Is there any general consensus...
 

that the OBD2 code reader is the way to go for my 2001 Boxster base without breaking the bank? I have had my P car 2 years and have not read the codes.I would think that the cable must be appropriate to attach to the car? Your thoughts?No cel lights or anything have shown up. Got 40k miles on it.

A Durametric cable is the best way to go. It's relatively cheap. It reads codes from lots of different systems and allows one to reset them. It has diagnostic features. Far more useful than simple OBCD readers.

Well, lets put it this way. When you get sick, you go to your family doctor: (OBD-II general purpose code scanner for 1996 cars and up)
When you have a bad heart, you go to your Cardiologist who specializes in a certain body part. The Durametric tool is specifically for Porsches. It has way more diagnostics built in for your car than any OBDII scanner you can buy.

Don't buy a cheap $50 OBD-II scanner, get a comprehensive one that has built in code definitions if you need it for your other modern cars as well. I have one I keep in the garage and recently used it on my 01 Boxster to clear a check engine light due to dirty MAF. I cleaned the MAF, reset the code, and it hasn't come back on since, about 1 month now.

I use to have a durametric cable/software for my laptop but sold it 2 years ago because I sold my 997. Great tool if you plan to keep your Porsche long term. A good for 3 car vins Durametric kit is about ~$300

Best

The OBD II will not show all of the codes that your Porsche will kick up. Just the ones that will trigger a CEL light (if I'm not mistaken). Something I wish I knew before I spent $100 on OBD II. Money that would have been better spent on the Durametric. But at least the OBD II allows you to erase a CEL light without having to pay Autozone or similar an inflated fee to do so.

The Durametric is great but a $50 code reader is still a usefull item to have in your garage. Given that it will work on a variety of cars besides our beloved Boxsters makes it a good value.

In the long run, the Durametric is actually the way to go. Find someone selling a used Durametric with 1 or 2 VIN's left and you can get it for the same price as a many standard OBD-II units.

Just went through this debate. I wasn't ready to spend 300+ for Durametric. I was on a tight timeline
I had done an intake/throttle body clean. Drove 100 miles to visit my daughter. On the ride home (80 miles from home) a CEL turned on. The car ran great, gas milage was good so I know it was from some type of vacuum leak from the work the day before. I stopped every so often to check.
I needed to make sure codes (P1128, 1130) were related and then be able to clear after the fix.

I ended up buying a $50 reader figuring it can stay in the car and with a data phone I can search for codes if I'm caught away from home

The Durametric would be a good gift from Santa though (If my wife is reading this)

I think you and I have differing definitions of "relatively cheap", lol! :eek:

We own Porsches. $300 is cheap.

And if you can get one used with 2 VINs left for $200, well, that's even cheaper.

The make of car doesn't magically change the dollar amount. $300 is $300, and $300 is not cheap.

Never mind...I'm out :D

A "friend" of mine has a knock off chinese Durametric that works just fine. It doesn't have all of the functions, like the drive functions to turn things on and off and programming functions, but for codes and all the parameters that the Durametric reads, it works great. Take a chance for about $35, not much to lose.

I've owned my Durametric since last November. It helped me avoid several hours of diagnostic time with the dealer and local independents. They way I see it, the cable paid for itself already. BTW: I got it used for about $200 along with a Bentley manual tossed in as part of the deal.

^^ This!

After 8 years of ownership and lots of diagnostic questions on both my Boxster and a fleet of service trucks, I find the $60 Actron OBD II to be exactly the right tool for my needs. I have yet to be shut out in an accurate diagnosis with this simple tool. I have no use or need for a Durametric and I think they can actually do harm by misinterpretation of the vast amount of information they provide by most of us regular Joes.

If I owned a Porsche repair shop I would own the pro model and be completely trained on it's use as a tool for every day diagnostics. As a once or twice per year troubleshooting device for a DIY I think Durametric software is way overkill.

Others will surely disagree. YMMV

Don't forget that you have to have a Windows laptop to go with a Durametric.

That's exactly what I did and bought this one (after some research on code scanners for Boxsters): Actron CP9550 OBD-II PocketScan Plus Diagnostic Code Reader : Amazon.com : Automotive

Does anyone know of a good lead/software for Mac OSX?

The durametric or knockoff is better since it has all the codes, however you need the info to decipher all those numbers to specify what is within spec.

A bluetooth or wireless wifi OBD2 is also usefull for the codes and for interfacing with applications on your mobile device, like track lap timers etc.

Would someone give a link to one of these Durametric tools please, thanks.

Diagnostic Tool for Porsche | Durametric

The software is free to download. The cable is what you buy and what controls the number of VIN's that can be used with the cable. Most of us own the enthusiast kit.

Thank you.