Actual Operating Costs for a 914 Options

[ericread]

I posted this the other day to the "How Much Do You Have Into You 914 So Far" thread. It is buried back on page seven of the topic, so I thought I'd re-post it under a new heading.

I keep hearing how expensive it is to own a 914, and I wanted to provide an actual accounting of my expenses after 1 year. Please note I do not race, or really put my teener in stressful situations. I have yet to paint it (it's a good fair 50 foot paint job right now), and I have not spent much time on the exterior looks ( I will work on this in late 2008 according to my schedule of work).

So no, it is not a status symbol, a garage queen or an amazing racing machine like many of the cars described in this BBS. However, it is a steadily improviing, very reliable daily driver, of which I am proud to own and drive.



Eric Read

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Ok. I picked up my 74 2.0L FI on February 25, 2007. Purchased for $3,500.00. Very little rust (no structural problems) Lots of "weird" stuff, like a totally odd (non porsche) alternator on a broken mount. Lots of little items to fix. Bad paint. But very good fundamentals. I drive the 914 to work (and back) every day - it is my daily driver.

One year later, here are the numbers:
Miles Driven: 15,880
Maintenance Professional Services: $2,088.40
Maintenance Parts: $ 1,093.08
Auto Insurance (12 months, Unlimited Miles, Dailyn Driver): $1,200.00
Gas (690.44 Gallons @ Ave $3.20/Gallon): $2,209.41
Oil (30 Qts @ $3.50/Qt): $105.00
Total Amount Expended: 6,609.89
Operating cost per mile: $0.4217

Notes:
1. Cost of car is not included in operating expenses or Operating Cost per Mile.
2. I am a noob to turning a wrench. Prior to March of 2007, I hadn't worked on a car since probably back in 1975. I am a computer geek, so wrench skills were not in my repertoire. My experience is that through the BBS's and the tech articles, there is plenty of step-by-step instructions which makes most maintenance fairly easy. I am performing almost all of my wrenching myself lately, and thoroughly enjoying it.
3. Knowing what I know now (2/25/08) I would have performed all of the professional services myself. I really do not feel I got $2,000 worth of work performed.
4. I have recorded times where I have achieved up to 29 MPG. However, my heavy foot keeps my combined driving at between 23 MPG and 25 MPG.
5. I keep every expense documented in several tabs of a dedicated worksheet.
6. All work is performed via cash - no expenses are being placed on a credit card. This makes my work spread out but financially manageable. I have budgeted about $200.00 per month for parts through December of 2008.

I hope this helps to dispell the "high" cost of owning/maintaining a 914. If you are patient, it can be done on a budget.