Porsche maintainance costs vs MB??

[yosshimura]

Ok... let's not just start rambling P-cars are expensive blah, blah, blah, give me facts ...

Looking at P-cars, you can pick up a 911 later 80's - early 90's for mid-high 20's. I have heard that basic maintainance items are no more expensive than MB, but then on the other hand I have heard that an engine rebuild on a basic 3.2 is $12K!!!!!!!! WHAT!?!?!

Any one have experience with both P-cars and MB?

[elau]

I have been looking at P-car lately myself, and test drove a '95 triple black C4S cabrio last weekend. I will tell you this, regular maint on the car is not all that bad, but money spend on tires is unbelievable. Those high perfromance tires last around 10K, if you are lucky.

Transmission generally needs a rebuilt every 40K-50K miles as these cars are hard on transmission. So if you are looking at a car with say, 70K miles on the clock, you should put aside some money for the transmission. That is, if the previsous owner had it done around 50K miles. Cars with tiptronic do not have that problem. But die hard P-car people won't buy tip car, they would rather walk. Where I live, I would rather have tip instead.

P-car's engine is known for its weeping. Depends on how much you can tolerate oil stain on your garage floor, you will need to replace gaskets every so often. Engine does not need rebuilt that often. Not unless you buy someone's track or DE car.

For older cars, it is highly advisable to have the front and rear suspensions/strut check out prior to purchase. They tend to last not as long as most cars.

For more information for P-car, go visit http://www.rennlist.org

Good hunting.

I've been looking at Porsches as well, and the maintenance is scary to me. Then again, my MB is a diesel dinosaur and repair is zip and maintenance is cheap. I'm always watching "depreciation" in cool cars, especially Porsches and MBs, and I've noticed as well that you can pick up a sweet 911 for around 20K. I worry about what happens later...

My conclusion is that these cars, whether old or new, are for people with some substantial expendable income. Since I don't have thousands to spend on unexpected things, I need to hold off until I do, but it is tempting. Just don't want to become one of the "YFB"'s...young, fabulous and broke...

[krautman]

well i am just the man you want to talk to about porsche and m/b!!! heres the skinny..... regular maint. is less expensive on m/b. porsche has no problems that i have heard of in the trans department, but the clutches are not all that durable.general wear item like plugs and filters are about the same cost.tires are $1800 on mine, they are the 18's the 911 wears so no surprise there, now i will say the m/b is always in need of something, part here part there, always looking for tech help, it requires alot of attention!!! porsche does not.i had a e class before i bought this old 420 i have now and i had the same experience with it (always in need of something) i have had 3 porsches before the one i have now, and they were all good.2 m/b's they were ok at best. also if you are a dealer guy, my dealer experience is this:
porsche on a 1-10 scale...2, m/b -2 they both suck in my opinion, as far as depreaciation, your talking about 20 year old 911's at 25k or so, i believe the porsche holds a little better in my area anyway, you couldnt get mid 20's for a twenty year old m/b around here. checks tweaks.com for prices of porsche parts, the engine price the other guy quoted is little high, also failure of these is rare.this is my opinion so please dont shoot the messenger. i enjoy both makes, but if could only have one well...read my sig....the e class is gone (replaced by audi) and the porsche is not. my dad has an s class and he feels like i do about them too, decent car, but requires to much constant and expensive attention. in the long run the porsche is cheaper, and i believe it holds more value anyway. thats my 2 cents.

