Low mileage, possible bigger headaches

[Box4two]

Let me start by saying I love my Boxster.
So I was really excited to have found a 2000 with only 48000 Kms. and the appearance really shows it. But I'm quickly realizing this also means most upgrades/ issues weren't done due to minimal use of this car.
After the first week of everyday use, I got the 1128 1130 cel, that after 2 wks of fiddling with cleaning of Maf sensor and checking for vacuum leaks, got resolved by installing a new Maf sensor.
Last week we had some heavy rains, on my way to work I noticed water droplets coming in around the window stitching, and off the top frames, when I touched the actual top, it was soaked throughout, I know the previous owner kept it garage and covered, and I doubt he ever drove it in the rain, therefore never bothered applying protectant on it.
I have since sprayed it with 303 and it now beads the water off nicely and the interior is nice and dry.
I read up on the convertible top issues, and checked my car and noticed I have the original red plastic push rod ends, so new ones have been ordered as preventative maintenance.
Last night on my way home I stopped for groceries, when I got back in the car I couldn't turn the ignition switch, it felt jammed. I moved the steering wheel back and forth and managed to turn the ignition, went home and sprayed a little lubricant in it, but it still feels like it's tight, so I've now read that this is another common issue and I better order a new ignition switch.
So again, I'm not really disappointed, just noting that sometimes low usage is not necessarily better.

[doctorm3]

I recently had the infamous sticky ignition switch. I ordered my replacement off of Amazon. In fact, I ordered two of them because they were so inexpensive! I think that it was about $35 for two of them delivered. My second one is being kept with my miscellaneous Boxster stuff in the event that I need it in the future.

It will require some contortion of your body to get under the dash and get the job done....hopefully you're not too big / tall. The job took me about 35-40 minutes to complete. You need to loosen two screws to remove the faulty switch. One of those screws is a real PITA! Good Luck!

[SoCalBlackbox]

Bought my 2000 about 2 months ago with 32k miles on it. The previous owner had put a new MAF in it last year. Since I live in Southern California I don't think the car has ever seen rain so I will have to treat the roof although rain doesn't seem to be a problem lately and I don't have to drive the car in the rain. The ignition switch has been pretty good so far.

[Paul]

The roof has a cloth exterior that covers a rubber like second layer which is what makes it water proof.

[rdass623]

imho whenever you purchase a car which is 2/3 of the way to drinking age, you should expect to need to fix some things with it. mine is a 2000 with 52k on the clock. which when all is said and done is a low mileage vehicle, but also I like to tinker with cars. mine is a daily driver. in the time since I bought it, I have logged about 2500 miles and am having a blast, but when something is not in "need" of repair, I tend to look for something to do to it. ownership of just about older car worth owning, is not going to be for the faint of heart, it is going to be a passion. and as with any love there will be hard times and great joy. savor the experience, or just get a Toyota corolla.

[Box4two]

I knew, and expected to spend money on it, so I'm not disappointed, especially after having owned a Triumph TR7, and a Lotus Esprit. The Boxster is actually driven daily, my other cars never gave me enough confidence to go farther than I could walk home!

[truegearhead]

Maintenance is a beast on these. I just crossed the ten k mark in parts alone, that was over 40,000 miles and 3 years. The car had 0 problems when I purchased it.

[MacBoxster]

I bought a 99 Boxster with 128000 km it had a good history for service from previous owner but no records for the first owner. I am 3 rd owner. I too did a waterproof of roof, much better. I have changed all filters, oil change. I have put 5000 km on her in past year with no issues. Fingers crossed. I plan on keeping up with regular maintenance and see how it goes. Seems this car was a regular driver and maybe that is the best.

[Box4two]

Originally Posted by Box4two

Let me start by saying I love my Boxster.
So I was really excited to have found a 2000 with only 48000 Kms. and the appearance really shows it. But I'm quickly realizing this also means most upgrades/ issues weren't done due to minimal use of this car.
After the first week of everyday use, I got the 1128 1130 cel, that after 2 wks of fiddling with cleaning of Maf sensor and checking for vacuum leaks, got resolved by installing a new Maf sensor.
Last week we had some heavy rains, on my way to work I noticed water droplets coming in around the window stitching, and off the top frames, when I touched the actual top, it was soaked throughout, I know the previous owner kept it garage and covered, and I doubt he ever drove it in the rain, therefore never bothered applying protectant on it.
I have since sprayed it with 303 and it now beads the water off nicely and the interior is nice and dry.
I read up on the convertible top issues, and checked my car and noticed I have the original red plastic push rod ends, so new ones have been ordered as preventative maintenance.
Last night on my way home I stopped for groceries, when I got back in the car I couldn't turn the ignition switch, it felt jammed. I moved the steering wheel back and forth and managed to turn the ignition, went home and sprayed a little lubricant in it, but it still feels like it's tight, so I've now read that this is another common issue and I better order a new ignition switch.
So again, I'm not really disappointed, just noting that sometimes low usage is not necessarily better.

Update:
still loving the Boxster, last week I noticed when it's hot, it starts fine, but idles rough for less than a minute and when I scanned it, I got misfire codes on 2 of the cylinders.
Since it's 14 yrs old but low mileage I'm guessing the coil packs have never been changed so I ordered new coils(6) and will do plugs and tubes at the same time.
Yesterday my top overlapped the side rail a few times, found the Velcro strap had come off, so I learned too sew, and turned the finger spring around as well, it's working fine now.

Despite these little hiccups, it's still music to my ears when that flat 6 starts singing after 4000 rpm! :dance:

[Box4two]

Forgot to mention.... Yesterday I also decided to take off the wind deflector for a proper cleaning and broke one of the clips after reading the instructions on this forum on how NOT to break the clips! was surprised to see they are only $5.60 at the Porsche dealer!