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Old 01-06-2008, 10:01 PM   #1
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Hi,

I had the bad idea of driving an boxster and I want one now. It was a 1999 Boxster that my firend rebuild (salavage title) with 70K miles and it droves fantastic.

I want to rebuild my own (i found few 2000's ones with 20-30K miles on them for cheap. Usually they have nothing, you just have to change a light, bumper and fender and you are good.

My concern is how reliable these cars are. I found few info about the RMS (I don't know if its exactly these letters) but the issue about oil leaking under the car.

I want to know WHAT are the troubles and what are the chance I can get it.

Is it worst on the S or on the 2.5L - 2.7L?

I know that each car have their issues like my old 1996 cavalier that is known for having head gasket issue (I have 308,000 KM on it and I never change it) I just don't want to rebuild an engine or a problem like the subframe of the 3 series from BMW.

thanks

-Dave

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Old 01-06-2008, 10:21 PM   #2
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RMS is Rear Main Seal, were oil leaks and cause engine failure. It is a design flaw in the boxer engine. The Boxster is very easy to work on and do stuff to, but I would beware of any engine type fixes. The engines were not made to be rebuilt but replaced which can cost quite a bit. They are plenty reliable if you drive them, but I would seriously consider buying a high milage '97 for 10k before I started looking for a rebuild project that could cost thousands.

Now if your are looking at '00's with 20-30k miles your should be fine with a good PPI before you buy. Most RMS failures mostly occur before 25k miles, and more often in older cars, but it is random, so don't hold me to that. If you take care of the car and drive it you will less problems than if you let the car sit a lot.
There are a lot of sites on what to look for just do a google search.
Good Luck finding a Boxster!
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Old 01-07-2008, 07:50 AM   #3
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This is not a great car for a tinkerer. Porsche makes nothing easy for the aftermarket, the engine/trans unit has to come out for many repairs. That is a pain, as it requires a special stand to pull it out without an act of Congress.

Parts are NOT cheap and tuner type issues are limited.

Beware of salvage cars. They can break you very very quickly.

Good luck.
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Old 01-07-2008, 08:55 AM   #4
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its a gamble man.
usually if u get an engine problem, they wont even attempt to fix it, but just have to get a new one for around 10 grand.
theres not much to do to it without causing some kind of damage.
and car being salvage, its a tough call, since many things will be miss aligned and usually it happens that you find out other things are bad and end up costing you a lot.
also, for instance, if you put bmw e36 or something like that in ebay search, you fing hundreds of pages and listings, try it with boxster....not many at all, and almost none used parts, so u have to rely on jacked up dealer prices, or dismantlers that also dont sell things for cheap.

good luck, but this doesnt sound like a good idea. nowdays u can get a nice clean title boxster for too damn cheap.
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Old 01-08-2008, 12:32 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davebluer6
Usually they have nothing, you just have to change a light, bumper and fender and you are good.

This is a gross underestimation of what it takes to have a car salvaged. insurance companies are not stupid. oh wait. insurance companies are not that stupid.
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Old 01-08-2008, 12:48 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by humara
This is a gross underestimation of what it takes to have a car salvaged. insurance companies are not stupid. oh wait. insurance companies are not that stupid.
Have to respectfully disagree with this. Have bought over 150 "salvaged" cars and can give you countless examples including a 1 year old Nissan pathfinder that had been "keyed" (scratched about 2 inches on most every panel minor and not even noticable, not deep scratches). Have bought several where all there was was one dent on the bumper, or replace 1 window only, or replaced power window switch only, replace the ignition switch only, and several replace radio only.

They are totalled for virtually any reason and some aren't totalled at all but are repos or repair rejects or dealer "lot rot" cars. It takes almost nothing to have a slavage designation or to end up in a salvage auction (with or without slavage designation on title). It makes absolutely no sense and insurance companies are very, very stupid.

You can find boxsters at 1/2 the blue book value that are theft recoveries and if your lucky at 1/4 of BB value if damaged.

Djomlas and Brucelee are exactly right about it being a gamble and it being an expensive one when it comes to boxsters. If you decide to go down this road, you need to have a Porsche "expert" look at the car in person prior to the auction and you need to have an additional $10k in cash available for repairs and be ready to replace an engine. If you are willing to do that you will be fine because you can steal them at the auction. If you go into it with the mindset of feeling secure in a worst-case scenario (which basically means having a lot of cash), you are o.k. If not, this car can break you financially as others have said and I would pursue a different auction car.
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Old 01-08-2008, 12:50 PM   #7
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How much are you looking to spend (all-in)?
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Old 01-08-2008, 01:13 PM   #8
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If you were going to do a 3.6 or 3.8L engine swap tho, a salvage or stolen title might be an excellent place to start if you are planning to replace so much anyway. But like all have said, do you homework, and really have it checked over carefully, there is quite a bit that could go wrong.

-David

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