997 running costs

[mrmotorhome]

I'm toying with the idea of a 997 Cabrio. It would be a 3rd/4th car so mileage probably less than 5k per year, realistically maybe under 3k. What would the likely annual costs be? Any big bills to be wary of, or things to check have been done recently? Any good specialists in the south Lincs or Cambridgeshire area?

I have never had a Porsche before but tempted by the four-seat soft-top sportscar vibe before the kids grow too big to fit.

[jakesmith]

mrmotorhome said:

I'm toying with the idea of a 997 Cabrio. It would be a 3rd/4th car so mileage probably less than 5k per year, realistically maybe under 3k. What would the likely annual costs be? Any big bills to be wary of, or things to check have been done recently? Any good specialists in the south Lincs or Cambridgeshire area?

I have never had a Porsche before but tempted by the four-seat soft-top sportscar vibe before the kids grow too big to fit.

The back seats in the cab are smaller than in the coupe. They really are very tiny. The first gen of 997s are now best avoided IMO unless you're keeping for many many years, the engines have a bad rep. You wouldn't want a £10k bill on car you are buying to keep for 2 years. The 2nd gen from 2009 are much better but a decent cab will be £45k+

Running costs vary but parts are pricey, and lots of the exhaust bits use mild steel pins that make replacing bits labour intensive.
In my experience of running 4 Porsches that were 5-10 years old they cost about £1000-£2000 a year in servicing, repairs and consumables, bits like brakes, suspension, tyres are all pricey. 22MPG I got in my 3.8 997

I have to say the C4S was a peach - incredible grip in dry & wet, and plenty of power & noise

Nice motors

[Johnrosk]

What year of manufacture are you looking for? In my opinion, between 7-10 years old and around 50 K miles a lot of work will need to be carried out. It is very important to check service the history before buying as you could end up with very large bills. If you look on the Porsche website they have fixed price serving costs.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Johnrosk on Thursday 5th July 17:26

[Dammit]

This is a 996, however the 997 is the same car so might be useful for judging size- if you are moderately tall you won't get a child-seat behind the drivers seat:



And any child that is small enough to fit in the back seat will need a child-seat, I suspect.

If you are very short then you might be able to get a kid in the back:

[Porsche911R]

anything from £2k to £30k luck of the draw on a 997.1 with 50k miles on it.

[AinsleyB]

For less than 5000 miles I wouldn't worry about running costs.

Fuel on my 997.2 C2S is anything between 17mpg and 28mpg - its either hooning about on the twistys in Europe, or driving there on the AutoRoute's with cruise control on for a few hours.

Servicing, you can call a good independent like Autofarm, or check their website. None of them are expensive and its a 2 year interval. You could change the oil yourself in a hour or two for peanuts each year.

So, if you buy one from someone like RSJ, it will come fully serviced and sorted. That means you don't need to do anything except a basic service 2 years later. They wont sell you a car that needs any attention from the time they sell it to the next service interval.

[rabbitstew]

dovehouse in Rushden isnt far from Cambridgeshire and they always have a huge selection of porsches. Might be worth a visit to see some in person and try them for size.

[kith]

I've had a 997.2 for 18 months and 22,000 miles now and it's yet to throw a bill for anything other than a £405 minor service at an OPC. They really are robust cars.

[jakesmith]

AinsleyB said:

So, if you buy one from someone like RSJ, it will come fully serviced and sorted. That means you don't need to do anything except a basic service 2 years later. They wont sell you a car that needs any attention from the time they sell it to the next service interval.

This is very optimistic advice, their warranty certainly doesn't give anywhere near as much cover as what you suggest and I know of one guy who was into 5 figures for a rebuilt engine after less than a year from buying as he had done too many miles. I don't think any 6-7 year old car can be guaranteed to be reliable for 20,000 miles or 2 years I have spent thousands of pounds on maintaining the 4 I have had so far. The only one that never went wrong was 2 years old when I bought it and 6 when I sold it and even that needed gear cables and exhaust brackets. My experience is that the build quality may be solid but they are not particularly reliable cars once they're passed about 6 years old.

Take it in with a suspension creak, and they spot one other thing like corroded pipes or a broken spring or a manifold blowing and you'll be down £2k+ with ease. OUtside of the engine issues that the gen 1 cars suffer from, I put a new gearbox in a 99u7, the air con & engine rads are poorly placed and rust, the alternator cables perish leaving the car struggling to re-start from warm, the coolant header tanks crack, road springs snap etc. PASM dampers v expensive

Don't get me wrong I am not knocking them but they can be very pricey to fix and in my experience go wrong with age & use

Edited by jakesmith on Thursday 5th July 15:11

[Qwerty911]

I think it depends on your budget. We bought a mint 10-plate 997.2 c2s cab earlier this year, from an OPC, with 22k miles. Yes we paid full premium for it, but it is in perfect condition underneath. We keep it garaged and will also do sub 5k/yr. I can’t see any reason it will need any bills other than fixed price servicing for many years!
I would agree that one that has been driven every day, in all weathers, kept outside, with higher miles, will be more likely to be nearer higher maintainance costs.
Well kept garage queens do have some advantages!

[mrmotorhome]

Many thanks to all who have commented.
Definitely food for thought - will have to take the kids to have a look and see if they fit first, though.