My car is turning out to be a disaster - need words of encouragement

[michael_J_brown]

I purchased my 99' Boxster about 2 months ago from a small privately owned used car dealership in Waco Texas of all places. They purchased the car in Houston and drove it to Waco thinking that some rich Baylor college student would buy it, unfortunately that was not the case and it sat on their lot for months until I saved it.

The car had low miles and was in above average condition except for exterior dirt, a couple of busted out turn signals and a torn front bumper lip from being on their lot. No accidents and no door dings at all! I was amazed at how clean the engine compartment, under carriage and trunk compartments were. It's obviously been garaged for it's life.

Once I got it to my home shop I did a full detail and the car looked great cosmetically. Mechanically it's turning out to be a disaster. It's becoming obvious that the 2 prior owners failed to repair anything and let issues pile up.

I've only driven the car a total of 50 miles since I bought it and virtually every time I take it out something fails. It's to the point where I'm scared to drive it for fear that some major issue will once again pop up.

The first thing to go was the master cylinder, then the brake booster. Porsche says the brake boosters almost never fail! After that was repaired the brake wear indicator came on on the way home from the shop! Then the starter failed! This past weekend coolant started spewing from a cracked coolant tank.

I am still committed to the car.... or should I be? I am worried about the IMS bearing but I don't think it's really an issue on the 99'? or is it? Should I sell this car or continue to spend money on it?

[kk2002s]

You are just dealing with what has to be tended to. There is more to come if things have not been updated.
AOS, Water Pump, Fluids, motor mounts. The list goes on.
To deal with all the typical preventative replacement items your going to have to spend some $$$$$.
The amount of $$ depends on DIY or mechanic.
17+ year old car, Sports Car, PORSCHE

The theory behind preventative replacement is so you can trust your car. Waiting to Fix as they break will leave you in fear of a break down and stranded

[DWBOX2000]

No definitive answer from me. The good news is the car is a dual bearing regarding IMS. Non issue in my book. Any idea who the second owner was? Teenager/young adult? If so I would sell. A ppi would probably go a long way to help in your decision.
Unfortunately to fix these cars is often worth more than the value. I would contact the seller and see if they can do anything. They might surprise you. Unfortunately, Unless you have loads of money, driving a euro sports car can be financially daunting.
Good luck.

[Gelbster]

Investigate the potential big items like engine and gearbox.
Is their magnetic debris in the pleats of the oil filter?
If a 6 speed -does 2nd gear pop out?
Wet under the driver's seat ?
Top works correctly?

[Porsche9]

Old sports car being purchased, especially from a used car lot, which I never recommend because there are no records of maintenance and equals don't buy it, at the very least needs a pre-purchase inspection done by a qualified shop that specializes in these cars so you know what you are buying. These cars where expensive when new and are therefore generally expensive to maintain and repair. Hopefully you did not pay a lot for the car.

Good new is if you are mechanically inclined a lot of the work can be done yourself and this forum is a great resource.

[michael_J_brown]

yes I am and have a shop at home. I am able to do a lot of this work myself.

[algiorda]

I would stick with it. Think "Long Haul". Prioritize the work that is needed and put a plan together to at lest get the car on the road and driving it daily. You can save on parts by avoiding OEM Porsche and doing the work yourself can save tons of money. You should also have a 2nd car to rely on while the Box goes through a quasi-restoration. Learn to embrace and enjoy working on it. I bought a 2004 in pristine shape, but I still spent a significant amount of money doing preventative maintenance like IMS, AOS, RMS, Brakes, Rotors, Oil, Filters, etc.

I love working on this bugger and I'm by no means a master mechanic. The members on this board are truly amazing resources who are free with their advice and wisdom. This is almost a support group for Box Addicts!!!!

Persevere, you will get to the light at the end of the tunnel; and it won't be a train!!

[78F350]

Originally Posted by michael_J_brown

I purchased my 99' Boxster ...

The car had low miles... It's obviously been garaged for it's life.

... Mechanically it's turning out to be a disaster. It's becoming obvious that the 2 prior owners failed to repair anything and let issues pile up. ...

