15k a year in a cheap Boxster
Discussion
There is an over 300k boxster here as well.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=158...
There are some good points highlighted by the owner, worth to read. Most of the parts mentioned in the post, are pretty cheap and easy to find in u.K. in my experience, especially if you hit a special sale season on europarts or design911.
Enjoy, beautiful car!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=158...
There are some good points highlighted by the owner, worth to read. Most of the parts mentioned in the post, are pretty cheap and easy to find in u.K. in my experience, especially if you hit a special sale season on europarts or design911.
Enjoy, beautiful car!
poppopbangbang said:
Since then I've done 200K miles in it, in all conditions with very little regard to pampering. Various bits of it are run to a life so it gets a clutch every 100K miles, lower control arms every 50K miles, dampers rebuilt every 30K miles, rads every year (although I have now gone to CSF rads which look like they'll last much longer), coil packs every year etc. etc. It has been serviced on 10K intervals with Mobil 1 and all fluids bar coolant are Porsche standard. It's never had an IMS, the bores are no more scored than most production engines post 100K miles and it uses very little oil per 1000KM. Realistically at 300K miles it's got plenty of life left!
You do realize, we will always blame you and your car for the sudden appreciation of 996s! Edited by poppopbangbang on Sunday 28th August 07:24
I do hope you enjoy plenty more 300k, its seriously beautiful car and loads of useful info in there with the maintenance advice!
edc said:
Trev450 said:
Good point. The 'crossover' pipes for the radiators is another example of a non diy job without a ramp, and they will start to leak eventually due to their poor design.
Is this more 987 rather than 986? Not had that problem with either my 2000S or later 550. 12K to 15K miles per year? That's rookie miles. My 2002 2.7l 5-speed has done on average 21K miles per year. The car bought new in Jan. 2002 currently has over 303K miles on it.
The car has been quite reliable and running/maintenance costs have been reasonable (more so than with my Turbo).
Keep up on things, services, and pay attention to the car. For instance I heard a new noise one AM after starting the car. Knowing from my experience noises are from the engine trying to tell me something I dug into this and id'd the noise coming from an accessory drive.
A check of accessory drive play found the water pump with some play, not much, but more than the other drives which essentially had no play.
I flat bedded the car the 20 miles or so to the (then) nearest dealer (OPC) and had the water pump, T-stat replaced. (This was at 172K miles).
Use your nose, too. For instance on a hot day I caught a whiff of anti-freeze odor from my 996 Turbo. Knowing this is a sign of a leak as soon as I got my dear mother home I dashed right back out and over to the nearby dealer, just a few miles from my house, and the tech put the car in teh air and found signs of a water pump leak. The water pump was quiet but bad nonetheless. Oh, the Turbo water pump had 120K miles on it.
The car gets 5K mile oil/filter services, the other services are done on miles. (Services like plugs, tranny/diff fluid changes, etc.) That 2 year brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed is very important so don't skip that.
Kind of goofy but over the miles/time the coolant cap will develop a leak. The sign is a lowering of the coolant level over time. To "test" the cap with the engine up to temperature and best if the radiator fans are running becuase the coolant is hot enough -- 212F -- turn off the engine and put a tent of foil over the fluid access bay under the rear trunk lid. After a few minutes check the foil tent. If any water condensation there's a leak and most likely it is the cap. Or if the cap part # doesn't end in "02" or "04" just replace the cap with a new one. When the engine is cold!
The coolant tank will eventualy develop a split along its bottom most likely. You can "test" the tank -- and the entire cooling system -- but driving the car around town until teh engine is fully warmed up. In your driveway then raise engine RPMs to 1K or thereabouts and hold until the engine coolant temperature gets hot enought to trigger the radiator fans to come on. Turn off the engine. Wait. As the engine heat soaks the coolant and raises its temperature and pressure any cooling system leak will make itself known. In my car's case the coolant tank gushed hot coolant out onto the ground. After letting the car sit overnight I added around a gallon of distilled water to the tank and started the engine with no signs of any leaks and drove a couple of miles to the dealer. The tank remained coolant tight the whole time. A "hot pressure" test is the best way to check the cooling system's integrity.
