RE: Porsche Classic Boxster S (986) | Driven
Discussion
£30k ! , for me this is cheap for what is basically a brand new 986.
The milage means nothing given the work carried out and better looking than the 987.
I wouldn't have put black wheels on for one (Yuk) and two I would have fitted a Turbo like they nearly did with the 2.7 a few years ago, then it would really be worth having.
A missed opportunity Mr Porsche.
The milage means nothing given the work carried out and better looking than the 987.
I wouldn't have put black wheels on for one (Yuk) and two I would have fitted a Turbo like they nearly did with the 2.7 a few years ago, then it would really be worth having.
A missed opportunity Mr Porsche.
Those thinking they can pick up a good Boxster for under £5k need to think again.
We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
Edited by A1VDY on Friday 9th October 19:19
A1VDY said:
Those thinking they can pick up a good Boxster for under £5k need to think again.
We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
This is absolutely true.We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
Edited by A1VDY on Friday 9th October 19:19
I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
g7jhp said:
Nice looking 986 S with 35k miles for 11k here.
ie the shiny paint tells you nothing, as usual...
So that's circa £19k cheaper which will pay for alot of coffin arms etc.
It will, but I think A1VDY’s point stands. There are 986’s and then there are 986’s.ie the shiny paint tells you nothing, as usual...
So that's circa £19k cheaper which will pay for alot of coffin arms etc.
This is my car when I got it - 2 owners, Porsche “history” - ie they changed the oil and stamped the book - but the car meanwhile had 20 years of grime that had never been steamed or jetted off - hence it was knackered:
Same photo now:
i love the idea of older (lighter, smaller) sports cars being completely refreshed and enjoyed. modern enough to be safe but analogue and involving at the same time.
whether it's this car or not i don't know, but there are some gems out there compared to bloaty moderns and 30k is great for well restored car. reality is there's no such thing as a (properly working) 5k Porsche.
I think we'll see more of this type of car for sunday enthusiasts.
whether it's this car or not i don't know, but there are some gems out there compared to bloaty moderns and 30k is great for well restored car. reality is there's no such thing as a (properly working) 5k Porsche.
I think we'll see more of this type of car for sunday enthusiasts.
Julian Thompson said:
A1VDY said:
Those thinking they can pick up a good Boxster for under £5k need to think again.
We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
This is absolutely true.We took one as a trade in around 10montbs ago and used it ourselves for a month or so, it was a 3.2S.
New coffin arms front and rear, water pipes, radiator, air con condensors, axillary belt, water pump and coil packs later turned a cheap trade in into an expensive one.
These are not cars you can pick up on the cheap without additional costs to put things right.
We sold it with 3 months warranty and within that time also had to replace the steering rack..
Edited by A1VDY on Friday 9th October 19:19
I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
Like minded with the underside, my 23k mile Cayman has never been used in the wet but after I bought it earlier this year removed all four wheels and detailed the underside. Nothing looks nicer on these than spotless calipers, discs and wheel inners especially with wider spoked alloys.
I agree with the IMS issue. There are various conversions and the one I also like is the LN product whereby an open bearing is used with an oil pressure feed taken off the filter housing (modified unit).
Expensive though as once the box is out you may as well replace the clutch and flywheel and the RMS as well.
I think with regular oil and filter changes (every 5k miles) as opposed to Porsches recommendation of 20k miles this will far extend its life..
I was wowed by the 1993 boxster concept car, so much so that I put a deposit on one. A very long time later when the pictures of the production version appeared i got my money back. While on the face of it, it wasn't wildly different, it just lost all of its appeal.
I saw an early one today in a particularly unflattering colour, and it hasn't aged well.
I saw an early one today in a particularly unflattering colour, and it hasn't aged well.
£30K for an elderly Boxster, you’d need to be quite mad. The first one I drove was an S, felt quite refined but not especially exciting. I’d take a 996 and add some fresh suspension for a proper Porsche experience, it would likely work out cheaper as well, what with that era of Porsche being built very much to a price and nothing like the quality which gave them their reputation as a daily driving sports car. Expensive to keep on the road and so many knackered examples out there. Non S more sensible but really not a quick car.
Julian Thompson said:
This is absolutely true.
I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
Nice work. I have a 986S which needs quite a few little bits and pieces to get it up to scratch but it's definitely not a bad base to start with. Do you have a thread or anything for this?I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
I'm just going to do mine bit by bit. Started to work out how much it should all cost and it really is quite a bit at the end!
ddom said:
£30K for an elderly Boxster, you’d need to be quite mad. The first one I drove was an S, felt quite refined but not especially exciting. I’d take a 996 and add some fresh suspension for a proper Porsche experience, it would likely work out cheaper as well, what with that era of Porsche being built very much to a price and nothing like the quality which gave them their reputation as a daily driving sports car. Expensive to keep on the road and so many knackered examples out there. Non S more sensible but really not a quick car.
