I've had my 996.2 for about 13 years now, and I have put 112,000 miles on the car. It currently has 185,000 miles on the clock. Prior to this 996 I owned a 1978 911sc for about 11 years. Modified the hell out of that.
I do all of my own work - everything except alignments.
Long story short - life got easier once I got the 996. It's a dead easy car to work on. Clutches, suspension struts, brakes, shifter cables. It's all put together sensibly and, unlike the 911sc, it was a clean sheet of paper so no instances where new technology is shoehorned in to whole mean for old technology.
I dropped the engine last year to replace a weeping oil vent tube, reseal the rocker covers, replace the transmission bushing. I'm replacing the drive shafts next week. I have to take out the trans at some point to replace the selector rod busing...
Frankly the car is one of the most maintenance friendly cars I've ever owned.
