Smiles per Mile $

I was looking at my finances last night (which trust me is bleak) and to make myself feel better, calculated my 996 Smiles per Mile $ 14.7 cents I figured it cost me 14.7 cents per mile , $919.58 per year (6250 miles) to own/drive my 99 Coupe that have driven for 12 years 75,000 miles.(purchase cost and repairs only, not maintenance/upgrades) $7500 for purchase in 2007 (was a roller, engine disassembled in boxes 100k on it, yea I know I paid to much for it compared to most rollers) $2200+$200 for a 50k core engine that had a cracked head intermix, head gaskets to swap heads ect.(now a runner) $900+$100 fluid at 120k, bought used TIp with 40k on it due to blown Tip at Barber Track( blew front pump and seal,common problem on ZF Tip due to pressure regulator sticking at full pressure) $125 at 150k replaced front diagonal control arms due to noise over railroad tracks. $10 at 175k , for replacement ignition switch Total $11,035 for purchase price and repairs only (failures) over 12 years and 75,000k miles 6250 miles per year.. Excluding any elective upgrades (unless prompted by failure) and maintenance ie, tires, brakes, batteries, oil changes, filters, What is your Smiles per Miles $ figure? In my case no labor $ was involved since I did the work myself, but anyone with mechanical aptitude (and physical health) can swap a short block, install a complete transmission. My other 996 (99 Cab) and my 02 986 with 3.2 engine haven't given me no where near as many Smiles per Mile $ since I haven't driven them enough or had them long enough. The more you drive, the better your Smiles per Mile $...I'm wondering what others are getting in the Smiles per Mile $ ??

I added up my smiles per mile after a year of ownership. I quickly realized that with everything i did to my C4S (repairs, maintenance, upgrades, noise makers) plus the purchase price = a nice 996 turbo........i guess when i thought i couldn't afford a turbo i lied to myself.....either way i am a happy 996 owner.

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When the bottom fell out of the 996 market (Turbo included, before the Turbo rebounded) we traded in a one owner 2001 Turbo w 50k miles on it for 29k, as an employee I would have had to pay 200 over cost. It was just out of my budget at that time !!!

I've only put about 3000 miles on my 996 in the past 2 1/2 years, so I am in at over $4 per mile and about $7 per mile if you include mods. It's my third vehicle. Good news is that some of those miles are track miles at Road Atlanta.

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Just keep driving !!! The more you drive, the better your Smiles per Mile $ !!!

I'll have to do the math. I know it's more than 15 cents/mile. But, I'm just getting started. I just realized, I've put on 8500 miles since I bought the car! (1/25/19) Talk about smiles per mile... Back of napkin calculation: Roughly $2.00 per mile. That includes everything but title transfer, plates and insurance. $2.10/mile, all in. I have to clarify - this includes all parts, including a tire, and the cost to have it mounted and balanced. All other labor has been done by my wife's tame Porsche mechanic.

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I plan on it. As long as I don't stuff it into the wall at the track, I will drive it for many years.

I'd have to do the math too and at this moment am too lazy, but want to sat thanks for the breath of fresh air you bring to the forum Porschetech3, it's such a nice change from the general doom and gloom so often found around here.

I'm getting on average, 18 miles per smile 4 days a week!

Every mile I'm smiling, does that count? I don't want to add it up

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WOW, 8500 miles in 10 months? yea you're getting you Smiles in !!! Thanks JTT!!! I get pulled down by the doom and gloom also, It's just my nature (and profession), in that fault analysis is the key to understanding/risk management. I try to look at the bright side when possible, thanks for the encouragement !! Sure it counts !!! I'll add up my Smiles per Miles $ on my 99 Cab and my 02 986 3.2 soon, but for now just bask in the 14.7 cents of my 99 Coupe ... Oh and a picture of the Smiles per Miles $ leader..

I dont want to add mine up haha it will also be in AUD and kms and just confuse everyone Hahaha :-p

I think you should calculate the current value of the car to the equation for a more accurate cost per mile but anyways the enjoyment that we get out of these cars is priceless and might be the best value in the Porsche world

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It won't confuse us, We Mericans are used to conversions, I keep my conversion APP handy !!!!

