Maintanance costs for a Boxter 986?

[profchaos911]

I'm considering buying a Boxter 1997-2002 with about 100k miles on it. How much should I expect to spend annually on maintenance?

Is it really around $2,000 a year that I found some sites say? Or does it depend on the condition of the car you find?

I love Boxters but I don't want to spend a fortune on maintanace. If i buy a car for $6,500 in good condition I don't want to spend another $5,000 just to do some repairs. Is the Boxter out of the question if I feel this way?

Thanks

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by profchaos911

If i buy a car for $6,500 in good condition I don't want to spend another $5,000 just to do some repairs. Is the Boxter out of the question if I feel this way?

Thanks

A Boxster can be had for that kind of money and no you don't have to spend $5,000. However you will be limited to taking selfies from the car's driver's seat in your driveway to post on Instagram to impress girls. And maybe driving to the gas station and back... if you make sure to choose the shortest distance both ways.

The exception to this is if you have the tools, time and space to work on your own cars. But even then those things are not free and the cost of parts remains high for any Porsche no matter the year. If you do not plan on working on your own cars then yes $2,000 average per year for a Boxster with more than 70K miles mostly driven in a four season state sounds about right. Also, If you don't plan on fixing the car yourself, you should have $5,000 ready to drop on a big repair or maybe consider a different car. In the roadster category nothing beats a Miata for the money. You can track/autocross the car, modify everything and not spend more than I did for my last suspension and exhaust overhaul.

p.s.
You should buy an issue (may be available for download) of 101 Projects for your Porsche Boxster by Wayne Dempsey. It pretty much lays out the cost, skill level, and time required for all the most common Boxster repairs that start to come up around 70K miles, at least that was the mark for my weekends only driven Boxster that was garage kept. Pretty darn reliable before 70K miles though.

[bobbeck]

Lol, I'd say it's true. I've probably spent $2,500 plus in my first year with my '98 and I have a list of maintenance and wear and tear items I want to tackle in the next year that will probably add up to $2k. After that, I'm thinking it will be less per year to own. Higher costs ( initially ) are true wirth any old, properly maintained used car. Cars end up being sold when an owner realizes there's a big service bill coming up, the new buyer saves some money with the acquisition but it eventually catches up in repair bills the first 2 yesrs of ownership. If you are ok with this, a DIYer, buy low and get fixing. If not, pay market value but get proof maintenance has been done, get an inspection and work with the seller with any known issues prior to purchase.

So, yes the Boxster as with any older used car is out of the question if you feel that way.
The Miata suggestion isn't bad. You can get a lot of Miata for $6500.

[profchaos911]

I love the Boxter such a great car. I'm also considering a BMW Z3 or Z4. Boxter is my first choice but if it really is around $2,000 annual maintenance costs I'm not sure if I want to go for it. I'm aware that cars like this cost cheap to buy but I want to know exactly what I'm getting myself into if I decide to go for the Boxter.

I've owned many used cars before and most of them don't cost $2,000 a year to maintain. Aside from the original things you have to do when you buy a used car I never really spent much money on used cars but I know how to shop and always made good purchases.

I'm the least mechanical person there is so I don't do any repairs myself.

What it sounds like is you guys are saying that any used car will cost about $2k a year in maintenance cost, did I get that right?

[EJ-Fresno]

It depends how well maintained was the car you want to buy, if major issues have been addressed, where and how was the car driven. $2000 is a yearly estimate, not a fixed amount.
If you already doubt about the cost of ownership, don't go for it...

[78F350]

If you look through the forums (as you probably have already), the $2k is a fair average. Sometimes you can go a year with just an oil change, the next year it's an AOS, suspension links, and top motor. It's a $60,000 car that you can pick up for under $10k. You are still maintaining the $60,000 car.
You can mitigate the cost quite a bit if you can do most of the work yourself. They are different from working on a Ford/Chevy/Honda, but not any more difficult.

