2005 Porsche Boxster 987 2.7

[CJM36]

Back in March 2020, I had began (seriously) browsing AutoTrader, PH and the likes for a 987 Boxster. I had enquired about 3 cars, one silver, and two grey. The silver one was hi-spec with chrono and PASM being the most notable, however it sold by the time I contacted. Same with the lesser spec grey cars, one dealer never answered any emails or picked up the phone - the car was still for sale up until a few months ago.

Anyway, fast forward to May, and amongst a see of Grey, Silver and Black cars under my somewhat optimistic budget, up popped a Guards Red car. It was a 2005, sitting on 88,000 miles and had a relatively high number of previous owners (7), but has a FSH (specialist). The car was as follows;

Guards Red
Full Black Leather
5 Speed box
18” Alloys (The name of the alloys has escaped me)
Upgraded (We’ll get to that) Double Din head unit

So, very sparse spec wise. Not that I think it’s a bad thing. Here are the dealership pictures (Lancashire Trade Vehicles) who I would HIGHLY recommend. Transparent, honest and extremely helpful start to finish.


Next I’ll go over condition upon arrival (It came from Lancashire all the way to Aberdeen, purchased in full lockdown sight unseen) as well as my plans for the car going forward.

I will post every day until I am up to date with where the car is at present, to make this enjoyable to follow and read, not just word vomit, and partially to keep the thread going!

Thanks for reading!

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romeodelta said:

Nice. I have a basic 06 987 in Arctic Silver. Annoying how many were black, silver or grey when I was looking, but I went for condition and history in the end.

Is that a hard top or coloured hood?

Looks like the centre console has been carbon wrapped as well?

Silver would have been my next choice, I actually rather like it on the Boxster’s.

It is indeed a hard top, one which is immaculate and sees no use at all (more on that when I get up to date)

The centre console was wrapped in carbon, I am a carbon fan but not the textured rubbish that was on there. Best believe it was the first thing I removed when the car arrived - again, more on that later (it would appear Stevie Wonder tried his hand at wrapping this particular centre console)

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So, delivery day came having struck a deal with the seller.

It arrived on a crisp May morning, and after some confusion on the location of my house, the car turned up outside - being only a handful of weeks into the pandemic, the handover was very Covid safe. The car was sanitised and then left in my possession.

The first thing I did was give the car a decent wash; no correcting, decon or protecting, as that would come later, when I wasn't itching to just get out and drive the thing! However during the washing and drying process here is what I had picked up on:

- the distinct lack of heavy stone chips (although there were still a few)
- the wheels where fairly flaky
- there was a mark on the passenger side quarter (I would later find this was caused by splines on the hard top)
- the sills had the typical typical road rash on the upper section
- the headlights were slightly cloudy/yellow
- there was some tacky carbon wrap on the centre console - looked as elegant as a dog hunched over taking a s**t

Overall though, for a 15 year old, high owner Porsche, I was delighted.

Here is the car after the obligatory clean!



Next, I elected to remove the hardtop. I had a feeling that, once removed, I would find the convertible was either torn or inoperable in some way, shape or form. Nope, it worked perfectly!



Now, this was at a time when Covid restrictions were being taken extremely seriously - so I had to find an excuse to take it on it's first drive. I decided I had better go and top the tank up - yep, didn't even take £10 before it was full again. Ahhhhh I thought, I'll use the vulnerable as an excuse (no, no, not that kind of vulnerable - my shielding grandparents) who I'm sure will require a top up of Old Spice, or bread, or milk, or something like that.

So there we have it, that is the first 24 hours of my ownership. Next, I'll go over impressions and problems after driving on very quiet countryside roads, and the process of giving the car a decent decon, correction, and coat of protection, as well as further things I discovered throughout (some good, some not so).

Thanks for suffering... errr, I mean reading!

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Court_S said:

That looks really nice in red. Looking forward to hearing a bit more.

