I'm taking the plunge-01 Boxster- need advice

[tholyoak]

Mileage is no marker of potential engine problems if that is what you are referring to. I've done engine swaps on cars with 30k miles and ones with 90k miles that all had their engines go boom. The 2001 I recently put the 3.8 in has 50k miles. If you like the car, buy it. When you buy it, drive it. Like any car, infrequent use takes a toll.

-Todd

[Perfectlap]

That's one of the best dealerships in the country. Did they conduct their own inspection? Ask to see documentation if they did. You want to make sure someone has checked out the tranny and engine before you pull the trigger. As them if there was any RMS leakage.
How many miles are left on the tires? They aren't cheap for this car (Goodyear Eagle F1 are the best bang for the buck) and you will need a set of snow tires for use between November and April. I have Pirelli Snows.

Man I can't believe my car isn't even worth $15K now. Oh well I'm keeping it for good.

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

How many miles are left on the tires? They aren't cheap for this car (Goodyear Eagle F1 are the best bang for the buck)

Just so you know, they don't make the F1 GS D3s in our sizes anymore. I'm pretty bummed about this actually because my set is pretty new. Problem is, if I need to source another tire due to an unrepairable flat, there are none to be found.

@Icedude: I have an 01 too, and the only problems I've had were a cracked coolant tank, a peeling radio knob, and most recently at 58k miles, had to replace a worn engine mount which caused some drivetrain vibration due to the engine shifting a bit on hard cornering.

I still love the car, and bet you will too. I say go for it!

[icedude]

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

Just so you know, they don't make the F1 GS D3s in our sizes anymore. I'm pretty bummed about this actually because my set is pretty new. Problem is, if I need to source another tire due to an unrepairable flat, there are none to be found.

@Icedude: I have an 01 too, and the only problems I've had were a cracked coolant tank, a peeling radio knob, and most recently at 58k miles, had to replace a worn engine mount which caused some drivetrain vibration due to the engine shifting a bit on hard cornering.

I still love the car, and bet you will too. I say go for it!

Ok, I gotta ask you, where do I get those wheels? That is one hot set of tires you have on there. I am planning on replacing the rims when I put new tires on it which when I buy it will be about 10k miles later. Are they Porsche rims and if so, where would you recommend I get them and also what is a good tire reasonably priced? I'm not going to drive it crazy so I figure to go easy on tires but I don't need track hugging Z rated type tires. I'm not saying I want cheapies and replace them twice as frequently but I don't feel I need the big daddys. Also, how much would it cost me to put a new exhaust like yours on? I don't want it too loud or unnatural. Again, great looking car Boxtaboy.

Paul

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by icedude

Ok, I gotta ask you, where do I get those wheels? That is one hot set of tires you have on there. I am planning on replacing the rims when I put new tires on it which when I buy it will be about 10k miles later. Are they Porsche rims and if so, where would you recommend I get them and also what is a good tire reasonably priced? I'm not going to drive it crazy so I figure to go easy on tires but I don't need track hugging Z rated type tires. I'm not saying I want cheapies and replace them twice as frequently but I don't feel I need the big daddys. Also, how much would it cost me to put a new exhaust like yours on? I don't want it too loud or unnatural. Again, great looking car Boxtaboy.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Well, the wheels are SSR GT3 18 inch 3-piece semi solid forged rims (larger sized pic posted below). They are not Porsche wheels, but SSR made these in offset sizes that fit the Boxster perfectly without having to use spacers. Porsche currently doesn't offer wheels with a fat lip, and I like that kind of look, so these work well for me. They were purchased from Tirerack, but they no longer carry them. If you want, you can, however, still get them from here, by locating a local dealer who can order them for you.: http://www.ssr-wheels.com/wheels/werfen_181920.asp

The wheel sizing to fit our cars without the need for spacers is:
Fronts 18x8 ET49 (18 inch wheel/8 inches width/offset 49)
Rears 18x9.5 ET43 (18 inch wheel/9.5 inches width/offset 43)

The exhaust is a Dansk with dual tips. You can buy them from a number of different places. Here's one of them: http://www.************************************************************/product.asp?pf_id=P914200&dept_id=4577

As for tires, I have the high performance Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, and I think they are terrific tires but they stopped making them in sizes for the Boxster recently, so I'll need to switch to another brand in my next set. Previously, I ran with Pirelli Pzeros, which I liked too. You don't want to skimp on tires, IMO, because they are the only thing holding your car to the road.

Good luck with your purchase, and have fun with the car!

[23109VC]

it looks good!! if you like it, and it has a clean bill of health / PPI - there's not much more you can do to protect yourself and make sure you get a good one.

it looks very clean from the photos.

I have a 2.7 and it's plenty fun. I would have probably liked to get the 3.2, but like you, I was on a budget, and my dad put his up for sale, and made me a deal of a lifetime. I got his heavily optioned 2000 (M030, full leather, 18s, hi fi, headrest speakers, heated seats) for $13k. his had 73k miles...but it was dealer maintained, all records, passed PPI..and so far, several months into ownership, nothing bad has happened.... like you, this is a "spare" car, not a DD.

you will love it. put the top down, and just llisten to the sounds it makes as the engine wails toward redline.... the sound of the boxster is just flat out intoxicating.

get some good tires, maybe upgrade your suspension at some point - i love M030, the car defies the laws of physics it handles so well.

bang for the buck - that is a hard deal to beat. yeah, you can get a faster, newer, lower mileage car - but it will cost you more. as you get closer to the 10k mark, most of the boxsters i've seen are high miles, not in great condition, and older htan yours... 2.5s....

buy it, enjoy it!!!

