Running costs

[Paz]

I know this has been done to death, however as I am hoping a 987 will be my next car, what problems should I specifically be looking for on a potential new car? I have an S2000 currently, I know insurance will be more on the Porsche as well. I just want to make sure I can afford to run one. my Dad is an aircraft engineer which could help me, but not sure how much this will help. Any recent insight would be most helpful. 

[briggy]

I've had mine for 7 years and have always set aside £150 each month for maintenance. It's been pretty much bang on. I do get it serviced at the Porsche dealership which is expensive, but also do things like the brakes myself, so swings and roundabouts.

 

[Paz]

48 minutes ago, briggy said:

I've had mine for 7 years and have always set aside £150 each month for maintenance. It's been pretty much bang on. I do get it serviced at the Porsche dealership which is expensive, but also do things like the brakes myself, so swings and roundabouts.

 

I don’t think that’s too bad actually! I know it could be more one month to the next, but I’m happy with that. 

[Blissya]

23 hours ago, Paz said:

I know this has been done to death, however as I am hoping a 987 will be my next car, what problems should I specifically be looking for on a potential new car? I have an S2000 currently, I know insurance will be more on the Porsche as well. I just want to make sure I can afford to run one. my Dad is an aircraft engineer which could help me, but not sure how much this will help. Any recent insight would be most helpful. 

If they haven’t been done yet, then budget for aircon radiators and front crossover water pipes, only a matter of time for both. Have found the insurance pretty good really, but that depends a lot on person and location etc. mine has gone up a bit this year, general increases plus have upped the mileage to 14k a year as it’s my daily and girlfriend is a 65 mile round trip 

 

Couple of things I wish I’d got, now I know more about them (was an impulse buy 3 years ago) would be to have heated seats and extended leather for dash and doors, and perhaps the 19inch wheels so I could get some PS4S tyres

 

good luck with your search 

[Paz]

4 hours ago, Blissya said:

If they haven’t been done yet, then budget for aircon radiators and front crossover water pipes, only a matter of time for both. Have found the insurance pretty good really, but that depends a lot on person and location etc. mine has gone up a bit this year, general increases plus have upped the mileage to 14k a year as it’s my daily and girlfriend is a 65 mile round trip 

 

Couple of things I wish I’d got, now I know more about them (was an impulse buy 3 years ago) would be to have heated seats and extended leather for dash and doors, and perhaps the 19inch wheels so I could get some PS4S tyres

 

good luck with your search 

Thank you for the advice, yes heated seats will probably be a must. There is one for sale on Autotrader in Aqua Blue but the mileage at 70000 puts me off. 

[Blissya]

2 hours ago, Paz said:

Thank you for the advice, yes heated seats will probably be a must. There is one for sale on Autotrader in Aqua Blue but the mileage at 70000 puts me off. 

I’d base the decision more on condition, the quality of the service history, receipts for maintenance, not loads of owners etc and not worry too much about mileage. I bought mine with 41k and is now on 66k, would be on 70k by now if not for being in a repair shop since late November due to someone clipping it when parked… waiting for a new steering rack on back order. Lucky it wasn’t written off really, had replaced the coolant pipes and brake discs/pads all round last year. Can’t wait to get it back and get loads more miles on it! 

[Paz]

10 minutes ago, Blissya said:

I’d base the decision more on condition, the quality of the service history, receipts for maintenance, not loads of owners etc and not worry too much about mileage. I bought mine with 41k and is now on 66k, would be on 70k by now if not for being in a repair shop since late November due to someone clipping it when parked… waiting for a new steering rack on back order. Lucky it wasn’t written off really, had replaced the coolant pipes and brake discs/pads all round last year. Can’t wait to get it back and get loads more miles on it! 

Yes fair point about the mileage, however something just makes me stay away if it’s over average mileage for the year. I will be patient. Sorry to hear that, some people eh.