Thanks! I had stumbled upon your threads recently, over Christmas, whilst sat around enjoying the holidays yet bored, I had began using my account again. A fan of what you do, keep it up!

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Andrew D said:

What a lovely motor. Looks great in Guards Red, and love the S wheels.

I really like the 987.1, think it's aged really well. Less fussy than the 987.2.

Cheers Andrew! It does look great, even if I say so myself. I agree about the .2, although I prefer the interior on them, I am a massive fan of the exterior visuals of the .1, it just looks well from each angle

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So, having had the car a few weeks, I had barely driven it due to lockdown, and being on furlough I had little else to do, so spent most of my days in the fantastic weather MTB'ing all day. I decided however, that enough was enough and that a trip to get essentials was required. We ordered our food from smaller, local businesses such as farm shops to support them during lockdown. Which meant I now had an excuse to drive the car - and into the countryside too!

During these trips, it was remarkable how quiet these usually busy main roads were, which allowed me to stretch its legs a bit more than usual.

First thing to note is how linear and smooth the power delivery is, which means you really need to rev it out to extract the full potential from the engine; it feels as though the RPM's just keep on going. The gearbox, the standard, supposedly more solid 5-speed, is sweet, throws are brilliant, although a 6th gear wouldn't go amiss on the duallers and motorways.
The steering (hydraulic) has a good weight behind it, and provides you with plenty of feedback to be able to read when the car is reaching its limits.
The brakes felt good, but not great (I would later find out why), but still, were ample in stopping the car quickly.
The suspension, although very compliant, is slightly harsh, but not ridiculously crashy.

Here it is out on a decent road:


So, having done the food shop for the week, the car was sitting idle again. What better time to give it a decent paint correction and interior going over.
Here is the car prior to being given a detail (only photo I have which makes the condition look subpar, so excuse the daily!)


Exterior:
Initially I began by giving the car a contact wash, then a decon using tar, iron and film removers, followed by a clay bar.

I gave it a two stage correction using Meguiars cutting and polishing compounds. The paint was reasonably compliant, although it would definitely benefit from a professional giving it some love, as some deeper marks are still present.

Next, prior application of protection I wiped the panels down with APC diluted, to ensure that the paint was completely bare. Then, I applied 2 coats of Fusso99 Dark. This means I can top it up after each maintenance wash with a quick detailing spray to ensure longevity.
The wheels I just elected to give a good clean, as they would see a refurb in the future.

I also ensured to wetsand and polish the slightly yellowed and hazed headlights, shown in the before and afters below.



Interior:

First and foremost, I peeled back that tacky carbon wrap on the centre console. I do not know who wrapped it, and I don't wish to, as I imagine they probably can't see very well and I have little constructive feedback for them. Underneath, I found the rubberized paint on the centre console is peeling. **If you know of any solutions please enlighten me as I don't fancy painting it body colour, nor do I fancy spending hundreds on a new one, as it is minor peeling**

Next, I tackled every single surface with diluted APC, which removed a significant amount of grime, making the interior look as good as new (in my head anyway)

For the leather, I used AutoGlym leather cleaner and a leather brush - this removed the shine on the leather and restored it to a more natural matte finish - on the seats, handbrake, gearstick, and steering wheel.

During the detail, I made some improvements to the car, as well as finding some issues on the interior (some were obvious and I was already aware of).

Interior Issues
- Worn AC unit buttons
- Poorly fitted headunit meaning AC section of console needs refurb
- Drivers sun visor often drops slightly from its fully upright position (only by a few cm, can go unnoticed)
- Door Card pocket covers are slightly torn on underside
- Tiny hole developing due to wear on upper drivers bolster

Improvements made
- Addition of black 'Boxster' decals in the lower corners of the door (a factory option, maybe not in 2005 though!)
-Removal of number plate plinth, as I found a bit 'pokey', so number plate has not plinth for now, although I may refit the plinth at some point.
- Carbon console wrap removed

Here it is after its detailing session.


