964 running costs

[Chrome Orange]

Planning to get a 911 964 but do around 35,000miles a year. What should i expect to pay for running costs over the year - not including fuel? Assuming servicing at a specialist not a stealer.

[wildoliver]

As a Classic car restorer I actually run a 964 c2 cab as my company car, do a touch more mileage than you at about 45-50 k a year, and have to be honest as long as you look after the car, use good quality oil and parts, the running costs are next to nill, the only thing I grumble at is rear pads, because mine is an earlyish c2, they have small rear calipers unique to the car, and the pads are expensive and wear quickly.

My service schedule which I do myself is:

6K Oil and filter, check round car, check pads, disks etc etc.
12K Full service (usually have to do rear pads here, fronts usually last to 18K)

Dont know if you have already bought a car yet, if not try and get a later one, with the plastic inlet manifold (like mine ), seriously consider LHD mine is and I love it you get more drivers leg room and if you spend a lot of time in the seat you appreciate it (overtaking really is not an issue in a 911 with the power), and make sure the oil pipes have been replaced if not they will prob be getting ready and are reasonably expensive and a foul job to do (done them yeuch), also clutch mine has lasted about 40k so far since changing, realistically with the driving I do I expect at least another 20K out of it.

[Chrome Orange]

Wildoliver -
Cheers, that's a brilliant answer. I could cope with the pads/oil changes, but the services beyond that would need a specialist - any idea what kind of costs I should expect on a C2?

Cheers

[craigyB]

Mine's a 1990 C4, have spent £4k in 3 years on servicing, and improving the car, have driven approx 12k miles in 3 years:
Cat bypass
New secondary silencer (already have primary bypass)
bit of touching up on paintwork
brake pads all round
New distributer base
strut tower brace
new starter motor
bonnet/engine lid struts replaced
tracking adjusted
4 tyres (toyo proxes t1-s)
6k service
major service this year with plugs and all fluid changed, tappets adjusted etc..
There's lot's more I could spend money on on this car, new wheels, tweaks etc BUT..
Little depreciation..
Would I want to do £35k miles a year though.. No, not in rush hour traffic anyways

Good luck

Craig

[warmfuzzies]

I've spent 5.5k in 4 years, including all services,
paint work (rust)
New tyres
H&R springs
Bilstein dampers
New disks(drilled)
New pads
Overhauled calipers and painted Yellow hmmm
Re-connolised seats and bolsters replaced
18" GT3 wheels just awaiting refurb
3rd brakelight/roof spoiler
New Battery
RS steering wheel
Alpine MP3 Head unit and speakers
lots of little plastic bits and bobs shark fin clips, sill seals and the like.

Kevin.

[wildoliver]

I have no idea on the cost of an OPC service, I believe its not cheap.

But don't be put off by the scare stories if you can change oil and do brake pads you can change spark plugs, thats a good lump of what Porsche would do on a main service, they would also check valve clearances (fiddly but do-able) but since I've had mine they haven't needed adjusting, and a few other mundane jobs, if I were you I would look seriously at a schedule such as 6K oil and filter, 12k Oil and filter and brakes and general check, 18k Oil and filter and then use a specialist for the 24K, that way you will get away with one visit a year or so, and 24k between main dealer (or specialist) services isn't a problem so long as oil is kept fresh.

The biggest probs 964's have with servicing costs is Labour, the cost of parts for a major service prob only runs to around £100 the other £500 or so goes on the labour needed, eg the plugs! Not a hard job just takes a long time for a start there are 12 of them! (also don't be conned in to changing them every 12 or 24 k mine have done 48K and are fine).

[Ian964]

The last major service on my C2 was about £700 inc VAT at an independent (though not the cheapest). Labour was about 2/3 of the cost.

[Chrome Orange]

Guys,
All this is excellent advice! The costs don't sound as scary as I'd feared. One other solution may be to run a shed to grind out most of the predicted miles and have the 911 for everything else.

Should I look out for anything in partiular with the 964, anything that either goes wrong often, or is hideously pricy to repair if it goes wrong? Would I be better off with an older 3.2 or a younger 993?

Thanks in advance

[craigyB]

You've touched on more than a few subjects there, one of the best places for advice is the rennlist forums.
For me though the decision on which car comes down to the following...

3.2, classic 911, looks great, but old style engineering
964, classic looks, but with more modern engineering (relatively)
993, cheaper to look after than 964, but modern looks not to everyone's taste

For me, it was an emotional rather than a rational decision to go for the 964. You could analyse the reasons to buy one or the other until you are blue in the face, so my advice is to go with which ever one feels just right for you, go with your heart !

[wildoliver]

I agree they all have benefits, you will only like one, 964 has one benefit, 3.2 price and nearly 993 reliability and modern mechanicals.

As for what to look for there is a hell of a lot, if you want a vehicle inspection doing on any cars your looking at you can hire my services for the day.

07725 217587

Oliver

[johnny g-pipe]

Be careful! Although your car will thrive on use, any teenage 170mph supercar is not going to be without its risks. But I guess you know that. This is discussed at times on the excellent 964 board at rennlist.org, and ballpark seems to be 2k per year. But the motors are basically tough, and can go on for years, gently leaking oil as they go. Unlikely to lose value if well maintained either, of course. My clutch has 80k miles.

>> Edited by johnny g-pipe on Saturday 22 April 22:42

[sprint355]

just adding the old two pennys worth. The average over the first year of 6k's miles worth of fun has been.

Initial le mans service 400
post le mans 120
new clutch & fly wheel 2000+
exhaust brackety thing 100
and again

le mans service 400

and to paraphrase "the fun priceless"