[Yorkie]

Insurance I’ve found to be cheap tbh. Your running costs are going to depend on what’s been done maintenance wise before. And if you are planning to do any work yourself or take to specialist/porsche opc. The one I bought had roughly 9k spent on it in the 12 mths before I bought it. Crossover pipes, rear coffin arms, brakes ect. Work was done at a rpm techniq. Some jobs like the crossover pipes cost a fortune and as a specialist I can’t imagine the labour costs been any more at porsche opc. Other specialists could have probably took a third off that bill. Some preventative maintenance things like the AOS isn’t expensive for the parts direct from porsche. 
things like spark plugs  are like 40 quid for parts and not difficult to change. Belts really simple to do. If you’ve done any work on the s2000 the cayman is no more difficult. 

[Yorkie]

The other thing to consider about how many miles your cutting off at, a higher miles car with a stack of receipts for work done could well be cheaper to run than a low miles one that’s not had any of the ongoing work done.

[Paz]

5 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Insurance I’ve found to be cheap tbh. Your running costs are going to depend on what’s been done maintenance wise before. And if you are planning to do any work yourself or take to specialist/porsche opc. The one I bought had roughly 9k spent on it in the 12 mths before I bought it. Crossover pipes, rear coffin arms, brakes ect. Work was done at a rpm techniq. Some jobs like the crossover pipes cost a fortune and as a specialist I can’t imagine the labour costs been any more at porsche opc. Other specialists could have probably took a third off that bill. Some preventative maintenance things like the AOS isn’t expensive for the parts direct from porsche. 
things like spark plugs  are like 40 quid for parts and not difficult to change. Belts really simple to do. If you’ve done any work on the s2000 the cayman is no more difficult. 

Ouch £9k in a year is a lot! 

[Yorkie]

Just now, Paz said:

Ouch £9k in a year is a lot! 

The guy just let the place do whatever they said needed doing. Full whack for parts and labor. I was pretty shocked how much he had paid for stuff like discs and pads. 

[Paz]

23 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Insurance I’ve found to be cheap tbh. Your running costs are going to depend on what’s been done maintenance wise before. And if you are planning to do any work yourself or take to specialist/porsche opc. The one I bought had roughly 9k spent on it in the 12 mths before I bought it. Crossover pipes, rear coffin arms, brakes ect. Work was done at a rpm techniq. Some jobs like the crossover pipes cost a fortune and as a specialist I can’t imagine the labour costs been any more at porsche opc. Other specialists could have probably took a third off that bill. Some preventative maintenance things like the AOS isn’t expensive for the parts direct from porsche. 
things like spark plugs  are like 40 quid for parts and not difficult to change. Belts really simple to do. If you’ve done any work on the s2000 the cayman is no more difficult. 

My Dad does some work on it, I’m not mechanically minded like he is. I know some things will be expensive, however I know some things for the Honda are ridiculous prices nowadays, I bought a new gear knob for £130! 

[Windymiller]

70k miles is nothing on a 987 given that the ‘youngest’ models are now 12years old. 
 

I bought my 987.2 S in 2017 with 41k miles on her. Ran her for 5 years and sold her in 2022 at 71k miles with a pile of service history receipts wanting for nothing to a proud owner of her on here and she’s been faultless in the 2 years of his ownership since. @Jason Saunders

 

these cars are built to be driven, not wrapped up in a carcoon only to be driven a few hundred miles per year. 
 

Close friend of mine has a 2001 Boxster with 150k miles on it and it still drives like new!

 

I’ve done nearly 11k miles in my 718 in the 15months since buying her - by rights I should probably scrap her now as she’s so utterly worthless at that extreme mileage… 😆😆😆

 

Find one in the spec you want. Check the service history (with receipts not just book stamps). Interrogate the owner to determine how well they’ve looked after the car. Get a 3rd party specialist inspection. Buy with relative confidence. 👍🏻

 

As others suggest - budget £150-200 pcm for annual maintenance and repairs. 

