Just bought a boxster for 6k

[enjoikr3w]

I am a college student right now so I do not have the income to purchase/maintain high end vehicles right now. This boxster is just a temporary play toy that I am not going to be getting too attached to. I'm only considering purchasing the upgraded LN bearing to help with the resale value.

[seningen]

Originally Posted by enjoikr3w

I am a college student right now so I do not have the income to purchase/maintain high end vehicles right now. This boxster is just a temporary play toy that I am not going to be getting too attached to. I'm only considering purchasing the upgraded LN bearing to help with the resale value.

Great price.

I work with a shop in South Austin that are becoming Boxster experts
at reasonable prices ($60/hr)

Everything from rebuilding the engines to just basic maintenance.

I personally own 3 of them, have owned 2 others. More than a dozen Boxsters
have been at this shop.

They can do a clutch, IMSR, RMS for ~$2k maybe a little more depending
on what damage was done to the clutch assembly.

www.lonestarrpm.com has some shop details and some of my personal projects.

Mike

[Perfectlap]

you're only get higher resale value from a Boxster enthusiast. Most Boxster owners probably have no idea what the IMS is. There aren't nearly enough of those enthusiasts out there to justify that as the rationale for doing the IMS upgrade.
You should do the upgrade PRECISELY because you are a college student. If the IMS were to fail you'd have a roller on your hands that would cost a lot more than $600 to fix.

[thstone]

Everyone here is right on in terms of maintaining a Porsche - not cheap.

Here is what I've done to my $11,000 1999 Boxster with 80K miles (and almost no repair history) in just two months since I bought it.

The good news is that I was planning to spend $25K for a Boxstger so I have lots of money left over for all of the maintanence/repairs/udpates (or even a replacement engine, worst case).

Also, note that I can do almost all of my work myself. The cost would be more than double my DIY costs if I had to pay to have the work done.

1. Oil/filter change ($180 dealer - wanted it done right away)
2. New Porsche logo floor mats (no mats in car) $120
3. Replaced battery cover (missing from car) $25 used from eBay
4. Replaced air filter/pollen filter (DIY $50 Pelican Parts)
5. Replaced fuel filter (DIY $30 Pelican Parts)
6. Replaced wiper blades (DIY $28 Autozone)
7. Red clip for alarm with top open ($8 eBay)
8. Replaced top microswitch (DIY $38 Pelican Parts)
9. Replaced all four tires (stock Pirelli PZero Rosso rear tires worn out) with Michelin PS2's in 225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear ($950 Discount Tires)
10. AUX Audio input (for iPhone/MP3) (DIY $85 Discount Car Audio)
11. Rear speaker kit (DIY $250 eBay Harvey PNP). This was something I wanted, not a must do. Stock CDR-220 sounds much better now.

TOTAL = $1,726

To be done in January-February:
1. Spark plugs and ignition coils replacement ($60 plugs, $250 coils DIY)
2. Coolent flush and replacement ($150 Indie shop)
3. Brake fluid replacement ($100 Indie shop)
4. Brake pads and rotors replacement (all four wheels) with EBC Redstuff pads and drilled rotors ($250 pads, $280 rotors, DIY)
5. GT3 brake cooling ducts (DIY $50 eBay)

TOTAL = $1,140

Not needed:
1. Battery (replaced by previous owner in Aug, 2010 $120)
2. Belt/tensioner/rollers (replaced by previous owner in July, 2010 $550 Indie shop)
3. Top (replaced by previous owner in April, 2010, $1,200 Indie shop)


So, I'll be in for $2,866 in 3-4 months time just to repair/update/maintain my "cheap" Boxster. If I had to do the items that the previous owner did, this would have added $1,870 to the $2,866 for a possible total of $4,736.

This is the real cost of getting a well used Boxster back up to par (~$5K). This is ONLY if you do most of the work yourself. Do most at a shop and you're looking at more than $10K.

And this doesn't inlcude the following repairs/updates that could come at any time:

When clutch needs replacement:
1. Clutch
2. IMS/RMS update
3. Water pump/thermostat replacement

[WhipE350]

thstone, sounds like my life the last 6 weeks!...but I'm doing most of it because I want and like to which makes you smart for maintaining a car that needs it and me nuts for just throwing money at it to make it as new like as I can. I have one of those list too and much more I want to do, as I told others it keeps me too busy to find myself married again . If my neighbor would let me park my car in his garage with a pit for two weeks heck I would take on the clutch, RMS, and IMS...just because it is interesting.

[davemon]

+1 on having seningen care for your new baby.
+1 on a good purchase, if you wanted to cruise in a Porsche

At $6k you paid about the correct price IMO. You'll need some tinkering to get it right plus you'll need seningen to keep it on the road with the motor firing.

[enjoikr3w]

So far my costs have been low since everything has been DIY. The only cost that I am not sure of right now is the synchronizer replacement for the tranny but am waiting on a quote.

New rear tires, balance, alignment ($400)
Oil/Filter change ($100)
New clutch ($400)
Misc engine pieces/seals ($60)
Convertible top fix ($70)
Four universal O2 sensors spliced with existing mounts ($120)
Tranny ($???)

This totals to $1150 spent so far not including tranny. Everything else seems fine with the car (knock on wood).

[greenandtan]

Did you change out the plastic in the rear for $70?

Tips and tricks to this necessary evil??

Been a DIYer since I bought my "Green & Tan" '01!

Originally Posted by enjoikr3w

So far my costs have been low since everything has been DIY. The only cost that I am not sure of right now is the synchronizer replacement for the tranny but am waiting on a quote.

New rear tires, balance, alignment ($400)
Oil/Filter change ($100)
New clutch ($400)
Misc engine pieces/seals ($60)
Convertible top fix ($70)
Four universal O2 sensors spliced with existing mounts ($120)
Tranny ($???)

This totals to $1150 spent so far not including tranny. Everything else seems fine with the car (knock on wood).

[danyl55]

Originally Posted by enjoikr3w

So far my costs have been low since everything has been DIY. The only cost that I am not sure of right now is the synchronizer replacement for the tranny but am waiting on a quote.

New rear tires, balance, alignment ($400)
Oil/Filter change ($100)
New clutch ($400)
Misc engine pieces/seals ($60)
Convertible top fix ($70)
Four universal O2 sensors spliced with existing mounts ($120)
Tranny ($???)

This totals to $1150 spent so far not including tranny. Everything else seems fine with the car (knock on wood).

you did a clutch and didnt do the IMS-RMS while you were in there? Shame on you--