New 987 S questions
Discussion
Hi all, I'm new to Porsche ownership and new to this forum, so please excuse any stupid questions...
I've recently purchased my first Porsche, a gen 2 987 Boxster S, after going through a couple of E46 M3s, a TVR Chimaera and a 350Z cab amongst others in the last few years.
My first observation was how 'complete' the Porsche feels. It's obviously as sporty a drive as anything else, but it doesn't give away amything in terms of ride, quality or general class that my previous cars lacked in. The car's pretty well specced(heated sports seats, info pack, comfort pack, turbo 2 wheels) being an ex demo; the only thing I really wanted that it lacks was PSE.
Anyway, now the honeymoon period is over, I've started to notice a few things. The roof creaks a bit when driving over slightly rough pieces of road, nothing bad, but it sounds like the mechanism has dried out a bit. Also, it tends to smell quite hot after a spirited drive, not clutch or brakes, just like the engine is running hot. I noticed this on a trackday in a mates 997 as well, but it happens in my car after much less enthusiastic driving. Finally the gearbox(manual) is very stiff going into 1st and 2nd when cold, it smooths out when up to temp but is still sometimes not as slick as I'd expect.
I know as an ex demo it may have had a hard start to life, but as it is only 9 months old and was sourced from an OPC I would like to follow these potential issues up if they are indeed an issue.
Sorry for the rambling post, if anyone has any experience with any f the above any help would be much appreciated.
I've recently purchased my first Porsche, a gen 2 987 Boxster S, after going through a couple of E46 M3s, a TVR Chimaera and a 350Z cab amongst others in the last few years.
My first observation was how 'complete' the Porsche feels. It's obviously as sporty a drive as anything else, but it doesn't give away amything in terms of ride, quality or general class that my previous cars lacked in. The car's pretty well specced(heated sports seats, info pack, comfort pack, turbo 2 wheels) being an ex demo; the only thing I really wanted that it lacks was PSE.
Anyway, now the honeymoon period is over, I've started to notice a few things. The roof creaks a bit when driving over slightly rough pieces of road, nothing bad, but it sounds like the mechanism has dried out a bit. Also, it tends to smell quite hot after a spirited drive, not clutch or brakes, just like the engine is running hot. I noticed this on a trackday in a mates 997 as well, but it happens in my car after much less enthusiastic driving. Finally the gearbox(manual) is very stiff going into 1st and 2nd when cold, it smooths out when up to temp but is still sometimes not as slick as I'd expect.
I know as an ex demo it may have had a hard start to life, but as it is only 9 months old and was sourced from an OPC I would like to follow these potential issues up if they are indeed an issue.
Sorry for the rambling post, if anyone has any experience with any f the above any help would be much appreciated.
I can't help you with the creaking roof as I've got a Cayman 
Don't worry about the hot engine smell as they're all like that and especially when driven to enjoy. Your stiff gear change may be down to the cables requiring adjustment - probably best to get the dealer you purchased it from to have a look.
Don't worry about the hot engine smell as they're all like that and especially when driven to enjoy. Your stiff gear change may be down to the cables requiring adjustment - probably best to get the dealer you purchased it from to have a look.
Hi, You mention car is ex-demo Gen II so am assuming well within factory warranty. For your own piece of mind I would get it checked for all 3 things but, experience would suggest:
- As Trev says, the warm engine smell (smells a bit like burnt oil to me) is very normal. Both my current and previous Boxsters do this.
- My roof doesn't creak but I get a small amount of buzz from the passenger side. I think the roof is one area where every car will be a bit different. If you get the OPC to check it they will probably say it is fine (as they did to me) but no harm checking.
- The gear s
t point is perhaps more unusual and I wouuld get that checked.
My current Boxster was also ex-demo and I got it checked about a month into ownership because the gear shift seemed just a touch more slack left-right when in gear than my previous one and I had similar thoughts about test drive history but was told it was OK. As these checks get recorded when you take it in I always think (hope!) it is some form of insurance in the event that something did go wrong with the gearbox (or whatever you're having checked) six months down the line ie you had flagged it to them already.
Enjoy it..
- As Trev says, the warm engine smell (smells a bit like burnt oil to me) is very normal. Both my current and previous Boxsters do this.
- My roof doesn't creak but I get a small amount of buzz from the passenger side. I think the roof is one area where every car will be a bit different. If you get the OPC to check it they will probably say it is fine (as they did to me) but no harm checking.
- The gear s
t point is perhaps more unusual and I wouuld get that checked.My current Boxster was also ex-demo and I got it checked about a month into ownership because the gear shift seemed just a touch more slack left-right when in gear than my previous one and I had similar thoughts about test drive history but was told it was OK. As these checks get recorded when you take it in I always think (hope!) it is some form of insurance in the event that something did go wrong with the gearbox (or whatever you're having checked) six months down the line ie you had flagged it to them already.
Enjoy it..
For what it's worth my Gen 1 Cayman is also occasionally stiff going into 1st/2nd when cold. I believe I read somewhere that this is not unusual. It doesn't always happen so it's not much of an annoyance. If it became more regular I would get it checked out if it's still under warranty.
Is the box a short-shift unit? They tend to be a bit stiff when cold in my experience (on my Cayman). My Box didn't have it, and that was somewhat easier even when cold than the Cayman.
As above the engine smell is totally normal - don't worry.
Roof I can't help with - my (at the time) two year old car, made no noise at all as far as I recall.
As above the engine smell is totally normal - don't worry.
Roof I can't help with - my (at the time) two year old car, made no noise at all as far as I recall.
Cheers guys, thanks for the help. I'm sure most of it is just me being a bit obsessive, but as mentioned I may as well get it checked out whilst it's under warranty. On the plus side, spent most of the new year period blasting around West Sussex with the roof off enjoying the empty(although filthy!) roads.
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