Realistically, how reliable and expensive to maintain a Porsche 981 S?

I recently sold the NC I purchased from Jeremy last year, so at the moment, for the first time in my adult life, I don't have a vehicle. It's not a big deal as I work from home permanently now. I put maybe 1000 miles on the NC over the past year and I honestly don't even think it was that many. 

I don't really care about HPDE or AutoX anymore, I'm going to put together a sim for that. The real life stuff is just too much of a time/money sink for me anymore. Priorities have changed. 

This would be the nice weather/brunch and road trip car. Think maybe 5-6k miles a year. 

I don't know if I would actually do it because I'm a bit scared of maintenance prices after my 135i broke my wallets hear. 

Particularly for your intended use, about as reliable and cheap as anything else. Mine is about to roll over 70k miles (purchased 1.5 years ago at ~63k). To my knowledge it's had nothing beyond tires, a set of front brakes, oil changes, filters, and a set of plugs and coils. All I've done maintenance-wise is oil changes and a trans oil change. It doesn't need anything and doesn't seem to have any issues. Might burn the slightest bit of oil but I'm also running it fairly hard with a lot of autocross/track stuff so that's not really a surprise. Oil changes are more expensive than an appliance car, but even using amsoil and good quality filters the total cost is like $75 I think. Which at the mileage rate you're talking about is probably a once a year expense. If you're driving "spirited" at all it will run through rear tires somewhat quickly. 93 octane required and it burns through it fairly quickly, that's honestly probably the biggest expense over a "normal" car. There's a couple of known failure points on them but most are minor/low risk to begin with and basically non-existent on purely street driven cars.

Honestly for your use case I'd at least consider a base model. Cheaper and it'll get better fuel mileage while still having plenty of power to be a fun cruiser/road trip car. Actually probably I'd figure out what options I want/need and then buy whatever model car they come attached to for a realistic price.

dps214 said:

Particularly for your intended use, about as reliable and cheap as anything else. Mine is about to roll over 70k miles (purchased 1.5 years ago at ~63k). To my knowledge it's had nothing beyond tires, a set of front brakes, oil changes, filters, and a set of plugs and coils. All I've done maintenance-wise is oil changes and a trans oil change. It doesn't need anything and doesn't seem to have any issues. Might burn the slightest bit of oil but I'm also running it fairly hard with a lot of autocross/track stuff so that's not really a surprise. Oil changes are more expensive than an appliance car, but even using amsoil and good quality filters the total cost is like $75 I think. Which at the mileage rate you're talking about is probably a once a year expense. If you're driving "spirited" at all it will run through rear tires somewhat quickly. 93 octane required and it burns through it fairly quickly, that's honestly probably the biggest expense over a "normal" car. There's a couple of known failure points on them but most are minor/low risk to begin with and basically non-existent on purely street driven cars.

Honestly for your use case I'd at least consider a base model. Cheaper and it'll get better fuel mileage while still having plenty of power to be a fun cruiser/road trip car. Actually probably I'd figure out what options I want/need and then buy whatever model car they come attached to for a realistic price.

That's a bummer about 93. There are very few stations here in OKC that sell 93. 

How hard is DIY on it? I've curious about that since it's mid-engine. 

FMB42 said:

Asking "how much to maintain" any Porsche tells me that you should seriously consider not buy a Porsche. But that's just my opinion.

Not really. It's asking for people's real world experience on them vs people on forums who have never owned one.

I'm not saying that's you, but there are plenty of people who just parrot incorrect information about things they have heard someone else say and repeat as truth as though it's their own personal experience for "forum cred." Then it becomes a game of telephone and people tell you an AUDI is going to burst into flames if you look at it wrong. 

I guess "required" is probably more accurate. And not sure about the base model. It wants 93 but will run on less. For a purely street driven car I wouldn't feel too bad about 91 or even 89 if that's all that's available.

They're really not hard to work on. The newer cars take more effort to get to the top/front of the engine than the older cars do, but there's really not much you'd need to do up there. Oil/coolant fills are in the trunk, no power steering fluid. Space on the sides of the engine is fine, I'd much sooner do spark plugs on a mid engine porsche than any subaru. Porsches in general are complicated but not difficult to work on, if that distinction makes sense. Everything is easy to do, you just might have to disassemble half the car to get to it. Little to none of it is hard, just time consuming. You will want a set of hex and torx key sockets and some ratcheting wrenches in all the sizes that are usually left out of sets (12,14,16,18).

Most states out west do not have 93 octane available, including California. I am sure 91 is the minimum requirement for gasoline. 

FMB42 said:

But when it comes to maintenance costs; well if you need ask, then you might want to think about another brand.

Yeah, but...that's wrong.

