Duel Row Bearing Consensus ? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

fatmike · 06-07-2013, 07:58 AM

From a purely financial perspective, should you replace the bearing?

Let's say your 2002 S is worth $12K. Odds of bearing blow out (if single row) are 10%. Would the car be worth $3K as a roller? If so, the expected value is:

90% of the time = $12K, 10% of the time $3K = $10,800 + $300 = $11,100.

IF you do replace the bearing, your car will be worth $12,000 100% of the time (or near enough to 100% for our thought exercise). The cost of the bearing is $3500.

So the EV in this case is: $12,000 - $3,500 = $8,500

Unless you believe that you will recover all, or substantially all, of the bearing cost when you sell the car it does not make financial sense. I do not believe that you will get $15,500 when you sell this car because you replace the bearing.

In this scenario, you are MUCH BETTER OFF not replacing your bearing and taking a chance.

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EssexPorsche · 06-07-2013, 08:12 AM

Unless you are lighting cigars with dead presidents - it still makes for a pretty pricey lawn ornament.

To some, a 986 isn't a cheap beater - its a dream.

Ask the Doc if he expects to get back the price of his restoration? or JD if he is under any illusion that he won't get corn holed on the re-sale of the Dangermobile.

To some, living the 986 dream is worth every penny of preventative maintenance.

I have spent close on £5k (sterling) on my car since January - why???? beacuse i love it and i can. Sure i could upgrade P car, sure i could change brand - but i don't want to. I want to keep my 986 mint and alive.

Anyways - plough your own furrow in life. Do what works for you. If its a simple maths equation the so be it, but i figure emiotion has to come into it somewhere.

fatmike · 06-07-2013, 08:19 AM

Essex - those are perfectly valid reasons

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EssexPorsche · 06-07-2013, 08:21 AM

Mike,
Sorry bud - just re-read my post and it reads like i'm having a go at you.
Not the case, just offering the alternative to the financial - hope you were not offended.

Johnny Danger · 06-07-2013, 08:41 AM

"JD if he is under any illusion that he won't get corn holed on the re-sale of the Dangermobile".

That's an understatement. I'd be prepared to get it cornstalk and all !

Perfectlap · 06-07-2013, 09:03 AM

I don't look at it relative to the current value..if I did I would have been dumping a car that is still both a head-turner and track/autox performer long ago. Due to excessive supply the current value of your Porsche will always be low. but the costs to enjoy these cars will never scale down with depreciation and of course there is no escaping the high cost of Porsche maintenance. So ANY significant repair cost is a bad financial decision unless you find that mint Porsche from the little old lady in Pasadena. And personally, selling my Boxster S for current value would require that I spend more to gain comparable performance / feedback and bar-setting in its category. So I'm not really gaining anything that way either and I'm still facing the same mass produced depreciation.

southernstar · 06-07-2013, 08:32 AM

Interesting analysis, Fat mike. However, we can't lose sight of the fact that some people are literally losing sleep or at least, losing enjoyment of their cars because they are perpetually listening for suspicious noises and suspecting the worst. What value do you put on lost sleep/enjoyment of your car?

IMO this really is a personal choice and, let's face it, some people are more risk-averse than others. In any event, these discussions and the failure rates reported to Porsche should at least provide some assistance to some people in making a rational decision on the issue. And Essex, your reasons are not purely emotional, but rational. You obviously intend to keep your car for a long time and in those circumstances, as Perfectlap points out, it makes much more sense to spend money now to replace the clutch/upgrade the bearing, rather than wait.

Brad

Dave S. · 06-07-2013, 08:48 AM

I just had my single row 2003 IMSB replaced yesterday with 25k miles on the odometer. Bearing (and seal) was in perfect condition when removed, so maybe I was just paranoid. The cost including LN Engineering ceramic bearing, clutch and RMS was only $2386.00 plus tax.
I did however see a whole box of wasted IMS bearings and shafts at the independent shop I went to. Some were double row. I don't have any idea of how many miles were on them. Just sayin...