Care & Feeding Of A Garage Queen
 

No, the title does not refer to me, it refers to my car. :D

I have noticed that I tend not to drive my car. I've had it for 10 months and put about 600 miles on it. I drive it a few miles every couple of weeks. I'm wondering what I should do to maintain it. If I wait for 3,000 miles to change the oil, it will be 5 years before it's changed! That doesn't sound like a good idea.

And what about all the other bits: those little rubber seals around the windows, the tires, the battery, the top? I plan to keep it about 10 years, so I want it to be okay. No issues so far, knock on wood.

The environment is very humid, hot, never below freezing, garaged. I'm thinking about putting one of those buckets of desiccant inside the car to pull the humidity out of the air so the leather doesn't get moldy (I had that happen in another car. The steering wheel was actually furry :eek:). Maybe a battery tender? It starts well, so far.

Any other ideas?

I've always changed the oil each year regardless of miles as the stuff gets contaminated and dirty fairly quickly.You don't want that junk sitting in there.In a perfect world, the short drives should be long enough to thoroughly warm the car--maybe 30 minutes and after it is completely warmed,run it pretty hard.Let it cool down a bit before parking.

Don't know where you live, but Arkansas is Captain Humidity King with nothing separating us from the constant gulf air but soggy Louisiana! Have never tried a desiccant but seems like a good idea.

My 2000 S,purchased last year,could use a good rubber treatment to keep the very expensive weather stripping/trim soft and pliable.There has been a very recent thread on "rubber moldings" within the last day or so.I'm getting the stuff they recommend and applying it to my car.

Keeping the car OUT OF THE SUN is number one.

I'm in similar situation, where I don't get to drive my vehicle much either. In fact, I've only clocked 2k miles in the last 3 1/2 years. However, since my vehicle is always garaged, and it's never experienced the effects of direct sunlight or harsh weather of any kind. Being extremely OCD has helped. :) Anyway, keeping the vehicle meticulously clean and serviced annually, along with a battery tender has been essential to it's longevity.

Awwww poor thing. She is being neglected all alone in that musty old garage. Boxsters are a lot like dogs. They need lots of love, attention, and regular exercise.

Hey! This gives me a great idea for a second career. Professional Porsche exerciser. I could saddle them up for a weekly canyon carving session in the local mountains. A nice 2 hour drive to shake out the cobwebs and bring her home tired, happy, and satisfied.... Sure it could happen. :D

Are you guys serious about these mileage quotes? Well, changing the oil once a year at least should be standard practice. Battery maintainer also. Usually cars that sit too long end up with dead batteries and shorter life span alternators.

The best thing you can do is to make a point of planning one long trip in the car each month. And when you take it out for short trips after about 10 mins of driving shift only above 3k rpm and try to keep it above that mark when driving.

Wow. With 25 track days in the plan, I'll do 2K miles this year entirely AT REDLINE (or near enough). :D

As for maintenance, Perfectlap got it spot on - oil change yearly, battery tender, and get it up to temp monthly to cook the water out of the oil.

I'm in the same boat. Less than 2k in the last three or so years. I change the oil once a year. I've gone a little past that this time. I put a batt. tender on the car when I bought it. My battery is 5 years old now and starts like it was new every time. I wish I had more time to put miles on it. I've also got a 'boxer' bmw motorcycle in the same situation.

I only did 600 miles too (OK, only 580miles)......................................... ...this past weekend.

Don't forget about your brake fluid which is very hygroscopic (water absorbent). In your humid climate you don't want to go more than 24 months (regardless of mileage) without a complete brake fluid change. Moisture in your brake fluid can contribute to rusted/frozen calipers if left in there for long periods. Some people even do a change at 12 month intervals in less humid climes (those with a lot of track work). I've been doing mine every 24 months for the last 10 years. When I pulled the pads and rotors off this year for 1st time replacement (62k miles) , the calipers/pistons/seals looked almost as good as new.

I just had a friend that sold his wife's 2007 Boxster S. They purchased new and she never drove it. 8000 miles in 5 years! I don't get it. I bought my 2002 S a year ago from an old man that had driven it 8400 miles since he bought it new. He did all maintenance and it was still new when I bought it for a third of what he paid. I put more miles in a year of ownership than he did in ten years. Drive them! I know they are great to look at but they are much more fun when they are moving!

Can't relate to that. I have 3 of them and put at least 10K on each one in an average year. a set of rear tires and 2 oil changes per car plus the other maintenance. Maybe that is where my money goes. Don't regret a bit of it.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1371834591.jpg

I'm confused also, why would anyone not be able to drive it more fequently? Drive it to work, use it for errands, it makes mundane trips much more enjoyable.:)

Drive your cars people!

Exactly. There's one part of my commute to work where I pull onto the frontage road of a freeway from a side street....due to light timings there is never a single car around. It is my favorite part of the day!

Maybe it's because I'm new to Boxster ownership, but since I got mine last August, I have racked up over 5k. I know the new may wear off later on, but I drive it to work a couple times per week, and every chance I get on the weekend when it's not raining.
From my experience, two things deteriorate faster when not in use, cars and homes. If left sitting, they will develop leaks, cracks, etc. Maybe it's the lack of love? :confused:

mountainman.... that is one pretty picture!

That's when its car capsule time.

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I too clock very few miles annually on the box. 22k in 10 years. For anyone with a family a Boxster is not a primary car, or even a secondary car. It's just a toy. My Porsche dealer told me most Boxsters and 911s bought from the dealership are not used heavily as daily drivers.

The battery charger is a must!

^^I'm with mistermac on this one. Purchased my 2000 986 on 03/06/13 with 63K on the clock, and she reads 70,200 as of this morning. Meanwhile, my Defender hasn't even gone through half a tank of diesel since then.

When I bought my Cayman Sport in Dec, she had 7400 mi on her. 6 mo later the odometer reads 12500. Punkin gets about 4K mi a yr, too. I like driving my Porsches. :cheers: