Porsche Boxster - Tell me what I need to know before buying
Discussion
Turbodiesel1690 said:
PHmember said:
Turbodiesel1690 said:
Poor mans 911
Coming from the man driving the 12 year old Vectra with 190k on the clock. That's like the poor man's public transport. PHmember said:
Turbodiesel1690 said:
PHmember said:
Turbodiesel1690 said:
Poor mans 911
Coming from the man driving the 12 year old Vectra with 190k on the clock. That's like the poor man's public transport. 
boredofmyoldname said:
PHmember said:
Turbodiesel1690 said:
PHmember said:
Turbodiesel1690 said:
Poor mans 911
Coming from the man driving the 12 year old Vectra with 190k on the clock. That's like the poor man's public transport. 
Yes, going on holiday anywhere nice this year?I've got a 2001 986 S with 70k on it. bought it just over a year ago with 55k on it for 10k, since then i've spent not far off 3k on it including 4 new tyres (about £700), refurb of sport design wheels (£365) 6 new coil packs (£320) 48k service inc poly rib belt, sparks, various fluids (about £550) all 4 CV boot (about £350 i think), front disks and pads (£350) and i'm sure there's some other stuff. I probably didn't need to spend quite as much as i did but i want the car to be right. saying that though, i'm still not totally happy with it and need to get some stone chips sorted plus it has developed the common fault where unless you a firm with putting it into second it occasionally pops out
mine averages about 24mpg
they're not cheap to run and if you're total budget is 9k i'd forget it as i'm sure you'll need to stump up a few k in the first year for the car to be spot on, you might not but if you do and haven't budgeted for it you'll end up hating the car
glad i bought mine and have no intention of getting rid of it in the next few years
mine averages about 24mpg
they're not cheap to run and if you're total budget is 9k i'd forget it as i'm sure you'll need to stump up a few k in the first year for the car to be spot on, you might not but if you do and haven't budgeted for it you'll end up hating the car
glad i bought mine and have no intention of getting rid of it in the next few years
Have run a 2000 986S for about 5 years now...
Ignore the poor mans 911 nonsense, they are cracking cars and as with all things will have issues, especially at about the 10/11 year old range.
RMS is an issue, but at that age if it's gone it would have either gone in style (big bills) or be weeping very slightly and not worth doing until the clutch burns out.
Check to make sure the car runs smoothly on a light throttle in either 1st or 2nd. If it's a little juddery or hesitant it could point to coil packs, air mass or a dirty throttle body. Also check for hunting 700-1000rpm when it's idle, another sign of ignition issues.
Once the car is warmed up and has been on a run, press down over the front wheels and listen for a loud creaking. If you hear this, it's the control arms(I think) that will need replacing.
Check around the plastic screen to make sure the point where it folds the stitching is solid.
If the car starts from cold with a puff ofwhite blue smoke, don't worry too much, it's down to how the oil sits in the engine and will get burnt off on start up. If it carries on after the initial few seconds start to ask questions.
Look for a good gapless service history and check the brake fluid is changed on time (it's on the page after the service stamps). Also, if you are near a good indy, take it to them to look over it for you.
You will get mid 20s in terms of MPG.
Drop me a PM if you need anything else, I've been through a lot of what these cars can throw at you!!
ETA: Changed white to blue
Ignore the poor mans 911 nonsense, they are cracking cars and as with all things will have issues, especially at about the 10/11 year old range.
RMS is an issue, but at that age if it's gone it would have either gone in style (big bills) or be weeping very slightly and not worth doing until the clutch burns out.
Check to make sure the car runs smoothly on a light throttle in either 1st or 2nd. If it's a little juddery or hesitant it could point to coil packs, air mass or a dirty throttle body. Also check for hunting 700-1000rpm when it's idle, another sign of ignition issues.
Once the car is warmed up and has been on a run, press down over the front wheels and listen for a loud creaking. If you hear this, it's the control arms(I think) that will need replacing.
Check around the plastic screen to make sure the point where it folds the stitching is solid.
If the car starts from cold with a puff of
Look for a good gapless service history and check the brake fluid is changed on time (it's on the page after the service stamps). Also, if you are near a good indy, take it to them to look over it for you.
You will get mid 20s in terms of MPG.
Drop me a PM if you need anything else, I've been through a lot of what these cars can throw at you!!
ETA: Changed white to blue
Edited by theboyfold on Tuesday 18th January 10:45
Since you have some months to prepare I'd suggest starting to read the Porsche section of PH for Boxster-related data. Also make frequent visits to the classifieds to ensure you get familiar with any cars that stick rather than sell.
Some of the failures are quite rare, and yet financially deadly. Look at warranty options. Don't discount the higher mileage cars as they be less risky, for the IMS problem for example.
