964 Reliability

[Bilko]

Hi all,

New to the forum - loads of great info here!

I guess this is a fairly newbieish (not a word - but not to worry) question but here goes anyway:

I've searched the forum and read various topics about reliability but it all seems a little inconclusive. Basically the problem is this - I REALLY want to take the plunge and get myself a 964 C2 Coupe but i'm by no means rich and simply can't afford to be spending thousands a year on maintanence and for the same reason the car will be my daily driver.

Obviously I will spend pleanty of time ensuring the car I end up with has been looked after in the past, but at the end of the day these things come down to luck I suppose and past reliability isn't nessercerily a guide to the future! I guess what i'm asking is what is the general experience here? Do you guys have to spend a lot of money every year just to keep the car on the road (on top of normal servicing)?

A car like a 911 is always going to be a hobby as well, so i'm prepaired to spend a certain amount of money but simply can't afford to be spending too much!

Also at what point does a top end rebuild need to happen - obviously this varies car to car - but roughly? And what are the signs that this needs doing?

What other things are particualrly expensive to put right? Gearbox?

Thanks very much guys!! (Sorry for the long rambling post!)

Bilko.


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[niall]

Problem with all 964s is oil leaks - they all do it sooner or later due to crap engine design - you may find a dry one but it will not stay that way forever. Later models are better but still prone to this - they put in gasket heads and larger area to seal on later cars. Those leaks will eventually need to be fixed and it is expensive - £2/3k to fix a serious leak. Bottom ends are pretty bullet proof compared to top end - top end rebuild territory is around 80-100k mark but this is a generalisation.

Good luck.


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[James Ball]

The 964 is a bit unfairly treated regarding problems. True, the early cars had problems with oil leaks but a lot, if not most have been fixed by now with the head gasket retro-fitted. They also had a problem with the dual-mass flywheel falling apart but again, these have generally been replaced with the LUK flywheel which fixes the problem. All that really leaves is the servicing costs, which are a little higher than other models but it is not that much more expensive (not into Turbo territory for example).

However, I think it would be fool-hardy to enter into 911 ownership, any 911, without a buffer for unforseen circumstances. A minimum of £2k would be sensible - enough to cover most problems, bar an engine rebuild. Regarding servicing and general upkeep it is unlikely to cost you LESS than £1000 a year, probably nearer £2000. These cars are all at least 10 yrs old and small things do need fixing now and then.

For more info on 964's in particular visit porsche964.co.uk. It is a mine of information.

James

PS There is no issue with the G50 gearbox in the 964 - pretty much bullet proof.


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[Carrera]

Welcome Bilko. As James said, the 964 is rather unfairly treated. It's a very nice car and most comon problems have either been sorted or can be sorted. They are a bit more expensive to service due to the complexity of the design. You need to have the engine out to have the simplest things done. If you're going to run it on a tight budget, have you thought about a 3.2? They're pretty much just as quick, simpler to work on (thus cheaper) and is buit like a brick sh*t house with not a lot of common problems when used as daily driver. A lot of the guys here use it as daily driver as well as regular track day car. Whatever you decide to get, just make sure you take the advice and put some money aside as contingency. Good luck.


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[Bilko]

Thanks very much for the replys guys And for the welcome to the forum.

After reading your responses and reading the latest copy of 911&Porsche world, which has two great articles on this very subject, i'm pretty confident i'll be fine with a 964 as long as i'm careful finding a decent one. Also it seems sensible to save a bit of cash ( a couple of grand maybe?) for, as you say Butzi, a contingency fund.

I had considered a 3.2 but as I understand it the 964 is very heavily revised and benefits from things such as ABS (although I understand it this can be a problem area.)

Again, thanks for your replys, it's much apreciated!!

Bilko.




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