The oil filler tube cap lasts around 150K miles. It leaks air and can cause a fueling related error to be logged with the CEL coming on. I'm on my 2nd oil filler tube cap.
I manage around 80K to 100K or so miles per AOS. My car's on its 3rd repalcement AOS.
Fuel pump life varies from car to car -- as does water pump life, etc. -- but the fuel pump in my Boxster lasted around 200K miles. Got in the car one morning and started the engine as I've done a zillion times before. Backed the car up and the engine just died. Tried to start it again but after a couple of cranks it was clear the engine wasn't going to fire/run. Checked fuel pump fuse and it was ok. Borrowed a test/bypass relay from the Porsche tech and the relay was not the problem. Flat bedded the car in and the tech confirmed the fuel pump was dead.
Keep the radiator ducts free of trash. Be sure the body water drains are clear of trash too. I avoid parking under trees/plants that shed plant trash.
I run 17" wheels/tires and get easy 20K miles from the rear tires and double that from the fronts. No snow/ice where I live/drive so I don't have to worry about that. We do get a bit of rain -- when not in the middle of a muti-year drought -- but I slow down when it is wet out. Even with new tires these cars are a bit skittish in the wet and a bit less speed and more margin is called for.
The car has been quite reliable and running/maintenance costs have been reasonable (more so than with my Turbo).
Keep up on things, services, and pay attention to the car. For instance I heard a new noise one AM after starting the car. Knowing from my experience noises are from the engine trying to tell me something I dug into this and id'd the noise coming from an accessory drive.
A check of accessory drive play found the water pump with some play, not much, but more than the other drives which essentially had no play.
I flat bedded the car the 20 miles or so to the (then) nearest dealer (OPC) and had the water pump, T-stat replaced. (This was at 172K miles).
Use your nose, too. For instance on a hot day I caught a whiff of anti-freeze odor from my 996 Turbo. Knowing this is a sign of a leak as soon as I got my dear mother home I dashed right back out and over to the nearby dealer, just a few miles from my house, and the tech put the car in teh air and found signs of a water pump leak. The water pump was quiet but bad nonetheless. Oh, the Turbo water pump had 120K miles on it.
The car gets 5K mile oil/filter services, the other services are done on miles. (Services like plugs, tranny/diff fluid changes, etc.) That 2 year brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed is very important so don't skip that.
Kind of goofy but over the miles/time the coolant cap will develop a leak. The sign is a lowering of the coolant level over time. To "test" the cap with the engine up to temperature and best if the radiator fans are running becuase the coolant is hot enough -- 212F -- turn off the engine and put a tent of foil over the fluid access bay under the rear trunk lid. After a few minutes check the foil tent. If any water condensation there's a leak and most likely it is the cap. Or if the cap part # doesn't end in "02" or "04" just replace the cap with a new one. When the engine is cold!
The coolant tank will eventualy develop a split along its bottom most likely. You can "test" the tank -- and the entire cooling system -- but driving the car around town until teh engine is fully warmed up. In your driveway then raise engine RPMs to 1K or thereabouts and hold until the engine coolant temperature gets hot enought to trigger the radiator fans to come on. Turn off the engine. Wait. As the engine heat soaks the coolant and raises its temperature and pressure any cooling system leak will make itself known. In my car's case the coolant tank gushed hot coolant out onto the ground. After letting the car sit overnight I added around a gallon of distilled water to the tank and started the engine with no signs of any leaks and drove a couple of miles to the dealer. The tank remained coolant tight the whole time. A "hot pressure" test is the best way to check the cooling system's integrity.
The oil filler tube cap lasts around 150K miles. It leaks air and can cause a fueling related error to be logged with the CEL coming on. I'm on my 2nd oil filler tube cap.
I manage around 80K to 100K or so miles per AOS. My car's on its 3rd repalcement AOS.
