Buying a Boxster - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

kab00m · 11-15-2010, 10:17 AM

Hey guys,first post for me here...tho I spend a loads of time here while I was trying to decide which car to get...
so as you can see I decided to go for a 986 Boxster....

Here in deepass where I live I don't have a loads of choice.....but there are few Boxsters in nice condition too buy...

I was wondering,what too look for?
And what to expect from lets say 99 boxster?
Will maybe a 2002 perform MUCH better than it? Or it wont at all?

I'm not into cars,really....I love to cruise for miles and enjoy the ride...engine itself is SF for me...

And what to expect from 80k miles engine?problems? I suppose since it is Porsche, I wont do any trouble....

I used to have a Golf series 5 till now,and now at 21 I saved some money ot buy me sth nice

Hope I'll get some info so I could go and buy that car anytime soon

JTP · 11-15-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kab00m

I decided to go for a 986 Boxster...

I'm not into cars,really....

A Porsche might not be the right car for you. It's really an enthusiast's car, especially a Boxster which needs special care and attention to detail. If you don't have the resource to pay someone else to give it the maintenance and care it needs then you have to do it yourself and if you're not "into cars" you're going to neglect the car. You are better off with the Mk5 Golf, that is a nice car too. I have a Mk4 GTI and love it, sometimes more than my Boxster.

kab00m · 11-15-2010, 10:44 AM

I do have resources to pay some1 to check car when needed and keeps it up clean and do maintenance...same is whit my golf,I visit my mechanic regularly and it runs up great....

Being an enthusiast does not mean You have to know everything before you buy it

You can learn it as you go or just enjoy yourself and pay for that joy to mechanic

When I said I'm not into cars I meant I dont have nerv and time to study the engine or similar things.....I own few cars next to my Golf which is a daily ride....so from that point of view I'm enthusiast in means of enjoying it

mikefocke · 11-15-2010, 11:26 AM

Has been summarized here in these 13 articles on buying a Boxster.

One person's opinion, love mine.

J'sboxie · 11-15-2010, 11:48 AM

I fully agree with JTP as the Porsche , let alone a boxie, is not an "every mans" car...The time, energy and effort that we can go through with these machines can and often do, take our level of sanity to a whole different plane...Whist checking on this (very excellent) forum, please note that with the good, you can still have alot of bad. Not saying that owning one of these cars is difficult, It's like having another child....yes I said it!lol...

Alot of persons can end up biting off more than they can chew just because they found a "affordable" German sports car. Notice the affordable part is in quotes here. Even routine maintanance can be very cost prohibitive for many. It's just one of those things...ie, tires@350-450 a piece-oil changes@150.00, and hell, we all know about the "Porsche Tax"

oh and the dreaded IMS issues! :P..shhhhh!

But with that out of the way..........I LOVE my BOXie and am sure that all of us owners can agree...it's worth it!!!!!!

p.s. Make sure that you get a PPI done on ANY Porsche that you are wanting to look at!!

Good Luck!!!!!!

laphan · 11-15-2010, 12:37 PM

I just bought 02 boxster with 47K miles 1 month ago. So far, the car runs great. I think this is the best car I have owned so far. Can't say about reliability but this forum really helped me deciding on whether I can afford a boxster or not.
I love this car, not cheap to maintain but this little bugger brings me smile whenever I drive it (not my DD).
I got mine for pretty cheap ($12K, the car came fully loaded with Nav, lithronic headlamp, full leather, etc.). It has oil leak from either RMS or IMS and I was prepared to face the IMS/RMS issue.
I'm about to send it off to my local Porsche mechanic for LN engineering IMS, 997 RMS, water pump, tranny fluid change, AOS and clutch work. The total job might cost me $3-4K.
After all these fixes, I figured that I can have a nice reliable weekend Boxster for total of $15-16K that I don't have to worry about engine blowing up on me at any time.
I was in the same situation like you, but after reading this forum, I decided to avoid Boxster with 2.5L engine knowing that engine has issue with cylinder liner (can't be prevented). I can deal with IMS issue (LN engineering has the fix) and I can live with other common issues.
I expect this Boxster to be reasonably reliable, but I don't expect "Japanese car" reliability out of it.

My suggestion is, buy a boxster and keep your old car for daily drive.

JTP · 11-15-2010, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kab00m

I do have resources to pay some1 to check car when needed and keeps it up clean and do maintenance...same is whit my golf,I visit my mechanic regularly and it runs up great....

Being an enthusiast does not mean You have to know everything before you buy it

You can learn it as you go or just enjoy yourself and pay for that joy to mechanic

When I said I'm not into cars I meant I dont have nerv and time to study the engine or similar things.....I own few cars next to my Golf which is a daily ride....so from that point of view I'm enthusiast in means of enjoying it

I wasn't implying you can't afford to pay someone else to work on your car or that you can't learn for yourself along the way. Many people are drawn to cars like these, they are great cars and very sexy but I've found that the average car owner who is "not into cars" does not have the patience or the love of cars to put up with the care necessary to maintain these cars. I'd be surprised if more than 10% of car owners wax their cars more than once a year. They're not going to research if 10W30 or 10W40 is better, it's all the same. When I used a lint roller to clean my top and I HAD to get RaggTopp, my wife and her sisters thought I was a freak. I get the same reaction when I regularly polish my plastic rear window. I guess my point is you really have to love cars if you're going to spend the time we do on these Boxsters. I don't know where you stand, heck I don't know you at all but when you said you're "not into cars" that said alot.
You've set your eyes on a 986 so do extensive research and get one! My car runs great but I keep researching to prepare for when (not if) my car breaks. I certainly cannot afford to go to my mechanic for everything and there's alot I still do not know. That's why I'm always here! Between this site, Renntech, Flat6Innovation, Pelican, Pedro, Mike Focke, and many others you can get alot of information on the Boxster.

RandallNeighbour · 11-15-2010, 05:52 PM

Save up 2000 euros beyond the price of the car for potential repairs in your first year or two. If you don't need it, you can use it for maintenance items like brake pads and tires.

I sure wish I had not bought an old one with a lot of miles on it. I should have waited two years, kept saving, and bought an 2003 S with a rear glass window and upgraded interior and much lower mileage.

Best of luck on your search!