I hesitate to call myself a noob although I have never owned a Porsche product. I'm currently doing my research on what type I'd like to own (air vs H20 cooled; 3.2 vs 993 vs 996). I constantly hear people saying things like '$3,000 Clutch job', '$1,000 fliuid change', and assorted things like that. I take pride in knowing that I am pretty darn capable when it comes to working on vehicles. I don't do it in order to make a living, but when it comes to it; a Porsche is just a car. All cars function basically the same. So, the question is, I was wondering how many of you here actually do your own maintenance, and how many take it to the shop for absolutely everything (oil changes included). I'm not a gazillionaire so I can't be taking this car in to the shop every week. If that's the case, then I'd say that Porsche has an issue with quality. Am I way off base here? Comments welcomed! Thanks

 

There have been a load of threads on this exact topic. You might do a search and narrow your question a bit.

But, as a point of reference, all cars require maintenance - Porsche upkeep is about 3X - 5X more expensive across the board [but sometimes more].

-td

 

I just had my clutch done at the dealer it was $2100. Oil change at the dealer $200ish. Done at home for $65ish. 60K service was $1100 at the dealer. I think you could do it at home for under $500. Tires for the rear $500 to $800 each year (10K-15K miles tops) if you drive you car. Fronts only need to be replaced every other time. You should always match brand and model front to rear.
Driving my car daily PRICELESS!!!

 

Thanks for the input. $2,100 for a clutch seems high for your average car but I'd imagine that quality parts for a 911 clutch probably constitutes nearly half the cost (I'm guessing here). So in that case, 1K labor probably isn't that bad. However, it seems to me that 30K miles (from what I've heard) for a clutch is terrible.

It's funny that although I know alot of people don't like the headlights etc. on a 996, they're starting to grow on me. 996's are also some of the more affordable models.

FWIW, my mom lives in Houston, it's one of the areas I've been keeping my eye on that seems to have a good number of cars to choose from.

Thanks again....

 

My last few cars have been 10x more expensive to maintain than my Porsche. I have had a w211 e500, g500, w209 clk500 in the last 3 years that have been ridiculous to maintain compared to my problem free 986, 996, 996 #2, and 996tt.

Obviously this wouldn't be applicable if you compared porsche maintenance to a toyota camry, but compared to lesser performing german cars, my experience has been quite the opposite.

 

I'd say maintenance done at a good independent shop is similar cost as taking my old Infiniti to get work done at the dealership...

FWIW- my 996 has been by far the easiest of my (modern) cars to work on.... excluding changing the plugs, it's a b!tch on these cars, but almost everything else is easier.

 

Anyone with just basic mechanical skiills and tools can do quite a bit of the routine maintenance work themselves, quite economically. Some of the trickier jobs, like plugs, need doing only every few years on the 996/997 so, even if you shell out the $300 or so for that to a shop you won't do it that often. Parts for just about any job are readily accessible.

If you link up with other local Porsche owners you are likely to find a few mechanical geniuses in the group, who would be happy to share their skills with you. Instead of spending money for labor, you do so for the after-maintenance beers .

As Function12 noted, though, the fun of driving the car is the key. Sure, a Porsche is a bit more expensive than most "boring" cars to maintain, but it's well worth it.

 

I have 4 cars that are all in various phases of being modded, and while I could do anything myself, I don't have the time or energy to work on 4 cars at once, so local shops get some of my work. I love working on cars, but I don't want to spend every single spare minute I have on them!

 

You must be lucky then! Everything on my Porsches have started at $1500 to repair and gone up from there. And I don't think I've ever escaped with less than a $500 bill for anything that was routine [oil, brakes, etc] AND the new engine that went in was ~$15,000. Based on my experience, if your other cars were 10X more expensive to maintain than the Porsches I've had, you would have already been over $2000K!

Seriously, no one would say Porsches are cheap to maintain, even if you wrench yourselves. You can't just go to Autozone and get most things...

-td

 

I'll do whatever I can myself - if I need a special tool (that costs over $100) or need to drop the engine, then I bow down to the expertise of the pros.

 

I dropped my transmission/engine (105K miles) in December and replaced the IMS bearing, clutch, RMS, cam chain guides and pads, water pump, AOS and a couple of other things. These cars are not any harder to work on than any other. Yes you do need a few specialty tools, but once you have them, it's not difficult.

 

You're absolutely correct. But this is due to how it was used. I stopped letting others drive my manual-transmission cars after an amazing series of them claimed to be great with stick shifts -- yet, had Horrible technique. Even in their own cars, they put unnecessary wear on synchros, throw-out bearings & friction disks.

So, if you happen to buy a car from an individual, the first thing to do is have them drive the car with you in it so you can evaluate how they've been driving. See how much they slip the clutch when starting off; whether they double-clutch on downshift, or just push it into the lower gear; whether they sit at stop lights with the car in gear & foot on the clutch pedal, etc. (Also....did they wait for the engine to really warm up before trying to impress you...or did they start zooming along while it was still cold.)

That's the only way you'll get a sense of how soon you might expect to have to service the trans & clutch. Note also, when you drive a 996 manual, the stiffer the clutch pedal, the more worn the friction disk.

(Oddly -- while I don't like automatic transmissions, they may be a marginally safer buy in a used car as they typically limit engine rev's & require less knowlege & technique to use well.)

 

Both good points here. I'll make sure I drive like an old lady next time I show a vehicle I'm trying to sell. Thanks for the input, I'll put these into my pre-purchase notebook.

 

My Porsche is not a daily driver - hence it can sit in my garage for a couple days (weeks) if need be.

I purchased it as a hobby - and driving it is only half of the hobby. I do all my own maintenance. I'll go as far as changing the clutch/RMS, etc - pretty much anything that doesn't involve opening up the engine.

I'm *not* certain that I would dive into the engine proper - unless I could rope someone more knowledgeable from my local PCA to provide direction.

 

That's what I was thinking - one could end up with a real mess on their hands pretty darn easy.....