Scared new Boxster owner

[nola911]

If it makes you feel better, the online forum was my reason to not buy a 7 series BMW for the family cruiser. It was also the reason to pass on an S-Class Mercedes. If you talk to an owner of either, they will sing praises till your deaf. These things scare you, often without justice.

I bought a lexus because it didn't have horror stories on the forums. Overkill, yes.

[ekam]

I heard there's going to be a terrorist attack in multiple american cities in the next few days. Stay away from major airports, train and subway stations and large buildings.

I also heard on CNN that there's these killer bees coming from south africa.

And those germs on door knobs and your keyboard at work.

And, you might as well try to stay home tomorrow, you might get hit by a dump truck or a hummer... brain juice is hard to clean off those roll bars.

This forum is getting worse day by day...

[rick3000]

I am not singling out the guy who started this thread, but these constant "I am so afraid of an engine failure" posts are starting to get very annoying. There is nothing to worry about. If it happens, it happens, life is too short to worry about things you cannot control (knock on wood). There have been over 200,000 Boxsters sold, and the vast majority of them run perfectly.

[Nineteen89]

The sarcasm aside, I'm a prospective buyer of either a 2000 Bosxter S, like yours, or either a BMW 330Ci or e46 M3 to be specific, and as a college student I don't know if I can pull the trigger on a gamble on a design flaw out of the factory, the BMW while still expensive wouldn't worry me as much. It's easy to say just drive it and deal with it if something happens, but I'm not in the position financially to deal with it if it does happen, that's the worrisome part for me, an e46 is looking more secure for me.

That aside, it's important to remember that 100% of people with problems come online to post about problems, and 5% will come on here just to say they love their car. Every car has it's issues, but what that means is that it's going to seem a lot more negative than it really is because people are on here for solutions, the ones that are working fine are out there enjoying their cars, think about it like a shop... Everyones there for some kind of trouble, no ones there because they want to, and it's going to seem like all cars are unreliable... I'm sure you get it?

Now on to your situation, really, you're already in it, enjoy the car that will bring you the joy no other car can, for thebpeice of mind you're seeking look for some aftermarket warranties, or go have a Porsche tech give it a really thorough look through, and drive it like you stole it, the Porsches that fail are the ones sitting in a garage all the time, enjoy your car, most likely if the interior was cared for, so was everything else!

[rick3000]

Just to clarify what 941MXVET said:
Slipped Sleeve failure affected 1999 Boxster's manufactured in the first few months of 1999. RMS affects all models, and IMS only affects 2001+ Boxsters due to the redesigned intermediate shaft, but some pre-'01 IMS failures have been reported (rarely).

I would be willing to bet no one could find more than maybe 500 documented Boxster engine failures. Everyone with a problem does a google search and post here, very few people come to this forum without a problem.

[Nineteen89]

Would the 2000 be a sweet-spot per se? RMS is no big deal as long as corrected early, as with any car, right? And that would probably be it for the bigger issues right?

[941MXVET]

Thanks Rick3000, I got a little long winded. Nineteen89, search all the 2000 Boxster S's for sale, find what their average milage is, and how many if any are being sold as rollers.

[cvhs18472]

Why do people who drive cars capable of 150 mph act like such little girls at times. You've got a Porsche because you wanted to be cool, you wanted to impress people or like the majority of Boxster owners you wanted the pleasure of driving a really nice car. Everyone got what they wanted, but there is nothing for nothing. Before I got my Boxster I drove a souped up 64 MGB for 25 years that was almost as fast as the Box. It was more dependable than any stock B but I still couldn't take it on any trip where I couldn't get it towed home. The only thing was that I could work on it. Be happy that you drive such dependable cars. Ed

[FTD]

Originally Posted by ekam

I heard there's going to be a terrorist attack in multiple american cities in the next few days. Stay away from major airports, train and subway stations and large buildings.

I also heard on CNN that there's these killer bees coming from south africa.

And those germs on door knobs and your keyboard at work.

And, you might as well try to stay home tomorrow, you might get hit by a dump truck or a hummer... brain juice is hard to clean off those roll bars.

This forum is getting worse day by day...

well said.

[NoGaBiker]

Bottom line to it (despite my joking post no. 4) is that I wouldn't buy a Boxster that's out of warranty or soon to go out of warranty unless I could stroke a check for a new motor. It happens. I believe it's much more often than with many makes of cars, and definitely more expensive. I would make sure I knew what I was going to do if the motor went from an IMS and I was out of warranty. Would I pay $12k to get another from PCNA? Would I have a rebuild by one of the guys who's doing that now? Would I have to just park the car because I couldn't afford to fix it? What would I do? It's a question I wouldn't ask if I were buying a Miata because the motor costs about $2000, and is very unlikely to let go. I bought my car with 4 years of warranty, so I never considered the question. It expired in December '08, so now I'm on my own dime. If it happens it happens. But if I couldn't write a check for the repair I would be a little worried. In fact, I'd be looking at selling, probably. Not because I THINK it's going to happen, but just the idea that I might get stuck with a problem that's hard to solve.

I'm really writing all this as a reality check for the people who are considering the raft of Boxsters now available for under $15k. It seems like a screaming bargain to those of us who paid a lot more for one, but I fear that many people in that price range will just barely be able to afford the $13k for the car, and if they think, "Wow! I could get a 99 Boxster for my bread or a 2006 Miata. Hmmm, Boxster is the clear choice," I would urge them to think about the questions I have posed above.