The next update will follow shortly, with some mechanical niggles, but more importantly enjoyment of the car as lockdown is slowly released. Until then, thanks for reading!

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keo said:

Looks great! I do like a red Porsche.

Thanks! Red really does suit a Porsche

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Escy said:

Don't see that many 987's in guards red, looks good. I really like the profile with hardtop, I think it looks better than a Cayman. I would like to get one for mine.

Thank you! I really do like the appearance of the car when sporting its hard top - since I am posting this until I get up to present time, you'll see some even better pictures of the car with the hardtop back on. If you go to the Porsche General forum and 'a picture a day' thread, you'll find a picture of the car with the hardtop I posted recently, sporting 'winter spec'

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deebs said:

Looks ace in red. The AC control buttons peeling are a common issue, you can buy new ones or there are some sticker replacement things. Bit of googling, there's pages of threads on the different Porsche forums.

Enjoy the car. So rare in guards red.

Thank you! I have yet to see another Guards Red 987B in the flesh, Have seen a few popping up for sale but they never hang around. I've seen those stickers, think I'll just go ahead and order a pair, only a couple of quid and will lift the interior.

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Court_S said:

Thank you.

Good work on the headlights, freshens the front up loads; I need to tackle those on my other half’s 125i.

No problem.

Having seen the pics of the 125i it isn't immediately obvious, but this was the same, I didn't realise how much of a difference it would make until I actually did it.
Funnily enough, before buying this I did consider a 125i, coupe, amongst other BMW's. A brand I'll have to experience some time soon (well, with an actual BMW badge, the MINI doesn't count).

[CJM36]

Been a while since I last posted, and since I am still not up to current day I thought I'd best do a bit of a monster-post to catch up. It will cover;

- Summer Enjoyment
- Exhaust Issues
- New brake pads
- New side vents
- DIY road rash repair
- New wheels

So, as lockdown was being eased and I was still on furlough, I thought I should get out as when hospitality were to return, I knew I'd be off furlough, and be working around 6 days a week, therefore be very restricted as to how much I could drive the car. I began by driving the car to meet friends socially distanced of course, and show them the car. One of my friends had also bought a car, a Gilbern Invader, which until his ownership, I didn't know existed. Anyway, I digress.

Here the car is still as standard, at the top of Cairn'o Mount on a blistering hot day. I actually covered 100 miles in a loop around some of Aberdeenshire's best roads with a mate that day - was my first prolonged drive in the car and it was amazing.



Next, whilst enjoying the car I saw a Guards Red Cayman breaking for parts, and decided to purchase the side vents - personally I prefer the Cayman side intakes. I knew I also had to buy different backing plates for them though, which proved to be a challenge finding used - I really ought to have go to my nearest OPC and bought new items, because I imagine they would be around the same price as used; lesson learned, I'll know for next time.
Fitting them was fairly easy. First, pull out (with a little force) your original vents, then you'll be met with a black plastic backing plate, with clips which you can just remove by prising off with a flathead screwdriver. Then, insert Cayman backing plate, push in clips, then push Cayman vents onto backing plate.
Here are the pictures of before and after - and yes, of course I cleaned inside the vents before I refitted. Would have been helpful if I took a picture of them clean though.




The car was doing well with all the driving it was getting, being used every time I needed to go somewhere (unless I was going to trails, then the Mini was used).
Then, one day I had an error message come up suggesting the brake pads were getting low and would need replacing. Obviously, I didn't take the car to my OPC for this, I'm not made of money. Fairly easy job which cost fairly little - no pics unfortunately though!

