Hyper Daily Driver Update.
 

It'll be ready tomorrow. :)
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...pss5lr1ntj.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psbgjy9lva.jpg

I wanted to take care of everything that was worn or broken so I could drive it with confidence. Final repair list:
-oil and filter
-replace coolant (it was indeed the wrong stuff in there)
-left rear strut
-right radiator fan
-front motor mount
-front brakes and rotors
-all new CV boots on axles
-serpentine belt
-recharge A/C
I think that's all. Trying to remember the whole list.
Everything else looked great.
Oil and filter were clean with no debris of any kind. Cam deviation was less than 2 degrees.
The total bill is going to run in the $1600-$1700 range, but $6500 total is still not a bad investment for a DD Porsche that's ready to go. :)
I'll report in on how it's performimg in the day to day routine.
Thanks for following!

Way cool. :cheers:

I'll be looking for you on I-44/I-35 on my trips to OKC.

You should get one of those "my other car is a porsche" stickers for your new daily ;P.

Congratulations, be careful out there in the slippery stuff!

Is that a 996 AOS you're using? Is the top hose in the far side of your pic a coolant hose?

Thanks guys!
Same here Rick. ;) give me a flash or a honk if you spot me!
Bigjake, you read my mind. I already ordered one for it! :)
Byprodriver, I'm honestly not sure. If it is, it was done by the previous owner. Although I'm a lifelong fan of Porsches, I'm still getting my beak wet as far as owning them. ;)

Oh yeah, new battery. Forgot about that one. The battery was four years old, so why take a chance.

Nice deal, $6500 all in! That just puts a smile on my face. Enjoy!:cheers:

Mine too! ;)
Thank you Bruce!

That is a lot of car for $6500 and great job on all of the repairs! Good luck.

I appreciate it, thstone! :)

I'm picking it up tomorrow (Thurs) now. Went by tonight and they ran into a bit of a snag. When they replaced the left rear strut, they found it had been mangled and the bolts were loose. Also, the wheel bearing on that wheel looks like it had been replaced, and it was extremely loose. Torqued to less than a third of what it should be. Not grinding yet, but it was chewing itself up. So, new bearing. He's not charging labor on that one since he was in there already.
Belt, air and cabin filters were original and were all literally crumbling apart.
Weird, it's had some proper maintenance done, yet other common things were ignored or done poorly.
But she's back to 100%, and I'm anxious to see how she drives now. :)

I think the beater route is pretty cool. Did you notice the bearing singing before you brought it in for repair? Just curious if you had any warning of it going bad.

In this case, no. Both my mechanic and I were surprised it wasn't making any noise considering the condition.
I've had wheel bearings go out in other cars before and it was patently obvious with the insane racket they made.
They're checking the other bearings just in case. That's why they wanted it one more night. ;)

Got it, good luck with it overall. I drive my 996 C4 every day here in Chicago and I'm loving every (s)mile.

Thank you! ;)
(cool, driving a C4 every day definitely doesn't suck! LOL)

I want one that says "This IS my other car."

I can't bring myself to put a sticker on my nicer Box, but I might find a "my other car-" tag bracket for it so that they're both sporting the statement. ;)

Ha, stickers - my 996 C4 Tip boasts a STUDENT DRIVER decal on the rear window. Not sure if that is for myself or my son whom is learning to drive in this car. Either way, it's pretty funny to see and I get a lot of comments about it.

On second look that hose by the AOS may be from the heat exchanger to coolant tank. It's usually lower.

Ha! Student Driver on something like that, I love it!

Well I recieved my invoice and picked up the car.
I had to sit down and breathe in a paper bag when I read the bill for $3,000! Turns out it needed both rear wheel bearings, and a few other odds and ends, most of which came from damage done by previous work on the car by someone who had no clue what they were doing.
So now we're $7,500 into the car total. That's in the neighborhood of cleaner examples, but they'd still likely need a good portion of the work that was done on this one. So hey.
No matter, it drives like a total dream and still puts a big stupid grin on my face!
Should be good to go for awhile, as everything else on the car, bumper-to-bumper was checked out and was fine. :)
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psncpqnxdc.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...pscmjmwpwy.jpg
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http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps0eegbusd.jpg
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Just go on Craigs and see what $7,500 buys yof these days....

You did fine. Both the 98'same I bought needed stuff. Most of the maintenance was routine but tires, brakes etc were typical. Most expensive thing in each was sorting out the convertible top.
IIRC, I put about $1,800 in one and $2,200 in the other, all in parts as I did all the work.

You did great. Drive and enjoy!

Oh yeah, it's still a ton of car for the money. ;)
It's fun to search the ads to see what else is in the same price range.
I'm still out enjoying the ride. :D
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psuk0thkhv.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps85mjnltr.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psk4bvpfjm.jpg

PS: many thanks, dghii!

Money well spent on the piece of mind aspect. What other vehicle would you be as happy in for $7500? I would think a good PDR guy should be able to pop that rear fender back in shape too. Should you decide to sell, you're still covered.

