Scared to Death of these cars !

[Mark_T]

-new top $500, should be good for the life of the car now
-1 drop link, don't remember how much, but not that expensive
-a section of clutch line that was damaged by road conditions, not the car's fault, cost about $300 including the power bleeder
-new tires, about $1200 for Michelins cuz the tires on the car when I bought it were crap. Based on the wear I see so far they should last another couple of years
-regular maintenance, filters, fluids, plugs, a couple of hundred bucks per year
-upgrades, about $2800. Includes new seats, steering wheel, shifter, cupholders, all totally discretionary
-I need to do brakes next spring - that will be $800 or so.

So, actual required maintenance and repair costs the first year were a little over $2200, and I expect that to be a bit above average because it was the first year and I had to deal with the previous owner's neglect. This is better than any other car of this age that I have ever owned - American, ricer, whatever and certainly less than I expected to pay to keep an exotic on the road.

Hey, if they were cheap to run then everybody would have one. Any good hobby costs money and this is no exception. I am actually suprised that somone might balk at $1500 - $2000 a year operating costs for a vehicle of this type.