[tboyer]

Looks like a nice ride....one thing to consider is an extended warranty. Add it at time of purchase, you'll pay double afterwards. Good luck and have fun!

[icedude]

Originally Posted by tboyer

Looks like a nice ride....one thing to consider is an extended warranty. Add it at time of purchase, you'll pay double afterwards. Good luck and have fun!

I'm buying it from a private party so I don't have the option of a warranty. I am actually starting to get cold feet because of the IMS failures I keep reading about on numerous forums. I saved up for this car and since I'm a responsible husband and father, would not have the money to put a new engine in it or take it as a loss of $14,500k.

[Bob O]

You take a chance on any used car, Porsche or not. The 01 you're looking at appears to have been well maintained. (And it's a beautiful car btw...I love the blue top and interior) How often was the oil changed? Do you know? That appears to be at least one area where you can do something to forestall or prevent any major issues.. change the oil at 7500? 5000? something significantly less than the recommendation by Porsche. I change mine at 7500, but whatever you do, change it more often than recommended. Cheap, cheap insurance.

I bought my 01 with 25K on the odo. It now has over 65 K and, other than the driver's seat heater not working, (an issue I think I can fix but just haven't gotten around to) there hasn't been a single problem with it, not one, other than wear items. And, yes, I consider the ignition switch to be a wear item! Besides it was a $ 25 repair and two hours of my time. I don't baby it... I take it to the track at least twice a year where it gets thoroughly exercised and around town it gets driven, not hard, but not like grandma either.

Regarding the IMS issue. NO one knows the number of IMS issues our babies have had (except maybe for Porsche, and even that's questionable, and they ain't talking). And there's no way to find out. BUT..remember that what you read on the boards is only from the folks who had an issue. And those reports are only from those folks who read these forums... and also only those who tell us about them. There could be/probably are some who didn't report. On the other hand, there are thousands of us who never had an ims problem, or any other major issue for that matter. But since we didn't have a problem, you don't hear about it. These boards, IMHO, tend to overstate problem areas, only because of what I said above. If there were a board around which only catered to what DIDN't go wrong with our cars, well.. first of all no one would read it, but if they did, there would be thousands and thousands of us saying our cars were great, just like me!.

Go for it. Are you taking a chance? sure. Will you regret it? PROBABLY NOT. You'll have a blast with it. But there is a solution to your concern. Buy an aftermarket extended warranty. I THINK (but am not certain) you can get one (from Warranty Direct?) even after the original warranty expires. I bought one, full coverage, everything included, including wear items except brake pads, wipers, tires and a couple of other minor things) when I got my car, solely because of my concern with high repair bills. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective) I have not used the warranty even once. Was it a waste of money? nope. not for me. It will cost you somewhere around 2500?? maybe closer to 3000? I haven't checked recently so I really don't know, but mine was around 2200. It was still under factory warranty when I bought it so I'd guess the price would now be higher. Still... that's significantly less expensive than a new engine. AND it covers a ton of other things that might crater on you.

DO IT. You've done your research. You KNOW you want one. You're getting a heck of a deal on the car. Have a great time with your new car.

Bob

[icedude]

I have to agree with you on everything you said. I have no problem repairing normal wear and tear items, tires, brakes etc. I know a Boxster is a "high maintenance" vehicle. He had the oil changed at every interval required and all services done. I also called the dealer where he bought and has had it serviced the entire time. I gave them the VIN and they told me there was nothing major done to the car other than routine maintenance and the tech said a couple of "minor" items. The owner still has the original tires on the car with about 10k of tread left driving normally. He put 5k on the car a year because he owned two other vehicles. I am hoping that little amount isn't an actual issue with the seals and gaskets.

[Perfectlap]

While my Boxster is not a daily driver, I still put around 9-10K miles on it each year in weekend driving (friends live far). That being said, this BoxsterS has been the lowest maintenance car I have ever owned. Oil changes are pricey but you can get away with doing it every six months at least. And the air filters you change yourself. A decent independent Porsche shop can do brake flush, oil change, alignments, etc. Generally avoid the dealer for routine maintenance type stuff if you can. Just make sure you Boxster is not the first 2000 or newer Porsche the independent Porsche shop is working on. Those shops need the work nowadays.
The best way to ward off repairs is to go easy on the car. Let the oil temp come up, don't go harsh on the brakes and throttle, keep the tires properly inflated so that suspension isn't working overtime, and learn to shift smoothly so that your clutch lasts 100K miles.

There's nothing you can do if the intermediate shaft goes or you get an unexpected $1000 rear main seal leak. That's just a design flawe that Porsche never owned up to. Although I have heard some mutterings that Mobil 1 should not be used as it's too thin to properly lubricate against IMS failure.


From a Rennlist discussion (on of many on Pelican and Renntech.org now doubt)

"My understanding is Mobil 1 changed their formulation in the recent past leading to some issues. My local builder indicated to me they grenaded a few new engines using Mobil 1's new formulation and were able to trace the issue back to Mobil 1 and won't touch it as a result. My subsequent research indicated others having similar issues.

I won't pretend to be an expert because I am not, but I do listen to those I trust on the issue. For my 2004 Boxster S, I look for an oil at least an API SL, SH, or SJ rating and an HTHS viscosity of at least 4.5. So I run Castrol full synthetic 5w-40 (which is on Porsche's approved list and is easily obtained locally) or Redline 5w-40 (which isn't on Porsche's list and has to be ordered). For my Spec Miata track car I run Brad Penn 10w-30 which I like a lot and I order from LN Engineering."

Originally Posted by icedude

I have to agree with you on everything you said. I have no problem repairing normal wear and tear items, tires, brakes etc. I know a Boxster is a "high maintenance" vehicle..