Alternator: Autozone Duralast
 

in the market for a new alternator for my 2003 base Boxster - got a quote from Autozone that they sell a Duralast alternator for $150 (compared to OEM $4xx).

Anyone has experience with this particular brand of alternators? I've used their batteries before and they have met and exceeded my expectations (so far).

When I was in the market for an alternator last year I checked into the local Autozone and found that what they said was correct for my '02S looked nothing like the OEM alternator. Have them pull a box off the shelf and take a look for yourself before you buy. Instead I bought a remanufactured Bosch unit through eBay. I think it was around $185 delivered. While I generally shy away from buying parts on eBay, so far, so good after 10k miles.

Are you sure
 

it is the alternator itself and not just the voltage regulator?

bought an alternator last year from o'reillys and it seems to be fine. the brand on the box / tag was "Ultima" but it's really just a bosch (OEM) alternator that's been reman'd

i would imagine the duralast would be the same.

**edit**

reading the autozone website confirms this.

from their product page for the duralast alternator...


Part Number: 15493
Weight: 14.79 lbs
Warranty: Limited Lifetime
Notes: 120 Amp alternator* With manual transmission * Premium reman
Unit Manufacturer: Bosch
Amperage: 120 A.
Pulley Type: 6S clutch pulley
Fan: Internal
Regulator: Internal

Contact Jeff at Suncoast Porsche in Sarasota, FL....they usually have the best deals on Porsche parts....personally, I would only use a Porsche replacement. Cheaper than screwing up your electrical system since Porsche touchy in that area. :cheers:

Although this happened nearly two decades ago, here is my experience with Autozone replacement parts; Due to the fact I was flat broke then, I cheaped out and bought the lowest priced fuel pump and water pump that my GM vehicle was in need of, yes from Autozone. Fuel pump lasted 2 weeks (breaking down requiring tow) and the water pump lasted 3 months (leak through impeller bearing, changed it myself). Getting the BBB and Ohio AG involved with my complaint netted me my money back but some lessons are never forgotten.

I've had a similar experience with "re-manufactured" parts. I had a reman alternator in my old Firebird. I had to replace it every six months. Luckily, in that car it was a 20 minute job, not like the Boxster. I eventually got tired of it and bought one from GM.

Why not take the old alternator and have an alt shop rebuild it?

no experience with Duralast on my Boxster...
 

...but I did buy one of their fuel pumps to replace my Bosch pump on my Alfa Spider. The pump was in stock locally for $159 versus ordering the Bosch unit for $280 through an Alfa supplier. As my car was on the side of the road, I decided to try the Autozone unit. The pump has been on the car for 4 years without an issue and is much quieter than the OEM part.

There is nothing unique about a Boxster alternator.

My thoughts on aftermarket vs OEM:
The OEM died after how many mile/years? and its replacment costs $$$. If you go "rebuild" they normally give you a lifetime warranty and my luck has been about 98% to the good. That's replacing alternators, water pump, starters, brake calipers in everything from Ford, Chevy, Honda, Subaru, Benz. So I am not afraid of AutoZOne, OReilly or Joe's garage.
Just my thoughts, not yours.

Duralast Alternator?
 

Picking up on this thread from a while back now, curious to see if anyone out there actually has pulled the trigger on the Duralast Alternator route.

Like nearly everything out there these days, it is a remanufactured unit (i.e. the OEM Bosch redone) but this one comes with a lifetime warranty. With repair bills adding up, the Duralast is at the moment $120 after the core charge and a 20% online discount vs. the $470 + shipping at Pelican and the like. eBay just seems to have more remanufactured units but still for much more than the Duralast.

I've attached some pictures of the unit below (ordered one last year before realizing I had in reality a different issue altogether and returned it... now I have the pictures at least). Curious to see if anyone has gone the Autozone Duralast route and any observations. Thanks.

J

-2000 Boxster S

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1403831195.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1403831237.jpg

generally, I have found the remanufactured parts from your local retailers work just fine. typically they come with a lifetime warranty, so for the diy'er it is a good deal. yes there are quite a few people who will say go to the dealership and purchase the Porsche part which will run about 4 times more, but I feel you will get more enjoyment from the fact you can still afford to fill the tank and drive your boxy after the repair as an added bonus. $300 savings = 5 tanks of gas..... sounds like a no brainer to me.

I've not bought a Duralast alternator for the box, but I have used them on other vehicles, and have never replaced them, either sold the vehicle or continued to drive them. I've about 150k miles on one in my 97 Explorer. The parts all used to be "lifetime" now I'm seeing "3 year". Bought the Exploder alternator as "lifetime", it will be interesting to see what happens if it fails. If I need one for the Box, it will definitely be from Autozone.

Bought mine from Autozone. Looked like a perfect match to me. Fit right in. I don't know how many miles I have on it as the car has been on blocks for a couple months fixing everything else. Somewhere in the 2k-4k range and no issues.

I'm not super concerned with a cheap alternator. If it goes bad, it won't kill anything else. And usually, I'll have a warning or two before it goes completely. I was scared to get the Autozone water pump though.

ETA: 1997 986

What about a third option....get your current alternator rebuilt by a local alternator shop. I did that for my 914 starter and 911sc alternator.

But I thought Porsche parts were made with fairy dust and unicorn tears...?



I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here that thinks that ;) :p

Thanks
 

Awesome everyone. Thanks for the replies. And for some of them, thanks for the good laughs as well! All good insights and are very much appreciated.

Autozone
 

We have purchased batteries for 99 Jag XJ8l, 2006 Audi TT, 2003 Porsche
No problems at all. The store installed all of these. Great people at my
Local store.

Update: New Autozone Alternator Installed
 

Hi All,

A quick update. The new Autozone alternator is installed. Runs nice and quiet now (prior bearings were shot). So far so good!

Btw, I posted a series of tips to the forum here in case its helpful: Some Tips for Alternator Swap / Replacement

Jeff

2000 Boxster S, Arctic Silver/Black

Do you have a sound clip of how it sounded when the bearings were failing? Was the shaft wobbly?

I'm trying to determine if my bearings are shot as well.

Thanks


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