[Porsche9]

In the case of any Porsche there is no such thing as free (or cheap) puppy.

Keep in mind that a 986 Boxster even with the maintenance costs is great bang for the buck. If you only want to spend $6,500 on a Boxster including maintainance over the next couple of years then it's not for you. I can't even suggest another Porsche as they will certainly cost in total as much of more then the Boxster but not be as good. A 944, which the Boxster replaced, is going to cost you as much for one in similar condition to the Boxster. A Miata may be a great alternate option but for the extra cost of maintanance the Boxster offers alot more.

[DMage]

Well... I'll be the one to say if you want to buy a car and spend less than $2k in maintenance, you probably can by deferring preventative maintenance you should be doing now. But, it'll end up coming back to bite you.

I got a great deal on a 2000 S with 82k miles. It wasn't in perfect shape, and it wasn't maintained by a picky previous owner. Since I am anal, a lot needs to be done to the car. I have $990 in parts receipts within the past month and a half. And I expect to spend another $2400 over the next several months to finish a few major jobs (IMS, clutch, RMS, AOS, and new top).

Could I get by without spending all that now? Sure. Am I rolling the dice that something worse wouldn't happen if I held off? Absolutely.

Now, what about year 2, year 3, etc? Will costs go down? Probably not for the first few years as I would also like to replace the worn suspension, brakes, etc.

If you want to spend less in maintenance, buy a car thats been maintained, and spend the most you can up front. I could have spent more, but, I am of the mindset that if I didn't do it, it probably wasn't done or wouldn't have been done right or to my standards. So, I'd rather by a 'it needs' car than an 'its been done' car and replace the parts anyway.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by profchaos911

What it sounds like is you guys are saying that any used car will cost about $2k a year in maintenance cost, did I get that right?

Any used German sports car. Sports car parts from Germany are fragile/lightweight.
Some are reliable, some are not but very few are durable.
On the other hand I don't think a VW Jetta would cost you $2k to maintain. But that's not a sports car.
Generally speaking, German Sports cars are engineered to drive at a high level of maintenance. If you don't maintain that level they drive like crap, if at all.

You have to look at this way. Any Porsche you buy costs at least $20K. You can buy it for $7K but if you intend to really rack up miles, you'll be paying for the other $13k one way or another. If you only take the car out once a week for a short drive maybe you can get away with not putting money into it. But that just destroys the engine as moisture turns the oil acidic and the build up creates oxidation. It has to run long enough to get real hot and burn off all that stuff.

[Myoung73]

Many good and informative posts here already. I will add my 2 cents. I also looked through the wealth of great information mainly on this site when I started looking for a 986. It almost scared me away from the 986 mainly due to the IMSB issues. I pretty much knew I would get the imsb done in whatever car I bought if I wasn't sure it had been done or had been done a while / many miles ago. This one had the IMSB done but almost 4 years ago and LN recommends replacing every 4 years or 50k miles. Ultimately I found a very good condition 2003 S with 76k miles on it. It was in much better shape than many others I had looked at. But the ppi indicated it needed new rotors and pads all around. I talked the guy down to 12k from $14k. Thought that was a pretty good price based on other S sales in my area. Only thing that absolutely needed to be done was brakes for about 1,700. But I also did clutch (was getting a bit low but could have lasted a bit longer), IMSB (dof), Aos, ignition coils (ppi indicated they were cracked and quite worn but they still worked), rms, and some other smaller stuff. Ultimately cost me over 5k. I did the work for the reasons stated above, didn't want some things now to become big problems later. Especially didn't want a tanked engine due to imsb. Lot of extra cash? Yes. Do I regret it? No. If the pull of driving / owning a Porsche and having the fun you can have in these cars is strong enough (and budget allows) then go for it. If not, like others have said, look elsewhere.

[Joe B]

I'll summarize. It's a crap shoot. If you want to buy a $6,500 Boxster (which would be a dirt-cheap price) and you don't want to take a chance of spending $2,000 (or possibly more; $2,000/year is only an estimate) in maintenance, then DO NOT buy a Boxster.

