996 running Costs

Hi all, I'm currently driving a TT which im reluctant to sell as its been a really reliable car, so my idea is to let the missus have it and get myself a new toy. I was originally looking at Cayman S but now i'm toying with the 996. Can you tell l me what things i need to look out for? Also what are the running costs? Servicing? parts? reliability? Insurance for the younger person. Cheers in advance Mike

Hi Mike By TT, I take it you mean Audi TT rather than Porsche TT (twin turbo) ?

As far as running costs go, it is very much dependent on which model you intend to buy and how many miles you are likely to do. I have just posted this information in another thread, but here is what it has cost me over the last year for my C4S cab: £700 insurance (Esure, 30yrs, clean license, no accidents, good post code) £700 service, including air con £125 for a wheel arch liner (cracked) £35 wiper blades £700 two Michelin Pilot sports (N1 - hence high price) £2300 two year warranty renewal (incl Euro breakdown cover) I have had the following replaced under the current warranty: Two coil packs MAF sensor Oil pressure sensor Door seal Metal trim at base of fabric roof I think the one year warranty I had (c. £900) has pretty much paid for itself, with the added comfort of having peace of mind and no scary big bills to worry about. I think £5K a year is about right to run a car like this (obviously this is proportional to annual mileage and mine might be higher than some). This obviously doesn't cover fuel, but the computer says I have averaged 28.5mpg since I picked her up last September. I am taking this figure with a pinch of salt, but I believe that it is probably mid-twenties.

Hi, which warranty did you go for? I'm looking for a 996 and am considering a warranty package. Thanks Gareth

I assume thats OPC prices??? I recently had a full set of Michelin PS2 N3's fitted/balanced on the turbo for about £830. To add in the additional costs I've had this year. Oil pressure sensor - £90 ish Alternator - £600 (would have been a good bit less but I didn't have time to fit it myself. Radiator - £220 + £80 for bleeding Insurance - £550 12k Service and brake fluid - £490 I've spent some money on suspension parts/amp/console delete and probably SSK soon but not all was necessary or would be covered on warranty due to wear and tear. And a few £k on petrol. I don't have a warranty as I would like to change exhaust/maybe map and my stereo wouldn't be allowed in any case. I keep meaning to update my files and count it all but in the end who cares. I would still have spent the money regardless of knowing how much the total was or not. Compared to a TVR it's been reasonable.

Hi Mike By TT, I take it you mean Audi TT rather than Porsche TT (twin turbo) ?[/quote] Yeh the Audi TT, i did think about being misunderstood but thought it'd be alright. :lol:

Thanks for the replies, I'd like something similar to what you've got!! 2004 C4S with 40-50,000 miles on, preferably with full Porsche history and i'd hope to maintain that. I'd say i do between 4-5000 miles a year. What service was it and what was included? Never heard of N1 tyres but just done a quick google search to find out. I wouldn't mind getting a warranty but it'd void if i got the engine remapped so don't know if it'd be feasable. Fuel doesn't bother me, my main worry is insurance as i'm only 24, i'm thinking it may be best to wait till i'm 25. I know the engines are reliable but what about the other anxillaries? i can see a few people whove had problems.

I moved from an Audi TT to a C4 of the same age ( & 4 x the price!) I don't regret a minute of it. It's normally the best looking car in every car park (furthest corner space obviously) and petrol is only about 4mpg less. This year: Insurance £580 2 x rears £430 2 x coils £70 wheel refurb £500 interim self service £0 Rear pads & disks £190 a few bits £20 Polishes etc £60 Oops- forgot the maf £180 So quite reasonable i feel, plan for a pair of tyres a year, (i do 10k), the servicing is simple & maintenance is straightforward with the right tools and all the help you get on here, so save yourself a fortune and have an indy for complicated stuff. 8)

I bought my car from an OPC, so I have maintained the warranty with them. It's not the cheapest option, but I feel that it is the most comprehensive. Others may disagree. The tyres were from an OPC, but I did shop around and they happened to be the best price. N1's are obsolete now, so they are like rocking horse sh!t. The fronts were relatively new, so I didn't want to replace all four. Hopefully I have set myself up for two years worth of trouble free motoring, since the service intervals are 12K or 2 years and I have a 2 year warranty.

I spent about £8k in 3 years over 18k miles but that included refurbished 18 inch Sport Design wheels and new tyres, Oettle exhaust, paintwork correction and some prophylactic work like starter and alternator refurb, rear wheel bearings and coolant tank replacement. In that time I also had the wheel alignment done 3 times, needed 3 sets of rear tyres. The only actual faults that needed done was the replacement of 2 radiators, 1 ballast resistor and front anti roll bar bushes. I replaced the brake discs and pads once. One service was done at the OPC and cost £800 itself.

I've owned my car for 13 months. Looking through my bills (not a huge pile) around £3000 in the first year. This included £700 for tyres,£600 for a paint job,£300 for a gear knob (a little treat) and £200 to tidy up the leather. Insurance was £520. Other bits included storage bins,cold air induction pipe,K&N filter. No mechanical work required,just had an oil and brake fluid change and the Indie said that I had a 'very good' car :thumb: The only things that he could find wrong with it were corroding exhaust nut/bolt flanges and a corroding O/S silencer. Apparently most 996/997's suffer from this. I haven't included the cost of petrol.........

Mine, touch wood, has cost me very little in 3 years. Average service cost per year has been about £400. 1 set of Pirelli N4 rear tyres cost about £400. Insurance with breakdown cover costs about £400 a year. Changed the AOS for about £300 and a MAF at £100. All of the rest of the cost is voluntary, exhaust, CAI, audio upgrades, wheel upgrades etc, etc All depends on how carefully you buy, I was fortunate enough to find a very pampered garage queen, but I looked at some cars thast would have provided a very different stroy to above.

I bought a 2002 C4 with 43k on it last October but only really started using it in March and I've done 3000 miles since then - mostly in 40 mile Sunday morning stints. It cost me £300 to get the aircon working (one new condenser and a regas) and I treated it to an early major service due to its age. That cost me £1002 but included brake fluid change, 6 new plugs and 3 coil packs. The driving experience before was always good but after has been incredible. My tyres are 5 year old well worn PZeros and will be changed soon (c£700 for 4) and I may get the steering geometry done at the same time. Insurance and tax are obviously expensive and 20-23 mpg is not great but hey - what do you expect with such performance on tap. I'm hoping that my expenditure this year will keep me going until next summers annual service and through the next MOT but the OPC did flag up a slightly blowing exhaust and a duff second tone on the horn. My WMS warranty runs out in October so I'll be shopping around for that too. In summary, 996 ownership isn't cheap and there may be a depreciation issue coming up when 997 prices drop below £30k but buy wisely and you'll have great fun. Good luck. T8

I think allowing c £2k per year (on top of fuel and insurance) seems reasonable

It's going to depend a lot on the age of the car and the mileage you do. I have a 1998 C2, lives outside and does 15K a year. Costs about 2K/yr and in 3 years have new rads, 2sets tyres, coolant bottle, coil packs, cam solenoid, horns, window motor, geometry and services. TB