987 and brake pad replacement

[dkt]

Hi folks,

I've been on the search for a boxster lately and have found a 987 that looks to be in great condition and well maintained. I have a couple of concerns however. The previous owner has obviously taken good care of the car, including keeping all relevant receipts. However that has shown that he replaced the brake disks and pads (front and rear) at 20,000 miles, and then the fronts again at 40,000 (it's now done almost 60k and has had 3 services). This seems rather excessive to me and made me wonder if it's been tracked or driven very hard. That said I saw no mention of clutch replacement, and as far as I could see it's only gone through 2 sets of tyres (receipts may be missing of course).

Does anyone have any experience here on the typical lifetime of pads and disks on 987s? I like the car but I'm nervous of buying it to find I've got a very hard driven example that will shortly need further maintenance...

Cheers,

dkt

[Magic919]

Probably just rusty.

[MogulBoy]

Brake discs on modern Porsches do seem to suffer from corrosion which ultimately leads to the need to replace them even if they are not worn out. There are rather too many reports of garages being quick to suggest replacing them (kerching!) when a good hard drive might clean them up but if they get too bad, replacement is the way forward but it's actually quite easy to tackle this on a DIY basis if you are at all handy and worthwhile economies can be made.

If you drive the car regularly (and have a dry garage) there should be little chance that corrosion will be an issue for you. If you keep it/ wash it on your driveway (with cold brakes) you may have more problems. Be careful when inspecting a/your car as the worst of the corrosion may be on the inner surface - easy to check with your fingers when the discs are cold!

Edited by MogulBoy on Saturday 21st January 08:48

[MrC986]

It will also depend on where it has been serviced & how much the previous owner has been taken in by the condition reports that get produced. I have seen brake disc corrosion cited on service reports & it is in part due to repetitively washing a car & putting it straight in the garage for a few weeks without drying. the discs off - the inner faces corrode & longer term if you don't use the car much can also cause the vented sections to rust badly if you don't dry the discs off properly. Discs seem to be more consummable these days as well

[dkt]

Thanks guys. Useful info. What's the sort of lifetime I might typically expect from discs and pads then assuming I avoid rusting caused by washing and don't get taken in by dealers suggesting I replace too soon?

[nickfrog]

My fronts discs lasted 50,000 miles and were replaced through being too thin rather than corroded as I run them after every wash and give then a regular good work out. No reeason why they wouldn't last as long as that. Rear might even last a bit longer on the same proviso. Very cheap to replace through a carefully selected indy anyway.

I agree that it's one of OPC's cash cow.

[dkt]

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated. I took the plunge and went for the car in question so all being well I'll be joining the ranks of Porsche ownership in a few days .