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Haha! Very good I do have a spreadsheet that tracks spend and mods - scary haha

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^This^ To start off, I paid the long dollar for an exceptional car with a thorough service history from Porsche dealer from day one. Original window sticker all three keys, etc. After the first two years of ownership I realized I could have purchased a very nice Turbo for less money. But I did a lot of preventive maintenance and many performance improvements. Smiles per mile? Immeasurable

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Actually, closer to 8 months of driving. The first two months were spent snowed-in and replacing/ inspecting/ cleaning things. Need to order my winter tires soon! I always do a spreadsheet of information that comes with each car I buy. Try to rebuild the service history. Then I tend to forget about it, when I get busy keeping them going. I do tend to take a lot of photos of work that I perform. So I've got that going for me...

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This pretty much describes me except I purchased from the original owner not a dealer. I paid top dollar for a cream puff with every part/maintenance receipt since new, original window sticker, all three keys. etc... I spent the first two years taking care of some wear items like engine mounts, transmission mount, brake hoses and rotors/pads to name a few. I also did a bunch of 'upgrades'. Looking back, I spent too much time working on it without a good balance of also enjoying driving it. For year 3, I just plan on driving it. My first year of ownership thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...onth-long.html

So if I am doing the math correctly we are about $3.66 smiles per mile. Owned it about 17 months and have put just about 4500 on it. Was bought with the intentions of only driving it to the marina, and on weekends. Best money ever spent!

Owned the car three years and put 20,000 miles on it. $1.28 smiles per mile

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Nice !!! You are in second place in the Smiles per Miles $ race .!!!!

I am at about 2 Canadian pesos per km.

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2 loonies? Let's see... That's 2.41 USD/ mile. Keep driving.

I've now put 10,000 miles on my low mileage 2003 c4s in 9.5 months, all night and weekend drives. I smile just thinking about driving it, let alone the smiles that come when actually behind the wheel. Can't wait to drive it in the snow, i think winter smiles will count 2x.

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That definitely made me smile. Some Most of my best driving experiences have been on snow and ice. Can you say; "slideways"?

$2.42/mile but a lot of that was for preventative maintenance and upgrades as well as repairs/service. Major ticket items incl things like ROW M030, new coolant tank, new alternator, brake rotors/pads/SS lines, all fluids (incl transmission flush when i purchased the car last year), spark plugs and coil packs, some cosmetics (bumper paint, clear bra, upholstery repair, visor mirrors), Rennline grill inserts, $1.43/mile without the upgrades. But I'm thinking that the $/mile will continue to drop since a lot of this cost was one-time or longer life items. And since it's a Stage II engine, the smiles are already pretty high!

OK, what, crap I need to drive her more. I am at $6 per smile mile, only had the car for less than 2 years. But I have done 5 DE days, Sebring and Homestead. I think DE miles should count more and then some miles after I still have the DE smile on. We need a formula to calculate this.

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LMAo..

I'm at nearly 100K miles on my '99 - about 70K of those are mine. Got the car 6 years ago. No idea how much I've spent on routine maintenance - I don't track it unless it becomes a problem, and the 996 hasn't become a problem yet. At least $10K (dual-row LN, two clutches, and other odds and ends)...I have a new starter sitting on my porch and a new ignition switch about a foot to the left of my keyboard... So I guess that's 57 cents a mile? Seems too cheap, so let's throw in a set of tires every 1.5 years @ about a grand per throw...carry the 1... 63 cents?

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57 cents? That puts you in the second place spot !! Nice going !! No, I don't think maintenance should be included in the Smiles per Miles $ figure. Just cost of entry, plus failure/repair issues.. Although I do think there should be added points for track days ect !!!!

4.5 seasons, 54,000 kms ~ $1.60 USD/Mile including about 10 track days.

