Am I spending too much on my boxster?

[rick3000]

It seems like you have covered your bases. I don't see any issue with replacing wear items and doing other maintenance all at once when you get a new car, especially if you don't have a lot of the service history or just want the peace of mind. Plus you maintenance costs for the next few years should be lower, since you have already done a lot of what you would likely need to do later.

As 911monty mentioned check you drains, if they clog water can get under the driver's seat and ruin the immobilizer (very expensive repair). If you haven't changed the brake fluid, that should get changed every 2 years. Then you've got the fuel filter, cabin filter, air filter, and serpentine belt. If you want something more in depth, a good starter DIY, take the front bumper off, clean the radiators, and reroute your front trunk release cable behind the front tow cap for easy access if the battery ever dies.

Funnily enough, the 986's that sit around do, in my experience, tend to experience more issues. These cars were made to be driven!

[rexcramer]

For comparison purposes, I have owned my 97/Tip for just over a year. I have spent just over $2k so far. $1150 on maintenance and $850 on wants. $550 of the wants was for the wind deflector set and the non smokers console. I have managed to do all of the maintenance myself to date. I will spring for a Durametric cable, when I do the next round of yearly maintenance work. I have put 7500 miles on it in that time.

[911monty]

What you have done is establish a baseline for maintenance and eliminated a key point of failure. Well done.
I have come to the conclusion that time is no friend to these cars, they do not age gracefully. There are a lot of plastic parts used in these cars and I find there is always something to do, replace or upgrade. Fortunately I am retired, enjoy working on this car, and look for things to do to and for it. With proper attention these cars can be very reliable. There will be other opinions.
A plastic part you may want to look at is the coolant expansion tank in the trunk. If it is white as virgin snow congratulations! If it is yellow like old parchment, then get ready to replace it.

[dbear61]

Just be prepared if you live in an area that mandates emissions testing to renew the plates. My catalytic converters failed to pass this year. OEM cats are $1,500 each, and there are two of them. I had my shop go with third-party, and the total bill was still $1,800.

DBear

[Giller]

I would say yes, definitely. A big chunk went to a fix that is rarely needed - the IMS. And some of the other fixes are certainly ones you could have done over time. If you have the money though, what does it matter?

[Lando]

Originally Posted by rick3000

If you want something more in depth, a good starter DIY, take the front bumper off, clean the radiators, and reroute your front trunk release cable behind the front tow cap for easy access if the battery ever dies.

I bought a 2003 Boxster S in April with 58K on the clock and this was one of the first projects I took on. This car had always been garaged by the previous owner so I was surprised at the amount of debris trapped between the condensers and the radiators. The tutorial I was following recommended rerouting the trunk release cable which saved my bacon a few weeks later when I accidently closed the front trunk after disconnecting the battery while installing a Kenwood amp and GPS head unit. Just about the time the swear words were leaving my mouth, I remembered the release cable reroute. I popped off the tow cap and the loop in the cable was right there!

Since that time I have replaced the water pump (which appeared to be fine), installed a new motor mount bushing which was showing signs of rubber deterioration, new serpentine belt and new coolant. The total for all of this came to about $300. I wonder what the dealer would have charged me?