groovzilla

there are some 996 owners (and non owners) in this forum who have dogged the 996 because of the seemingly high cost of the IMS repair/maintenance of the 996 model.

its my opinion the 996 cost of repairs/maintenance is fairly low compared to the exorbitant cost of owning a mercedes benz. in the past 20 years i have owned serveral mercedes models- shopped for my ML320 2 years ago and my 2004 E320 last year. in 2010 while searching for my E320 i looked at and thumbed thru the service records of at least 8-9 vehicles and almost every car i looked at including mine had at least $12-$15K in repair or service costs some as much as $18K for a car that was only 6 years old. the same costs were found with the ML320. these repair/service costs were not only high but for items such as the $1800 put into the radio transmitter in the trunk of my car...the part alone was $1500 from mercedes and the only place you can get it. benz's have a host of electrical issues which are incredibly expensive to repair. my friends are always bitching to me about the money they have spent on their benz repairs.
for years mercedes has had brake failure issues with the SBC brake modules that control the entire brake system, crank pully issues,etc. i remember the 91-1992 300SD had a common issue with the #1 cylinder becoming"egg" shaped from a problem with the rods thus causing the car to burn a qt of oil every 100 miles.
if people do their research they'll find numerous issues with most every expensive european car on the road.

himself

Which is why warranties are key. BMW's new car warranty and free service is very nice. MB used to have this as well, but no longer. But you can buy the service up front with the car. In any event, cars in general (not just European) cost money to maintain. The more expensive the car, the more expensive the parts. Just goes with the territory.

-td

alpine003

I would have to put BMW further in reliability than most other European brands over a cumalitive period(with the exception of the 7 series...).

The inline 6's have been bullet proof through the generations for the most part and anything that can go wrong happens with consistency between cars and is well documented for the most part(water pump, cab, rsm, etc).

My $.02 after owning half dozen bimmers with over 150k each.

groovzilla

loved my 528e

alpine003

Yeah I still love my 2002tii, e30 M3, and e46 touring. Waiting on the F30 touring diesel...

dennis hiip

We've got two MB. 200k and 120k. Both have been dead on reliable. I'm hoping my 996 holds up as well.

targa996

I had an ,04 E320 from new - and it had to go to the shop a couple of times under warranty for teleaid module replacement and reflashing the electronics control unit - sold it at 80K miles - with no major maintenance costs - except for frequent brake pad/rotors. My indie was 1/2 the cost of the dealer for that.

I,ve also got an ,06 S430 - with 85K miles on now- no major issues so far - sure if the air suspension fails, that can be expensive - but as with all German Brands you can get unlucky and have expensive bills - or things can run very well for a long time with no major issues. If you want NO issues - get a Lexus. If you want something fun to drive - get a 996 - and reserve some $$ for IMS upgrade - change oil regularly and chances are it will cost you very little to run relative to the fun you get out of it ...

Byprodriver

So far I have taken my 2007 IS350 Lexus back to the dealer for 5 mechanical recalls & I am not counting the "unintended acceleration" fiasco caused by a mischevious floormat, just the real issues: Variocam mechanism, valvesprings, fuel rail etc.

washington dc porsche

I have an ML with over 170k miles and have spent no where near the amount I have in non maintenance repairs as I have for my 996 which is a year younger.

As far as regular maintenace the V8 ml oil change is $89 vs 996 $218-$300. Both use m1 synthetic oil.

groovzilla

i think if one was to compare 911 models vs service cost the 993 would have to be high on the list. 993 owners have spent thousands on the CEL light issues resulting from the SAI passages being clogged and not being able to pass emissions.

Byprodriver

And the percentage of cars that suffer from this is way higher than all 996 issues combined!

chsu74

Are we starting a 996 better than 993 thread?

groovzilla

i've owned 2 993's. a'96 C4 and '95 C2.

what i thought were telephone books given to me by the previous owners were actually service records.

dresler

Audi's are no fun to maintain, either. My 996 has been as reliable as my Hondas were.

DelRey996

My indy changes $75 for my 996 oil change (Mobil One). Paying over $200 is obscene.