Boxster S, unreliable?
Discussion
had my 2003 Box S since may and I have had it back to the garage I bought it from no less than 4 times for a suspected (by me) 2nd gear issue (you know what i mean!). anyway every time I get, no it's fine blah blah... go away.
Took it back a couple of weeks ago for the same problem plus a new knocking/rattling from the rear. same thing, nah we can't see anything wrong...
So last week i took it to a specialists and guess what, needs a new gearbox, a new rear suspension link and a rear main seal failiure! This is after having a RMS fixed under porsche warranty 15 months ago!
So this week I will be mainly wrangling with garage to make sure I'm not paying for the gearbox to be fixed as the other problems take me over the limit of my warranty (non OPC). I'm pretty sure i've got a good case because I'ts been back there 4 times for the same problem, from only a couple of weeks after picking it up.
So was my decision to buy what I thought was a reliable sportscar justified or should have i have stuck with my trusty Elise?
I'm rapidly losing all faith in the quality of Porsche cars, the amount of people I've read about having the same problems as me is ridiculous. Am I gonna get more and more expensive problems like this or have I just been unlucky? BTW the car has FSH and is in immaculate condition, I'm very fussy about these things.
Took it back a couple of weeks ago for the same problem plus a new knocking/rattling from the rear. same thing, nah we can't see anything wrong...
So last week i took it to a specialists and guess what, needs a new gearbox, a new rear suspension link and a rear main seal failiure! This is after having a RMS fixed under porsche warranty 15 months ago!
So this week I will be mainly wrangling with garage to make sure I'm not paying for the gearbox to be fixed as the other problems take me over the limit of my warranty (non OPC). I'm pretty sure i've got a good case because I'ts been back there 4 times for the same problem, from only a couple of weeks after picking it up.
So was my decision to buy what I thought was a reliable sportscar justified or should have i have stuck with my trusty Elise?
I'm rapidly losing all faith in the quality of Porsche cars, the amount of people I've read about having the same problems as me is ridiculous. Am I gonna get more and more expensive problems like this or have I just been unlucky? BTW the car has FSH and is in immaculate condition, I'm very fussy about these things.
Sorry, mate, You know...shit happens.
I've got an MY03 Boxster S...and...despite three low loader under warranty returns until they replaced the exhaust to stop the Lambda Sensors wearing out its been bullet proof ever since. (3 yrs plus)
I say this because we own a TVR Chimaera which is constantly going horribly wrong and the car we own we view as "bullet-proof reliable" is the Boxster S.
I'm afraid it appears you can have issues with almost any car. I'm very sorry for your troubles...
I've got an MY03 Boxster S...and...despite three low loader under warranty returns until they replaced the exhaust to stop the Lambda Sensors wearing out its been bullet proof ever since. (3 yrs plus)
I say this because we own a TVR Chimaera which is constantly going horribly wrong and the car we own we view as "bullet-proof reliable" is the Boxster S.
I'm afraid it appears you can have issues with almost any car. I'm very sorry for your troubles...
We had similar problems with the wife 2005 Boxster S. It was however fixed pretty much immediately by the dealer.
As you, it became hard to engage 1st, 2nd & there was a rattling noise from the engine at around 3000rpm.
Its a know problem so Porsche should have no issue with fixing it FOC.
As you, it became hard to engage 1st, 2nd & there was a rattling noise from the engine at around 3000rpm.
Its a know problem so Porsche should have no issue with fixing it FOC.
We too were concerned about selling Boxsters and 996's when we first heard about the problems on the web sites, but then found out how to fix the few that we had brought in with problems (engines and gearbox's) and had renewed confidence to sell them again and then realised that most are absolutely OK (98% of owners polling favourably in the Which survey) just a small number go wrong (possibly no more or little more than did with the older 993, 968, 911 and 944 models - before the Internet enabled such rare events to be widely publicised).
We now think that modern production methods for all manufacturing (washing machines, hoovers etc) have kept prices relativley lower over the recent years and most are OK but that the rare failures are often more difficult to trace the causes of and to fix (becasue of those more cost effective production designs and methods) - moving more towards "you need a new one Sir".