Honestly assuming there's no surprises that don't show up in the carfax or what the previous owner has told me, mine has been more reliable than my fiesta st that's of similar age and mileage. I guess you're right in that if you can't afford the extra $40 per oil change you shouldn't buy one...but if your budget is that limited you probably shouldn't be buying anything,

FMB42 said:

But when it comes to maintenance costs; well if you need ask, then you might want to think about another brand.

What an asinine thing to say.   I have a budget of $1000 per month for fun car purchase and maintenance, am I also forbidden from asking how much it should cost to own a berkeleying car?

Edited to remove my unnecessary nasty comment. Had a rough day and it spilled over into here. Sorry guys. 

I've had my 981 S for a year and a half, and my experience has been exactly the same as DPS's.  I got it with 37,000 miles and I've since put another 15,000 on it including five track days.  In my relatively short ownership, it has been no more expensive than my Toyota minivan.  Modern Porsches are always near the top of the lists in terms of reliability- check Consumer Reports etc. if you don't believe me.  I have had absolutely no issues with mine at all.  For maintenance costs, it really comes down to how much work you do yourself.  $500 oil changes are the norm at the stealership.  IMO it's not harder to work on than any other car I've owned, and parts cost what European car parts cost.  Oil changes cost me $80 for the really good stuff and take 20 minutes without a drop hitting the floor.  Brake jobs are a breeze.  If you cruise the Porsche forums you'll see complaints about engine or transmission failures, and the complaints are understandable because if it happens it's a Very Big ProblemTM.  Plan on well into five figures to replace either.  However, major failures seem to be exceedingly rare, most of the cars are reliable as a hammer.  The more common failures are simple or cosmetic... coil packs, door cards warping, headliner drop, etc.  The biggest complaint I have is that the only tires available in the sizes I need for the 20" stock wheels are expensive max performance summer tires.  I've actually put 18" wheels on it to give me some better/cheaper tire choices.

Also removed, nothing to see here.

Fair enough.  Back to the question at hand.

The Porsche tax is real. Parts are stupid expensive - pick a few examples and check the internet. The question of "how much" just depends on what the car needs and how much work the OP will do on their own versus taking it to the stealership.

Slippery (Forum Supporter) said:

Most states out west do not have 93 octane available, including California. I am sure 91 is the minimum requirement for gasoline. 

I-40 across country you do not find 93 until Memphis. My cayman feels less with 91 in it.

As far as never owning a Porsche but knowing the maintenance costs...

2010 Porsche claimed 70% of their cars ever made were still on the road.

https://www.carpages.ca/blog/2010/12/02/porsche-claims-70-of-all-vehicles-built-still-on-the-road/

I have had one major issue in 50k miles with my 987.1 (OMG you will blow up from the IMS bearing!!!!) and that was a plastic Y in the fuel rail leaking. Probably due to UV exposure from my not stock clear engine cover.

Other than that tires and oil, both to me are consumable.

The car is at the mechanic right now for the first time since 2019 and besides needing an alignment it has a clean bill for health.

If I looked at the total cost of ownership over the 4 years I have had it I am willing to be less than $1000/year easily in mainenance.

Yourself said:

Fair enough.  Back to the question at hand.

The Porsche tax is real. Parts are stupid expensive - pick a few examples and check the internet. The question of "how much" just depends on what the car needs and how much work the OP will do on their own versus taking it to the stealership.

Yeah that's also wrong for most common parts. "More expensive" maybe, "stupid expensive" very rarely unless you insist on buying the one that comes in the porsche box. Especially with the modern cars where basically everything but the rear suspension is common between cayman and 911. Also, part prices don't really matter if you don't ever need anything more than oil filters and spark plugs.

Porsche tax tends to be real for aftermarket parts and GT car parts. Good luck finding a set of aftermarket wheels even in stock sizes for less than $2k. I just bought a pair of adjustable end links that for most cars would be like $150 at most...they were $300. Want new brake rotors for your GT3? $1000/set (for metal brakes...don't even ask about PCCBs). On the other hand, I can get rotors for my cayman for $45 each from rockauto. The oil filter I use is $20, but you can get lesser brand versions (that realistically are probably fine) for $10 or less.

 Good luck finding a set of aftermarket wheels even in stock sizes for less than $2k. I just bought a pair of adjustable end links that for most cars would be like $150 at most...they were $300. Want new brake rotors for your GT3? $1000/set (for metal brakes...don't even ask about PCCBs). On the other hand, I can get rotors for my cayman for $45 each from rockauto. The oil filter I use is $20, but you can get lesser brand versions (that realistically are probably fine) for $10 or less.

Funny, just today I bought a set of Cayman-spec 18" BBS wheels with brand new Kumho tires for $800.  Got a great deal from a friend who sold his Cayman, but great deals come around once in a while. The wheels can be had brand new for $1300.  Textar makes the OE brake pads, buy the Textar branded pads from FCP Euro for 1/2 the price of Porsche brand and get free replacements for life. Same goes for Sebro rotors. 

