At a crossroads with my car - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ChrisZang · 07-02-2014, 10:31 PM

Been there, done it
My rule of thumb is: Take a good guestimate of how much money you will be dumping in the car over the next 3 years. Doesn't have to be exact, just come up with a ballpark figure.

And now ask yourself the question:
It I would see the car for sale (yes you already own it, just bear with me) would I buy it for that sum of money?

recycledsixtie · 07-03-2014, 01:45 AM

Well thanks for being my Porsche shrink 9eight6! Looking back over the past 7 years I have had the Box for 3 and prior to that a 99 Miata for 4 years. I have driven them year round in the ice and snow. Mind you being retired I can pick the days I drive.

My next car will likely be a small suv like a RAV4 that can handle the winter well and is reliable. Sorry OP for hijacking the thread but I completely understand where you are coming from. The inconvenience of not driving the car for the past month has forced me to do more yard chores such as staining the deck. Playing golf gets put on the backburner!

The mail man knows me well for being the guy that has his nose pressed against the window waiting for Porsche parts! Fortunately I have a very patient wife and is used to my eclectic taste in cars. My daughter says that I won't be happy with a RAV4. I really don't want to spring for the big $$$$ for a BMW suv. The guys on Pelican Parts forum tell me that a BMW can be just as much trouble as a Porsche. I might take over somebody's lease which has about a year to go and that way I would have a choice of returning it or buying the car.Thanks for listening to me.
Happy motoring.Cheers, Guy.

ChrisZang · 07-03-2014, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

Well thanks for being my Porsche shrink 9eight6! Looking back over the past 7 years I have had the Box for 3 and prior to that a 99 Miata for 4 years. I have driven them year round in the ice and snow. Mind you being retired I can pick the days I drive.

My next car will likely be a small suv like a RAV4 that can handle the winter well and is reliable. Sorry OP for hijacking the thread but I completely understand where you are coming from. The inconvenience of not driving the car for the past month has forced me to do more yard chores such as staining the deck. Playing golf gets put on the backburner!

The mail man knows me well for being the guy that has his nose pressed against the window waiting for Porsche parts! Fortunately I have a very patient wife and is used to my eclectic taste in cars. My daughter says that I won't be happy with a RAV4. I really don't want to spring for the big $$$$ for a BMW suv. The guys on Pelican Parts forum tell me that a BMW can be just as much trouble as a Porsche. I might take over somebody's lease which has about a year to go and that way I would have a choice of returning it or buying the car.Thanks for listening to me.
Happy motoring.Cheers, Guy.

My other car is a 2006 BMW X3. I bought it like 5 years ago with 30k miles and I am now pushing 100k miles. Only big repair (other than the normal wear & tear items) were new front shocks at 50k miles.
Fun car to drive and certainly more fun than a RAV4

jb92563 · 07-03-2014, 07:00 AM

I figured that most 986 drivers have it as a second "hobby" car because its old, but special.

I have not driven mine either for a month because of a weird hesitation problem I'm working on but it is a hobby car and I do all the work myself when possible so I can take my time and not fret over it being offline for a while as I have another car.

There are not a whole lot of wear and tear components to replace and everything is surprisingly easy to work on for the most part.

You have to do the things in life that make you happy so if you hate your 986 then its time to move on, or change the circumstance and find a way to make you love it again.

As some of the others have said, look at the cost of repairs vs cost of moving on to another car.
It usually favors the repairs and having a known set of issues VS buying another used car with unknown issues
and ending up with a whole new set of bills all over again.

Dgnarvs · 07-03-2014, 07:32 AM

I commiserate with the OP. Had my Box go all weird on me last year and I wasn't able to use it for 2 months. After changing a number of parts including a new immobilizer unit it's been running really well. But I can never shake the feeling that something's going to give anytime soon. It's a 13 year old car after all.

This is the first time I've owned a car older than 5 years. I'm not sure I'm cut out for owning an old car with all the attendant TLC that it requires. Having said that, when it's running well it's an absolute joy...however infrequent that may be.

If I have the cash though, I'd buy myself a brand new 981 and forego all the hassles.