2k per annum -realistic 996 servicing budget ? or not ?

Hi there, Im considering very serious in aquiring a 996TT but today a dealer told me off - said that the car eats miles as fast as it eats pounds ( sterling... ) on servicing. I've always read that the 996 shares the same block as the lemans GT1 and even than the GT3 MKI - a very strong one, so they are pretty much reliable if properly mantained. The car I'm considering is supposedly due soon ( on the summer ) for a major service, its under OPC warranty and I would like to service it there to extend the warranty again, so I was considering these costs : £ 1024 - major service £ 124 - change brake fluid £ 15 - top up oil £ 254 - check geometry yadada thats adds up to circa £1400, inc vat - these are OPC quoted prices ( found on the webpage ). so 2, or 2.5k is a realistic value to keep a 996TT per annum or not ? excluding the 900 for extending warranty ? should I stick to a C4S with lower prices in servincing ( plus the car costs few grand less, giving me more "room" to spend on service ) ? advice needed from 996tt owners ( or ex owners ) and from other 996 "normal" , ie non tt, owners which can share their anual budget ( exclude trackday costs, tires, etc etc, since I'll do a couple this year but not much more than that ). Thanks in advance

I have a 4S which I had serviced at an Porsche specialist. I have run it for 25k miles in one year; my costs approximately; I have had two menu services, i.e. a 12k and a 48k, (total £611). I have also had new brake discs and pads (£500?), two new coils (£60), and some rear tyres (£450), and a new battery (£120), and a sidelight bulb! I have no warranty. Probably the coils are the only thing that would have been covered. The warranty will cost £900 and this will need to be factored into your budget. I'm not sure I'd bother with a warranty with a Turbo- really the only reason to have the warranty is to protect against RMS and engine failure, both of which not really issues for the TT. If you aren't doing so many miles, I'd say £2,000 is very realistic, probably over-cautious especially if you have a warranty, and the car has any issues fixed at time of purchase.

Now you need to add 50% to that number for the things discovered at service time that need replcaing or it would be an MOT failure :thumb: You can still get the waranty if you have the car serviced by an independent as long as waranted parts are Porsche products. You will have to pay a hundred pounds for the 111 point check but would probably save a few hundred on the service. Just had the 6 year service and bits replaced on my C4 which came to £1,500.

Have to disagree strongly on that one. The second gear synchro takes a pounding on these things. £4,500 to rectify :shock: When mine was being done I was told that they (My local OPC) were doing one a month. In additon to that claim I have had 2 door locking microsensors go (£300- 400 each time) plus a failed Oxygen sensor (£400). I would not dream of running mine without the warranty. A rough breakdown on mine (non warranty items) for the last 18 months /20,000 miles is as follows. Major service £1038 Minor Service £390 Geo and SRF Brake fluid £450 Clutch £800 (Done at 30,000 miles while the gearbox was being rebuilt under warranty saving me c£900 on labour) Pads and discs £1500 (1 set of rear pads, 2 sets of front pads, 1 set of front discs) Tyres £ :dontknow: But the MPS2's are good for 8/10k at the back and 15k on the front.

I brought a 996tt last summer, not done many miles but just had major service fuel filter etc and with extended warranty bill was just over £2100. They picked up all 3 rads need replacing, quote £1700 from OPC, oh and not covered by warranty!!! Oh and a bulb!! Have taken this up with Porsche GB but they are standing by the OPC. So I would say runing costs prob circa £3-3.5k per annum on average (depending on miles) which would include warranty (peace of mind!!) Hope that helps..

Hmmm they can cost you a whole lot more. Clutch 1200 to 1800 Unexpected puncture on rears 600 discs and pads front 700 rads 1500+ reprogram of key 175 then the fun things if you decide you want a touch more power or a decent sound from the car! remap 1000+ Exhaust 1500+ You only live once, do it! :thumbs:

Mine were all replaced last year under the warranty . If the radiators are knackered due to premature corrosion then they should be covered. If they have been damaged or not maintained then unlikely to be covered and you will need to fight. I bought mine TT last year and had the 48k mile service at only 37k miles and then replaced all the tyres, discs and pads for piece of mind and then the clutch to hold the increased power of a remap. I also replaced the lower control arms as a couple were squeaking. The radiators were replaced under warranty together with the aircon radiator. These are all common faults/running costs with a 996 (TT or otherwise). If they have already been dealt with then I would say your budget should be fine. I am not expecting any significant running costs other than routine service and maintenance for the next year or so and always take the warranty for piece of mind. However you are talking a supercar so if you can't afford the odd surprise then perhaps consider an alternative car.

The radiators should be covered under warranty. Which OPC has declined it?

Having reread the post above maybe the car was not under warranty at the time and when it was inspected for the purposes of applying a warranty they said the radiators needed changing?

well thanks for the info all of you. by the way, the car im looking at has the radiators and condensers ( plus a big list of things ) replaced 9 months ago. thanks for the info again. seems that 2.5 is a realistic budget after seeing the invoices from the seller - he had a couple of big services and the car seems sound.

Sorry to "hyjack" the thread, Car was under warranty, has full OPC service history and has only covered 5000 miles in last 12 months since the last service. Exeter OPC declined to do the work so I took it up with Porsche GB. They are saying that the car has not been "maintained properly" and i should expect to have to replace rads on a car of this age!! (It is only 5 and a half years old and covered 44k miles). I could accept that the front one may have been damaged by a stone (possibly) but certainly not the sides! Have tried arguing i believe there is a design fault if the rads corrode, not easy to clean them without stripping the car down and forgive me for being stupid Porsche but they are designed to get wet on the inside and surely because of their location you must expect them to get wet on the outside as well? I am in the process of ordering the parts and will carry out the work myself, (asked OPC for a quote and they very kindly listed all the part numbers!!!) I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has had rads replaced under warranty, depending on the circumstances it would add weight to my arguement. More than happy to take Porsche GB on, might even quite enjoy it!!!! Keep saying it but great site!! :thumbs:

Mine had all three rads replaced under warranty, the car was 4 yrs old at the time (previous owner) corrosion was the fault not stone damage. I have a Mk2 golf GTI wich is 18 years old and i have just replaced it's, original, radiator! go figure....... anyone know of a good way to keep rads clean on a TT?

Petrol, no problem on the hijacking By the way, the TT Im possibly going to buy, which I said it had the rads changed, were replaced because owner want to bring the car up to scratch. Lucky me I guess Cheers good luck with your fight !

"I have a Mk2 golf GTI wich is 18 years old and i have just replaced it's, original, radiator!" Thats my point..... Who ever heard of radiators that need replacing after 5 years, as for cleaning them, made impossible imho without stripping down the car, so is this bad design?? Seems a bit of a lottery as to whether the warranty will cover them, either they are or they arent covered.... :?