Not entirely relevant to the conversation but even my 986 is as reliable (or more so) than the Focus we had at the same mileage. If you DIY the maintenance it's very comparable to anything else in my experience. 

Porsche generally makes reliable cars, especially the modern ones.  No car is without its faults, and with the fairly fanatical Porsche fanbase, essentially all faults are known and widely discussed.  So researching a specific model should be pretty easy.

Having owned a 911 in the past, I'm definitely familiar with the Porsche Tax.  Two bits of advice I've tried to follow was to #1 always use genuine Porsche or OEM parts when possible, since they're usually the highest quality, and #2 don't buy from the dealer - get the part number and buy it somewhere else.  It'll save a lot of money.  As others have said, do your own wrenching when possible.  I found that regular maintenance was more expensive than a "normal" car, but not by a ton.  It was definitely affordable.  I think the two biggest hits to the wallet on Porsches are when something major breaks - look up the cost of a full engine replacement, it'll turn your hair white - and when you try to upgrade the car.  Others have touched on how expensive wheels can be, which is 100% true.  Also factor paying 4 digits for an aftermarket exhaust to hear that beautiful engine, which becomes a bit head scratching when you remember the engine is behind you and the exhaust system is very small.  On my 1978 911, I paid $700 for an exhaust "system" which was really just a muffler with two inlets and two outlets, but it was stainless steel, fit with surgical precision, and of the highest quality.  

I think the most important thing, and what keeps pulling people towards the brand, is the feeling you get when you sit behind the wheel of a Porsche, stomp the loud pedal, and take it through a turn.  In my personal experience, nothing else has compared.

infinitenexus said:

I think the two biggest hits to the wallet on Porsches are when something major breaks - look up the cost of a full engine replacement, it'll turn your hair white - and when you try to upgrade the car.

It's worth repeating that going down the upgrade path can cost lots and lots of money.  For a street car, there is absolutely no reason to do this- IMO these cars are 100% perfect for street duty and even light auto sports (autocross) from the factory.  I've seen people spend $5k+ for things like throttle bodies and custom tunes to get maybe 10hp, it makes no sense to me at all.  Aftermarket exhausts can cost upwards of $3k, and IMO none of them sound as good as the Performance Sports Exhaust that was a factory option.  I have the PSE on mine and it sounds like hot filthy sex at full tilt.

Getting a 981 set up for the track is a slightly different matter.  They're amazing on the track right out of the box, and a novice/intermediate driver would need nothing.  For more advanced drivers, the lack of front camber available from the factory is an issue.  You kill the outside edges of your tires quickly, and all trackable tires available for stock 19" or 20" rims are very expensive.  To solve the camber issue you need GT3 lower control arms ($1000+).  To get into cheaper tire options you need 18" wheels, which can be expensive although 987 wheels work fine and can usually be found for around $1k.  Then you have the brakes... OE pads will hold up to track duty but they tend to glaze, and it takes a few hundred miles to wear the glaze off.  You can spend close to $1k for all four corners for high-end track pads like Pagid or PFC.  I'm happy with DTC-60's at about half that price, but they dust like crazy and they're miserable on the street and need to be swapped for street driving.

Fortunately the OP said he has no interest in track use.  So for street driving (even aggressive), buy one and change the oil when needed.   That's it.

Porsches all suck, especially those air-cooled ones. Everyone should 100% stop buying them and let them rot into german dust!

.

Are the prices down yet???

z31maniac said:

This would be the nice weather/brunch and road trip car. Think maybe 5-6k miles a year.

I'm still not sure why you sold the NC. The NC checks all the boxes you just required

Vajingo said:

z31maniac said:

This would be the nice weather/brunch and road trip car. Think maybe 5-6k miles a year.

I'm still not sure why you sold the NC. The NC checks all the boxes you just required

A little hardcore with the MCS double remotes, 2 piece rotors, etc. 

psteav (Forum Supporter) said:

FMB42 said:

But when it comes to maintenance costs; well if you need ask, then you might want to think about another brand.

What an asinine thing to say.   I have a budget of $1000 per month for fun car purchase and maintenance, am I also forbidden from asking how much it should cost to own a berkeleying car?

I see someone edited out your other comment, but thanks for seeing what I'm getting at. I didn't think it was an unreasonable question. I won't get into the other speculation by him. 

It seems they are pretty good, outside of the odd major expense. So it looks like CPO is definitely the way to go, if I go that route. 

There is no plan to pick up another car until until this fall. In the last 11 years the longest I've kept a car is just over 2 years and that was my BRZ. I would have kept the 135i longer if it hadn't developed what seemed like rod knock or a very serious problem with the $10k DCT. I'd like to buy one and keep it for awhile this time. So I'm going to really look into a lot of different options.