Fuel pump life varies from car to car -- as does water pump life, etc. -- but the fuel pump in my Boxster lasted around 200K miles. Got in the car one morning and started the engine as I've done a zillion times before. Backed the car up and the engine just died. Tried to start it again but after a couple of cranks it was clear the engine wasn't going to fire/run. Checked fuel pump fuse and it was ok. Borrowed a test/bypass relay from the Porsche tech and the relay was not the problem. Flat bedded the car in and the tech confirmed the fuel pump was dead.
Keep the radiator ducts free of trash. Be sure the body water drains are clear of trash too. I avoid parking under trees/plants that shed plant trash.
I run 17" wheels/tires and get easy 20K miles from the rear tires and double that from the fronts. No snow/ice where I live/drive so I don't have to worry about that. We do get a bit of rain -- when not in the middle of a muti-year drought -- but I slow down when it is wet out. Even with new tires these cars are a bit skittish in the wet and a bit less speed and more margin is called for.
Many thanks to all that have contributed to this, as long as don’t buy a lemon and check properly I feel reassured!
So to recap, earlier models are the ones to go for…2.5 or 2.7 post mid-2000.
Re steering wheels, I’ve seen 3 spoke (nice) vs an older looking 4 spoke – Was this an option? Or something to do with model years? I only ask as I’ve seen very early ones with the nicer 3 spoke… could be a retrofit?
Any advice on what to look for spec wise? They all seem pretty good, would likely replace the head unit for a b/tooth one at some point. Any must haves from current boxster owners?
Final question for the day…
Anyway to tell if the engine is dual row IMS or single?
I’m on holiday the next couple of weeks, so research will continue – I shall keep this thread updated.
Thanks again.
So to recap, earlier models are the ones to go for…2.5 or 2.7 post mid-2000.
Re steering wheels, I’ve seen 3 spoke (nice) vs an older looking 4 spoke – Was this an option? Or something to do with model years? I only ask as I’ve seen very early ones with the nicer 3 spoke… could be a retrofit?
Any advice on what to look for spec wise? They all seem pretty good, would likely replace the head unit for a b/tooth one at some point. Any must haves from current boxster owners?
Final question for the day…
Anyway to tell if the engine is dual row IMS or single?
I’m on holiday the next couple of weeks, so research will continue – I shall keep this thread updated.
Thanks again.
Joe.. said:
Many thanks to all that have contributed to this, as long as don’t buy a lemon and check properly I feel reassured!
So to recap, earlier models are the ones to go for…2.5 or 2.7 post mid-2000.
Re steering wheels, I’ve seen 3 spoke (nice) vs an older looking 4 spoke – Was this an option? Or something to do with model years? I only ask as I’ve seen very early ones with the nicer 3 spoke… could be a retrofit?
Any advice on what to look for spec wise? They all seem pretty good, would likely replace the head unit for a b/tooth one at some point. Any must haves from current boxster owners?
Final question for the day…
Anyway to tell if the engine is dual row IMS or single?
I’m on holiday the next couple of weeks, so research will continue – I shall keep this thread updated.
Thanks again.
Duel row is typically up to 2000MY. So to recap, earlier models are the ones to go for…2.5 or 2.7 post mid-2000.
Re steering wheels, I’ve seen 3 spoke (nice) vs an older looking 4 spoke – Was this an option? Or something to do with model years? I only ask as I’ve seen very early ones with the nicer 3 spoke… could be a retrofit?
Any advice on what to look for spec wise? They all seem pretty good, would likely replace the head unit for a b/tooth one at some point. Any must haves from current boxster owners?
Final question for the day…
Anyway to tell if the engine is dual row IMS or single?
I’m on holiday the next couple of weeks, so research will continue – I shall keep this thread updated.
Thanks again.
Spec wise full leather on dash and doors is a nicer place to be, AC if only for the demist ability, M030 unless it is really old and tired, I prefer the hardback sports seats over the regular ones but the GT3 ones are nicer still if you are more inclined but ultra rare, factory shortshift is nice but an easy retrofit, a full complement of wind deflectors but again you can still buy these, facelift cars get you some mild restyling, glassroof and glove box. 4 spoke wheel came on the early cars. I think the S got the 3 spoke as standard but it wa probably an option anyway and you can often buy them on ebay.
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