I've owned mine for just over 2 years now. $20,000 purchase price (Sept 20, 2017) Year 1 repairs: $846 (windshield, control arm, headlight switch) Year 1 Maintenance: $275.31 (oil changes) Year 2 Repairs: $336 (Windows regulator, GBox 2nd gear pop out, defroster switch) Year 2 Maintenance: $2091.23 (oil, water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt) Total Cost: $23548.54 Mileage: 25,000 $1.06 per mile ...But wait, I couldn't resist spending some more! Year 1 Mods: $7405 (LOTS! --FF shift ****, Paint correction, key upgrade, Taco Spoiler, GT3 throttlebody, Feal coilovers, wheels studs, fire extinguisher, Aspherical mirrors, dashcam, floormats, 997 GT3 shifter, many smaller things) Year 2 Mods: $5421 (LOTS! --sideskirts, Fabspeed intake, +2qt deep sump, third radiator, Red calipers) $1.46 per mile I think the mods were worth it!

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Nice !! and the 10 track days should count for a lot more Smiles !! I will have to come up with a number to represent the track days.. Smiles per Miles $1.06 !!! We are getting some nice numbers coming in now. It is showing that the Rennlisters know how to enjoy the 996 !!!

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Bummer...mine's clearly a garage queen...

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Yea right !! Looks like your car only see's the garage to cool off !!!! Nice going !!

Just reviving this old thread for @Dagsvik or other new owners to post their "Smiles per Mile $" or long time owners who have "gotten their monies worth" putting lots of Miles on their 996... I have $12K purchase cost and repairs/failures in Sally ( 1999 C2) in 93K miles now.. so $0.13 Smiles per MIle $

My 04 with FSI Stage II cost me $24k about 8 yrs ago. Added some mods (M030, UAOS, paddle shifters, etc) and some repairs and over-maintenance expenses and not enough miles (sad) but still on the plus side of smiles/ miles. Would do it again.

The past five years of only tracking my 996 15k miles I would say is about $5-$6 a mile. Initial purchase, repair and upgrades, tires, gas, and the big one track fees, these have come down signicantly since starting to instruct. Hey but no insurance to pay!

I forgot last year I put a new set of Koni Sport Struts/Shocks on ($1200) ..the originals had started to handle bad and making a knocking noise on sharp bumps.. and my A/c Clutch went out so I just replaced the complete Nipondenso Compressor ($300) So it brings my Cost up to $14,500 for 93K Smiles per Miles $......= $0.15 ( purchase plus repairs ...no upgrades/brakes/tires/oil/gas ect) So the formula for a $0.15 Smiles per Miles $ is to get the high mileage discount on the Porsche Engineered body/chassis , and lowest mileage Porsche Engineered Engine, then upgrade the hell out of it ,and drive the **** out of it........

Do we count wear items? If not, I am at about $0.33 per mile for mine. $7k buy-in, new radiators, and a non-start issue a few months ago.

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Nice job on the $0.33 Smiles per Miles $ !!! You must be up near 180K miles ??.... I have had Sally for 18 years now...she has 194k Miles ( 94K miles by me ) the original numbers matching engine I rebuilt and has been sitting on an engine stand for 18 years just waiting for its time to do work .... She has been rode hard and put up wet, but always cared for...She is still beautiful and turns heads constantly... No, wear items that are expected to wear don't count ....like Brakes, Tires, Spark Plugs, OIl, Gas, Belts, Clutch,.....they only count if they wear out prematurely ..... I did count my Koni Sport Struts and Shocks and although they are an "upgrade" and the originals lasted over 190k miles, I would consider Struts and Shocks are maintenance items because they normally only last 60-100k miles. Upgrades don't count like UIDS, UAOS, IMSB, Ohlins, ect...unless prompted by a failure...

Even if I count everything (purchase price, upgraded parts, , refreshed parts, maintenence, wearables, etc.), I am still smiling after 22+ years of ownership. I am probably pushing $2.25 a mile on a 66k mile car with over 100 track days, plenty of road trips, and just alot of damn good fun. Not one regret. Just alot of smiles. Here is the funny thing, it was actually much cheaper to buy my 996 22 years ago, do the upgrades, refreshes, service and maintenence, and replace all the wearables than constantly upgrading my 911 to the new model or rotating thru other brands, which is a much larger outlay of capital and much larger losses.

