Will big miles mean big costs??

Ok, so i know that Porsches are better being used than being garage queens but what i am after knowing is if i was to purchase an 80k+ car with full history are there things that normally need doing due to milage soon, ie rebuilds, belt, suspension bushes etc I was initially thinking of buying a lower milage car for more money but due to a house extention my budget has been cut to £17-20k, Just wanted to know if knocking £5k of my budget is going to be false economy in the long term really. Thanks, Chris.

It depends on the mileage - 80k is not high mileage if it was on motorways - 40k done in London will mean wear like clutch, suspension from bumpy an pot-holed roads etc. So no fixed rule, why not get an inspection? LJ

As above plus the service history to be spot on. You will see if the belts, plugs changed at right services etc or if they are due to be changed soon. London roads do cause bushes to be replaced. So even if you got a newer car there will be no corrrelation with age or mileage to frequency of replacement.

bought my 2000 996 c4 over a year ago with 142k on it and she now has 148k. car had full porsche main dealer history with every reciept and i've not had one single moment of trouble have used the car in every condition and tracked her 4 times and the only things i've changed are things i've wanted to do as oppose to being forced too look at wattie's car as well, properly maintained i don't think you get many problems, certinally not much that's related to mileage and more than enough good independants about that whatever work is required isn't as dear as you would think don't seem to be too many cars around that previous owners have penny pinched on, and that's the secret to these cars, in my opinion anyway, if it needs it, do it good luck in your hunt and enjoy what you end up with regards andy

Nice one within your budget here: http://911uk.com/ads_item.php?id=363 :wink: :wink:

http://www.dcautomobiles.com/details.php?id=3339 Looks a cheap car ?

Someone called :?: Bought mine at 42k miles and has now done 99,800 in 3 1/2 years. Has needed very little between services - one new radiator, new MAF, one track-rod end, locking module, and had the clutch changed at 50k when they did an RMS under used car warranty (don't think it was really needed, but it saved me the labour cost on the clutch, so I wasn't going to argue!) Has used literally NO oil between services (which I am notorious for forgetting to book in time, so usually 12,500 - 13,000 intervals!) and only thing that needs doing at the moment is new suspension bushes... (I used to work for Jaguar years ago, and these needed changing at about 30k intervals on an XJ40!) Slightly controversial viewpoint, but with what I know now, I would actually feel happier buying a high mileage 996 than a low mileage one :?: The reason for this is that I am convinced that the problems occur on cars that haven't been warmed up properly before use in anger - lots of short trips where the temptation to put your foot down is too great: I never use more than 3,500 rpm, or full throttle, until the engine is up to normal temperature - and this takes between 5 and 10 miles, depending on the outside temperature. So no point in having a 911 for a 6 mile commute if you want to enjoy the performance, or the car to last! All IMHO of course... Quick summary: High miles good, if serviced correctly at good Indie, or OPC (in that order :wink: ) Preferably owner with mechanical sympathy (much, much more important than buying a garage queen) - new engine = £8,000, new paintwork = much less!

Thanks for the replies everyone, As soon as the building work is finished (Christmas the way its going!!!) i'll be on the hunt. What do people do if the car is over 9 years old and Porsche will not do a warranty? (i have tried searching but cant find anything that quite answers the question) Thanks Chris

You might be able to get a third party waranty for the car after the 9 years are up but will probably be less comprahensive than the OPC one. Id only get it if it covers the expensive repairs like engine going pop, otherwise no point paying + £500 a year for something that with a bit of leg work you can get fixed for less and have parts and labour guarantee.

I've had no warranty for the past 2 1/2 years / 35,000 miles Must admit I did worry about it for a while, but have saved £2500 on premiums, on top of the £2000 the OPC wanted me to spend before they would put a warranty on it (after it lapsed because the supplying OPC forgot to send me a reminder :frustrated: ) I've only had about £500 worth of work that would have been covered in that time, so I'm already most of the way towards a recon. engine if needed anyway. Having said all that, I would want to be sure I could raise a few thousand before I bought one without warranty.