 

good luck with your search, it’s a great day when you site behind the wheel of your first Porsche 🤩😍👍🏻

Edited February 6 by Windymiller

[Paz]

8 hours ago, Windymiller said:

70k miles is nothing on a 987 given that the ‘youngest’ models are now 12years old. 
 

I bought my 987.2 S in 2017 with 41k miles on her. Ran her for 5 years and sold her in 2022 at 71k miles with a pile of service history receipts wanting for nothing to a proud owner of her on here and she’s been faultless in the 2 years of his ownership since. @Jason Saunders

 

these cars are built to be driven, not wrapped up in a carcoon only to be driven a few hundred miles per year. 
 

Close friend of mine has a 2001 Boxster with 150k miles on it and it still drives like new!

 

I’ve done nearly 11k miles in my 718 in the 15months since buying her - by rights I should probably scrap her now as she’s so utterly worthless at that extreme mileage… 😆😆😆

 

Find one in the spec you want. Check the service history (with receipts not just book stamps). Interrogate the owner to determine how well they’ve looked after the car. Get a 3rd party specialist inspection. Buy with relative confidence. 👍🏻

 

As others suggest - budget £150-200 pcm for annual maintenance and repairs. 

 

good luck with your search, it’s a great day when you site behind the wheel of your first Porsche 🤩😍👍🏻

Some good points there, I think it’s because my S2000 has only done 43,000 miles hence why I’m looking for lower mileage cars.  But yes as long as it’s been well looked after! I’m in no rush though as I do love my Honda! Yes I can imagine it’s a special moment for sure. 

[Windymiller]

Have you actually test driven any yet? A 2.9 compared to a 3.4? Manual ‘vs’ PDK?

[Paz]

17 hours ago, Windymiller said:

Have you actually test driven any yet? A 2.9 compared to a 3.4? Manual ‘vs’ PDK?

I drove a 06 plate S, was never going to buy it. I think the 2.9 will be the sweet spot for me, the S is too powerful I think. I need to try a 2.9 first. 

[Aaron]

4 hours ago, Paz said:

I drove a 06 plate S, was never going to buy it. I think the 2.9 will be the sweet spot for me, the S is too powerful I think. I need to try a 2.9 first. 

 

What do you plan on using the car for?  That's the better question here.

[Paz]

1 hour ago, Aaron said:

 

What do you plan on using the car for?  That's the better question here.

The odd weekend/evening drive mainly, I don’t need it to commute as I drive a van for work. 

[Yorkie]

So just from your responses I’d be inclined to say why not just try an early 2.7. If the S extra performance isn’t a must, and you’re looking at running costs ect. You don’t have the bore score worries of a gen 1 s. You don’t have the outlay of a gen 2 . You get the driving experience. Id say a 2.7 and a s2000 straight line performance will be similar. The cayman will feel a lot different to drive and as much as I love a s2000 the cayman feels a nicer car to drive. You don’t like it then sell it.

[Aaron]

8 hours ago, Paz said:

The odd weekend/evening drive mainly, I don’t need it to commute as I drive a van for work. 

 

@Yorkie has nailed it.  You would want the extra power on track days but for occasional usage, the 2.7 gen 1 is the car to buy when a gen 2's cost becomes challenging.  If you can afford a gen 2, however, I would recommend one of those instead as the initial purchase price is higher but the total cost of ownership will be less.

 

As a two-time S2000 owner, I would put the Cayman maintenance cost as pretty similar to the S2000 with how much parts for it cost nowadays.  The Porsche "premium" for the older cars is not really there anymore with quality aftermarket parts available at reasonable prices, and the plethora of online guides and tutorials available.  If you're not comfortable working on it yourself/someone you know, there are plenty of specialists around that are extremely skilled and, again, reasonably priced.

 

My advice on the 987 aside... if you're happy with the S2000; what is driving the change to a Cayman?  They are different cars for different purposes and usage despite their apparent similarities as 2-door sports cars.