Cost of ownership

[Gelbster]

According to Jalopnik:
Here Is How Much It Really Costs To Own A Cheap Porsche Boxster

[mikefocke]

But factor in depreciation, taxes, insurance, premium gas, maintenance, improvements, consumables (tires, battery, wipers, etc). My cost was over $6k/year. But then my Prius was only 30% less and that is with no tires and cheap gas at a lower cost and only $40 in maintenance.

Cars are expensive.

Miles of fun ... priceless.

[DWBOX2000]

What a tool. Haven't aged well, that's just stupid. Put a 986 next to a corvette or BMW of the same period.

[particlewave]

My maintenance costs are now at $2500 over 5.25 years, so about $500/year. Doing your own work saves a ton.

[BoomerRoadie]

particlewave,

What have you done in maintenance over that 5-1/2 year period? Can you name off the bulk of that work please?

Thx!

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by BoomerRoadie

particlewave,

What have you done in maintenance over that 5-1/2 year period? Can you name off the bulk of that work please?

Thx!

Not much. The car has been very reliable.

Oil twice per year @ $50ea = $500 (2 x 5qt jugs of Mobil 1 @ $25ea, reusable steel mesh filter with LN spin-on adapter)

Pads once @ $30 for all 4 corners (clearance sale on ceramics at rockauto)

Sachs clutch kit $300 (Vertex Auto)

Flywheel (used, honed, balanced, good) $200

Seals (RMS and transmission output) $40

Tires (rears only, Bridgestone Potenza)= $600

Tires (all 4, Sumitomo HRZIII) = $600

Battery = $20 (because I live in the same town as Johnson Controls and got an unlabeled one 3 years ago - still going strong)

SAI changeover valve = free (just took it apart and fixed it )

Total = $2290-ish (I'm sure I'm forgetting something)


Optional mods:
Clear style headlights, used but like new (fully customized by me) = $300
Dectane tail lights = free
Side stripes = $30
Custom leather interior = $27 ($20 sewing machine from Craigslist, $7 leather goods from thrift store)
Blue LED dash/interior lights = $50
Fred's illuminated inscribed wind deflector = free
Caliper paint and clear coat = $20
Kicker footwell sub = $100
3 spoke steering wheel and airbag (low cost because they were gray and rough condition from eBay - refinished and dyed black myself) = $150
Aftermarket keyless entry from China = $13 (works flawlessly with easily 150ft range)

I'm approaching 100k miles, so to-do this winter:
Plugs and tubes
Serpentine belt
Water pump and coolant flush
All 4 o2 sensors (maybe)
I'm hoping to do all of this for $500.

The key is knowing where to find the deals and jumping on them when they come up. That, and doing your own work.

[oldskool73]

Think forum member @neil_b would admit though much of that cost wasn't really 'required', it should be titled 'How much does it really cost to have fun tinkering with a cheap Porsche Boxster'.

[jcslocum]

Another view:

A Cheap Porsche Boxster Can Be Shockingly Affordable to Maintain

[schnellman]

Seven years = $4,913.93
That includes de-ambering the headlights and taillights.

[danstub]

2000 Boxster 2.7 with about 53,000 miles on the clock. My maintenance expenses have totaled $12,642 since new or about 24 cents per mile. I do the annuals myself (oil, filter, etc.) but the other stuff is done by indies. The big items have been tires, coolant reservoir (two times), water pump (replaced at 45,000 miles as a precautionary measure based on the Excellence recommendation - the replaced pump was fine) and the cam adjuster ($2,148).

In comparison, our 2002 Acura MDX has cost a little under 10 cents per mile and now has around 235,000 miles on it. At the same mileage (~53,000 miles) it had cost less than 3 cents per mile.

[Need_for_speed]

When I was shopping for my toy, I was torn between a 986 and a Miata. I had a chance to drive both on street and track for comparison. The Miata is a great little car, but the 986 was so much more refined and powerful. So...I went into this world with full knowledge that the 986 was going to be a much more expensive car to own.

That said, there are still some things about Porsche part prices that are just ridiculous. I had to replace the little reflector corner on my headlight. No lights or wiring in this part. It's just a little piece of orange plastic. Of course, I could only find it OEM, so ended up paying $54 plus shipping.

So far, I've been able to resist the urge to go look at Miata part prices. I made my bed...

[Gelbster]

Originally Posted by Need_for_speed

When I was shopping for my toy, I was torn between a 986 and a Miata. I had a chance to drive both on street and track for comparison. The Miata is a great little car, but the 986 was so much more refined and powerful. So...I went into this world with full knowledge that the 986 was going to be a much more expensive car to own.

That said, there are still some things about Porsche part prices that are just ridiculous. I had to replace the little reflector corner on my headlight. No lights or wiring in this part. It's just a little piece of orange plastic. Of course, I could only find it OEM, so ended up paying $54 plus shipping.

So far, I've been able to resist the urge to go look at Miata part prices. I made my bed...

You need Woody's phone number !$54= a whole headlight from Woody??

[mikefocke]

I recently did a comparison between my Boxster and my Prius (gasp) with all costs being included. 5 years of depreciation was the huge item but it came to $5k or so per year for everything from depreciation, insurance, gas, tax, repairs, maintenance, improvements, etc. Granted I bought at the $28k price point. But then my maintenance and repair costs were trivial. Well, other than the tires.

The bought new Prius for the same period/miles was only 30% cheaper. And lots less fun. I volunteered to go shopping in the Boxster ....

[fanguy]

.

[dghii]

~$4,500 in 8 1/2 years, from 76K-132K miles.

[aczyzewski]

That's a fine looking car.

Originally Posted by particlewave

Not much. The car has been very reliable.

[BIGJake111]

I'm not a big fan of Jalopnik anymore once doug demuro started writing for auto trader I no longer had any reason to share a news source with the likes of jeezabel and Alyssa walker. Gawker media had some seriously terrible writers and publications nearing the levels of falsehood of salon.