Maintenance Costs

I have never owned a Porsche beforeand I was wondering how much I should expect to pay to keep a Cayman serviced and maintained over the years. How much are oil changes, clutches, brakes, etc? Any information would help greatly. Thanks in advance!

I actually find that Porsche servicing cost isn't too bad. Comparable to a BMW. But clutch wears out much faster on a Porsche from my experience, and tyre wear out much faster if you are not used to a sports car.

I did not expect that at all. I would have thought Porsche servicing would be a lot more, even compared to BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc. Good to know.

My experience differs. Clutch wear is directly related to how the car is driven, i.e., how much the clutch is slipped. I've friends who've gotten 70k+ miles from a 911 clutch. I replaced mine at 45K to install an RS clutch/LWF & it was only about 50% worn. Shorter tire life is in large part due to the soft, sticky compound, super high performance tires normally found on Porsches together w/higher cornering speeds. You could install lower performing, higher mileage tires, but what's the fun in that.? /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/drive.gif

I am actually quite conservative with the clutch, and I heel and toe 90% of the time unless I am going very slow. I do track my Porsches regularly which I don't do with the other cars which may explain that.

I think you'll find Porsche parts costs to be comparable to other high end European makes. However, due to accessibility issues, expect labor on a Cayman (Boxster or more recent 911) to be generally more than for a car w/a front mounted engine (just take a look at the engine bays).

Yeah, I expected that the hours of labour involved would be greater due to the accessibility of the engine. I just thought that the parts themselves would be substantially more expensive than even BMW, Mercedes and Audi. My main concern was that I did not want to be suprised with outrageous servicing bills that I did not factor into the cost of owning a Cayman.

rxshawn, Good question, I have been so preoccupied with everything else about the car I never even thought about maintenance costs. I would probably be considered a conservative driver in contrast to most others here, so I am expecting agood wear factor on my car. However having said thatit should be known that I have not driven a manual tansimission, much less a Porsche in 25 years. Russ

I asked my service manager at my Porsche/Audi dealer about service before I ordered the car and he said the engine drops out easily. I was quoted $105 for the yearly inspection and$170 for the inspection with oil change every two years for cars driven less than 9,000 miles a year. 15,000 mile 'minor' service is $400 and 30,000 mile “major” service is $600 - $850. The prices will vary from dealer to dealer but they sure beat Ferrari at $6,000 every 15,000 miles/5 years or Aston Martin at $800 per year.[/quote]

Thanks BT, The costs of maintenance sound very good to me. I averaged 2000 mile per year on my BMW, but I am sure that will at least double with my Cayman. Russ

I heal and toe, about 95% of the time, and my clutch lasted me over 80,000 miles on my boxster. You can drive it hard, but if your not double clutching and heal-toeing it your clutch is going to be gone a lot faster.

Actually, I heard from a study that Porsche has inproved their reliability over the past year. I think second to Lexus, the company with the highest standard of quality. And here is a look of costs, but because these numbers are from Porsche itself, it might be a bit exaggerated. from www.porsche.com/uk/ Longer service intervals are not only more convenient for you, they are also easier on the environment. With the new Cayman S, we have developed a car with very modest servicing requirements: engine oil every 18,000 miles (or two years), spark plugs every 54,000 miles (or four years), oil filter every 18,000 miles, air filter every 36,000 miles, and brake fluid every two years. In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, the advantage for you is two-fold: a lower cost of ownership throughout the life of the car, and more time spent on the road. Based on mileage alone, the new Cayman S requires just three stops for servicing every 54,000 miles, or one service every two years. Also, PCCB are very durable, not sure how long they last however. Edited by - Crazy_fast on 12/05/2005 6:40:57 PM

I thinkI will only be putting about 10,000km a year. By the sounds of it, I won't have to do any maintenance on the car for the first 2 years aside from the yearly oil changes and inspection. Even thoughoil changes only have to be doneevery 2 years or 18,000 miles, I will still do it every year. I tend to heal and toemost of thetime as well, so my clutch wear should be pretty good. Thanks for all the input guys! I was expecting everything to be a lot more. I guess that just means I can add more options to the list... Edited by - rxshawn on 12/05/2005 6:47:59 PM

I sure am hoping to get more than 70k mi out out of a clutch. I am used to getting 200-300k miles out of a clutch. Am I missing something about the Porsche clutch that is different over the Japanese imports??

I only put about 4-5k miles/year on my car, but change oil (Mobil 1) & filter at the earlier of yearly or every 6k mi. I'll follow that same schedule w/my Cayman. IMO, oil/filter changes are cheap insurance & much less expensive than engine wear assuming you plan to keep your car beyond its warranty. Plus, the entire service record, especially oil change intervals, may be very important to a future buyer. A good & caring service history can improve marketability & resale price. If you drive hard, I'd suggest flushing brake fluid yearly. Here again, it's cheap insurance against losing your brakes which will always happen at the worst possible moment. Brake flushing/bleeding on these cars is a rather simple DIY job & provides additional 'bonding' time w/your baby. /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/wink_smile.gif

I will be putting about 20,000 miles a year. At least the service schedule won't cause you to go broke driving the car that much each year.

As a farm boy my dad taught me 'oil is cheaper than engines'. I change it every 3000 miles in all my cars.

SF, You change the filter as well I take it? To me there is no sense in changing the oil if you don't change the filter. Russ

SF; Are you going to change it that often in the Cayman?? I read where Porsche recommends changes at 18,000 miles or yearly. Knowing that Mobil 1 is supposed to be able to go that long seems like it would be very expensive to do it every 3k.

While I respect Porsche's recommendations, I agree with Santa Fe. Frequent oil and filter changes (even when you're talking about expensive synthetic oil in relatively large quantities (thank you dry sump)) are cheap insurance. If you're looking to save money, wash the car yourself and enjoy some extra bonding time with your ride. But spend a little extra and change the fluids.