986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

mnc-i · 07-11-2015, 01:29 PM

Myoung73,

I have to somewhat agree with Particlewave on this one.

I've put a lot of miles on my 99 Bosxter since I purchased it in 2009 with 104,000 miles.

This morning I changed my oil & filter. As I updated my three ring binders of maintenance records, I realized that some of the high maintenance costs can be attributed to poorly designed parts as much as labor costs and the cliché "When you buy a used $60,000 car for $10,000 the maintenance is still for a $60,000 car."

The AOS, the waterpump and the ignition switch come to mind concerning poorly designed parts.

I am not a great mechanic, but I now appreciate my father forcing me to help him work on the family cars.

I do all of my oil & filter changes, brake work (pads & rotors) minus brake fluid changes, accessory belt changes, and the replacement of minor parts (brake light switch, headlight & taillight bulbs, OEM radio, seats, underbody panels, fuel filter, air filter, sparkplug tubes as well as radiator cleaning.

I purchase most of my parts from RockAuto and Pelican Parts. My tires come from TireRack. I've not paid more than $550 for four tires including mounting & balancing. On one occasion I purchased newer model 17inch OEM wheels with four almost new tires (off brand, Cooper) for $420. I see no need to pay a boatload of money for tires that do not last all that long (rear tires due to the suspension design for optimal handling).
I've bought expensive 4-prong Bosch sparkplugs from RockAuto for about $7.00 per plug and got a $24.00 rebate from Bosch. The sparkplug tubes I got from RockAuto w/gaskets were about $4.00 each.
I've had to change the waterpump about three times since I purchased the car with 104,000 miles. I now have 251,724 miles. I've never had to change waterpumps as frequently with the Corvettes, Jeep, Mazda or Alfa Romeos I owned in the past.

Heads up, when Excellence Magazine writes that you should change the waterpump every 50,000 miles as preventive maintenance (broken impellers can damage the engine) you have to take that into consideration when purchasing a Porsche new or used.

I love my Boxster and once I reach 300,000 miles there is a 1999 911 in my future.

Just my two-cents
MNC-I

07-11-2015, 01:29 PM	#31
mnc-i Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 183	Myoung73, I have to somewhat agree with Particlewave on this one. I've put a lot of miles on my 99 Bosxter since I purchased it in 2009 with 104,000 miles. This morning I changed my oil & filter. As I updated my three ring binders of maintenance records, I realized that some of the high maintenance costs can be attributed to poorly designed parts as much as labor costs and the cliché "When you buy a used $60,000 car for $10,000 the maintenance is still for a $60,000 car." The AOS, the waterpump and the ignition switch come to mind concerning poorly designed parts. I am not a great mechanic, but I now appreciate my father forcing me to help him work on the family cars. I do all of my oil & filter changes, brake work (pads & rotors) minus brake fluid changes, accessory belt changes, and the replacement of minor parts (brake light switch, headlight & taillight bulbs, OEM radio, seats, underbody panels, fuel filter, air filter, sparkplug tubes as well as radiator cleaning. I purchase most of my parts from RockAuto and Pelican Parts. My tires come from TireRack. I've not paid more than $550 for four tires including mounting & balancing. On one occasion I purchased newer model 17inch OEM wheels with four almost new tires (off brand, Cooper) for $420. I see no need to pay a boatload of money for tires that do not last all that long (rear tires due to the suspension design for optimal handling). I've bought expensive 4-prong Bosch sparkplugs from RockAuto for about $7.00 per plug and got a $24.00 rebate from Bosch. The sparkplug tubes I got from RockAuto w/gaskets were about $4.00 each. I've had to change the waterpump about three times since I purchased the car with 104,000 miles. I now have 251,724 miles. I've never had to change waterpumps as frequently with the Corvettes, Jeep, Mazda or Alfa Romeos I owned in the past. Heads up, when Excellence Magazine writes that you should change the waterpump every 50,000 miles as preventive maintenance (broken impellers can damage the engine) you have to take that into consideration when purchasing a Porsche new or used. I love my Boxster and once I reach 300,000 miles there is a 1999 911 in my future. Just my two-cents MNC-I