I guess what i'm asking. Is there a certain mileage where the maintenance is going to become too costly where it would make sense to sell? I'm thinking of things like brakes/rotors, thermostats, water pumps, shocks,clutch, big things like that. I love my car and haven't had one thing go wrong with it but obviously it will need brakes/rotors and some point. My car is an 07 C2S with 31,000 miles on the clock. Just trying to determine when the best time is to sell if the 991 grows on me.

 

Brakes are pretty reasonable if done at an indi. Your car just rolled over 30k. I sold mine when it rolled over 30k and it is a big hit in resale. Major service on a 997 is at 20k and 40k. Obviously if you sell before the 40k service, you will save money.

 

When I was looking at used out of warranty cars I put them into three categories, low miles, under 40k and over.

My dumb logic:

Low miles and out of warranty = not enough time on engine for major infant mortality stuff to go wrong = Not worth a premium for low miles.

30-40k = car has been driven, warranty kinks have been worked out, as long as maintenance records and dme is clean, this is the way to go. Knowledge of 40k service cost factor into negotiating depending on how close.

Over 40k = I felt the prices dropped after 40k by just a smidge, but for some dumb reason I wanted to be the one to drive her over 40 and beyond.

So yes, sell before 40k and you'll attract buyers like me. Or keep it forever!

 

I've had the same kinds of offers for the past year, give or take a couple of grand, when I put my car for sale as a feeler on a couple of occasions; I started when my car was at about 36k miles at the beginning of 2011 and now, at 43k miles, I still get the same kinds of offers... not much difference, so I am glad I've kept it a year longer and put more miles on it. Would that be the case in the near future or once the car goes past 45k miles? I don't know.

As to your maintenance question - my car is still on its original brakes (front rotors were replaced shortly after I bought it but not enough miles had accumulated for that to be relevant), original clutch, shocks, water pump, thermostat, indeed all the things you're concerned about. If your car behaves like mine, you should at least be able to get to the mid 40k range without any of these items needing attention.

Now, about the "major" service at 40k miles... It only consists of changing oil and oil filter, cabin filter, air filter and, in my case, I changed the spark plugs and the serpentine belt (this last item not required until 6 years or 60k miles but I did it anyways) and that's about it. Not expensive at all as I did everything myself except the spark plugs (the coil packs were fine also) and, iirc, all cost me less than $1000. For the kind of car it is, I think it is very reasonable in its upkeep.

 

My 05 c2s has been pretty inexpensive to maintain, but I've only had it for a year and a half and 10K miles. It had around 41K miles when I bought it but I did the 40K mike service out of my pocket at around 49K because everything was OK per my Indy. The car was well taken care of so I didn't ask for any 'discounts' from the previous owner. I wanted a car that was driven approximately 6K-7K miles per year and six years old and I didn't care for warranty or CPO. I did replace the waterpump at around 49K miles because there was signs of a dry leakage. Hopefully, your pump will last longer. I can't speak for rotors and pads as mine are originals with virtually no rotor wear and 90% /95% pad remaining.

 

The car doesn't take much of hit until you get to 60k miles. There is a wholesale deduction of $300 from 40k to 50k miles and about $200 from 50k to 60k miles. At 60k miles there is a $950 deduct. This will remain relative to the years and miles.

 

I bought mine CPO'd with slightly over 40K and used the 40K service as a bargaining point to get the price down. To be honest, so far having a higher mileage car has worked out very well, because the service records show that it spent quite a bit of time at the dealership getting kinks worked out, where I've put 30K miles on it and it has had to go in once for unscheduled maintenance.

I'm also starting to really be a firm believer that higher mileage Porsches are more reliable, because it seems to me that not driving them at least correlates to the number of problems you have.

All the garage queens in my old neighborhood were the ones that had problems. The daily drivers were nearly problem-free.

 

At whatever mileage the factoy warranty runs out. I your case it appears you're overdue. Better place your order for that 991 soon. But, just keep in mind, the depreciation on that new 991 immediately after you drive it off the lot will be far greater than any maintainance your '07 will need anytime soon. There are no free lunches.

 

Best time to sell? I guess there are probably milestones that cause a step in depreciation and generally those will be at each 10,000 mileage marker. So right before each when you've made tour mind to sell. I bought mine with 35,000 on it, because I felt 30,000 was a big step. In a week or so, I will be very proud to post my odometer reading 40,000. But I'm hoping to hold it to the sooner of 100,000 or until I want something else!

 

One mile before the IMS dies.

 

IMS is not an issue in '07.