Questions about costs are one of the most popular kind of question I get about 228 ownership.  Oddly enough, another popular one is where to get after market wheels. Hopefully the info here will answer some of the cost questions you might have. Good luck with the wheels though!

I divide the costs of 228 ownership into three categories. The first is what it costs to buy the car. The second is maintenance. This is the typical kind of stuff, tune ups, repairs, cam belts, a/c, that you would get on any car. The third is the enhancements to improve the car. This would be the suspension, the engine, the painting, the new interior, etc. One could argue that on a 14 year old car painting is a maintenance item, as is the new windshield, but I put them under enhancements.

If you are handy mechanically you can save some money on the maintenance and on enhancements. I am not, so I get almost all the work done at a shop.  Plus, I get almost all my parts at MIE.

All the cost figures I use here are in $US converted from $Canadian at the then-current exchange rates.  When reviewing these figures keep in mind that it is likely that these numbers are low, since in all probability I have forgotten some costs. Also keep in mind that exchange rates fluctuated by up to 1/3 during the time this site has been up.

Buying the Car

I paid a 'typical' price for my car. It was in decent shape when I got it so I am happy with the price I paid. I detail the expected price for these cars on my buying page.

Maintenance

This category can be further subdivided into stuff that the previous owner should have done but didn't, and ongoing stuff you have to take care of as you add the mileage to the car by driving it.

I detail the maintenance work here.  The costs of maintenance are high mainly because of the amount of maintenance required.  The cost of some parts is a bit high, but no where near as high as Ferrari or Porsche. My labour costs are reasonable (being in $Canadian).

I figure it took about two years for all the 'deferred maintenance' items to be cleaned up. I found maintenance costs for several years thereafter to be much more reasonable. Probably because I have been driving the car a lot less, and once it is properly maintained, it is easier to keep it there. Starting in about 2007, maintenance costs started to tick up again.

Enhancements

I had planned to lay out a comprehensive lists of the costs of the various enhancements that I have done. But when I sat down and added up everything I have spent on the enhancements to this car it almost made me sick. They are too embarrassing to publish. In particular the engine work was totally out of line. The cost of the new body parts for the repaint was also outrageous.  In retrospect the engine swap was clearly not a wise idea, and I would definitely not do it again.

People ask me most frequently about the engine and the painting costs, so here is a sample of those costs. Keep in mind that rebuilding the engine, buying the rest of the missing/damaged parts, reworking the intake, the port and polish, new exhaust, and installing everything are not included here.

24 Valve Engine (landed in Canada, not rebuilt or installed) $4000

Turbos and Manifolds $2500

Bare Metal Respray (no disassembly or new parts)  $5500