Throw a little Meg 205 compound cream (or the like) on those headlights followed by Meg Instant Detailer spray (or the like) and they should come right back to crystal clear.

Thanks Twomato! I'll try that. I used a headlight compound on them earlier which made a huge difference, but they still need a little more work. ;)
Yeah, like you guys are saying, I couldn't have bought more "fun" or "cool" on wheels for near that money. Maybe a used PT Cruiser or Honda Accord or something. LOL. Not quite the joy or character involved there. ;)

Yeah, I've found the detail mist as the last step really puts a pop on the headlamps post compound.

Since I've now put about 200 miles on it, I've begun to notice that it is a somewhat strangely optioned vehicle.
It has the Tiptronic, and full leather interior, but no cruise control, no rear glove box, no keyless entry, and the 16" wheels.
My other '99 does not have full leather or Tip, but has cruise, keyless, rear glove box, and 17" wheels. Odd.

Twomato... awesome, I'll look for the Meg products availability. I'll also go try it out on my Dad's work car. The headlights on it are an extreme case.

I agree completely. It would appear that original purchasers customized these cars,and some quite uniquely during the order process.
I have an S, very lightly optioned, but with DSP?! I guess the original purschaser was a minimalist, but wanted the best possible tunes available at the time.
That and colour choices too... A bit over a year ago, I saw a Guards Red Boxster for sale with a Metropol Blue interior. :barf: The dealer was touting it as a rare colour combination. Yeah, right. Just painfully horrid to look at is more like it.

On the other hand, your Arctic Silver/Nephrite Green combination is rather cool. I'm digging it. Now go out and drive it already. Make up for the guys like me that hibernate ours for the winter!

There is ALOT of variety in boxsters thanks to the typical made to order process of buying a porsche. I have seen some cool ones with the factory aero kit and carbon fiber inlays. Painted seat backs is really nice. My own boxster has yellow seat belts and stitching. There are the very few cars that are lucky enough to have PSE.

The fabled option that I have never came across though is the parking assist, I have never found a boxster listed with parking assist.

That's true, I guess with Porsche's long-time practice of making nearly everything optional and charging like crazy for every option, it would lead to people being very picky and choosy over what they ordered on their car. ;)
I've seen the yellow belts and stitching once before on a yellow Box, and it looked incredible!
I'd have to agree, I'm picturing a red car with blue interior and it plays with my brain! LOL! Yet, I've seen blue with a red interior and it looked pretty cool. Not as strange as I thought it would.

It would appear that the original owner wanted the basic $39,995 model, but just couldn't live without the Nephite Green leather interior.

Can you post a pic of the white label inside the frunk lid?

Just wonderin'.......

TO

Certainly!
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psbf0cuhpi.jpg

Hard to find accurate code info, but what I've found:
L92u: Arctic Silver
X1: Metallic
X70: Steel Door Sills
274: Vanity Mirrors
421: Cassette Shelf (this sure dates it, LOL)
551: Wind Stop (no longer with the car)
586: Driver's Lumbar Support
659: Computer (ah, the info center that gives outside temp, avg mpg, etc)
198: 1.7kw Starter
249: Tiptronic S
437: Comfort Seat L
438: Comfort Seat R

Codes 432, 502, 537, 584, 981, and 983 are a mystery to me.
Anyone that can fill me in, it would be greatly appreciated. ;)

432 tip steering wheel. 537 Seating position control for comfort seat L. 981 leather without seat covers, 983 seat covers front leather.


Still no luck with 502

https://www.stuttcars.com/technical/option-codes/986-00-02/

If the car is an 00-02, 502 means that it was produced by Valmet in Finland.

Thanks for the extra info! :) Don't know why most option lists for these cars are incomplete.
I'm also thrilled in "discovering" that it has power lumbar support through researching these option codes. I have a bit of a bad back and really need lower back support for anything I'm sitting in for a good length of time. Went out, found it, tried it, and it still works! My drives are going to be even more pleasant now. ;)

So far this car has been a parade of pleasant surprises.

Update:
More evidence the car has been nicked at some point, leading to the insurance claim in its history....
Just had a new Kenwood stereo put in so I can bluetooth to my phone. Shop says the factory Porsche stereo that came out was a later year than the car and the the amp was missing entirely.

Nicked as in stolen or previous accident?

Sorry, as in stolen. ;)
It was reported in 2009 as a total loss, yet after the inspection and repairs it showed no evidence of having been in any major accident.

Who would steal a car with green interior?!

Kidding aside, I think you got more than you bargained for in the character department on this one. You may find yourself more attached to your daily than your other P-Car.

I'm guessing it was at night. LOL!
Actually, you're right. Only been driving it a week officially, but have driven nearly 700 miles, and already getting attached to it. Dents and all. ;) I'm amazed how well the interior has held up over the years. You don't see that in many other cars, high-end or not.