Cost to maintain a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2

[RAW911]

Having seen several postings by newbes asking how much it actually costs to maintain a Porsche, I thought I would provide an exact figure. At least as far as what it has cost for one particular 1987 Targa with 272K miles. YMMV

Though I am the second owner, the original purchaser maintained a complete file of records for the vehicle. It includes everything from the original window sticker, up to and including a receipt for anything ever done to the vehicle. Every oil change, set of tires, flat repair, spark plug, smog inspection, valve adjustment, etc., etc. Any and all maintenance completed over the 29 years of its life.

Though a copy of the data follows, I will summarize that the annual cost ranged between a low of $134.61 to a high of $4,971.71. The total for the 29 years was $40,838.88.

However, and this is the main point I want to make, the cost for labor alone was $18,491.35 or slightly over 45% of the total cost. The annual average cost for parts, tax and those truly unavoidable labor costs, such as smog checks, was only $813.23. Also remember that the prices charged for those parts were truly list prices and in most cases appeared to have included a significant mark-up by the dealer/mechanic.
Additionally, please note that there, at least to this point, has not been a discernible increase in the annual average rate as the vehicle has aged.

Therefore, if you want to own and drive a Porsche with reasonable economy, you simply MUST do your own work. For example, the DME relay (911 618 154 00) and Crankshaft Reference Sensor (911 606 215 01) were replaced in March of 2012 which was prior to my ownership.

The cost breakdown was:
DME Relay (Wittrin) $102.84
Reference Sensor (Bosche) 194.41
Labor 380.00
Tax 21.56
Other Cost 1.00
Total Cost $699.81

If I did the same thing today, ordering the parts from our host:

DME Relay (Wittrin) $29.75
Reference Sensor (Bosche) 158.25
Tax 14.10
Labor FREE
Shipping FREE
Total Cost $202.10

Savings $497.71

I also own a 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 with 187K miles. It also has complete records from day one and the costs are very similar.

[SoCalSK8r]

Very cool info, thanks for sharing. I have found very low operating costs in my 4 years of ownership, but I'm only at 60k....it's good to know that this should continue for some time!


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[Jesse16]

I've got a running list of what I've paid for parts and a little labor over my 7 years of ownership and if I'd paid for labor on everything, I'd be toast. Doesn't help that I'm fairly remote from a decent P-Car shop. Parts aren't FLAPS cheap but are reasonable to my mind for a 30 year old sporty german car. Its gotta be a labor of love and I put a high value on the drive experience. Or you scale back the miles to nothing and eliminate most labor and watch it like a bank account (boring). I've got a ton of miles on mine and have put nearly 70k miles on myself. Near 240k on mine as I remember. My numbers are similar to yours I think, will check the spreadsheet. Thanks for posting.

[gliding_serpent]

Always reasonable costs to keep a healthy car running when it has been well treated with preventative maintenance.

Costs also depend on diy, the value of your time, and your standards for condition and upkeep. Also, the tendancy of an owner to change/upgrade can add a lot in cost. A quest for power and performance can add to the bill substantially once you move beyond low hanging fruit.

Also, every part is a consumable, and when the more expensive ones go (like the engine), you will take a one time big hit. Many people sell before taking such a hit, so buyer beware.

My car is on a quest for power and lightness, and gets used hard for hpde. As such i have a lot of expensive uneeded parts and i have a low tolerance for wear and tear. It also was a basket case when i bought it, and it needed and engine and tranny rebuild. Those expenses should not repeat for some time however.

So it really depends on you, and the car. But yes, these cars can be cheap to own. They can also be bery expensive to own. How do you like your coffee?

[Bleedsblue]

I'm continually impressed by the durability of these cars, particularly SCs and 3.2s (just haven't seen others driven as much). Many of them touch 250k+ miles without engine work, when they are well cared for. It's awesome!

This is an interesting counter-point to the video by the 930 guy, who also seemed to be buying a well-sorted car (with PPI even!) but ended up with somewhat of a dog at much lower miles that needed far more work. I see this in the BMW world, where many times that M3 with twice the mileage has been babied and fully kept up, while the lower mileage car has 50 things about to fail.

I'd like to add to gliding_serpent's apt point about time value: your time's value should not be based solely on your salary, but rather on your personal life balance equation and priorities.

