Discussion
As above, about £1000 for a clutch change, similar price for headgasket. Some parts are surprisingly inexpensive and there are numerous specialists around for servicing and spares. I certainly dont find mine particularly expensive to run, particularly when you factor in the minimal depreciation.
But you have to bear in mind the age of these cars. Mine is now 17 years old. It is in excellent condition, but there is a constant stream of items that benefit from replacement, such as suspension bushes etc. It is very easy to lose track of your overall expenditure when you keep buying little bits and pieces. Depends how fussy you are.
Steve
But you have to bear in mind the age of these cars. Mine is now 17 years old. It is in excellent condition, but there is a constant stream of items that benefit from replacement, such as suspension bushes etc. It is very easy to lose track of your overall expenditure when you keep buying little bits and pieces. Depends how fussy you are.
Steve
I have a 952, but essentially the same - I don't think that for the quality of the car parts are pricey - OK a clutch is about £800 but if you shop around ie try to avoid London prices and use people I know of in the sticks that charge £25/hour for fitting routine stuff costs can be contained. If your car hasn't had a clutch it will need one at 90-100k.
Plenty of cars at scrappers too for parts - I bought a front indicator lense for £15 when the new part was about £40 - its the same as an Aston V8 !
The key is to buy a good car in the first place.
Plenty of cars at scrappers too for parts - I bought a front indicator lense for £15 when the new part was about £40 - its the same as an Aston V8 !
The key is to buy a good car in the first place.
951/952, its the same car...
The 944 turbo can get expensive, as much because of the temptaion to mod the car as anything. A clutch will cost about £330 to buy and take approx 7 hrs for a decent mechanic to fit. Say at £35 per hour you are looking at about £600 for a clutch. Any more than that its a con plain and simple as that (unless further parts are required)
The £1000 for a head gasket is also a bit on the steep side, well alot on the steep side. The gasket is £70 to buy and is probably about a 5 hr job to fit. Again would probably do some other stuff at same time but just the gasket alone would be around about the £300 mark to sort.
If you want to keep the car in top condition, then the old sum of £1000 a year seems to crop up. It probably not a million miles away, some years you might only spend £300 others will be £2k, again it depends on the mileage you do too.
The 944 turbo can get expensive, as much because of the temptaion to mod the car as anything. A clutch will cost about £330 to buy and take approx 7 hrs for a decent mechanic to fit. Say at £35 per hour you are looking at about £600 for a clutch. Any more than that its a con plain and simple as that (unless further parts are required)
The £1000 for a head gasket is also a bit on the steep side, well alot on the steep side. The gasket is £70 to buy and is probably about a 5 hr job to fit. Again would probably do some other stuff at same time but just the gasket alone would be around about the £300 mark to sort.
If you want to keep the car in top condition, then the old sum of £1000 a year seems to crop up. It probably not a million miles away, some years you might only spend £300 others will be £2k, again it depends on the mileage you do too.
I heard an excellent 944 clutch story recently from another owner. He called up Ken Tolfree of 911mobile in London. Ken came round and changed his clutch within 4 hours with the car jacked up on his driveway 
Now bearing in mind that a lot of OPC's quote upwards of ten hours for this at £££££ an hour, you have to say that Ken does an amazing job
Now bearing in mind that a lot of OPC's quote upwards of ten hours for this at £££££ an hour, you have to say that Ken does an amazing job
Whilst it is commendable to try and save money where one can, lets not overlook the fact that businesses need to make a profit in order to stay in business. They need to invest in training, equipment, premises and of course insurance.
You can not compare rural Scotlands labour rate with Central London nor an independant with an OPC let alone with one man in his van !
We are in a free market economy and each person chooses how and where to spend their hard earned. The market will always find it's own level but never forget that each of your bosses does not charge your skill or expertise out at cost ?
Just my 2d worth
Allan
You can not compare rural Scotlands labour rate with Central London nor an independant with an OPC let alone with one man in his van !
We are in a free market economy and each person chooses how and where to spend their hard earned. The market will always find it's own level but never forget that each of your bosses does not charge your skill or expertise out at cost ?