With "fashion" encouraging us to discard anything old and replace with realtively cheap more "sexy" modern versions it is only those rare old products that are still worth a lot of money that fall foul of this new regime when a few go wrong.
So my conclusion is Boxsters are great unless they go wrong when they can be a problem to repair for the very few that have the problem.
However the independent service providers are getting more familiar with fixes for them and as time goes by there should be reasonably affordable solutions for most things.
All other manufacturers and all other cars are in a similar position and many are far less reliable - a Porsche offering - overall better reliability and performance for the money than any other car in a similar category (in my opinion).
The Porsche warranty seems a good protection (although expensive) and can be joined anytime with your model. Others like ourslves have other solutions you may like to consider to reduce the cost if a dissaster occurs.
Good luck,
Baz Haretch
We now think that modern production methods for all manufacturing (washing machines, hoovers etc) have kept prices relativley lower over the recent years and most are OK but that the rare failures are often more difficult to trace the causes of and to fix (becasue of those more cost effective production designs and methods) - moving more towards "you need a new one Sir".
With "fashion" encouraging us to discard anything old and replace with realtively cheap more "sexy" modern versions it is only those rare old products that are still worth a lot of money that fall foul of this new regime when a few go wrong.
So my conclusion is Boxsters are great unless they go wrong when they can be a problem to repair for the very few that have the problem.
However the independent service providers are getting more familiar with fixes for them and as time goes by there should be reasonably affordable solutions for most things.
All other manufacturers and all other cars are in a similar position and many are far less reliable - a Porsche offering - overall better reliability and performance for the money than any other car in a similar category (in my opinion).
The Porsche warranty seems a good protection (although expensive) and can be joined anytime with your model. Others like ourslves have other solutions you may like to consider to reduce the cost if a dissaster occurs.
Good luck,
Baz Haretch
We've had four Boxsters over the last nine years - 97 2.5, 98 2.5, 00 3.2'S', 05 3.2'S'. All bought new, used everyday and OPC maintained.
I'm struggling to think of any problems we've had.
- The early ones had fragile clips on the wind deflector.
- The windcreen washer connector came loose on the washer bottle on the 986'S'
- One of them (can't remember which) had a new RMS under warranty
That's pretty much it.
I'm struggling to think of any problems we've had.
- The early ones had fragile clips on the wind deflector.
- The windcreen washer connector came loose on the washer bottle on the 986'S'
- One of them (can't remember which) had a new RMS under warranty
That's pretty much it.
hartech said:
We too were concerned about selling Boxsters and 996's when we first heard about the problems on the web sites, but then found out how to fix the few that we had brought in with problems (engines and gearbox's) and had renewed confidence to sell them again and then realised that most are absolutely OK (98% of owners polling favourably in the Which survey) just a small number go wrong (possibly no more or little more than did with the older 993, 968, 911 and 944 models - before the Internet enabled such rare events to be widely publicised).
Baz Haretch
Baz Haretch
Wise words methinks. I`ve had two Boxsters over the last six years and have used them very much as my everyday smokers. They have proved 100% reliable with only very minor (and quickly sorted under warranty) issues.
Well, I guess I've just been unlucky then! I hope so anyway, I'm guessing that the gearbox is a pretty major thing to go wrong and such is the one that always gets bitched about 'cos it's so expensive to fix. I just wasn't expecting it on a 3 year old car with 21k on the clock. Porsche or not.
anyway, back to resolving the matter with the garages...
I'll let you know the outcome!
Cheers
A
anyway, back to resolving the matter with the garages...
I'll let you know the outcome!
Cheers
A
My Boxster reliability experience has also been excellent - but I would always extend the warranty.
Incidentally, here in the UK we are a big Porsche market, and we pay a premium for Porsche products.
Shouldn't we be campaigning for a longer official warranty period? US has 4 years, we should at least have 3 years, in common with other manufacturers.
Incidentally, here in the UK we are a big Porsche market, and we pay a premium for Porsche products.
Shouldn't we be campaigning for a longer official warranty period? US has 4 years, we should at least have 3 years, in common with other manufacturers.
