Your opinion would be appreciated
 

Your opinion would be appreciated. I just put a deposit on a 1998 Boxster with 9300 miles on it. I have not seen it in person yet but my son went and looked at it for me and said it was Perfect both in body and drivetrain/engine not one leak at all (he crawled under to look). I have read the numerous posts on the IMS bearing and believe this year had the double row bearing? As the car is in Illinois and I am in AZ, I would be driving it back to AZ. I already spoke with the current owner and asked if I could pull the filter for inspection replacing it with new and he was OK with that. I would change oils before the trip back west. What else should I be concerned with? I have read articles on Boxsters sitting developing oil leaks and am not afraid of that as I am pretty handy with a wrench being a retired CAT service tech and have always done all my own work/repairs. Thanks a lot for your thoughts, Dave
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Hey Dave, nice move

Have a go at the doc here: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/14685-thinking-buying-boxster-must-read.html

Come back to this thread if you have questions, sure many will help you out.

Check the date on the tires. You don't want to drive 1K+ miles on weather checked tires.

You'll have a great time driving it back.

+1 on checking the dates on the tires. 20 year old tires could be dicey. :eek:

I'd highly recommend a pre-purchase inspection by an experience Porsche mechanic for any used Porsche (before its bought). Without that, you're taking a big chance. There are a LOT of things that could be in need of repair that a typical buyer might not think to check.

Thanks for your quick replies. I read So your thinking on buying a Boxster and the discussion on low mileage garage queens and their accelerated IMS failures. Wow that made me feel good........ even with checking the oil filter and changing oil if filter is good, it sounds like it could still happen, so drive 1900 miles with my butt puckered the whole way, or what do you suggest. With a car with 9k miles what would a professional PPI look for other than doing what I am going to check before heading out?
Thanks again for your help! Dave

Good suggestion on the tires. the car has been kept inside and out of the weather. My Son didn't mention the tires, Ill have to ask him

I would budget around $3k in planned spending before I'd drive it that distance. PPI, tires, belt, oil, brake flush, coolant, etc. I'd worry about injectors, bad gas, shocks,, even spark plugs, etc.

The Porsche mechanic would know things specific to Boxsters that even an experienced other-brand mechanic might not pick up.

The low mileage means it has been sitting around and things have not been running with fluids circulating. I'd want to spend a day or two at the pick-up location near the PPI mechanic just driving to make sure that everything was working, the temps were good, etc before setting out on your drive.

Wonderful cars. Owned two. Drive safe and tell us how the trip went.

Of course a PPI is ideal but.... With that few miles, my guess is new tires, and all of the fluids changed unless there are records showing recent changes. Also, signing up for AAA might not be a bad idea. Congrats on a low mileage Boxster. You are right that sitting is not good, but since you are handy, I wouldn't worry too much. There is a lot of great information on this forum. Have a great trip and show us some pictures when you can! Welcome :cheers:

Just have it shipped back and address the maintenance issues when you get it home. Being a retired Cat tech I am sure you can handle any job on the Boxster. Get a Bentley manual and enjoy the car. If you don't feel like getting the manual, Pelican parts has many great write ups with pictures on how to perform many tasks on the car. One thing to keep in mind is that "genuine" Porsche parts are expensive from the dealer but many of those parts are actually sourced from OEM suppliers and purchasing the part from the supplier or a vendor that sells it often cuts the price of the part in half.

Thanks again all, the car comes with the Bentley and 101 books as well as the Porsche software and the laptop its installed on, an extra set of Porsche chrome twist wheels, B&M short shifter and a new in the box OEM clutch and the parts to put back to original.















































. I have to drive back as I have stuff to bring the kids and thought about trailering it back as suggested. Not driving back to get it till the 5th, man is that gonna take a long time to get here

Oil, tires and coolant tank. I doubt age does them any good and it's prolly over 20 years old. Other than that, I would enjoy the drive home!! Make a nice road trip of it.

'98 Boxster
 

I have a '98 Boxster. No major problems, my understanding is that the '97-99 model years had the dual row bearing. Rate of failure was much lower than the single row bearing. I've had no major issues. O2 sensor went....Spark plug cracked and gave misfire code, ignition cylinder went...but hey, it's 20 years old?

I would have no qualms driving it back if I were you...I do however, second getting a local Porsche dealer to do a PPI prior to shelling out the cash and hitting the road. It'll cost you a little, but could save you a lot.

Mike

Figured out how to stop time!
 

