Are they really so unreliable ?
Discussion
I'm thinking about giving up my hunt for a Boxster. Was thinking a 2010/2011 987.2 3.4 - circa 30k miles but i'm concerned that the majority of owners and dealers think a warranty is a must. Do they really spend a lot of time getting repaired ? I've driven standard saloon cars for 30+ years and had 1 true breakdown in all those years. I realise a Porsche can't be compared to a vauxhall/ford/skoda/vw etc etc.
The Boxster would be a 2nd car, weekend toy, an itch scratched but i'm slowly being put off. Can you restore my faith ?
The Boxster would be a 2nd car, weekend toy, an itch scratched but i'm slowly being put off. Can you restore my faith ?
The 987 cars are quite expensive to maintain but if you're looking at a 987.2 then you shouldn't be particularly worried about catastrophic woes. Things are likely to wear out/need replacing from about 50,000 miles onwards. As well as wear & tear items like tyres and brakes, my 90,000 mile 987.1 has had a couple of new coil packs, new springs all round, new front adaptive dampers, water pump, steering rack, various other suspension components and a new exhaust including rear cats. At the risk of jinxing it, the engine remains fine!
Keep on top of this though and you'll continue to enjoy a lovely car. Mine still drives very sweetly and makes a great noise.
Keep on top of this though and you'll continue to enjoy a lovely car. Mine still drives very sweetly and makes a great noise.
As said, the 987.2 is a pretty safe bet - certainly compaired to the 987.1 anyway. They don't appear to be suffering from bore scoring and the IMS has been eliminated in that engine. You should treat things like radiators, air con condensors and brakes as consumables as all are prone to corrosion. Water pumps, air/oil separators and window regulators are also prone to failing around 5-7 years old.
This is the worst case scenario, however, and plenty of people run them with hardly any issues at all. If you want a 987 Boxster, then the Gen 2 is definately the one to go for.
This is the worst case scenario, however, and plenty of people run them with hardly any issues at all. If you want a 987 Boxster, then the Gen 2 is definately the one to go for.
Krobar said:
My understanding is that car would suffer from cylinder lining and IMS problems. If then engine has not been rebuild to fix this then expect it to break sooner or later. MAny more on here no far more than me.
You must be thinking of the 987.1 as the gen 2 appears not to be suffering from bore scoring and has no IMS at all.Krobar said:
My understanding is that car would suffer from cylinder lining and IMS problems. If then engine has not been rebuild to fix this then expect it to break sooner or later. MAny more on here no far more than me.
It's s
t like this what puts people off, the car the op is looking at has no issues ! Why post up crap without knowing any facts !
Strange how many people are put off buying cars by pistonheads which is meant to be a car lovers website.
People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
There really is a lot of nonsense on forumsabout reliability issues. Granted, some people have had horrendous problems but these are the exception rather than the rule. I have been driving Porsches for 30 years and NEVER had a serious issue - though admittedly, all have been week end cars and either new or at most 18 months old. If it wasn't for the advent of the internet, we probably wouldn't know about the limited issues that do occur - lets face it, the majority of owners do not contribute to these forums and those that do are often looking for help with a particular problem so you are gettig a skewed sample anyway.
Porsches are superbly engineered machines (in my biased opinion!) but like all machines need regular maintenance. Find a well maintained example - as others have said, buy carefully - and enjoy.
Porsches are superbly engineered machines (in my biased opinion!) but like all machines need regular maintenance. Find a well maintained example - as others have said, buy carefully - and enjoy.
WG said:
There really is a lot of nonsense on forumsabout reliability issues. Granted, some people have had horrendous problems but these are the exception rather than the rule. I have been driving Porsches for 30 years and NEVER had a serious issue - though admittedly, all have been week end cars and either new or at most 18 months old. If it wasn't for the advent of the internet, we probably wouldn't know about the limited issues that do occur - lets face it, the majority of owners do not contribute to these forums and those that do are often looking for help with a particular problem so you are gettig a skewed sample anyway.
Porsches are superbly engineered machines (in my biased opinion!) but like all machines need regular maintenance. Find a well maintained example - as others have said, buy carefully - and enjoy.
I typically keep mine 6-10 years and average about 10-12K per year so hopefully mine will be as well engineered as you say, I guess I will find out. I see what your saying about the amount of noise made over a "sample of 1 car".Porsches are superbly engineered machines (in my biased opinion!) but like all machines need regular maintenance. Find a well maintained example - as others have said, buy carefully - and enjoy.
Merc 450 said:
Strange how many people are put off buying cars by pistonheads which is meant to be a car lovers website.
People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
That's just over 1000 miles, you would hope any car could manage that without breaking down People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
From what I heard, (987.2)they are pretty reliable but some of the experts would give you better idea here in terms of year/engine 3.4 difference.
Every used car is different so it would be quite important to do your own research though (MOT histories, service histories, and most importantly check oil consumption and cooling system if there is any issue.) The only reality Porsche parts are quite expensive and having a mid-engine does not help with the labour costs either, so whatever you buy, it's good to keep some savings for any future repair to be safe.
Every used car is different so it would be quite important to do your own research though (MOT histories, service histories, and most importantly check oil consumption and cooling system if there is any issue.) The only reality Porsche parts are quite expensive and having a mid-engine does not help with the labour costs either, so whatever you buy, it's good to keep some savings for any future repair to be safe.
Monkeylegend said:
Merc 450 said:
Strange how many people are put off buying cars by pistonheads which is meant to be a car lovers website.
People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
That's just over 1000 miles, you would hope any car could manage that without breaking down People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
Merc 450 said:
Monkeylegend said:
Merc 450 said:
Strange how many people are put off buying cars by pistonheads which is meant to be a car lovers website.
People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
That's just over 1000 miles, you would hope any car could manage that without breaking down People tried to talk me out of having a Cerbera as an only car, i ran it as an only car for seven months (november to june) 5 miles a day and it never let me down once. If you really want something dont let anyone put you off, you only live once
Having said re breakdowns my Griff refused to start after only a few miles of ownership and had to be recovered back to Kerridges. Good old 100 amp relay in the footwell complete with water, TVR knew how to make unreliable cars
Loads of Griffs went through hedges backwards.
Edited to add the Porsche boys won't like us talking about TVR's here
If you go for a Gen1 the question is only how lucky you feel ... there is no pattern to failures but the OPC warranty is another option.
Gen 2 is a completely different kettle of fish and I'm not aware of any Gen2 issues.
Also if you buy a PDK it must be Gen 2 because the PDK option arrived at the same time
Gen 2 is a completely different kettle of fish and I'm not aware of any Gen2 issues.
Also if you buy a PDK it must be Gen 2 because the PDK option arrived at the same time
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