FWIW, I'm firmly in the "couldn't afford either of my cars if I paid for labor" camp. Obviously certain back-breaking or specialist jobs (alignments) I will farm out. I learned to DIY on an E36 (on every square inch), then Saab, then (hand assembled) E34, and compared to the rest the 911 is still the best built and simplest (barring engine/trans rebuild). YouTube, Pelican, and the other sources really make it easy to jump in.

My oft-repeated mantra from one of the top DIYers on an M3 forum I frequented: "He who do not have deep pockets or mechanical reasoning should not buy old German sports car."

[Arne2]

I've had my '84 for a bit over 4 years now, and am averaging $1,150 per year, but that includes tires and a complete re-fit of the A/C to R134a. Take those items out and mine also drops to about $800 per year. Totally affordable, if you can do normal work yourself.

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the 1980s I started using Quicken. I tracked all my expenses. I ran a report on what I spent on beer and pizza and I decided I did not ever want to know that again.

I have had my 911 for 20 years and driven it for over 85,000 miles. Likely over 100 autocrosses, several DEs, out to California 3 times and the east coast twice, the upper peninsula of Michigan and many other places. I have enjoyed every mile with a smile. I really don't want to know just what I spent on it. I do know it is worth twice what I paid for it. It ain't fer sale even at triple the price.

[Alex973]

my expense per month today is $117 + my time since I transplanted to
993 3.6L Varioram, don't ask for how much don't tell my wife no more
valve adjustment, oh I have changed my DME Relay
$30 shipped free thanks

[rusnak]

I have to double check, but I bought the generic reference/ speed sensor for around $40 or so. And the dme relay should not cost anywhere near $100 unless you buy them in Euros.

[sugarwood]

It would be interesting to factor in inflation into that spreadsheet. $1500 in 1987 was a lot different than $1500 today.

[steely]

I'll share - Bought mine August of '08 and have since spent $11,840 - call it 7.5 years.
Works out close (sort of) to your avg -> $1,578 / yr.
Now, I did some significant spending early on to bring her up to shape, but I also do a lot of the work myself - so consider these variables. Most of this has been maintenance - the mods were done previously and I treated myself to a tail which I haven't included here.
And to further geek-out, I track the mileage, so I can calc the cost per mile.
Somebody flamed me for that effort LOL.
So the more I drive, the lower the cost - hows that for an incentive to drive?

[NathanR]

I've had much the same experience. I purchased my car ~10 yrs ago (whose counting) and have luckily avoided anything seriously expensive so far. I've fixed a lot of little stuff myself.

The PO to the car to a Porsche shop every time it she had an issue with it, and she shelled out serious $$$. She had a top end rebuild a year or two before I came along. The receipt said "Top end rebuild, $7,000," Gulp, Thanks Clarise! I'm curious what they did for the money but I doubt I'll ever know.

knock on wood, I'm hoping for many more miles to come. If it the day comes I need to drop some serious cash, I won't have too much trouble rationalizing it. Like Glen said, it's brought me so many smiles it will be worth it.

[pegasus9]

$40838 in 29 years
Is 117.35 per month

That's a deal anyway you look at it.

I personally don't keep count. Life's too damn short.
I drive

[yelcab1]

I don't keep track of expenses. It does not change the way I enjoy my cars, so why bother.

[LakeCleElum]

In 1990, I paid $8,000 for my 73.5 Targa.......

Since, I've put in about $12,000 including a high compression 3.2 engine.......I've kept the 2.4 engine for a "numbers matching" thing........

Could double my money tomorrow and all the smiles are free.........Enjoy....

[gerry100]

15 yrs and 38000 miles on my '86coupe-

and Maintenance - $10,656 30 DE days will up the maintenance a little

Repairs - $9706 $7k of that for top end rebuild,2nd gr synchro,clutch disc

Basic stuff I do myself, rest at Indy shop

[Discseven]

RAW... that's $1400 a year. Never imagined an annual average being that low for a Porsche. Nice info you shared.

[Bleedsblue]

Originally Posted by yelcab1

I don't keep track of expenses. It does not change the way I enjoy my cars, so why bother.

I've heard that's the key with Porsches and other "exotics." Keep every receipt, never total them up.

[NYNick]

First of all, thanks for doing the homework.
Second, I'd say thats quite a bargain for owning a sports car of this caliber.

[sugarwood]

I have no problem totaling up my 911 receipts ...

But, my Whole Foods receipts?
Now there is a total I am afraid to tally up.
Talk about "while you're in there" costs spiralling.