Then, about 3 days after the pads were done, I started it up to go for a drive and thought "oh, its sounding a bit loud today". I drove it about 10 ft, and panic set in thinking it was misfiring, as when accelerating that's how it sounded. However, I wasn't convinced, so I jacked it up on the passenger side to find it was the cat to header exhaust gasket. However, I soon realised I couldn't tackle this job myself, as the bolts were horribly crusty, and would likely need an air hammer or heat to remove. It's a very common problem on this era of 9X7, as well as the 9X6's.
I took the car to a local garage who I trust with all out of warranty work (unless very specialist). Car Clinic in Aberdeen, if you are wondering. Fantastic service, very honest, very realistic and very knowledgeable - also know Land Rover/Range Rover specialists, so they know what a really broken car is like. I highly recommend (if you live nearby), and if you do go (to the Bridge of Don branch) tell them they guy with the Boxster recommended you.
Total cost of the job, circa £50 - I got to look under the car when it was on the lift, and both me and the mechanic were very impressed.

Next, I found a Cayman S exhaust tip for next to nothing on eBay - bought immediately. In my opinion it would be a vast improvement on the large oval standard one (see first pic of the post)
I was naive in thinking this would be easy - it took A LOT of heat to the nut holding the O-clamp on, as well as a large breaker bar. Went on with more ease though, after a good wire brush. Here it is immediately after install. It was a hot enough day anyway, never mind the heat coming off the flame.


Not long after this I was back to work and only got to drive the car on my sacred occasional day off, and in the evenings, so it never really got the exercise I would have liked. Here it is outside Porsche Aberdeen one evening looking good!


As people settled down after being let loose, and after 'eat out to help out' ended, I was able to get a little bit more time away from work, meaning I was enabled to drive the car more once again - no more problems, just lots of fun. I drove in past work one day and a regular customer was delighted when he saw the car - he has a stunning Silver 991. Took it to a couple of BBQ'S in sunny Aberdeenshire, here it is sitting pretty at the top of a friends road beforehand.


I also elected to take on the task of fixing the road rash. Fairly easy, and was done using the following:
- BiltHamber Deox Gel
- Wire brush
- Zinc Primer
- eBay colour matched Guards Red (amazing match)
- clear coat (some sort of hard wearing one)

Firstly, I used the Deox gel to remove the surface rust from the stone chipping, then I washed off, let dry thoroughly, and masked off essentially the entire car and put a piece of wood on the floor as I didn't much fancy a guards red garage floor. Then, I put a good coat of zinc primer on, followed by a few coats of the guards red, then topped off with a few coats of clear. It turned out surprisingly well - certainly not perfect, but a vast improvement and it will be difficult for road rash to occur again. I may get it done professionally in the future, but only if I need to paint another area. It is a high contact section of the car so i feel as though it would be somewhat overboard to paint the whole panel, only for it to chip again. Finished result - as I said, not great but not terrible.


Then, whilst perusing the ever dangerous Facebook marketplace I stumbled across a dirt cheap set of Genuine Porsche Cayman S II wheels. The wheels were not curbed, but the barrels were flaky, so would require a refurb. The tires were old Sotto Zero's - ideal as I like to have a set of winter wheels and summer wheels for my cars - and as I wouldn't be doing lots of driving through winter, the Sotto Zero's would suffice. I picked them up for a mere £200! The seller was around 30 mins away, so they were promptly collected. Here they are day of collection compared to the original wheels.

Then, I decided to have both sets refurbed - the new wheels in Silver, the original wheels in grey. I also switched tyres over, so the new wheels are now summer tyres and the original wheels winters.


Here are the new wheels on the car - I think they look really good even although pretty dirty - although the brake callipers are in desperate need of some paint!


The remainder of summer and Autumn was uneventful. I had an unspeakable amount of holidays accrued, and managed to get away to Aviemore for a week. I took the Boxster, and others took a van filled with MTB's so we could enjoy the trails up there. I also enjoyed driving home - dry, sunny, and home via Old Military Road. I loved it! This picture was taken on the way.


This is the penultimate update before I am at current day. Next time will look at the car in winter spec, winter storage and a couple of issues. Until then, thanks for reading this small novel.