[PHAEDRUS242]

I am in the unique position to handle both MB and Porsche cars in my service department. Very simply, keeping a P-car up to the level of repair that it needs to be at to really get the most out of it is very expensive. You will spend 1.5-2x what you would spend on a MB. There aren't as many little problems with Porsches, but when things do break they are very expensive. Parts can be difficult to find and many things need to be ordered form the mother country. They are still 100% independent so that infrastructure is not as efficient as say MB or BMW's. Those year 911's (really '87 and on) have the G50 transmission. It is probably the most bulletproof five speed ever made by any company ever. No worries there. The old adage "it's German, it leaks" definately applies to the engines. Doing valve adjustments on the older ones can be a harrowing experience and something as simple as changing the plugs can be nearly impossible without use of a lift. The carreras do not make good DIYers unless you have great tools, a good facility and experience with them. I don't want to scare you away from them as they are one of the best driving experiences money can buy, and for a sports car, they hold up very well even when driven very hard. They are not an economical toy in any way shape or form (hell, I charge $150/hour). If you find a specific model you're interested in, let me know and I can give you a good synopsis of some of the common ailments. And, as always, get a PPI.

[Lebenz]

My experience is that the costs are similar, but getting problems solved is much more challenging on a P car. The biggest issue, at least in the small town I call home is that there is an unswerving frequency of P mechanics with a a$$ dragging Prima-Donna complex. So much so that after 12 years I abandoned my 928. Not because it was unreliable or too expensive, but because I grew tired of the ineptitude that typically defines Porsche mechanics.

If you’re thinking of a P car, go to a few shops and get what ever they work on the most frequently. Or a 914. Your success rate will be the best when you hand a mechanic the keys to a model they work on frequently.

At least with Mercedes you get a ready supply of parts and mechanics that get a lot of exposure to the cars. The issue with Porsche is that they are so limited production that it probably encourages the mechanics to work more slowly than 90 weight gear oil spreads on a cold day. And even then, they are never really done; just finished for the moment. In the end you’ll get far more efficient and competent repairs with a MB than you’ll ever get with a Porsche.

All that said, the handling of a P car is verrrrrry seductive.

[Hatterasguy]

You know the old saying. "if you have to ask you can't afford it"

Buy a 911 and enjoy it. But I wouldn't be surprised if you had to dump $5k+/- a year into it, as a weekend car btw. Now as a daily driver well...

[krautman]

the posts made after mine are dead on!! the exact feeling i had when i posted really came out, i do agree with what the last couple posts said, but i still would have to go with porsche
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE
i dont agree however that it costs 5k/year to keep one up. i have had a 928, 911,944t,and now a 968. and aside from water pumps, timing belts, and the terrible valve adjustments, they were all good.you can drive them very hard and they hold up fine. i live in florida and the roads are good, so i dont have suspension issues,rust or the like to worry about. i guess it comes down to what you like /can afford and are willing to endure.

[Lawrence Coppar]

I have owned a 944 turbo since 1996. When I bought it, it had 89K on it. Now it has 155K.

It serves as my track car and has over 60 events on it. The engine has been modified to put out about 380 crank horsepower. It out accelerates my SLK32 AMG so that puts it into perspective. Engine is original except for new rod bearings, intake system, o-ringed head with special gasket to contain 1.1 bar boost. Turbo is larger and old flapper metering system has been replaced with a MAF. Fuel pressure has been raised to accommodate more boost and larger intake runners/throttle body/boost tubes.

As far as maintenance goes, it is not bad but I do the servicing myself. That means a timing belt each year, and oil change every third track event. I have installed a second oil cooler on it in series with the first. Valves on this model do not need adjusting. If you don't track your 944, you obviously don't need to change the belt yearly.

Gas mileage...if you drive it on flat interstates doing no more than 70 mph, it averages over 30 mpg. On my monthly trip to Road Atlanta, it gets 27+ mpg. There are mountains and stop lights along the way. It gets 7 mpg on the track.

In my 9 years of association, I have become very fond of Porsches. They are fast and durable if properly maintained. Parts are, however, expensive is purchased through a dealer. But since the cars are frequently raced, there are many alternatives to purchasing parts at the dealer.

Car serves as a semi-daily driver. Maintenance on 911 is higher, so I am told. But since I have never owned one, I cannot provide figures.

Probably will buy a new one one of these days.

Bottom line: A Porsche is more expensive to maintain than a Mercedes, especially if you have the dealer do it. But they are excellent sports cars.