986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - 1997 Boxster. Need help. Should I pull the trigger based on this information...

BoomerRoadie · 11-23-2015, 08:24 AM

Hello all,

I'm sure this type of question has been asked many times and in many ways. I have read through a lot of posts and this forum seems pretty good at giving good advice. I'd like your take on this scenario.

I have a good friend who is looking to sell his 1997 Boxster. It has 32,000 original miles on it and he's the second owner. The car obviously is not driven a lot and when it is driven, it is not driven very hard. He is been very good about oils changes (once per year regardless of miles). The Clutch is ok now, but for me, this will be a daily driver. So I expect I'll need to replace the clutch in 12 months from purchase. At that point I would expect to do the IMS Bearing upgrade. All told, that should run about $3,000 for a new clutch and IMS (based on my research). Other than that issue, the car is perfect. 10/10 exterior and a 10/10 interior. He also has a hard top for it too and a cloth cockpit cover.

Here's my question.

I have heard many opinions about Porsche and the Boxster. It seems like people who DO NOT own a Porsche tell me they are super expensive to maintain and break a lot. Then, existing Porsche Boxster owners tell me they are great daily drivers and very reliable. Sure they cost a little more to fix, but not dramatically (like double any other average care). The general numbers I have determined is about 1.5X the cost to maintain compared to Japanese imports like a Toyoda 4Runner (I have one of these). Consumer Reports and Edmonds both gave the 1997 Boxster very good marks on reliability and overall design.

Where is the truth?

Am I getting myself into a money pit? The purpose of the car is for me to finally have a fun car to drive to and from work (50 miles mostly highway, round trip) and have a fun car for the wife and I to cruise around in from time to time. I really don't want an unreliable money pit that happens to be fun to drive. But who wants that!!

Thoughts?

11-23-2015, 08:24 AM	#1
BoomerRoadie Registered User Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Fountain Hills Posts: 103	1997 Boxster. Need help. Should I pull the trigger based on this information... Hello all, I'm sure this type of question has been asked many times and in many ways. I have read through a lot of posts and this forum seems pretty good at giving good advice. I'd like your take on this scenario. I have a good friend who is looking to sell his 1997 Boxster. It has 32,000 original miles on it and he's the second owner. The car obviously is not driven a lot and when it is driven, it is not driven very hard. He is been very good about oils changes (once per year regardless of miles). The Clutch is ok now, but for me, this will be a daily driver. So I expect I'll need to replace the clutch in 12 months from purchase. At that point I would expect to do the IMS Bearing upgrade. All told, that should run about $3,000 for a new clutch and IMS (based on my research). Other than that issue, the car is perfect. 10/10 exterior and a 10/10 interior. He also has a hard top for it too and a cloth cockpit cover. Here's my question. I have heard many opinions about Porsche and the Boxster. It seems like people who DO NOT own a Porsche tell me they are super expensive to maintain and break a lot. Then, existing Porsche Boxster owners tell me they are great daily drivers and very reliable. Sure they cost a little more to fix, but not dramatically (like double any other average care). The general numbers I have determined is about 1.5X the cost to maintain compared to Japanese imports like a Toyoda 4Runner (I have one of these). Consumer Reports and Edmonds both gave the 1997 Boxster very good marks on reliability and overall design. Where is the truth? Am I getting myself into a money pit? The purpose of the car is for me to finally have a fun car to drive to and from work (50 miles mostly highway, round trip) and have a fun car for the wife and I to cruise around in from time to time. I really don't want an unreliable money pit that happens to be fun to drive. But who wants that!! Thoughts?