I'm curious...

[olstyn]

A friend pointed this article (http://www.sportscarmarket.com/articles/archives/939) out to me, and I was curious how this compared to Porsche ownership. Normally I just lurk around here and read, as I don't own a P-car and therefore don't have much to contribute to the discussions. Some of the things that went wrong with the car in the article struck me as strong indications of poor build quality and/or abuse of the car in question. I'd like to know what you guys expect when you buy a new Porsche - is high-end sports car ownership typically like this, or is this specific to Ferraris, or is this a fluke? Obviously nobody buys a car like this expecting it to be *cheap* to maintain, but what's the reality of it? Thanks in advance for educating a newbie!

[Christien]

I just read the first paragraph of that (1st year) and my first thought is, for a car "used for weekend retreats to his ranch" 150 mile round trip, he sure beats the crap out of it. To have to have all 4 tires replaced and have the wheels refinished TWICE from road rash within the first year, well, there's more to the story here than some nice country road carving...

That said, I've heard time and again that Ferrari maintenance is very expensive and not DIY friendly, especially after 50K miles, when they fall apart. Most of the prices in that article didn't seem ridiculously high, especially for dealer work. A boxster oil change costs $250 at the dealerships around here, apparently a 996 oil change is closer to $400.

I've read that Ferrari maintenance is so crazy because they're such powerful cars, but I find that a bit of a cop out. When something spends that much time getting fixed, it's not being built properly, I'd say. Bear in mind I've never owned one, never even been for a drive in one, only drooled over them But until I've got several extra thousand $$s each year to throw at maintenance, I wouldn't buy one.

Porsche work is much more DIY-friendly. I did an oil change in the boxster for the cost of oil at Walmart and a filter ($25) in an hour in the garage. And that was at my in-laws, without all the right tools handy. And I'm NOT a mechanic, by any means!

[JackMan]

Periodic maintenance on a P-Car is a bit more than a Ford and much less than an exotic sports car, i.e. Ferrari, Lotus, Lambo.

The key to controlling costs, IMHO, is learning to do periodic maintenance yourself. I have no experience on 996 and 997 cars, but for 993, 964 and 911 cars periodic maintenance is no more trickly than working on a VW Beetle, just with more pricey parts and tolerances that are alot tighter.

I define periodic as oil/filter change every 5k miles, valve adjustment every 15k miles, tire rotation every 5k miles, replace rotors/brake pads as needed, flush brake fluid. These are all very easy to do. If you can put together a complicated Legos toy, you can do this work. The initial outlay in tools may be more than taking it to the mechanic, but the second go round will be much cheaper.

Pre 1989 911s are very easy to work on. I drove mine 15k miles last year.

The participants in this board are fantastic. Yes, diagnosing problems in your 911 via internet is like robotic heart surgery, but it still gets the job done.

wj

[JackMan]

Correction: You don't rotate tires on 911, you use them and discard them.

[TGTIW]

I don't think most of the examples cited in that article really support his topic. Most of that work seems extremely overpriced and he should not have included the costs of the exhaust, window tint and other upgrades. I also have a feeling that there's a connection between the "road rash" on the rims and the failing suspension bushings.

[felix_browne]

I have to say without specifically knocking ferrari as i have some trouble with some of the things he was saying that my 911 has been one of the most diy friendly and cheaper of sports cars to maintain. As for his comparison to the $.37 a mile japanese car mileage, my recently deceased 30zxtt cost twice as much per year to maintain as the 911 but again, that is due to ease of maintanence on the porsche. if you need to take your car to the dealership to have the battery replaced or to shell out 260 to replace an o2 sensor then the porsche ownership will be pricey as well. What level of involvement in maintanence are you willing to commit and what is your time worth? My father has an 87 carrera and does absolutely none of the work on it himself but budgets 1500 a year for his less that 5k miles of driving and keeps the car mint. just my personal experience though.
-felix

[mnmike]

I think a big reason people buy new Porsche's is because they cost less initially and to maintain then a ferrari (and some of the other high end sports cars/exotics). The person writing the article seems surprised for some reason about the huge costs. I can't figure out why? Maybe they're new to automobiles. You get what you pay for, and if you want to own one of the worlds top exotic cars, you gotta pay big bucks. They cost a fortune to maintain, but if your honestly concerned about that when you dish out 200k (or 100k when its used) you probably lost your mind. Sure you can own a toyota for 7 cents or whatever they said per mile, but who cares?

[bbaer6676]

I have goodyear eagle f1 tires on one of my cars, they dont come with any mileage warranty so I know what to expect from high performance tires. but replacing the rears at 13k and 20k would make me think that this car was hardly babied.

[Gene Wilkes]

Dealerships sell service. Looks like this one got plenty of it!

[bbaer6676]

I would have to imagine that alot of porsche owners are more hands on than other brands. But I could be wrong, Ferrari may have its own "pelican" I have to admit I havent really looked.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by JackMan
Correction: You don't rotate tires on 911, you use them and discard them.

I disagree...why not rotate the tires on the early cars that run the same sizes on all four?

[T77911S]

i worked on cars for a living in between jobs, let me tell ya, some people can flat tear up a car, inside and out. road rash to the wheels??? is that from curbs? i had a volvo that the wheels finish pitted on, from lack of cleaning the break dust by PO. u are right, dealers sell maint.

[Hugh R]

$500 and something for a windshield washer reservoir,wow!