Certifiable in fact. The 987 is better in every way. I can understand why a 993 Porsche might be worth more than a 996 but as a general rule (in case someone wants to use an undriven 986 3.2S vs a 250,000 mile cat d 987) 986 boxster worth more than a 987? Never. Perfectly understandable why 986 owners and dealers will want to talk prices up but it's hot air.Jimmy Recard said:
Julian Thompson said:
This is absolutely true.
I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
Nice work. I have a 986S which needs quite a few little bits and pieces to get it up to scratch but it's definitely not a bad base to start with. Do you have a thread or anything for this?I bought my 986s with just 25000 miles on the clock about three years ago for £6500. I will admit that I’m incredibly fussy and that you could have done it for less but I spent about another £6500 on it making it perfect, plus a good hundred hours in the workshop. (There is a readers cars thread about that - as there are many 986s threads)
Since then I’ve done Le Mans twice in it, 155mph down there autobahn and lots of local blasts plus now about three track days this year too. It’s been absolutely incredible and continues to be a firm favourite.
One thing I would say is that my car has now done 31000 miles and certainly this year has had the wheels driven off it - zero engine issues, zero grief.
Get or make a really good 986s and understand that there is an outside - but present - risk of “the dreaded issue” and you can bag yourself an incredible car for the price of something very mundane.
For example mine owes me what - about £13k - the price of a pretty basic car - and yet I have a 260+hp rear drive six cylinder Porsche that’s super reliable and phenomenal fun.
My resolve is that if it breaks terminally I will put a 996 motor in it.
Personally I don’t agree with stripping a working and fully healthy 986s to install an IMS “solution” because a) its very expensive and b) nobody can absolutely agree on the very best solution. I have seen one I like that adds additional lubrication to an - uprated - bearing but you’re spending £1500 or so plus a good few hours on the ramp to fix the issue. We are dealing with 20 year old cars here and there are enough other things that “might” go wrong but in my opinion some of the IMS “fixes” seem to be a case of “fixing it till it’s broke”!
Here are some of my favourite pics of mine:
I'm just going to do mine bit by bit. Started to work out how much it should all cost and it really is quite a bit at the end!
Apart from the engine/box there's nothing particularly complicated about the Boxster or Cayman..
Taylor James said:
Certifiable in fact. The 987 is better in every way. I can understand why a 993 Porsche might be worth more than a 996 but as a general rule (in case someone wants to use an undriven 986 3.2S vs a 250,000 mile cat d 987) 986 boxster worth more than a 987? Never. Perfectly understandable why 986 owners and dealers will want to talk prices up but it's hot air.
I'm not sure I'm with you. I find the 986 much, much better looking for a start.I just don't quite get on with 911s and Boxsters that have anything other than 996/986 lights
Sure do:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There are lots of people who have done 986 threads too - worth a search.
As mentioned the car is easy to work on (although I do have ramps in the garage which makes a big difference.) Some of the hard brake lines are a bit of a pig to to as the rear one goes over the motor/box area, ditto the ones that run forwards into the front left wing. Finally worth a mention those damned stoopid plasticine manifold bolts. I changed mine to stainless bolts when I fitted the decent manifolds but if I was doing it again (I might) then I’d prefer some studs and some binks nuts. I just had the stainless bolts to hand at the time.
Other than that (I’ve not done a steering rack but looks like the subframe/tank has to move?) it’s a piece of cake.
I also don’t think it’s fair to say that the boxster build quality wasn’t good. Sure, I accept that it wasn’t 968/964/993 good but then what is, dated from around 2000? When you work on a 986 it really could be a 996 from the cabin forwards - it’s almost identical - and the back feels pretty darned similar save for the engine/box rotation! Certainly, working on the boxster makes me see either how expensive the 996 was/is or, how stupidly cheap the 986 was/is for what is almost the same darned car!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There are lots of people who have done 986 threads too - worth a search.
As mentioned the car is easy to work on (although I do have ramps in the garage which makes a big difference.) Some of the hard brake lines are a bit of a pig to to as the rear one goes over the motor/box area, ditto the ones that run forwards into the front left wing. Finally worth a mention those damned stoopid plasticine manifold bolts. I changed mine to stainless bolts when I fitted the decent manifolds but if I was doing it again (I might) then I’d prefer some studs and some binks nuts. I just had the stainless bolts to hand at the time.
Other than that (I’ve not done a steering rack but looks like the subframe/tank has to move?) it’s a piece of cake.
I also don’t think it’s fair to say that the boxster build quality wasn’t good. Sure, I accept that it wasn’t 968/964/993 good but then what is, dated from around 2000? When you work on a 986 it really could be a 996 from the cabin forwards - it’s almost identical - and the back feels pretty darned similar save for the engine/box rotation! Certainly, working on the boxster makes me see either how expensive the 996 was/is or, how stupidly cheap the 986 was/is for what is almost the same darned car!
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