Yes I know there is a recall on these Harbor Freight Jack Stands.
If you are a fan of Top Gear, you may have watched the cheap Porsche challenge where they buy 3 Porsche’s for under $5k. While buying a Porsche under $5k is probably not a smart idea, a $10k Porsche isn’t that bad. Keep in mind that I have done 90% of the work myself. If you are not hands on, add labor costs on top of everything.
The Porsche Boxster purchase cost $9,900, or $10,700 with taxes, registration, and PA inspection.
Repairs = $1,530
- $300 rear window replacement – I operated the convertible top in freezing temperatures, causing the brittle plastic rear window to crack.
- $120 O2 Sensor replacement – Easy job. I did it in the parking lot of Advanced Auto Parts.
- $700 front tire replacement and towing. – Lucky me. BOTH of my front tires blew at the same time when I was driving from D.C. to Philadelphia. I had to be towed to Philadelphia when I was only 45 minutes into my 3 hour trip.
- $100 inner tie rod – I took the opportunity to replace the OEM springs with lowering springs made by Eibach.
- $0 door handle – spring clip broke. I took the door apart and replaced the spring with a rubber band I found.
- $100 AOS – The air-oil separator broke. It took me 30 minutes to replace.
- $200 fuel pump – This was a smelly, but easy job. The opening to the fuel tank is right under the battery.
- $10 tail light bulbs.
Preventative Maintenance = $160
- $120 Oil Change – This car takes 10 quarts of expensive Mobil1 Synthetic Oil in 10,000 mile oil change intervals. I only owned the car for 20,000 miles so I changed the oil twice. This cost includes the special tool I needed to remove the drain plug.
- $40 Coolant drain and fill.
Upgrades = $1,415
- $300 Eiback Racing Lowering Springs
- $200 RSS Underdrive Pulley
- $550 full exhaust system (less headers)
- $15 tail light and head light tint
- $25 Euro side markers
- $275 aFe Power Cold Air Intake
- $50 brighter headlight bulbs.
Total cost = $13,805 over 3 years and 20,000 miles. That is about $4,600 per year, or $0.69 per mile. I did not include the cost of high octane premium fuel or car insurance because it varies widely from location to location.
Net Cost = $3605. After selling the car for $10,200, the Porsche experience only cost me $3,605. That is not bad considering all of the fun autocross events, HPDE track events and car meets I was able to participate in.
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