2005 Boxster refresh options Swindon Cheltenham area.

[DippedHeadlights]

A friend has had a 55 plate Boxster (think 987 but might be 986) almost since new.
It's not used much, miles around 30K overall excellent condition. It's the non turbo.
Now he is a bit of a new car bloke and thinks he should replace it "because it's old".
I'm trying to convince him to keep it, he admits he and his wife enjoy driving it, it is big enough but not too big, and it always starts and works after being sat sometimes for months, has been 100% reliable. These are things I think he might well loose in something newer !
Also, I guess it's at the bottom of it's depreciation curve now - another reason to keep it.
Main thing that annoys him are some of the control buttons are "manky". I've seen that on similar age Mercs, like a lacquer peel and they go sticky, is there a fix ?
Also any recommendations for a specialist ? Ideally Cheltenham side of Swindon ? I think if he has it properly serviced and setup and maybe a good going over and little jobs sorted by an indie specialist then this nonsense about selling it will be forgotten !
DH

[andy-ski]

It’s got to be Lee at Cotswold Porsche Specialists for setting up and service, but the sticky buttons you can sort yourself, there are how to’s on boxa.net and some people selling replacement stickers.

[m444ttb]

I about to use Neil Garner Performance in Kemble to service and fit an exhaust on my 996 C4. They've been recommended on here for Porsche a few times and have a very strong rep in TVR circles from what I can see.

[Heaveho]

DippedHeadlights said:

A friend has had a 55 plate Boxster (think 987 but might be 986) almost since new.
It's not used much, miles around 30K overall excellent condition. It's the non turbo.
Now he is a bit of a new car bloke and thinks he should replace it "because it's old".
I'm trying to convince him to keep it, he admits he and his wife enjoy driving it, it is big enough but not too big, and it always starts and works after being sat sometimes for months, has been 100% reliable. These are things I think he might well loose in something newer !
Also, I guess it's at the bottom of it's depreciation curve now - another reason to keep it.
Main thing that annoys him are some of the control buttons are "manky". I've seen that on similar age Mercs, like a lacquer peel and they go sticky, is there a fix ?
Also any recommendations for a specialist ? Ideally Cheltenham side of Swindon ? I think if he has it properly serviced and setup and maybe a good going over and little jobs sorted by an indie specialist then this nonsense about selling it will be forgotten !
DH

It's a 987 on that reg, and it won't be a turbo because none of them have them.

If it's a 3.4 he might be better off selling it while it's still running ok, as they're arguably the ones most likely to have engine problems, a 3.2 or a 2.7 tend to be a safer long term prospect mileage wise. I think someone already mentioned Boxa.net, it's a decent place for advice and help, and someone on there is currently offering a service providing re-furbed buttons which do indeed often end up looking rough.

From what you say, it drives ok, so servicing it, tyres if required and a geometry set-up should be all that's needed. I let an Indy in the south take a look at my first one just after I bought it, and was told it needed £600 plus quids worth of work, which subsequently turned out to be bks. Lesson learnt, they aren't all trustworthy.

The discs can corrode on the inside where you can't see it, which isn't a financial disaster, but if it doesn't knock, creak or bang on a bumpy surface, the chances are that most of the suspension components will be fine. If it does, problems vary from snapped springs among other things, and suspension problems don't seem uncommon, but it doesn't have to be mad money to address them. The parts themselves can be obtained relatively cheaply from a variety of sources, not just the main dealers.

[DippedHeadlights]

Thanks guys.
Pretty sure it's a 2.7.
I expect he will sort the buttons with an exchange, sounds like a similar process to one we did with Saabs when pixels vanished from a multi function display - worked well.
I'll point him at a specialist for servicing and other stuff but anything else you reckon he should specifically address ?

[Heaveho]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Damn, always forget that! I'm going to say in my defence that because I've completely discounted the 3.4 from the off, I haven't kept up with stuff like that. Still, it's a poor excuse. Thanks for the heads up.