IMHO this has nothing to do with Boxsters/Porsches, It's about an 18 year old car that didn't see proper maintenance for a while, then sat on a car lot for a long time.
Honda, or Chevy, or whatever maintenance is going to have to be caught up or it will continue to have problems and failures.

Should you keep it? If you don't have time and ability to refresh it (DIY), or cash to drop it off at a shop for a $2k to $4k bill, get rid of it. If you like the car and have tools, space, and time, then get to work - keep it.

If you keep it:
Do not wait for things to fail, get a good assessment of the car and catch up on ALL the maintenance.
Clear all the drains. ($)
All fluids flushed/changed. ($$$)
Suspension inspected & replaced as needed plus alignment. ($$$$)
Brake rotors and pads. ($$$)
Tires - check the age and wear on the inner tread. ($$$)
Lube the top and door mechanisms. ($)
Inspect ALL hoses for proper attachment, rot, and bulges (??)
Remove the front bumper cover and clean the radiators ($)
Treat all the leather ($)
Engine:
A 1999 IMS is dual row. Personally, I do not lose sleep over dual row bearings. I replaced a dual row on my tiptronic car when the seal was leaking (about 130K miles) the bearing was good, but 'while I was in there...'
Clean the throttle body and MAF. Change the air filter.
I look at my oil filters about every 3-4 months. I change my oil once or twice a year depending on if I track the car (4 Boxsters). At least every 5k miles or annually.
AOS, water pump, belt, pulleys, vacuum hoses... they will all fail. If you don't have a maintenance history consider doing them now. At least give them a good check.
I assume that you have addressed the coolant tank and have a good coolant cap now..?

There's more. There's a lot that I don't know and I have bought 7 Boxsters (8 if you count the parts car that I completely stripped) in the last couple years and done lots of work on all of them. A PPI from a shop that knows Boxsters could still be helpful in your decision.

Good luck.

[michael_J_brown]

thanks algiorda this was what I needed. I am lucky to have several cars and the Boxster is not my daily driver. I have owned several Porsche's in the past but never a Boxster and had always wanted one. I actually was going to buy a brand new 2017 and went to Porsche, but after the test drive I realized I would never be happy with it.

It was to fancy, to many bells and whistles... and to much plastic. This is what I love about this 99, it's raw, doesn't even have cruise control. This is what a sports car should be in my opinion. Why on earth would you buy what is essentially a race car with all that extra crap on it?

[michael_J_brown]

78F350 I've done a lot of this already, the car has come a long way. I have not checked the drains which I will do this weekend. I've done the brakes and just put new tires on it this past Saturday. I was planning on replacing the entire coolant tank as I'm not sure exactly where the leak is. I was able to get a camera under the unit and did see some buidup on the bottom. This is where I am assuming the leak is.

[78F350]

Originally Posted by michael_J_brown

78F350 I've done a lot of this already, the car has come a long way. I have not checked the drains which I will do this weekend. I've done the brakes and just put new tires on it this past Saturday. I was planning on replacing the entire coolant tank as I'm not sure exactly where the leak is. I was able to get a camera under the unit and did see some buidup on the bottom. This is where I am assuming the leak is.

Good stuff. Sounds like you are on track to keep it.
For the coolant tank, as with most parts 'Porsche brand' is the best one to get. The Only alternative that I'd trust is this one: Coolant Expansion Tank 99610614708Y - OE Supplier - 996-106-147-08-Y | Pelican Parts
There are a couple good DIYs that I referenced recently when I did the one in my beater/project car:
Another coolant tank replacement DIY
DIY Coolant Tank Replacement in Under 2 Hours

Also possible the coolant cap or the O-ring on the pressure valve could be the leak. If the tank is original and suspect, might as well replace it though.

[particlewave]

The '99 is a solid car. You get the dual row bearing, reinforced structure/suspension for 18" wheels, better interior than the later models with the terrible soft touch finish, solid 5 speed transmission...

What you're seeing is just a bit of neglect. Get it up to speed on maintenance and repairs and you'll be happy.