Look at Hartech's website for buyer's guide and also the GT Porsche site.
Consider subscribing to some kind of Pork magazine.
Find a suitable Indie to look after the car and maybe start a dialogue with then when you are getting ready to buy. They may know of cars before they hit the market.
Some of the failures are quite rare, and yet financially deadly. Look at warranty options. Don't discount the higher mileage cars as they be less risky, for the IMS problem for example.
Look at Hartech's website for buyer's guide and also the GT Porsche site.
Consider subscribing to some kind of Pork magazine.
Find a suitable Indie to look after the car and maybe start a dialogue with then when you are getting ready to buy. They may know of cars before they hit the market.
A little over budget (and nowhere near Southampton) but http://www.hartech.org/cars/car2/info.html
As has been said, RMS can be expensive purely because of the labout involved to take the engine out & replace the seal. However, if you do it when you get the clutch replaced, it is about a £20 job. A slight weap on the RMS is nothing to worry about - just keep an eye on it.
The old plastic windows (up to about 52 plate) were a PITA, as you had to do the "Boxster Chop" when folding the roof down. If you can stretch to a later 52 plate +, they have a glass rear window which is miles better (I did see somewhere that you can get a replacement hood with a glass window for the older Box's.
There isn't a huge amount of difference between then earlier 986's and the later. The slightly later ones may have a bit more grunt. The main aesthestic differences are:
I notice that you are in the South, OP. I would highly recommend Northway Porsche just outside Thatcham on the A4 for independent servicing. Ray knows everything there is to know about Porsche & then some. He often has cars for sales as well. His website, I think, is www.northway.co.uk (if not, Google will be your friend)
The old plastic windows (up to about 52 plate) were a PITA, as you had to do the "Boxster Chop" when folding the roof down. If you can stretch to a later 52 plate +, they have a glass rear window which is miles better (I did see somewhere that you can get a replacement hood with a glass window for the older Box's.
There isn't a huge amount of difference between then earlier 986's and the later. The slightly later ones may have a bit more grunt. The main aesthestic differences are:
- no glove box in the older model
- plastic rear window
- slightly revised & updated styling on the post 2002 cars
- PCM1 was a bit s
t. The later PCM2 navigation on the post 2002 cars was a lot better
I notice that you are in the South, OP. I would highly recommend Northway Porsche just outside Thatcham on the A4 for independent servicing. Ray knows everything there is to know about Porsche & then some. He often has cars for sales as well. His website, I think, is www.northway.co.uk (if not, Google will be your friend)
Edited by schmalex on Tuesday 18th January 10:48
Davie_GLA said:
I can't really comment on owning one or buying one but I'll tell you that on Sunday afternoon I seen one coast to the hard shoulder in a plume of blue smoke. Presumably the aforementioned complete engine failure or seals have failed.
One eh? That's it. OP. Buy something else!!!!wca said:
Any recommendations for Porsche Specialists in/near Southampton?
In Southampton: http://www.brookspeed.com/In Bournemouth: http://www.jmgarage.com/
Both have had good feedback in the past on PH.
wca said:
9K isn't my total budget, I also run a Merc CL600 AMG so I know to leave some spare cash for vicious running costs. Thanks for sharing the real world costs though, always a bit of an unknown.
ah right, in that case you'll be fine as i doubt it'll cost more than that to run. general consensus is that if they haven't blown up by 50k then they'll be fine, i wouldn't worry about RMS, it may weep slightly but that's not a problem and if you change it when getting the clutch done it'll only cost an additional £20Have a look at the Buyers Guide on the Hartech website. Part 4 deals specifically with the potential engine issues.
http://www.hartech.org/buyers.html
http://www.hartech.org/buyers.html
I have a friend who has owned various Porsches so I've had a few weekends of use in each of them.
IMO, the Boxster 3.2S was far more fun than the 911 Carrera, the engine sounded sweeter, it seemed more balanced and poised, the driving position was wonderfully snug, and of course the top goes down, so you can hear the engine note better.
As for the Boxster being a poor man's 911, one is a mid engine roadster, the other is a rear engine coupe (I know they do an ugly pram of a convertible), they are completely different cars - not like a Vauxhall Vectra, essentially a very poor man's SAAB
IMO, the Boxster 3.2S was far more fun than the 911 Carrera, the engine sounded sweeter, it seemed more balanced and poised, the driving position was wonderfully snug, and of course the top goes down, so you can hear the engine note better.
As for the Boxster being a poor man's 911, one is a mid engine roadster, the other is a rear engine coupe (I know they do an ugly pram of a convertible), they are completely different cars - not like a Vauxhall Vectra, essentially a very poor man's SAAB
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