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Mr Tidy said:

That's a great thread OP

Thanks! It really was just a stroke of luck finding this one, right place, right time, and I am so glad I ended up with in. Funnily enough, I was looking at Z4's as well as Boxster's, they're rather cool imo.
The hardtop is certainly worth a fair chunk, and I have considered selling it because I know it never gets used often. If someone were to be looking for one I would happily sell, but I probably won't advertise as I haven't any burning desire or need (at the moment anyway)

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So, this is the last post before I am completely up to date with the car.

After enjoying the car all summer, the car continued to get used into autumn but with work becoming ever the more busy I never drove it much. That was until my daily driver decided it would be a good giggle to s**t itself in the middle of a busy city centre; the clutch fork failed (Mini Countryman R60), and it was going to be an extensive job so the Boxster enjoyed daily driver duties for over a week. Side note, by this point in time I had spent £250 or likely less on Boxster repairs, meanwhile the Mini had a list of work as long as you arm worth of work - timing chain tensioners, wheel bearings, and the gearbox out, where it only made sense to replace the clutch and flywheel (with plenty life left though). Total sum, around 10X Boxster's repairs. Fantastic. As pleasant and welcome as standing in a steaming pile of bodily refuse. I digress.

Once the salt started to make its appearance on the roads, the car got its winter shoes on and tucked away for winter, with a small drive every week or so, because I didn't fancy it sitting idle entirely. Sitting pretty in winter spec with the hard top.

Weeks go by, and on one of its semi frequent spins I noticed the coolant light, one which didn't concern me heavily as I knew exactly where it was likely to have began. The crossover pipes commonly rust on the 987's, and I know this car had yet to have them. I considered attempting myself but then I would have had to drop the subframe, which makes it a pig of a job, so off to the garage it went. At the same time I had the car MOT'd, which it failed on account of the handbrake. So that was sorted, and the car got both front coffin arms done too. So, the car was back in my possession a day later. I decided with the salt seeming to be washed off I should wash and seal the summer wheels. Here they are looking nice and clean, ready to fit - not immaculate but it was freezing. I hasten to add that I will be ridding of the Bridgestones very shortly - they came on the car and are not my first choice.


Next update will be a running one, no longer recalling the recent past. I'll also highlight everything I plan/aim to do to the car eventually.

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shalmaneser said:

I really do think these are great value sports cars.

Agreed! For the money, I think they are fantastic. Values seem to be creeping up compared to this time last year, perhaps by £1k or so, at the bottom of the market anyway. A multitude of reasons could be contributory to this, but I honestly thought 987's still had some depreciation to do.
My mate recently bought an NB MX5, it is a limited edition (the editions slips my mind at present), and it has sub 60k miles, full Mazda History, low owners and entirely clean MOT history. However, he is away to spend an eye watering £5k to get it to an immaculate, rot free condition. It has no bubbly arches, its mainly preventative work as the chassis legs have some surface rust, as do the very underside of the sills on both sides, and the tiniest bit in the boot floor. By the time he has the cambelt service done, has the chassis legs and sills seen to, if you include the purchase price of the car, he has more into it than I do into the Boxster *sad Mazda noises*
To me, that is why these cars are such good value for money along with E8X Z4's, no real rot issues and on the whole pretty reliable.

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Paul S4 said:

It would seem only fair....

Agreed! You'll never want to give it back...
I am going to go down the exhaust route this year, just to extract a bit more of the noise from the car. What Porsche Specialist will you be using? I really have not a single one up this way, closest reputable ones are down over into the the North of England, so I can see I'll have to have a weekend break down there at some point this year to have it serviced to keep the book stamped - otherwise I would do it myself.
I am unsure about the 986 generation like your friends but the drain holes on the 987 have a tendency to block, causing water to drip into the cabin over time and eventually ruin the ECU, which is a very expensive repair. As I said this may not be so prominent on 986's but it is certainly worth a look if it left without a garage, hardtop or cover.