I spent as much on refreshing and remediating all the known M96 engine issues as I paid for the car. I'm at about $5/mile. Almost turbo level expense, but without the upfront out of pocket.

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I am at 184k and counting. My car is solid and a great commuter.

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So if I decided to rebuild my engine for more performance it doesn't count? There was no failure, or known imminent failure to cause the rebuild. Only counting purchase price and broken items? I'll have to do the math, but I'm sure I'm doing pretty good with minimal spent on broken items and having driven almost 45K miles. Maybe not Sally good, but pretty good none the less.

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Right !! IF you upgraded from 3.4 to 3.8 or from 3.6.to 4.0 for more performance ( not because of Bore-Scoring or spun rod bearings due to oil starvation) it doesn't count against your Smiles per Miles $$ .... Just Purchase Price + Failures / Miles Driven === Smiles per Miles $$

Hah! I would add it all in. Still the best bargain available in the market.

I have been pondering this evaluation for a few days� I have spent plenty of money on maintenance and upgrades, but is an axle CV joint with 150K miles really a �premature failure�, or a clutch pressure plate with 130K. Friction disc still had life. Do I count all my shelf parts that aren�t on the car but will eventually need (fuel pump in car is at 180K)? Depending on what I include, I�m somewhere between $0.16 to $0.26/mile with 140K in ten years on a car that now has 245K. LOTS OF SMILES PER MILE!

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Nice going !! I would say anytime you have to replace a CV joint it would be considered a failure as well as a Pressure Plate ( when the disk is still good) as they were not "upgraded" and are not really considered Normal Maintenance.. I would say the parts you have on reserve don't count yet ,I suppose you are waiting for them to fail before replacing...( I have my original numbers matching engine rebuilt and sitting on an engine stand for 18 years )

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I was reluctant to add it up! Sadly, I have spent more time on my knees, back, belly, half upside down and crouched in the frunk or the engine bay than I have spent in the seat. Of course, the professional mechanics also have more hours into this little car than I want to acknowledge. I was undoubtedly naive when I purchased my 2002 C2 M6 996 about 12 years ago. I knew nothing of bore scoring, IMSB issues, AOS failures or other such potential grenades. I had previously owned a couple of Beemers and Benzes and (at the time) was shocked at how little the 996�s were selling for. A lot of ultra cool, high performance power to weight vehicle for the money. It almost made no sense to me. I digress�.as usual� 26,000 purchase, add in 15% sales tax, call it 30,000 6500 for the clutch, IMSB, and rear main seal. I waited for the clutch to start slipping at around 78,000 miles. Done by the shop. 5000 the next year for a new AOS, water pump / t�stat, belt, new coolant tank. AC compressor, new stock coil springs and other minor suspension parts. The lowering of the car by the previous owner was a mess, I went through a set of rear tires every 1000 miles, or one year of driving. This work done by the shop too. Fiddly jobs were by me. Foam in the vents. New stereo system. Door latch replaced. Ignition switch replaced, cruise control finally fixed, alternator replacement, headlight polishing, blah blah blah. Not part of my costing here. All of this for 20,000 kms over 12 years, basically a thousand miles a year. 1500 of those kms were racked up in the first three days when I drove it home from Montreal. So. Purchase price alone is 30,000 dollars for 12,000 miles or 20,000 kilometres. 2.50 per mile. Add in another 12,000 for shop material and labour. 1.00 per mile. Ultimately, I am at 3.50 Canadian smiles per miles for a well sorted Carrera that I can finally drive in comfort and with confidence. Right after I replace my CEL initiating ignition coils and spark plugs! OR�long story short�2.55 American dollars per mile all fixed up.

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Just keep DRIVING now that you got her in good shape to add more Smiles per Miles with no more "$$$" .....

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Well, you guys were all correct. I jacked up the car, put it on the stands, and dug into changing some coils and plugs. I took FOREVER, but I must admit that I couldn't have lollygagged any more than I did and quite enjoyed myself. I only changed coil and plug numbers two and three, but that's another tale. CEL light is gone, the car never ran better and I still have four shiny new coils and plugs to install.