Thinking about pulling the trigger on an 02

[dblaalid]

Yeah SLO - Electrical Engineering.

Thanks for the input. If it can get me to and from my home town comfortably I don't mind at all.

However,I'll be giving up a lot of practical features in the GTI like 6 disc CD, iPod integration, heated seats, projector headlights, rear seats (never use em though), tilt and telescopic steering wheel, among other things. But everything I've read and seen and heard makes it seem worth it. My roommate has a 99 and it's the best sounding car within miles. The car I'm looking at doesn't even had a CD player according to the dealer (still haven't seen it in person, but put a deposit down to hold it) so I'll be using a cassette to iPod adapter.


Is the 80K mile range a bad place to buy a 986? I've read that anything that's made it to 100K will keep on going, and anything lower at like 50K still has some time before everything needs replacing. What is your take on this? It'd be nice to have it all in one place.

I also scheduled a PPI and am hoping for the best.


Thanks again guys!

[fatmike]

Originally Posted by dblaalid

Yeah SLO - Electrical Engineering.

Thanks for the input. If it can get me to and from my home town comfortably I don't mind at all.

However,I'll be giving up a lot of practical features in the GTI like 6 disc CD, iPod integration, heated seats, projector headlights, rear seats (never use em though), tilt and telescopic steering wheel, among other things. But everything I've read and seen and heard makes it seem worth it. My roommate has a 99 and it's the best sounding car within miles. The car I'm looking at doesn't even had a CD player according to the dealer (still haven't seen it in person, but put a deposit down to hold it) so I'll be using a cassette to iPod adapter.


Is the 80K mile range a bad place to buy a 986? I've read that anything that's made it to 100K will keep on going, and anything lower at like 50K still has some time before everything needs replacing. What is your take on this? It'd be nice to have it all in one place.

I also scheduled a PPI and am hoping for the best.


Thanks again guys!

Dude, are you seriously worried about the "tilt and telescopic steering wheel"?


BTW - you put down a deposit and never saw the car? Why? There are a lot of Boxsters out there, be patient and buy one that has the features you want.





/

[recycledsixtie]

Originally Posted by fatmike

Dude, are you seriously worried about the "tilt and telescopic steering wheel"?


BTW - you put down a deposit and never saw the car? Why? There are a lot of Boxsters out there, be patient and buy one that has the features you want.





/

That is the best advice. Putting a deposit down on a car you have not seen is like getting engaged to a girl you have never met! Yes try out lots of vehicles. Mind you in my case I bought the 2nd Boxster I saw. The first one was a 2000 yellow and the 2nd one was a 2001 black. Look at all the options available. I dont have remote key entry, or leather or psm.What is important to you? The primary thing is condition and a PPI is a must but is no guarantee but better than not doing one.

[dblaalid]

Well in all honesty the car is apparently in excellent condition (had a family member check it out) andy I wanted to be able to see it, so the deposit is just to hold the car for a week until I can get to it.

And the steering wheel thing is the smallest of my concerns haha. I was just mentioning it because I am very awkwardly proportioned and it usually takes me weeks to get comfortable in any car. So it's just of modest concern.

Thanks for looking out for me though haha. I have been looking at Boxsters for a while and haven't seen any that have caught my eye quite like this one did...

[dblaalid]

Well in all honesty the car is apparently in excellent condition (had a family member check it out) andy I wanted to be able to see it, so the deposit is just to hold the car for a week until I can get to it.

And the steering wheel thing is the smallest of my concerns haha. I was just mentioning it because I am very awkwardly proportioned and it usually takes me weeks to get comfortable in any car. So it's just of modest concern.

Thanks for looking out for me though haha. I have been looking at Boxsters for a while and haven't seen any that have caught my eye quite like this one did...

[97 Boxster]

Any photos of the Boxster your looking at?

[sgt brad]

fwiw i was in a similar position last fall. i looked at an 03 and an 02. both had limited options. i chose the 02 b/c it had a new clutch, ims, rms and tranny. i had the aos, waterpump and thermostat done at the same time as the ppi. once the car cleared the ppi i pulled the trigger sight unseen. i've never regretted it. however, i bought the car from someone i talked with for 2 months about every aspect of the car so i felt very comfortable with it's condition. your experience may vary. i feel i got an immaculate, low mile car with all of the potential problems addressed. just be ware that adding options is not easy with boxsters. it's best to take the earlier advice and search for one with all of the options list that you already want rather than trying to add features later. just my .02 worth. good luck

[NoGaBiker]

Originally Posted by sgt brad

... just be ware that adding options is not easy with boxsters. it's best to take the earlier advice and search for one with all of the options list that you already want rather than trying to add features later. just my .02 worth. good luck

Not an issue with the car you're looking at, but if you pass on that and move up to a 2003 - 2004 986 it becomes much harder to deal with the stereo because they adopted the fiber-optic buss. Which means if you don't like the head unit, you need to replace the HU, the amp, etc. because they all communicate over this FO cable and that's proprietary. I wanted iPod input, so I wanted a new HU to get that, so I had to replace the HU, amp, and all the speakers (Bose speakers are 2 ohms so don't work well with other amps. Plus they suck.)