For many other people, a $13,000 Boxster is a 3rd or 4th car and a blown motor would be a PITA, but not a catastrophe. Just the sort of thing you would have to hide from your wife, telling her you loaned the car to your best friend for a couple of weeks or something, then grumbling about "the hit we took in the market this week because of those damn Wall Street pirates!!!"

Matt

[RandallNeighbour]

Sean, I just married a Porsche and a BMW and they are living happily in my garage. I can hear them whispering sweet nothings to one another in German after I turn out the garage lights and close the door.

I had the same freaked-out feelings you have when I bought my old, far higher mileage, far more beat up boxster four and a half years ago. Yes, I've sunk quite a bit into repairs and even more into mods, but the car is simply amazing and I wouldn't trade my old box in on another one to tell you the truth... even if my motor blows. I'll put a Jake Raby rebuild in it and thrash it even more when I take it out to the back roads of central Texas or to the Texas World Speedway for high speed driver's education weekends.

The longer you drive and enjoy your Porsche, the less you will worry about repairs or a motor blowing. Trust me.

Now go out and drive that car like you stole it. Remember, the car really needs you to redline it in every gear, especially 6th gear now and then when you're doing 160

[Nineteen89]

Well I guess my even bigger fear has come true, I'm going to have to wait to get my Porsche until I CAN write a check for $12,000 and not let it shake my finances, and only when I have another DD, Sean I'm sure you know lots about BMW's, is then330ci pretty bullet proof as far as MAJOR failures? I'm assuming it's similar to your 325, or how about an M3?

[Bob O]

Welcome to the club! It's impossible to say whether yours will blow up or not. Odds are it won't!!. One thing you might want to do, however, is to investigate an extended warranty from either the dealer (doubtful but, I suppose, possible) or an after-market one. I bought my 01 three + years ago and got a Warranty Direct top of the line complete coverage package, which covers it up to 100K miles. Cost was something around 2,300 or so, but it covers pretty much everything on the car. Was it worth it? hmmmm not from a cost standpoint since I've YET to have to use the warranty (knock on wood). But the peace of mind was certainly worth it.

I got the car with 23K on the odo. It now has 65+K on it. I track it at least twice a year and drive it almost daily. Not a single problem (ok I had to replace the ignition switch but that was all of $35 and a couple of hours time including going to the Audi dealer to pick up the part). I change the oil and filter every 5 - 7 K miles. I've changed the brake pads several times (for track use mainly and once because the original pads were worn out) And I changed the front rotors. All the above, except the ignition, were just wear items.

Mine, so far, has been totally dependable. Its one of the easiest cars I've ever owned to work on. (Brake pads take, what..an hour or so to change all four. Rotors took about an hour. no big deal)

My advice.. join PCA, look into getting a warranty (after much research as to what kind and from who), read the forums, change oil twice as often as the book recommends, get some good winter tires (I personally like the Dunlop Winter Sport, but there are several other good options) and DRIVE IT! You'll be a happy camper

Bob

[SeanZ4]

The E46s (1999-2005) are pretty bullet-proof. As far as major failures, figure on very seldom to never. The 2.5 and 3.0 are of the smoothest most reliable straight sixes in the world. Just my opinion, but I've owned half a dozen of them with -0- problems. Cooling issues will be your worst problem. They do tend to eat water pumps and blow expansion tanks...very common on a higher mileage one. Some of the earlier E46s had problems with the VANOS system too... but still not a major issue. As far as a M3?? Well, I've never had one of those, but they are a completely different animal. Considerable more expense in maint. I would guess. Most importantly, if you are young (I am not), check your insurance on a M3 before buying!! You can go to E46fanatics or bimmerforums and get lots of questions answered. Just like here, you only hear from the people with problems. For not much $$ you can mod out a 325ci or 330ci to look just like a M. They have entire sections on it if you're so inclined. If you're going to use it as your "only" or "daily driver" I'd go with the 3 car just for practicality.

sean

[SeanZ4]

Thanks Bob.

I have an uncle in Overland Park with an 01 that he bought new. He's had no problems with it other than a serp. belt broke on it at 4k on I-70.

I bought mine at Scholfield Porsche in Wichita. They sold it new and ran it through a pretty impressive check list. They even replaced the ashtray door because they said "it was cosmetically unacceptable".... Normally I'd shy away from a stealership, but they put a full drive-train wtty. on it %100 coverage for 90 days, and showed me all the serv. record since new. They're supposed to mail me a copy of all that this week. I'm thinking about an aftermarket wtty. for piece of mind at the very least.

sean

[941MXVET]

Greetings fellow new Boxster owner. Being a new owner, I'm probably still seeing ownership through rose colored glasses however, allow me to share with you some of my thoughts, and research. When the later 98-99's came out they suffered from the 'slipped sleeve' issue, from what I've been able to gather, Porsche did a silent recall in that they replaced the engines while trying not to make any noise. Regardless, not getting off on the right foot with customers. The other issue, IMS failures, seam to occur on a percentage of horizontality opposed Porsche engines, we'll have to deal with them but there seam to be a few things as owners we can do.

When my wife and I researched our purchase, we "sampled" the market on E-bay. What we would do is search Porsche>Boxster>1997-2004>sort from lowest price. I no longer have the papers I jotted down the info on so I don't have hard numbers but basically we were looking for 'rollers' and found very few. Most of the rollers were unfortunately due to vandalism One was due to flooding. Plenty of wrecks, and lots over 100k on the odometer. In short, while there is a risk, the cars are great drivers, the prices have dropped dramatically, making now an attractive entry point!

[Spinnaker]

If it will make you feel any better, my 2000 S just turned 100K.