OK so I have a PPI set up for the 7th, 2 weeks from today at an Indy shop that is on the LN preferred IMS installers list.
So I have figured out how to make time stand still, buy a beautiful Porsche Boxster from out of state and have to wait 2 more weeks until I pick it up...............
Thanks for all the input, I almost didn't do the PPI. I already feel better getting it done.
Trip, and PPI results and pictures to follow IF I can get time moving again
Dave

I just got a 98 with 24,000 miles. I'd replace the battery also unless it's been recently replaced and drain the gas or add an additive since gas can go bad if car sits to long.

I hit an issue with water in the gas tank and car drove fine for first few weeks.

Mike

Excellent, good luck :cheers:

So I picked up the car, truly magnificent, nearly flawless! I had the PPI done and car passed with flying color, well kinda. The owner of the car brought it to the appointment with the top down. Did I mention it was magnificent? The car was test driven, and pulled into the shop and up on the lift, oil and filter dropped, filter inspected and clean as a whistle thankfully. Refilled with 5W40 M1. There were no leaks of any kind and underneath of car very clean. Pulled cover back to inspect coolant recovery tank and it was fine. Tires and wheels were perfect with No curb rash at all. Computer was tapped with no codes, no over revs all was good.
Left with the owner for the DMV for a 30 day drive away permit. While there with him I said lets put the top up while we are inside. Pushed the top raise button and the top tried to go up all cattywompas, one of those deals you try it a couple times no good. Went in and got permit with wife staying with the car. Came out and brought it back to Porsche Indy that did PPI and said nicely I guess you didn't raise the top and he said I thought you had done that. So this is a Friday afternoon and its 2:30 PM, we agreed after a quick look they needed more time to fix and said Monday was the soonest. The PO agreed in writing to pay for the repairs so I paid him for the car. The Indy called on Monday stating the cable was bad a common problem (said inner cable speedo looking cable was made too short) he said but the transmission needed to be replaced as there was an update for new cables that would not work with current trans and you guessed it, he said you wouldn't want to run one old and one new and said they both needed to be replaced and quoted about $14 to $1500, PO agreed but not pleased
(he was/is an outstanding person!). Indy calls Tuesday stating there was a price increase and now it was about $1700 and parts had to come from 2 different Porsche distribution centers and parts would be Thursday and he would have it done same day. Thursday get the come get your car call at about 4:45PM. PO and I go for me to get car and for him to pay the invoice, got there and the $1700 turned into $2200 as he said they found a bent arm, OK PO not happy but paid the invoice. Go out to get car and I could notice one side of clam shell was a 1/4" higher than other side and could be pushed down but wouldn't stay down. Got the Indy owner who apologized but couldn't bring it in till the morning to figure it out as his techs had all left. Got the second come get your car call, picked up the car and all was finally good. He had found a bent pivot ball for one of the arms and replaced it. I drove the car back to Phoenix area 1960 miles with no problems at all 80MPH and averaged 24.9 MPG. Did I mention it is a magnificent car?
I know this is a long post but one more opinion request, I'm ordering the LN IMS kit and will do it in the next couple weeks, remembering the car has now only 12K miles now and came with a complete extra clutch set, do I use it and replace the non leaking RMS as well while I'm there? Clutch seems perfect to me.
Ill put some picks up as soon as I can I'm away for the next week.
Thanks Dave

Wow. A PPI without even accessing the engine bay. I'm sure it was thorough. :rolleyes:

With the car's low miles, if the clutch is working well and the clutch disk, pressure plate, flywheel surface and release bearing look good, and the dual mass flywheel is within spec, I would re-use them all. Keep in mind this is free internet advice and I am not a mechanic. I had my IMSB replaced on my car at 42,000 miles and all of the clutch and flywheel components were in great shape and all went back in and are still going strong at almost 69,000 miles. Of course I bought the car brand new and all of the miles have been put on by me.

Based on my own experience, I would change the RMS even if it isn't leaking. When my IMSB was done, the RMS was bone dry, and my Indy advised and I agreed not to mess with it, but it started leaking about 6,000 miles later. Since you are going to have the IMSB done, that will require removal of the flywheel, a heavy piece that hangs off the back of the crankshaft. It is my unscientific and unproven theory that removing and replacing the flywheel "disturbs" the RMS. Porsche also recommends using new bolts to reinstall the flywheel. Another thing to consider is that Porsche came out with a few revisions to the RMS over the years. With so few miles, your car may have a very early version of the RMS which could be more likely to develop a leak even if it's not leaking now.

It sounds like you're thinking of doing the IMSB yourself. If you are, make sure you've got access to all the tools needed for the job and that you're up for it! Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Thanks PaulE, I agree with you on the RMS and clutch especially having a new one that came with the car, if it is questionable after measuring I'll replace or reuse if good. I am using an IMS tool set from a generous member and making a RMS tool. I am a retired 26 year CAT service tech and from what I have read on the IMS repair I feel confident on doing the job.
Thanks for the advice/suggestions
Dave