[Disaster]

If you can't do work yourself you can rack up bills equal to or more than the price of these cars used. My recommendation would be to get out now, and treat it as a lesson learned.

[thstone]

Do you love driving it? If so, then keep it and get the deferred repairs and maintenance caught up so it will be reliable.

If you don't love driving it, then sell it now and put your money into something you love driving.

[Rotmilky]

Welcome to the first few weeks of Porsche ownership. In fact, I'd say welcome to the first few weeks of ownership in a 20 year old car...it doesn't matter the make.

I speak from experience. Currently my stable consists of a '59 International truck, a '60 international truck, two different '68 911s, a '77 911, a 1984 928, a '97 Boxster, a '01 Boxster, a '05 911 and a 08 Cayenne. Everyone of those suffered from some form of deferred maintenance when I got them (except the 05 and 08 which I got new).

Case in point, I picked up the '01 Boxster just a couple of months back. It's got 80K miles on it. So far I've put new brakes, new rear calipers, new air filters, new plugs, new brake fluid, new struts, inner CV joints, motor mount, and....hmm...I think there are a couple of other things that I've forgotten. Oh yea...the rear window is cracked and the top needs replacing. Sigh. As these cars age, people buy them but can't afford to maintain them. So, it just doesn't get done. It's more common than you'd think. So, I go into these cars knowing I'll spend the next 6 months fixing stuff that I didn't break. However, once I do a thorough job fixing the deferred maintenance, the cars are then pretty reliable. They're still 20 years old (or 30 or 40 or even 50 years old in my case) and so stuff still fails. But not nearly at the rate you see during the first few days of ownership.

Just look at repairing your Boxster as a hobby. You didn't buy the car to drive it -- you bought it to fix. You're just driving it to see what is going to fail next. Sure, I do jest a little bit with that comment, but if you know things are going to fail and that you're prepared to make repairs -- it makes it a lot easier to just shrug your shoulders as you put it back up on jacks.

Good luck.

[78F350]

Reading Rotmilky reminded me of a few more things for the list, but of low urgency:
Spark plugs, spark plug tubes, and inspect/replace coils if needed.
Additionally it is cheap and easy to replace the coil boots while you are there even if the coil looks good.

I think Pelican has em for about $2.50 each, but no pic so I'm not positive its the right part.
From Rock Auto:


Oh, and there's a >90% chance your motor mount should be replaced.

[michael_J_brown]

Thanks guys for these excellent tips. I will replace these components. Do you recommend and particular order?

[Frodo]

Hang in there. I got my 2001 in 2004 with 19k miles on the clock. Within the first 2 or 3 years I had to do an alternator, front wheel bearing, water pump (+ high temp thermostat). Also replaced a motor mount, and a handful of minor stuff. Knocking on wood as I say this, I've now got 93k miles and, other than standard maintenance items, I've had very few issues. I did go ahead and proactively have the clutch done so I could have the IMS issue taken care of--an item of lesser importance to you it sounds. Again, proactively, I had the AOS replaced at the same time because it was pretty much due.

I've got a 2007 Mazda and I feel like, in the few years I've had it, it's needed possibly more work than the Box.

[michael_J_brown]

thanks Frodo. I really love driving this car. I've owned a 911, a 928S and a 914 and this is my favorite Porsche hands down.

[Toppy986]

as it seems you can do most of the work yourself I would keep it, the day I was driving home my 99 after I purchaded it the CEL came on. Started me looking for a vacume leak which turned into the evap purge valve sticking open, took me a while to pin it down, but I loved the challange. look at replacing somthing ever year, beyond the yearly maintance, first year for me was plugs and aos, last year was going to be w/p and front mount, but i fell into a 03 top instead, so this year i did the pump, mount, idler bearings, and coolant. next year i am thinking clutch, rear seal, and ims bearing, i guess my point is yes these cars take money to keep them running as they should, do I trust it, absolutely, in fact this years trip is to the Tail of the dragon in September. if it were me and you are dumping the coolant anyway for the tank, I would do the W/P, t-stat, and front mount at the same time. they say you can spot a boxster driver by his perma grin, its true