Ownership costs for 996?

[Nazgul280]

I'm thinking of buying a 2000-03 911 when I get my next car.

Can any of you give me an idea of the cost of ownership if this were my daily driver? I'm looking for anyone's advice who has owned this model for a while and what their feedback is on the mechanical reliability and if they can put their finger on the general operating cost on a yearly average. (not including purchase price or insurance)

Is this a reliable DD?

Can I still do some of my own work on it? I currently do most of the work on my 88.

[racer]

996 is very DIY friendly - oil changes, brake pads/rotors too.

Expect rear tires to wear out in 10-12K miles. Fronts last about 20K miles.

Factory oil change interval is in the 10-15K mile range, but many suggest less, so as to inspect oil for signs of bearing damage (IMS). Figure 10 qts of mobil 1 (maybe $60-70 in oil plus another 10 for filter and washers)

Coil packs tend to fade out around 60K miles. Waterpump too.
Lots of "known issues", just take some time to do some searches:

IMS
RMS
Coolant Tanks

Lots of possible cars out there. Consider your needs (awd? rear wheel only? cab/coupe?) and options (litronics, heated seats, full leather, 18" wheels, etc etc)

1999-2001 is a 3.4l motor
2002+ is a 3.6l motor

[jwetering]

Good thread over here too (there is a very active forum for the 996 over on Rennlist):

Annual maintenance on 996 - Rennlist Discussion Forums

In summary, figure on $1000 per year. Up front costs *might* be higher if the car needs to be brought up to snuff, ie you may need to spend money on brakes in year one, but this repair will last for many years right.

DIY is key though...but that's the same if you have a Golf or a Porsche. Speaking of which recent reliablity stdies are showing the Porsche 996 to be very reliable while the Golf....not so much.

Here's my detailled post from the thread above:

************

My car will be rolling over 100,000 miles tomorrow I've put about 35000 miles on it in the last 1.7 years.
On maintenance I've spent:

oil changes - 7 at $100 each DIY.
coolant reservoir and cap - $200 DIY
replaced a rattling muffler with a used part - $200 DIY
changed brake pads all four corners - $500 DIY
a set of front rotors - $200 DIY (these were new but sold as used)
sparking plugs - $80 DIY
air filter - $0 *(got it free with a car I bought previously)
pollen filter - $11
lightbulbs - $30 (damn little marker lights burnout frequently)
tires - 1 set so far $900 (not counting my snow or track wheels and tires)
brake fluid flush - 2 times at $100 DIY (took a while to get it right).
ignition switch $80 DIY
battery - $120
inner tie rod end - $600 not DIY

So what is all that...$3840. Is that a lot? I thought it would be less actually. I usually avoid adding these things up but I figured since you asked I'd rack my brain. Looks like the oil changes, the tires and the brakes ate up most of that.

I'm not complaining though. I daily drive mine and most days I end up telling myself how much I like this car. It's a keeper.

Upgrades added a bit by the way:

lightly used PSS9 coilovers - $1100 DIY
used H&R sway bars - $500 DIY
alignment and corner balance - $500
console delete - $150 DIY
track wheels and tires - $2000
snow wheels and tires - $1500
roof rack used $200

Geez - I don't want to add that all up again in a big hurry. I could have bought a nice used Honda with what I spent!! I sure would not have wanted to pay somebody to all of that work...figure on nearly doubling it!

[Nazgul280]

Excellent, thank you for taking the time for the detailed responses. So, I'm assuming with the price of the DIY oil changes this 996 still takes 10qts or so? I figured there would be less since this model employs water coolant.

Cheers!

[jwetering]

8.5 litres of oil.

Oil changes really are a snap though. I did one once without even jacking the car up ...and my car was lowered.

I don't know if you intend to DIY much, but I have found this car to be very easy to work on. Easier than my old 911.

[Nazgul280]

Yes, I will do as much DIY as I can with any of my cars. That's good to hear it is easy. My 88 Carrera is a little messy...the reservoir plug is just the the right enough were it interferes with a good way to catch it while the car is on my 4 post lift. The 996 will be a DD, so the oil changes will come more frequently.

Thanks for everything. The research continues...