpentine belt, MAF sensor... but there's nothing I can do about clutch, coolant hoses and spark plugs...

The Service advisor told me I need new pads upfront. I guess I will have to learn that!

Thanks for understanding.... the best part is that I will probably will do it all over again. There is something about Porsches!

 

spark plugs are easy on 996 and 997.... seriously..its not like the previous models where you needed to drop the engine to do everything!!

i strongely recommend joining renntech.org... every problem i have had, i have fixed with help from this site...

 

maintenance repair wise...

i had a serpentine belt and one of the bearings replaced cuz it seized likely cuz the car sat around for a bit after washes and the bearing rusted

$300

Then the seat belt airbag light thing happened $500 (this one tweaked me a bit)

that's it

knock on wood, but everything's been pretty low key to date and i've put on about 15K miles on this car so far.

where i did make up for it is... $8K wheels/tires, a new wing $1000, $1000 clear bra, $4000 sound upgrade just stupid vain stuff like that LOL

 

sound upgrade is definitely NOT vain.. the stock audio on these cars SUCKS...

must do in my opinion...

did the serpentine belt and seat belt myself... 30min job each!!

 

Congrats! I feel your pain..bought my car in July with 22700 miles and now I'm at 30200 miles. Dealer wants $1100 for 30k service and new 285/30/18 rears are being replaced on Thursday for $700. Lots of fun but you have to pay to play. At least it hurts so good...and puts a smile on your face.

 

Remember, I'm not whining. There's not a single car in my life that has made me this happy in a long time everytime I drive it. It's just that the repair cost hurts a bit. They found a faulty starter that the X-Warranty replaced too.... and that wasn't on my list!

Looking forward to get my car back tomorrow.... after that, it just have to be tires, brakes, cats and whatever is next!!!!!

-joel

 

With a good extended warrenty plan on at least $1200 per year (based on experience), excluding tires

 

Brakes....they are simple to do. go to renntech.org. It shows you step by step. Buy the brakes at sunset Porsche in Oregon....wholesale price.
Good luck

 

i guess i'm just being modest or just didn't know better. in the honda s2000, E46 M3, and now 996, i always ran the stock stereo cuz i figured hey it's just music.

but then i came to realize after all these years 99.999% of the time i have music playing in the car and got tired of having all these burned CDs that have half the songs repeated u feel me?

 

i have to say... that for long trips..a nice audio track rocks.. but on "fun" drives...the only audio i need is of the flat six behind me!