2001 986 for $5,500 good or bad?

[flaps10]

You guys are brutal. Pricing it like its' a glider?

Yes, it's a high miles car and if you're dropping it off with Hans to bring it up to speed you should have just bought a nicer car. He might be able to drive it for a year while he shops for a used engine.

I'd say at $5500 it has been priced accordingly. I mean, what does a really nice early boxster sell for? $10k? That, minus a DIY used engine and there's your street price.

I work with a guy who has had a 2.5 Tiptronic for a couple of years. He told me he's considering letting it go for $4500-5000. Nice car, new top. He did the AOS but sounds like it needs another. Other than that it's in very good condition.

I'd say these cars are going to drop even further before someone eventually discovers they were a forgotten gem.

[Perfectlap]

very simple rule:

The higher the mileage the bigger the stack of receipts has to be.

Major maintenance items: full suspension overhaul. My original set up only made it to 70K miles for a car driven only on weekends but driven through four seasons.

IMS/Clutch/Flywheel $4K. rear axle boots were both torn, that's another "while you're in there" job.

My exhaust and catalytic converters also went belly up around 70k miles.
That was at least $2k in parts.

The cooling system needs to be inspected every 5 years or so as far as the water pump and after 10 years the coolant tank is probably brittle. if you flush the coolant in that condition it will split and dump your pricey pink kook aide. So new tank and DEFINITELY replace cap. If the old cap doesn't hold enough pressure you could end up with a big big problem that will cost you more than the car is worth...all for a $20 cap.

Then you have the usual culprits like the AOS, starter, alternator, fuel pump, coil packs, and the very expensive AC compressor job. I had to replace ALL of these before 100K miles. Not cheap.

Also look at the rear tires, and make sure that model is still available. Tires are expensive for this car due to the larger size in the rear which I suspect is a red flag for the tire maker to add a price premium.

And of course these engines are reliable but they are not durable if driven all four seasons. We have one forum member from South Florida who has managed over $300k miles but he kept very strict dealer maintenance and obviously drove the the car every day for at least an hour. When these cars sit for too long moisture builds up and causes the oil to be more of an frenemy than friend.


I think you need to realize that even if you do a lot of repairs yourself, any Boxster or 996 with high miles is a $10-$15K car no matter how much you paid for it. While you can discount your labor, time, space, and equipment, those parts are still expensive.

[cleverclover78]

Ok so here is the deal... I'm probably going to start at $3750 and take into account the ims and rms. Which I will probably have replaced soon after purchase, to negate any future adverse effects. (If its running well, why not keep it that way)
As far as the rest of replacement items go I can do myself (I'm pretty mechanically inclined)..Im looking at it as a project car that I will take my time with and slowly get the she-devil up to par.

So taking those few thoughts into account would it still be a fair deal?

[kk2002s]

Originally Posted by cleverclover78

Ok so here is the deal... I'm probably going to start at $3750 and take into account the ims and rms. Which I will probably have replaced soon after purchase, to negate any future adverse effects....

I don't know if I'd waste the money (IMS/RMS) on a car with 185k+ miles. If you did it your self and you could borough/Rent the tools - Maybe

For $3750 - yes - Drive it - and it's worth the purchase price as a Roller

I would be a bit nervous on it's dependability
The list of Preventative Maintenance items will be relative to what was recently done

I bought a 50k mile car, drove it 3+ years 35k+ with relatively little preventative maintenance costs.
@86k it's time for the $$$ and as I check off my list, I add to the list - Perpetual motion - PORSCHE

[Giller]

Originally Posted by kk2002s

I don't know if I'd waste the money (IMS/RMS) on a car with 185k+ miles. If you did it your self and you could borough/Rent the tools - Maybe

For $3750 - yes - Drive it - and it's worth the purchase price as a Roller

I would be a bit nervous on it's dependability
The list of Preventative Maintenance items will be relative to what was recently done

I bought a 50k mile car, drove it 3+ years 35k+ with relatively little preventative maintenance costs.
@86k it's time for the $$$ and as I check off my list, I add to the list - Perpetual motion - PORSCHE

This is a really good point. If you are paying someone to do the IMS - it could cost you almost as much as you are paying for the car. With so little invested, buy it, try it and see what you think. If you really like it, then start saving your nickels for a newer and lower mileage one for the long run. Remember - IMS failure rate is at worst, 10% - therefore you have a 90% chance of having a perfectly good one. I'd take those odds on a $4000 car.