Maintanance costs for a Boxter 986?

[particlewave]

I really don't know where the high numbers come from...maybe some don't do their own wrenching or really drive the hell out of the car.

I've had mine for 4 years and have maybe spent a total of $1500-$1800 over that time (not every year). Half of that is probably optional mods. It's worth mentioning that I do all of my own work. Tires are expensive and expect to replace those every 15k-30k. Other than that...

BTW, she needs tires, brakes, and possibly a water pump, so that number is about to go up $600-$1000

[Myoung73]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I really don't know where the high numbers come from...maybe some don't do their own wrenching or really drive the hell out of the car.

I've had mine for 4 years and have maybe spent a total of $1500-$1800 over that time (not every year). Half of that is probably optional mods. It's worth mentioning that I do all of my own work. Tires are expensive and expect to replace those every 15k-30k. Other than that...

BTW, she needs tires, brakes, and possibly a water pump, so that number is about to go up $600-$1000

It's hard even to buy tires for the Boxster for $600 total not including mounting and balancing (which you will obviously do yourself). Not sure how you do all of that, even doing the work yourself, for $600 to $1000. Unless you just need brake pads and not rotors I can't see even getting the parts for that. But I'm new to this and certainly no expert.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Myoung73

It's hard even to buy tires for the Boxster for $600 total not including mounting and balancing (which you will obviously do yourself). Not sure how you do all of that, even doing the work yourself, for $600 to $1000. Unless you just need brake pads and not rotors I can't see even getting the parts for that. But I'm new to this and certainly no expert.

That's apparent
Rear tires only and why would I replace the rotors simply because I need brakes? Rotors are fine (and even if they weren't, resurfacing is cheap), tires can be found for around $200 each if you do the research, mount and balance $10-15 each, and possibly a water pump...check your math.

Nice try, though. Keep at it

[mnc-i]

Myoung73,

I have to somewhat agree with Particlewave on this one.

I've put a lot of miles on my 99 Bosxter since I purchased it in 2009 with 104,000 miles.

This morning I changed my oil & filter. As I updated my three ring binders of maintenance records, I realized that some of the high maintenance costs can be attributed to poorly designed parts as much as labor costs and the cliché "When you buy a used $60,000 car for $10,000 the maintenance is still for a $60,000 car."

The AOS, the waterpump and the ignition switch come to mind concerning poorly designed parts.

I am not a great mechanic, but I now appreciate my father forcing me to help him work on the family cars.

I do all of my oil & filter changes, brake work (pads & rotors) minus brake fluid changes, accessory belt changes, and the replacement of minor parts (brake light switch, headlight & taillight bulbs, OEM radio, seats, underbody panels, fuel filter, air filter, sparkplug tubes as well as radiator cleaning.

I purchase most of my parts from RockAuto and Pelican Parts. My tires come from TireRack. I've not paid more than $550 for four tires including mounting & balancing. On one occasion I purchased newer model 17inch OEM wheels with four almost new tires (off brand, Cooper) for $420. I see no need to pay a boatload of money for tires that do not last all that long (rear tires due to the suspension design for optimal handling).
I've bought expensive 4-prong Bosch sparkplugs from RockAuto for about $7.00 per plug and got a $24.00 rebate from Bosch. The sparkplug tubes I got from RockAuto w/gaskets were about $4.00 each.
I've had to change the waterpump about three times since I purchased the car with 104,000 miles. I now have 251,724 miles. I've never had to change waterpumps as frequently with the Corvettes, Jeep, Mazda or Alfa Romeos I owned in the past.

Heads up, when Excellence Magazine writes that you should change the waterpump every 50,000 miles as preventive maintenance (broken impellers can damage the engine) you have to take that into consideration when purchasing a Porsche new or used.

I love my Boxster and once I reach 300,000 miles there is a 1999 911 in my future.

Just my two-cents
MNC-I

[Myoung73]

haha thanks for the math lesson guys.. Lots of variables in "needs new brakes" so no need to be rude. Anyway, if you needed rotors obviously that would push the cost up quite a bit, which is what I assumed. Yes you can turn them, to my knowledge you can't do that more than once or twice with these rotors as they are designed thin (to save weight, obviously depends on what you have). But yes if you just need pads, obviously the cost is much lower. Also, needs tires, assumed you needed 4. Just two? Yes, you should be able to get all that stuff for the price you mentioned and install yourself. Happy driving guys. Had some great rides today, which is really what it's all about!

[Giller]

Lots of people have spent lots, lots have spent little. There is s little something called luck of the draw. We also have a small sample size here....there are a ton more Boxsters on the road then there are active owners here.

To me, it comes down to a good PPI to start with and a crossing of the fingers that you got a good one.

Just too many variables beyond that IMO.

[CHRISP357]

Best bet? Don't do ppi's. You'll spend $150 and find something to scare you away from every car you find. Set a lower limit. Mine was 12 thousand. Anything under that I wouldn't look at. Buy a nice car, drive it, love and if it breaks, fix it.
Incidentally, this forum will cost you far more than average maintenance. Seems like every time I open this site it costs me money. We have a mad scientist who made these amazing projectors, some genius who cracks open headlights to install said projectors ridiculously cheap, some smart kid in Florida making these "must have" ball bearing short shifters. Just the other day, some jerk shows us this $900 steering wheel, it just goes on and on. Shoot, other than sticky tires and an oil change, I haven't had a chance or need to spend money or time on maintenance.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Myoung73

not including mounting and balancing (which you will obviously do yourself).

I just felt that I needed to add; yes, I have mounted my own tires plenty of times (including removing the old tire from the wheel). I wouldn't even try it on a low profile tire like the 986, but I've done plenty of normal tires using nothing but a 2 x 4 and two tire irons.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Myoung73

It's hard even to buy tires for the Boxster for $600 total not including mounting and balancing (which you will obviously do yourself). Not sure how you do all of that, even doing the work yourself, for $600 to $1000. Unless you just need brake pads and not rotors I can't see even getting the parts for that. But I'm new to this and certainly no expert.

I just picked up pads for all 4 corners for $24 total, new in box (no, that's not a typo) and 2 new rear tires for $292 shipped (total, not each). $316 total, so far.

New water pump is under $100, so it looks like my estimate was about $200 too high on the low end.
The deals are there if you do your research and know where to look.