Are Porsche SUV Expensive to Maintain?

Porsche are luxury vehicles, which means that it would make sense for them to cost a little bit more to maintain than other brands would be. The question is whether that expensive maintenance is going to be worth it compared to other luxury vehicles.

Porsche SUVs are the most expensive to maintain of any luxury vehicle brand. Expect a Porsche SUV to cost around $22,000 within the first ten years of operation, even if only simple maintenance is done. It’s possible to mitigate these problems by driving carefully and keeping up on maintenance.

The real question is why Porsche vehicles are so incredibly expensive to maintain. Why are they so expensive in the first place if you’re just going to end up spending so much money on them as they get older?

Why Are Porsche Vehicles Expensive To Maintain?

There are two main reasons why Porsche SUVs are expensive to maintain. The first is the cost of parts, and the second is the frequency with which parts need to be replaced.

Porsche parts are very expensive to purchase, and they are often not in stock at dealerships or mechanic third-party mechanic shops. This is because Porsche vehicles aren’t all that common, which means that mechanics aren’t incentivized to keep them on hand. This means that they need to be special-ordered.

The issue of dealerships not having parts in stock is a little more complicated. While they will usually have the parts for the most recent models and parts for models that have frequent problems, they won’t always have the parts needed for older models or parts that don’t often need to be replaced.

Either way, the time that it takes for the new parts to ship to your location and the price of shipping add to the price of repairs and maintenance.

And that isn’t even to mention the fact that you can only use Porsche approved synthetic oil when you get your oil changed, which adds an extra cost even to routine maintenance. This combined with the high price of parts for luxury vehicles in general means that even if you didn’t need to do as many repairs as often, you would still end up spending the same amount on maintenance for a Porsche as you would for a non-luxury vehicle.

Unfortunately, Porsche Vehicles do not have problems at a significantly lower rate than normal vehicles. Porsche parts are infamously delicate. The prime example is the cooling system in the Porsche Cayenne, one of the Porsche SUV models.

The Cayennes coolant system was made entirely of plastic for years, which seems like a tremendous oversight on the part of the engineers who designed it. Because it was made of plastic and situated directly adjacent to an engine, these coolant systems inevitably are destroyed and need to be completely replaced.

These two factors make Porsche vehicles incredibly expensive to maintain even compared to other luxury vehicle brands. These brands can have similar problems for similar reasons and can be way more expensive than even the ones most prone to damage.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t buy a Porsche vehicle. You just need to keep in mind that just because the up-front costs of purchasing a Porsche are lower than most other luxury brands doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to end up being that much less of an investment than other SUVs.

If your wallet is ready for the commitment and you like the aesthetic of a Porsche and the way it handles, then it may still be worth it to purchase one, as they are still genuinely cool vehicles regardless of the problems they tend to have. Just be prepared for the price tag that will come with them.

Mitigating Costs

And just because you know that you’re going to be spending a lot of money on this vehicle over time doesn’t mean that you have to resign yourself to your fate. There are plenty of things you can do to ensure that you won’t be paying for the most expensive repairs all the time.

The most important thing that you can do to keep prices down on your vehicle’s maintenance is to follow its maintenance schedule. For Porsche vehicles, this includes getting an oil change every five thousand miles or so and an air filter change every ten thousand miles.

Following the maintenance schedule will keep your vehicle running in optimal conditions, which is critically important for preventing serious problems that are expensive to fix. Of course, this won’t prevent all problems as Porsche parts are still very delicate and can end up getting damaged on their own for what can seem like no reason at all.

The next thing that you can do is always be careful when you’re driving. Avoid getting into a car crash and avoid all potholes that are on the road.

Most Porsche websites also suggest that you only get maintenance from official Porsche dealers and don’t use aftermarket parts, and while that’s certainly good advice sometimes it can end up costing you more money. That being said, if you don’t have your Porsche maintenanced at a Porsche dealership it may be repaired incorrectly.

If you can find an independent mechanic or shop that has experience working with Porsches or even just the specific model you have it you can often save a lot of money on repairs, and more importantly sometimes aftermarket parts are just better than the parts that Porsche sells.

Of course, if you need to replace a part the official parts will be your best bet 9/10 times, but there are certainly some specific situations where you can solve the problem of Porsche delicateness for one part in your car while simultaneously solving whatever problem you’re having. Definitely do your research and consult a mechanic before replacing a part.

Overall, Porsche SUVs are expensive to maintain, and they are more expensive to maintain than the average SUV. However, that is the cost of having a luxury vehicle.