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M12MTR said:

Looks great in GR ...... but I am biased.
Mine is a 2010 987.2 with the 2.9 engine..... the sweet spot between 2.7 and 3.4...... with a 6 speed manual.
Mine has very low mileage..... 16k miles when I bought it 5 years ago with 1 previous owner..... and on only 22k miles now.
I viewed many with rust on the lower sill on the front wheel arch..... so I fabricated these covers..... to prevent future issues (mine were unmarked but I figured prevention is better than cure). You could do similar on yours to prevent issues.
I'm now in 2 minds whether to find a 981S.

Edited by M12MTR on Monday 22 February 11:15

That, to me, is the perfect spec Gen 2 987. GR, Carrera Sport alloys, 6 speed manual.

I am searching high and low for a set of Carrera Sports for my car but it is literally impossible to find them (at a reasonable price, anyway)

If you ever do advertise this you may well hear from me. I am currently in two minds as well. I either sell the Mini for a different, slightly faster daily driver (suggestions welcome by the way, only requirements are Petrol, Manual and sub £15K), or, I sell the Boxster for a 987.2, either Boxster or Cayman, spec and price would determine which I went for ultimately.

I am going to do a very similar thing to you, in that I have some PPF I'll cut and apply to the high wear areas.

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M12MTR said:

Mine could be for sale.

*wallet starts crying*

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Harfi88 said:

The car looks fantastic, I have a 987.1 2.7 with a hardtop too, the hard top lives in my kitchen as I can’t seem to get it to fit properly

Thank you! It really is starting to come together.

That's a shame! Although I have heard of a similar issue, whereby, for whatever reason, the car was missing the small clips which you can find on Design911 and Porscheshop for around £100. Have a look there and see if you recognise the parts, hopefully that's what you're missing. The hard top can be quite fiddly IMO!

What colour is your car?

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soxboy said:

I had this on my 987 a couple of years ago, the drain holes were blocked and it soaked the passenger side floor which fried the rear control ECU - no power hood and rear lights erratic. I had the ECU replaced and reprogrammed at a cost of c£700.

My 2.7 was an impulse cheap buy (less than £5k) but is a Tiptronic with 130k miles. It's coming back into daily driver duties next month so I will soon be spending some money fettling it. Seeing this thread has inspired me to sort the bodywork and get rid of some of the scratches and dings that it came with.

That is actually a little less than I assumed, which is always nice to hear.

I too looked at a good few sub £5K 987's. You can't even buy them for less than £6.5k now, and that's if you don't mind one with a few small issues and or lackluster history and or high miles. None of which would particularly bother me as a buyer, only the service history when coming to resell - however for myself, so long as it is in good mechanical order, I could have kept it that way and started to build a good history for it.

I looked at a sub £5k cobalt blue car with just over 150K miles, but full history. Even had cruise, sports plus seats, and some other nice options - wasn't to be though.

Mines came with a few scratches, and then whilst on holiday a van grazed the lip on the rear quarter - was a young like myself, and I know how much of a pain in the arse insurance would have been if we went down that route. So, after seeing there is no lasting damage to the paint a DA polisher won't sort, he left me his details so I could bill him for PDR, which I probably won't do as I have already spotted 2, very small existing car park dents which need pulled out of the door anyway.

Out of curiosity what sort of spec have you got?

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pistolpete12 said:

I will get another some point soon!

Enjoy it, my only complaint was the length of 2nd gear on the 5 speed box, i liked the way it revs, btu a bit shorter would have been good

Agreed! I spend a lot more time in 2nd gear than I feel I ought to. Porsche seem to be good at that, see 981/718 GT4. Thankful where I live (at the moment anyway), with reference to work, I only really use Dual Carriageway for about 15 miles either way - if it was any longer of a commute, I would be hankering for a 6 speed

987's really are fantastic cars, cannot blame you for wanting another!