[Duezzer]

Sports Cars = maintenance dollars
No way around it - If you only have $2K for Maintenance - I don't think I would make the purchase,

[Myoung73]

Originally Posted by Joe B

I'll summarize. It's a crap shoot. If you want to buy a $6,500 Boxster (which would be a dirt-cheap price) and you don't want to take a chance of spending $2,000 (or possibly more; $2,000/year is only an estimate) in maintenance, then DO NOT buy a Boxster.

Yup agreed. But if you are buying a dirt cheap Boxster and not doing the work yourself you are tipping the scales in the wrong direction

[Bald Eagle]

Like you, I don't wrench - no talent, no tools. I bought a low mileage (10,800) 2000 S a little over a year ago. Car was well maintained - have all receipts - and was pristine. First year maintenance was an oil change.

I've added about 7000 miles since I bought it and am in my second season. So far haven't spent anything on repairs or maintenance this year.

For comparison my other cars are a 2004 Volvo Cross Country with 225k miles and a 2001 Acura CL-S with 202k. Both were bought with about 47k miles. I keep excellent records and know that both have averaged about $1375 per year including everything from repairs to tires to washer fluid.

I know I am looking at some expensive preventative maintenance on the Boxster in some time - it's quite a few miles before I will need a clutch so I plan on having the ISB done soon so there is the $2000 but I really love it and it is worth every buck.

Larry (The Bald Eagle)

[thstone]

As all of the others have said, it really is $2,000 per year (on average).

But I will also posit that there is no other car that will put a bigger grin on your face every time that you drive it. Every single time.

[profchaos911]

I can't thank you guys enough for all the feedback you're giving me. This confirmed to me that on average I am looking at on average at $2k a year. When I made the post for some reason I felt $2k a year for a lot but I agree with you guys for a car like this it's a bargain.

I've owned cars with high milage before way higher than 100k miles on it and as long as the car has been well taken care of they run well. Milage is not a big deal for well taken care of good cars.

I know $6,500 is a low price but I've been shopping around and I found a few ones in really good condition.

I'm very happy this forum is so embracing that all you guys stepped up and gave me so much good info. I really appreciate it.

Anything you guys can think of for a future owner I'd appreciate it.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by profchaos911

I can't thank you guys enough for all the feedback you're giving me. This confirmed to me that on average I am looking at on average at $2k a year. When I made the post for some reason I felt $2k a year for a lot but I agree with you guys for a car like this it's a bargain.

I've owned cars with high milage before way higher than 100k miles on it and as long as the car has been well taken care of they run well. Milage is not a big deal for well taken care of good cars.

I know $6,500 is a low price but I've been shopping around and I found a few ones in really good condition.

I'm very happy this forum is so embracing that all you guys stepped up and gave me so much good info. I really appreciate it.

Anything you guys can think of for a future owner I'd appreciate it.

No matter what - if you take the plunge, make sure you get a proper PPI done on it. Won't tell you everything, but will give you some good insight.

[Jamesp]

If you are concerned about maintenance costs, don't buy a Boxster. $2K a year is just an average guess. Spending $5k or even more at a single go is not unheard of. In Cypress, Boxster drivers have been known to sell their own mothers to repair their cars (not sure if that car ever got repaired). If that happens to you, you wont be happy. On the other hand, if you're strictly about the driving experience and can divorce yourself from the risk and cost, it's a great deal.

[thom4782]

Just to add to what others have said...it's the cost of part that will kill your wallet faster than you can imagine.

Go to the Pelican Parts website and look up prices for a variety of parts that you'd expect to replace as maintenance items and then look at a few that might be unexpected replacement items

I just had to replace a header / catalytic converter. The new part cost $1700 and I thought that was a bargain compared to what the local dealer wanted to charge me.

[profchaos911]

Can you goes recommend a good place to use to do a PPI for me?