996: 5 year cost of ownership?

[71T Targa]

I'm in no position to be looking, but I do anyway...

Say I were to get something like this '01:



What do you think my 5 year cost to own would be?
Let's assume:
7,500 miles a year
I do the needed maintenance and nothing more, no upgrades etc.
Private sale again at the end of the 5 years.

[expatriot98]

I bought a 99 with 60K miles several years ago. Immediately had IMS, clutch, AOS and a few small things done. In 4 years after, the only expenses were a replacement ignition key cylinder and a coolant overflow tank. I drove it ~4K miles per year. It was very dependable.

[Paul_Heery]

You need to factor in the cost of tires. I get about 20K out if the rear tires, about 40K for the front tires,

Oil changes run about $100 for the consumables (Oil, filter, crush washer) if I do it myself. Add about $100 for labor if you have an indy do it,

[NutmegCarrera]

C4S here.
Bought a low miles car with ims already done in 2017.
I do oil myself. Changed accessory belt and air filter at my first service.
Did tires this year along with gear is and diff oil change and brakes bled.
That service was 1200 for tires and fluids.
85/year for Mobil1 and filter.
So - pretty economical in my view.
Wife’s Q7 costs more (and is a daily driver - so that makes sense)
I do only 1500-300iles per year.
Pretty happy with my experience so far.

[JavaBrewer]

Lots of what if's...like any used car. It's right at the limit for new coolant hoses all the way and AOS replacement. Clutch and suspension will be coming up too. No sunroof motor to worry about haha. Rear tires are very spendy...already mentioned. Asking price is very reasonable but then it's also a cabriolet. I would offer $14 to open the negotiations and figure $5k in costs if you do the work over 5 years. Not too shabby.

[Adrian Thompson]

I can chime in with my expereince with my Boxster, OK it's a 986 not a 996, but from the seats forward they are identical and both have an M96 engine, mines just smaller and in the middle.

I got my car dirt cheap as it's an auto, but it did have a new engine 20K miles prior to purchase. I basically bought a cheap engine with a free car for $5k. I do all the work myself. The Boxster is dead easy to work on, the 996 is probably even easier with the engine hanging out the wrong place

I've put just about 25K miles on it as a summer daily driver. In that time I've done the following. Note, my spreadsheet with exact figures is at home, call this accurate within +/- 10%.
New battery, circa $100
Rebuilt Alternator, circa $120
OIl changes every 5K miles, 2.5 gals of your favorite oil plus a filter and crush washer. Circa $75
Replace 1/3 of trans fluid - Twice - Approx $75 each time.
Replace trans filter, gasket etc. - $100
A small plastic valve in the auto trans cooling system failed. That was about $80 plus fresh coolant.
Replace ignition switch barrel (hardest job yet, it's tight behind the dash - $40

New glass soft top from Autotopsdirect.com with glass window - $700
New Dunlop tires all round, tires only mounting and balancing was free for me - $400

That totals around $2k, or only $0.10 per mile. Pretty reasonable.

Other things I've done is repair the leather on the drivers seat, again zero cost as I stripped the seat and a friend replaced the damaged panel for me.

One other thing I had to do was strip and dry out the interior as the soft top drain pipes were blocked so water filled the interior. One problem with modern(ish) cars is the carpet and backing is so thick I had 1 1/2" of standing water before I got wet shoes. The electronics were soaked. Removing the whole interior and carefully drying it out and I got lucky, every works still. The one casualty was when I was testing things. I made the mistake of turning the ignition on while the seat harness wasn't plugged in. This triggers an air bag light that can't be re-set by a normal hand held tool That's going to cost me a $100 or so to have someone do it for me after I take care of the trans....

....I do have a big one coming. Last summer, just after I lost my job, the Auto trans took a dump. It had to sit for a long time (that lack of job thing was a PIA) but I've just started work on pulling it. That's either going to be $1,500 for a used one or $2,200-3,000 for a rebuild on mine.

These cars are incredibly easy to work on in a suburban garage with reasonable tools, jacks and jack stands. No lift. Parts are worth cross referencing and shopping around. There are a few items I've bought here on PP, but the sad truth is PP is often more expensive than my local Porsche dealer, let alone cross shopping part numbers on Amazon or Rock Auto.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Adrian just buy a Durametric, if you DIY it’s a godsend. Resetting your airbag light will probably pay for itself.

I concur with the other comments, except for the rare possibility of expensive stuff happening they are robust and reliable cars.

[Alansglide]

Owned my 02 996 for six years . Replaced the IMS and RMS as soon as I purchased the car. I did have to get a new water pump a couple of years in but other than that keep up with the maintenance and they are dependable.

[Adrian Thompson]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Adrian just buy a Durametric, if you DIY it’s a godsend. Resetting your airbag light will probably pay for itself.

I concur with the other comments, except for the rare possibility of expensive stuff happening they are robust and reliable cars.

Cheers. Absolutely if I keep the car I will one. Right now I have my Boxster and Volvo C30 as 'toys'. Once the trans is fixed I'm trying to decide if I keep both, sell both for a better Boxster or sell both to by a Jag XK8 instead. If I keep this (or any) Porsche I will get a Durametric.

thx

[71T Targa]

Great information as expected!

Now my wander lust is even greater.

Again, this isn't something I should even be considering but it's fun to look. It may be an option in a couple of years when our littlest one is in a booster seat and not a car seat.

Taking out your crystal ball, is this a $10k car in 5 years? With 986's in the $3-5K range?

[JavaBrewer]

The question is will these cars be desireable enough to warrant a full engine rebuild once that point in time arrives. I believe many of these that suffered IMS issues were simply scrapped as the cost of a new motor was > than the value of the car. IMO the 996 does just about everything better than the air cooled cars - except build a fanatical following.

[LakeCleElum]

My questions would be:

1) Has the clutch been replaced
2) Condition of the soft top.

[Adrian Thompson]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

The question is will these cars be desireable enough to warrant a full engine rebuild once that point in time arrives. I believe many of these that suffered IMS issues were simply scrapped as the cost of a new motor was > than the value of the car. IMO the 996 does just about everything better than the air cooled cars - except build a fanatical following.

I'd say absolutely they will. Look at other Porsche vehicles that have been seen as the red headed step child of the Porsche family that people confidently stated would never be worth anything. For the longest time the 964 was seen as worthless. The 914 was shunned by many up until 10 years ago. How long have 928's been $10K cars? All these are on the upswing. Due to numbers the early 996 cars will never have the cachet of lower volume models, but there are already those who praise the purity of the early 996 cars compared to the newer (more) bloated designs.

I've got a copy of GrassrootsMotorsports magazine at home from I think 2005 that was looking at 'Budget Porsche's' They had driver quality base long hood cars in there for under $10K.