If Porsche cars are "so good" why do people constantly mention high maintenance costs and headaches. Seems to me they drive well for a while until something breaks then the headaches begin.

It's not necissarily something breaking. It's just the cost of maintenance for a vehicle of that pricepoint. The Porsche really is unlike other vehicles in the same class with it's powerplant, structural rigidity and finely tuned suspension. When you own one and only then and you drive it in all sorts of conditions, you will know what I am talking about.

The killer is taking it in for regularly scheduled maintenance and paying out the nose. But that's just the pricepoint of the vehicle. I'm sure it's just that much more ridiculous for an Aston Martin.

My dream car will always be new GT2RS. With that said, the way my Z sits now with modifications and the touring package interior, anyone driving a Porsche that is faster and handles better paid too much because the DIFFERENCE in performance is miniscule compared to the PRICE difference. In other words, I'm almost keeping up (beating in some cases like a any stock Porsche up to a Carrera or even a Carrera S model) with a car that they paid waaaaay more for. For that kind of price difference, my Z is too close in overall luxery and performance. And unless their driving a GT3, GT2 or Carrera GT, my Z is still getting more looks on the street.

I've owned a Porsche in our 370Z, does that count?

:p I'm j/k

I've been thinking of trading in my 370z for a brand new Porsche Cayman S. The only reason at this point why i haven't done so because of the high maintenance costs or so I heard.

For Porsche owners, can you give me an idea what kind of maintenace you would need to do other than oil changes? I know it costs about $500 per oil change but you only do once every 10K+ miles or so, which is about the same for the Z if you do it every 3K miles at $99 each.

what other maintenance would be required? how much?

There was a guy on here last year... alan93rsa that ended up selling his 370z for a cayman... search around and you can prob find his thought process

I spent 3-4 years tracking a boxster s... with ~100 lbs weight reduction and sticky tires it would turn the same times as my stock 370z... granted it was a 2002, and hp has been much improved for mid-engine porsches since then... they are terrific handling vehicles and great to learn on if you are new to the track... I think both are good... understand that if you will use either at the track, some $$ are involved... with the Z, you will have an up front investment to resolve brake overheating, oil overheating, and fuel starvation... with the porsche, any time you need wheels, tires, upgrade parts, consumable parts etc, you should expect to pay 50-100% more for a comparable part than you would pay for nissan aftermarket parts... just is what it is

Also, this topic has been played out so many times... sorry, but you might consider going to google and typing "cayman boxster site:www.370z.com" or follow this link: cayman boxster site:www.370z.com - Google Search

Well to give you an idea, the p car i have is air cooled which takes 12 quarts of oil. Thats 3 times the amount of oil for normal cars. :icon14:

Thinking of selling my 911 by the way, ill post some pics later if you guys are interested. (can't afford to cars anymore) :(

Yes, it is fair!
 

I mentioned my stock 1988 Turbo Targa as a previous poster compared his track-tuned '88 930 to a 370Z.
In addition, several posters from earlier threads expressed interest in purchasing 911s from the 1986-89 period, hence my comparison.
And, yes, prices for '86-'89 911 Turbos are ridiculous IMHO for the quality of the driving experience-nevermind the absurd costs of repair/maintenance.

The 'quality' of the driving experience is second to none in a 930 (with minimal updates) if you know what you're doing. There is a reason why these cars have been holding value so well. No you probably don't want to drive it as an everyday commuter, but on the weekends, in the canyons and on the race track... forget it. Its intoxicating.

Disagree!
 

Sorry, Rob, but with all due respect, I must disagree,
I do not call the vile-handling litft-throttle oversteer "intoxicating" or "the driving experience second-to-none"". And, as previously mentioned in earlier posts, I have almost 50 years experience in the hobby during which I held both NHRA (National Competition/Super Street) and SCCA (National Competition) licenses-both of which required multiple Driving/Racing School courses and demonstrated track/strip capability. I was a member of several Race Clubs and served as Instructor for PCA and BMWCCA sponsored driving events in years past. I also submitted articles to both Porsche Panorama and BMW Roundel magazines comparing competitor vehicles to the Porsches and BMWs of the day.
Now, I agree to master the '86-'89 911 Turbos requires a modicum of skill, competence and-sometimes-nerve. It can be a great challenge and provide some exhiliration when driven properly. However, even when so driven, they were inferior in performance to the '91 and later Turbos. I do not, however, believe it reasonable to refer to this as a "quality driving experience". Some Porsche purists even referred to the lift-throttle oversteer as the car's "soul and character", decrying the NSX when introduced as "too easy to drive fast" and "souless". Gee, I guess the absurdly-long turbo lag just added to the car's "character"! Utter rubbish, of course. And, if you consider these 911 Turbos as not suitable as a DD and, therefore, only for track use, what does that say about the "driving experience"?
Both my 1991 and 1994 Turbos offered far better steering, handling and power delivery and were much faster (stock for stock) on both the strip and track. While they did not offer the same challenges as the earlier Turbos, they did provide an overall better driving experience for both novice and expert.

for what it's worth the cayman S is still one of the best cars i've ever driven hard. i loved it. it depends on what you want out of a car. also cayman's are not terribly expensive to maintain, especially compared to 911's. parts for the cayman platform are considerably cheaper

That math doesn't really add up. $300 vs. $500 is closer to half than the same. Also, if you don't buy into ester oil, (seems like most of the Nissan dealerships doesn't even know what it is) an oil change cost around $40 on our cars (full synthetic).

that sounds outrageous for an oil change on a cayman. i worked at a porsche dealership and i know it wasn't nearly that much to get something like that done. maybe $150 at the most cause the mobil 1 0w-40 that those engines require is pricey