Hi All. I really need some advice here. Just try not the insult me too much
I am the recent proud owner of my first Porsche, a 2000 model 986 2.7 Automatic Boxster with 180k KM on the clock.
Unlike most sensible car guys, I took the idiot approach of buying a used car without proper inspection whilst on an emotional high from a good test drive. The fact that it had a file full of invoices without a service book should have been a clear deterrent, but this did not seem to bother me. But the body is perfect. Not a scratch. Cabrio top is perfect, leather interior pristine and clean. I paid a handsome price of EUR 5900 for this diamond in the rough. It is a RHD model which is of course much cheaper in the Netherlands that a normal LHD model as it is not really sought after.
The previous owner had the car put through APK/MOT a few months back and it had a clean bill of health. No even a mention of any potential challenges. Even the last "major service" he had done had no comments only an invoice of 800 EUR.
Like a good boy I took it to my local Porsche specialist in Hilversum who specializes in repair, rebuilds etc. After a painstaking 1.5 hour on and off the ramp inspecting the verdict was in.
It will probably take another 5k - 6k to get her properly sorted out. And this is no guarantee the engine will not blow up the day after I get it back. Seeing as there is no history. I could see in the Garage owner’s eyes he was trying to be nice and put me down humanely
For starters being a UK car, it probably was parked inside the ocean at some point. The brake lines are rusted needing repair. Surface rust all over the place below the car. The center protective cover below the car is missing, the control arms around the car are done and need replacement, the shock absorbers are perfectly working not even weeping but rusted almost with holes in them and the boots are so perished it looks like the first set that came with the car. All radiators and condensers are leaking and need replacement. Probably all hoses while you are at it. Apparently, someone could not get a rusted bolt out of the branches leaving the manifold and decided to weld the seam going into the exhaust shut. The engine and gearbox is leaking oil and need a major service probably to be safe. The cooling system needs a proper flush as it looks like some wally put window washing liquid in the wrong end. the engine also idles badly and the oil warning lamp pops on when the revs drop below 500 .. but this is intermittent. So probably AOS and Air regulator etc. need replacement. Bottom line is the list of distinguished issues goes on and on and my baby is very sick.
Now my open question to all of you is simple. Do I put her down or do I invest ...?
Having it repaired means I will need to invest 5k argumentatively. Which means I then have a good working Porsche for +-12k. Nut still no guarantee the engine won’t blow up still.
At this point getting my money back will never materialize unless I sell it to a blind person. So, either way I am down the hole. Re-selling it now with the long list of painful items means I will be minus a Porsche a headache and of course a few grand less than I paid.
I am able to do a lot of the work myself but clearly, I am no specialized mechanic and should rather stick to my day job.
What do you recon the sensible thing to do is.
Is this a car where you throw in the towel and make it someone else's project sharing with them the whole list of things to do, or is this a car you repair, change up the body kit and styling perhaps and turn it into something unique for 25k ...
What will the wise suggest here without giving me too much of a ribbing.
