What's it cost to maintain a 996?

When I was looking for my 996, I had looked at 964's and 993's first. One of the things that I always wondered was the typical cost of maintenance. Each of these cars requires different "stuff" on a regular basis. So, I thought that I would start a thread on what I spend to maintain my 2004 996 Targa. BTW, I plan on driving my car all year round. My expected annual mileage is about 20,000. I hope to update this as I do work on my car, even to the "fun stuff" that I will put on next summer. So, here's the start: 10/9/10 - Purchased car - $31,700 10/20/10 - Winter tires and wheels - bought used from a Rennlister $800.00 11/4/10 - 30,000 Mile service - This was from Perfect Power, a Porsche Indy in the north Chicago 'burbs. Oil change and filter. Replace air filter, spark plugs and cabin pollen filter. Flush and bleed brakes, perform inspection, Brake pads still OK. 4 hours labor - $560.00. Parts $290.29 Total $850.29. larry

$140hr for labor??? Ouch

Yes, unfortunately, this is Chicago. I think that the local Porsche dealer charges $180. larry

Labor cost kills me and made me learn new things.

My mechanic charges $135. Dealer is about $180 so not bad. If you can do some work yourself you will safe some $$$ plus you will learn more about your car

Did all that including spark plugs for 4 hrs? Not bad on timing and must have the technique down...

Since delivery on May 31, 2002, my C4S has had 32 service appointments for a total of $10,969.13. My average mileage between appointments is 2,767. My average cost per service appointment is $343.79. These numbers include disposables like tires and brakes.

I figure you are looking at least $200 for a start to just look at it.

i do nothing other than oil changes ever 5,000kms and other regular service items according to their scheduled changes. This car has cost me less to own (mods and track days excluded), than a damned Honda.

Dennis: Your cost of maintenance is good - only $1,350 per year. I just wonder as to why you bring the car in every 2,700 miles. For me, I plan on bringing my car in every 7,500 miles for an oil change, or if I do it myself, every 15,000 miles for the minor/major service. I plan on starting to do some of the work myself. I'll begin by doing the oil changes, and then spread out from there. Certainly, for me, learning how to work on the car is one of the joys of ownership that I am looking forward to. Alpine: I read another thread here where people were saying what had to be taken off the car to change the plugs, and that it was expensive. Sol says that it's easy to change plugs, he just pulls the coils and changes them. Simple. But I guess that you need to know how. Dead-eye: Wifey complains about the cost of maintaining a Porsche. Consumers Reports shows in their annual survey that the Porsche has a much better than average repair record. Also, my Lexus IS250 goes in to the dealer every 5,000 miles for an oil change (it seems that none of the oil change places like Car-X have the right tool to remove the canister.) By the time I get out of there, it's $400. At 20K miles per year, that's 4 x $400 - $1,600. The 996 goes in once a year at 15,000 mile intervals at $800 each. Hmmm, cheaper to maintain than a Lexus? I guess that only time will tell. Certainly the FUN QUOTIENT is much higher on the Porsche!!! larry

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Larry, i've noticed that you guys in the US are getting gouged by dealers on service rates. When I see numbers like 200$ an hr in california and 150$ at other major urban centers, i must say i'm shocked. Our main dealer here charges 130$ but most race shops and indy's who are porsche specialists charge 90-100$. With regards to the oil change: any shop should be able to do it, the oil filter cover can be removed by hand in some cases. You're right tho: life is too short to be bored, it's hard to replace the fun factor of a 911!

I don't know the exact $ figure, but in 3 years and 30k miles, I've done: A few oil changes 2 brake fluid flushes Radiator fan Brake pads and rotors (and stainless steel brake lines) Oil sending unit Battery Tires air cleaner cabin filter Next on my list: spark plugs

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So, it's mid-afternoon, and the shop calls me to say, "I'm not sure that we're going to be able to finish your car today. Is it OK if you pick it up tomorrow?" Now I'm panicked. I haven't driven my Porsche at all today, and they're asking me to not drive it for 2 days in a row? What gives here? I am suffering from Pcar withdrawal after only one day? What is this disease that I have contracted? Is it curable? Will it get worse over time? I told my family after I sold Kermit, and was Porsche-less for 3 years that when I bought this car, I was NOT going to be obsessed. So, why is it that whenever I'm ready to talk, I find myself having to censor the first thing out of my mouth . . . . "I found a new gizmo to put on my Porsche." " You know, when I was driving home today, I . . . . " OK, I'm obsessed again. Don't know what pill I can take to cure it. It seems that the more time I spend on/with the car the worse it gets. Is there any help available? larry

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Yep, motorcycles, a trip to california to fly a Mig-15 or blond twins, there probably isn't much else to cure your obcession. Frankly i suggest you indulge it with: Tubi Exhaust, Aerokit, cargraphic 19's.