Just my 2d worth
Allan
weltmeister said:
Whilst it is commendable to try and save money where one can, lets not overlook the fact that businesses need to make a profit in order to stay in business. They need to invest in training, equipment, premises and of course insurance.
You can not compare rural Scotlands labour rate with Central London nor an independant with an OPC let alone with one man in his van !
We are in a free market economy and each person chooses how and where to spend their hard earned. The market will always find it's own level but never forget that each of your bosses does not charge your skill or expertise out at cost ?
Just my 2d worth
Allan
I am sure there is a point to that post, buggered if i can find it??
slim_boy_fat said:
a clutch will cost about £330 to buy and take approx 7 hrs for a decent mechanic to fit. Say at £35 per hour you are looking at about £600 for a clutch. Any more than that its a con plain and simple as that
The post prompted as a result of your quote, I am sure as a profesional person [Civil Engineer] you would be offended if I suggested your charges were a con ? People may suggest that anything higher than £XX is too high but to suggest it is a con is a poor choice of words.
Free market will decide how much is too much or what is value for money etc.
A
Allan, has a politician just got hold of your keyboard, I didn't recognise that as you typing at all 
Slim when you meet and listen to Allan in the flesh you'd never realise he could type with such verbosity.
......and as Weltmeister is the nearest specialist to me and my S2 is still on its original clutch at 157k miles I'll say they have the best looking facilities in the East Midlands
Slim when you meet and listen to Allan in the flesh
you'd never realise he could type with such verbosity. ......and as Weltmeister is the nearest specialist to me and my S2 is still on its original clutch at 157k miles I'll say they have the best looking facilities in the East Midlands
weltmeister said:
The post prompted as a result of your quote, I am sure as a profesional person [Civil Engineer] you would be offended if I suggested your charges were a con ? People may suggest that anything higher than £XX is too high but to suggest it is a con is a poor choice of words.
Free market will decide how much is too much or what is value for money etc.
A
I see where you are coming from, but i was meaning more in the time aspect not so much the labour charge. The point is that some people band about 10-12hrs to change a clutch and it simply does not take that long, end of story. So if you get charged for 12hrs labour (irrespective of the rate) then i would suggest that you would have been conned.
Labour rates vary from £35 to £80 per hour. But I would expect someone who is charging £80 /hr to be pretty slick and do the jobs quicker than someone charging £35/h
At the end of the day, the cost to change a clutch should really be pretty much the same across the board (within a certain amount)
As you say it’s a free market and people will vote with there feet. But that’s sometime not so easy to do when you don’t have all the prices clearly market up and all the time it will take to do the job, i.e. fixed prices for the work. As usual there will be a cetain amount of provisional sums contained within any job but that should still be a small overall %age of the price.
Fixed lump sums are the only way to compare prices so that an informed decision can be made.
About 7 years ago Porsche advertised a fixed price structure and the S2 clutch was around £400 (not sure of the exact amount) supply and fit…
I was quoted 6 hrs to swap the clutch from my Mechanic (well respected Porsche specialist in Scotland) and I would only get charged 6hrs, if it took longer then I have won if it took less time (and I am sure it will ) then he has won. It’s about allocating risk, something that most garages are unwilling to enter into.
Oh and BTW that all you ever here as a Consultant Engineer, the we are a bunch of robbing bast@rds and our charges are outrageous…Usually only while the job is in progress, once a new job comes along then its amazing how quickly people beat your door down again wanting professional advice!! Oh and I dream about being able to charge £80/h or even £35/h quite frankly
Sorry but mechanics get a pretty poor reputation, and they have only brought it on them self too many con men out there taking money off people and taking advantage of people for things they know little about (Kwik Fit is a perfect case in point)) The classic sucking or air through teeth as they look at your exhaust/brakes/tyres etc etc…..I have no sympathy for garages with rates of £80/h you don’t see too many poor mechanics out there.
So I am afraid you will have to look elsewhere for some sympathy.
Cheers.
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