How the hell are Porsche's so reliable?

[Perfectlap]

That wasn't a very good answer by the writer.

First of all, half of Porsche's fleet (slated to sell 200K cars total this year for the first time) are Boxster/Coxster, Carrera (all 48 variants) and the billionioare's car (aka 918 Spyder) which are all either sports cars or grand tourings. These are not daily drivers. And even the Cayennes for many families is a third car. These rankings/ratings should be based on cars of equal mileage across each brand. If only 30% of Porsches reach the mileage of 80% of Lexus cars, then only that 30% should be compared head to head. I think the Japanese would be a country mile ahead in the luxury car department if it were done this way.

And the idea that inherently an enthusiast car will eventually start to show big weaknesses if given enough time and mileage is bunk. Visit any track day or autocross and you'll see Miatas with engines that are the same age as some of the actual drivers attending yet these well-beaten cars remain bullet proof.
I'm not sure that Porsche/BMW/Audi/Merc ever figured out how to build a car with that kind of long-term durability while also preserving that steep margin for their wallets. When they decided to give it a shot they nearly went bankrupt and no one was interested in buying, even with a U.S. economy firing on all cylinders.

Also, the writer infers that the IMS is "kind of a big deal problem" for the 996, which is antiquated information. For at least six years there's been a way to address this flaw without having to remove the engine to weld coolant pipes or tear it down, as is the case with the older Porsches mentioned. Provided that you stay on top of the oil changes with a quality oil, proactively replace the water pump once the IMS is serviced, you can probably expect the best combination of low maintenance, highest performance among Porsche engines at the lowest cost to acquire. Well until the 9A1 engines start coming in below the $30K used car line.

[flaps10]

JD Powers is about the first 90 days of ownership. That's still honeymoon phase with any vehicle.

[Deserion]

Originally Posted by flaps10

JD Powers is about the first 90 days of ownership. That's still honeymoon phase with any vehicle.

AFAIK there is the Initial Quality Study (Porsche was #1 for 2014 survey), and also the Vehicle Dependability Study which reviews cars 3 model years prior on their original owners (Porsche was #9 for 2014 survey).