My 2002 996, costs me next to nothing to operate. Oil and filter changes every 15K or 2 years @$65 + $22 for oil analysis Filter changes every 30K @ $45 Brake flush every 2 years @ $12 Brake pad changes every 70K miles @ $200 Rear Tires every 22K miles @ $600 Front Tires every 40K miles @ $300 Plugs every 60K @ $60 Learning how to do all this stuff @Priceless or at lest $150/Hr What has failed since the warranty expired: Coolant expansion tank @$160 & Battery replacement @ $120 + $80 for a battery tender. The 996's operational costs are on par with my wife's Honda Civic.

^^ seriously?? tires 22k? I think 10k is more likely if you drive it right oil and filter at home for me was $110 for parts every 3-4k miles NOT 15k still the most money spent was not the maintenance - its the mods and with that you better go ahead and sell the wife's car now - I heard Tim was looking for another one for his stable

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That's just my average over the life of the car. It generally goes into the shop only about once a year, maybe twice.

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Yes Seriously. I drive the car exactly as it was designed to be driven, and have always gotten between 20K and 28K out a set of rears. Alignment has much to do with how the rears wear. I have the car set up with minimum negative camber on the rears, which is how I get this much life out of the tires. When I track the car, I reset the rear to a more aggressive camber, but reset it for street. And I won't get into the discussion about oil change frequency except to say that every oil drain is tested and that the empirical evidence supports 15K change frequencies. BTW, I pay $5/qt for 0-40 mobil1 and $15 for the filter cartridge.

I think I went 12-15K on the first couple of oil changes I did when the car was under warranty. Now I change the oil every 5K or so. If I had continued to change the oil at 15K intervals in the 10 years I have had the cars, and at 59K miles I would only be coming up on my 4th change (ignoring time). I change the oil at least once per year no matter the mileage. As for tires, I have a set of summer wheels and tires and a set of winter wheels and tires. The original P Zeros were gone on the rear at 10K, and that is with the winter tires on for two seasons. Went to PS2's and at 59K miles the rears are about gone, the winter rears have one more season I think, although they are old. So the P zeros went really fast, the PS2's and the Dunlop winters tires have probably gone 20K+ each.

Doug, You're in Wilmette? I'm in Deerfield. We should get together for a beer sometime. Maybe we can scare up some other North Shore types from this board to join us. larry

There are some questions I don't want the answer to, this would be one of those questions

my 2002 c4s has 82k on it now. after i got it, 20 months ago, i had to replace several switches and other stuff. most expensive was seat belt electrical connections ( about $800 when the Seat Belt light goes on). Now at 80,250 mi, the CEL came on and i am working to replace the cats. i'm trying to get PCNA to help, but doubt they will help. for the numbers $1100 in repairs. $1700 in maintence (including 2 sets of rears on one fronts) and $3300 in upgrades (PSS9 most expensive - and most worth it) 18000 miles driven surfer161 p.s. Doug and Larry - used to live on winnetka ave. its good not to see NTHS out my window when i wake up. surfer161

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Uhhhh which question? larry

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After my first visit to the Pcar dealer I decided it was time for me to learn about my car. Still won't be diving into the motor anytime soon but brakes, rotors, oil changes, etc have saved me a bundle in sweat equity.

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Surely you are talking in Kilometers......

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I know! Same deal with my 2009 A4. They wanted $516 to change the front brakes and rotors. $300 in parts and I was done in two hours. I always look at it like I just made $216/2~$108 an hour on my weekend job.

my porsche certified tech only charges me $60 an hour

if anyone in the portland surrounding areas would like his number let me know. and he does work on anything else too, not just pcars. hes worked even on the coveted carrera GT, hes factory trained and certified.

bump?

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why?

Rule #1 of Porsche ownership: Never, never, never total receipts. A strict adherent of this principle I cannot tell you exactly what I have spent on this car in the year since I bought it. However, there is little doubt in my mind that it is less than I would have spent keeping my 968 on the road. Aside from the potential of IMS failure these cars are very inexpensive to maintain.