Sorry to hear of the trouble, but even Porsche turn out duff components rarely.
I had a diff break up in the gearbox of my first 993, which only had 42k miles on the clock - Porsche took it back, sent it to Stuttgart for analysis and installed a new gearbox (bloody expensive on a 993) free of charge. These failures are almost unheard of - in these cases Porsche normally do an admirable job and sort it out for you.
If it's recently bought from OPC and serviced by them then you shouldn't have much trouble getting them to fix it. If your relationship with the dealer is soured then you could always try Porsche head office.
I had a diff break up in the gearbox of my first 993, which only had 42k miles on the clock - Porsche took it back, sent it to Stuttgart for analysis and installed a new gearbox (bloody expensive on a 993) free of charge. These failures are almost unheard of - in these cases Porsche normally do an admirable job and sort it out for you.
If it's recently bought from OPC and serviced by them then you shouldn't have much trouble getting them to fix it. If your relationship with the dealer is soured then you could always try Porsche head office.
In some ways they are getting more complex but in others more simple.
A production engineer would know that the cost of making something relates more to the time taken handling all the parts through production than even machining them or assembling them (or even the raw material cost in many cases).
Porsche's like all other modern cars have re-designed to reduce the number of parts and machining operations. So if you strip a post 96 Porsche engine - you may cut yourself on all the internals (no deburring), often not even any washers under bolts (they are made in one piece with the bolt). Slightly less sophisticated designs to keep parts in place, in line and where they should be, fewer mating parts and more machined away from its mate and put t ogether afterwards etc.
Inspection was always a major cost and now it has been passed to the sub contractor to make sure all the parts they supply to the main assembler - are OK - room (and human nature) for slipping a few slightly imperfect parts through me-thinks. As an example a couple of years ago we needed a new indicator arm stalk switch for a square dash 944 (or perhaps it was the wiper side) - ordered from Porsche and supplied - but it didn't work for every function - it took 9 different new examples before we got one that did everything correctly and where was it made - Brazil!
Finally they are less and less designed to be easy and friendly to strip and repair and more likely to be impossible to encourage whole unit replacements (to reflect the reduction in technician quality and escalating cost of running a tradditional repair centre).
As a result of all this we the public get a better product at a lower relative cost than the same part years ago. It is probably better quality (for 99% of production say) but likely to let a few more problem examples slip through that are then expensive to repair.
In my view this is just a reflection of our World - it is inevitable - and it will not change (or a Boxster would cost £60K and who would buy one?).
In my view - the internet has made such rare occurences seem more common and exagerated their frequency.
Baz Hartech
A production engineer would know that the cost of making something relates more to the time taken handling all the parts through production than even machining them or assembling them (or even the raw material cost in many cases).
Porsche's like all other modern cars have re-designed to reduce the number of parts and machining operations. So if you strip a post 96 Porsche engine - you may cut yourself on all the internals (no deburring), often not even any washers under bolts (they are made in one piece with the bolt). Slightly less sophisticated designs to keep parts in place, in line and where they should be, fewer mating parts and more machined away from its mate and put t ogether afterwards etc.
Inspection was always a major cost and now it has been passed to the sub contractor to make sure all the parts they supply to the main assembler - are OK - room (and human nature) for slipping a few slightly imperfect parts through me-thinks. As an example a couple of years ago we needed a new indicator arm stalk switch for a square dash 944 (or perhaps it was the wiper side) - ordered from Porsche and supplied - but it didn't work for every function - it took 9 different new examples before we got one that did everything correctly and where was it made - Brazil!
Finally they are less and less designed to be easy and friendly to strip and repair and more likely to be impossible to encourage whole unit replacements (to reflect the reduction in technician quality and escalating cost of running a tradditional repair centre).
As a result of all this we the public get a better product at a lower relative cost than the same part years ago. It is probably better quality (for 99% of production say) but likely to let a few more problem examples slip through that are then expensive to repair.
In my view this is just a reflection of our World - it is inevitable - and it will not change (or a Boxster would cost £60K and who would buy one?).
In my view - the internet has made such rare occurences seem more common and exagerated their frequency.
Baz Hartech
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