yearly maintenance question....
 

so, have 10 months to go until i need to buy a new car. currently i have a BMW M Z4. absolutely love the car, but 36 month is the longest i keep them. the two cars i am considering are a 2006-2007 Carrera S cabriolet or a 2009 Boxster S. i have driven both, the boxster definitely did not feel as raw as my M, but i expected that from all i have read. still a very enjoyable car.... and with an aftermarket exhaust, i'm sure i would be happy. the carrera S i drove was a 2006. there wasn't much lacking for me there. acceleration was great, handled and rode wonderfully. well, today i took my M in for service and bumped into my sales guy, who asked me... "so, you looking at a 911?"...funny, he saw me drive by him when i was testing out the carrera. i told him "yes".. that much as i loved my BMW, and i have had 4, the BMW really had nothing that interested me. the new Z4 is too soft, and the M3 cab is too heavy and big. so i know this is a long path to my question but, he shared with me that regular maintenance is not covered like with BMW.... wipers, brakes, oil changes. and to expect to spend a decent amount each year. honestly, i would rather drive a car that i am passionate about and pay for its maintenance than settle for something less than with full coverage. i know the carrera and boxster are different cars, but i'm guessing the oil changes, andd regular maintenance aren't too far apart cost wise. so, what should i expect on a yearly basis? TIA

... and plan C is to order a spyder.... that looks like it would be exactly what i want.
but after speaking with the porsche sales person.. he said they will be tricky to get because of low allocation numbers.

That depends on the mileage and service history.

Check this site for service schedule: http://members.multimania.co.uk/piperboxster/service-schedule.htm

I don't know equivalent US costs but im spending around £700 a year on services, this doesn't include tyres.

Thanks
Anim

the boxster will either be new or real close. i'd prefer to buy a year old boxster so not to take the depreciation hit. the 911, lower the better. i plan on not buying one with more than 20K. the one i drove last week was a 2006 with only 11K.... it was very tempting, but the timing just isn't right and the car was blue.... not a fan of blue and for 60+K i'm getting one in a color i can live with.

Hard to tell what the yearly cost
 

will be if you don't know where in the maintenance cycle you are and how many miles a year you'll put on the car. A 20k car is 10k from a $900 service at a dealer...but it could need brakes and rotors and clutch and ... beyond that. Depending on how it was driven before you. My '01S Boxster has cost me ~$70 in maintenance over the last year, ~$200 over the last 2 years. Exceptional. Next year it will cost over $1400.

When I bought it at 42k miles, it cost me $2k in maintenance to bring it up to my level of maintenance (alignment, rotors, pads, plugs, fluids, etc).

Expect tires to run $800-1400 depending on size and brand. And depending on the alignment and how you drive, the rears could last 5k or 35k.

Get what is known as a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) by a Porsche expert before you buy to make known to both buyer and seller just what will need to be done. It is, after all, a used car. Helps to set the fair to both price.

With a new '09 you obviously have the benefit of a warranty during your entire projected 3 years of ownership. That said, your greatest expense will likely be tires. Depending on how you drive and the type of tires you choose, figure fronts will last 15k and rears 10k, roughly $800/pr installed, assuming they're 19s. Beyond that you'll have oil changes at $100-$150 a pop every 5k miles.

Tires and oil changes should be quite similar on an '06/'07 C2S. You didn't mention the mileage of the car(s) you're considering or how many miles you plan to drive per year. Assuming you'll have little to no warranty left, there's certainly potential expense there. If you plan to drive 5k/yr you'll likely be in for much lower r&m than if you're driving 15k/yr over 3 yrs.

My '02S is now at 72k and is my daily driver (~12k/yr). Over the long term I anticipate $2,000/yr in r&m, including $800 for tires, but I'm able to do a fair amount of basic maintenance myself to keep costs down. Without sweat equity I'd assume $2,500-$3,000/yr.

It seems to me that if you can afford to buy a ~$60k C2S, $1-$2k per year in maintenance cost over buying a new '09 Boxster shouldn't be an issue. Depreciation is going to be a far larger cost for either car. This isn't a dollar and cents issue. Go with the one that gives you the most enjoyment.

Not that it's a bad question, but personally I don't see buying a Sports car as an equation. If you love the car, no reasonable amount of maintenance cost is going to be too much. It's a left-brain, not a right-brain decision.

Plus, there are so many variables, it's hard to define a number for each individual. What condition is the car in to begin with? How fanatical are you in seeing the maintenance done on-time and what quality level of car do you want? How many miles will it be driven? How will it be driven? Stored indoors or outside? etc. All these things determine the annual cost and are different for every person.

It's a Sports car. It won't cost you Ferrari money, but it won't cost you Honda money either. No Porsche is cheap to keep.

Cheers!

great cars, but as others have stated, it will cost a bit more but you are getting an exceptional car whatever p-car you choose.

Alignments will be $100-200, oil changes are about 130-250 and are recomended once every 15k miles. some do it once a year, 5k 10k or 15k. Ins will be a bit more also, but not as much as some would think.

one thing i didn't count on was buying an ipod so i could listen to something other than the radio.

This is the most reliable car I have ever owned including the cars my parents let me drive when I lived at home. I never thought I would be able to say that about Porsche.

Now that being said parts don't last forever. New cluctch, shocks and rotors are going to be pricey. The dealer wanted about $11K. LOL
I think I can get an Indy to do it all for five and change and I'll be good for another 10 years.

p.s.
Porsches don't age like BMWs, which in my opinion look dated because the styles change so drastically. A well maintained 968 or 928 get as many comments as a brand new 997. Which is why I plan to keep my Boxster S forever.

as for 911 Cab vs BoxsterS. I guess it depends on what kind of Porsche owner you plan to be. If you are a serious driver who will surely bee taking part in track events and autocross, that's a no brainer for me. If you are more a guy who likes to pamper a car with the latest mods and wants to be seen the guy who "owns a 911" then go for the cab. If you're somewhere in the middle get a 911 coupe.

As far as BMW maintenance costs go, you just pay it up front. Wife's new BMW in 07 cost 3 per cent road tax vs 7.5 per cent sales tax in NC. So paying up front saved some tax for the maintenance.

They also always replace wipers ("at customer request"), despite fact that not always needed.

I had planned to sell/trade it this year to get new warranty; and buyer would still have a year left. But opening new business killed that plan.

Like PerfectLap, plan to keep my Box forever.

Go with Plan C and the Spyder. :cheers:

Even if you have to travel to a high volume/high allocation dealer. As I did to get the Box of my choice on the lot.