B. S.
But there are some nice Miatas in that price range.

Here is the type of car you can expect for your money. This cost me £5100 2 years ago.

Its had 95k miles on it and the 6k Iv put on it has been a pleasure.

If it blew up tomorrow I sell it for £1000 as a breaker and have no regrets. Then go and buy another.

As you can see its more or less out of the box condition wise. Find one an enthusiast has owned and it will have lived on a bed of ostrich feathers.

Beware of very low mileage ones... they dont like sitting about.

My advice would be.... only and only listen to people who own them not the pub bores who's uncles sisters brothers cousins mate had one and the IMS bearing went first turn of the key.



Put away £1000 a year for maintenance and repairs then what you dont spend out of that spend on improving it how you see fit.

Realistically mine has only cost about £400 a year for maintenance and small repairs. Some years may be less that 1000 some maybe more.

Dont waste money by replacing things that dont need replacing, Tell your mechanic (and he DOESNT need to be Porsche specialist) to keep you informed when he services the car of jobs that he thinks will need doing in the future and budget for them, then get them done. There will usually always be something but it will be consumable things like tyres, brakes, exhaust, CV boots etc that any older car would need

bottom line if you want one and can afford it....do it! Life's to short to have regrets later on
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1532706944.jpg

I think this is sound, sage advice. I'd have said exactly the same thing.
Like ANY used car: find the best example your budget allows.... and then enjoy the heck out of it.
And +2 on the "they don't need to be porsche trained". This is, after all, a car. When it comes to maintenance and repairs, there's a "purist" way, and then there's the way the factory assumed would occur when they designed it.

I've just completed two projects on mine this morning, in about an hour, that are making me eat my words from another post; on nearly any other car i'd have have spent closer to 3 hours. Initial access notwithstanding, these cars are pretty easy to work on.

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I am with maytag on this, no way $10K a year in maintenance. I have had my car going on 3 years. Total maint. Cost minus tires, $1000 including new battery another $1K on a set of tires. Everything else was things I did as modification so does not count as maintenance. Tires needed changing when I purchased the car otherwise was nice and tidy 2 previous owners enthusiast.

miles, years, repairs
 

So, I purchased mine with 58k on the car and 25k on a factory Porsche replacement engine, 1999 with 5 speed manual, I replaced the brakes/rotors ($125), rear tires ($350), starter (making squawking noise $125), driver's seat belt ($125), Headlight bulbs ($50 each), shifter cable and shift assembly used ($125). I purchased 4 years ago, I currently have 120k miles on the car. Still tight, quiet, and super fun to drive. I even have to drive 1 mile on a gravel road to my house. So, just under $1k in 4 years of regular driving.

I think that 10/10's was saying that a $7K Boxster will cost you $17K by the time that you do all of the deferred repairs and maintenance.

At least I hope that is what he meant. :cool:

In any case, that is what the PPI is meant to uncover. Don't buy a Boxster without a PPI!

takes a little extra knowledge and some tool trickery for some of the repairs but, not a heck of a lot worse than anything else I've owned. The headlight bulbs are probably the easiest I've ever changed in a car before. :)

I know you can get a nice Boxster for ~$7k. I sold my garage kept 2000S, with 134K miles for $7,200 the beginning of July. Recent top with glass window, all maintenance current with correct fluids, excellent tires and brakes. Cold AC, no leaks or funny noises and 10 years worth of receipts.

No, I had not done the IMS or RMS (the horror!!).

When I sold the car, I told one of my boys that I don't think there is a bigger bargain on CL than a nice Boxster for the $.

If I were in the market now, I'd be buying this one: 2002 Porsche Boxster S http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/4922621

Maintenance history includes IMS replaced.

The seller is a crabby woman, who yesterday told me to "************************ go ahead and f myself off" when I suggested she should advertise the car on this forum. So beware, haha. But the car looks like the right bargain for someone.

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Yes, focus on a new bride :)

I got a smoking deal on my base 01 a year and a half ago. Newer top with glass window, mint interior, fantastic original paint. 17Xk miles on it and runs like a champ. In that one and a half year all I've had to do is change the brakes and oil. This has bizarrely been the cheapest car I've ever owned and maintained. The previous owner had done a lot of maintenance to it I suspect.

Wow, guys.....
 

....I was exaggerating to make a point.

The most expensive car is a cheap car.

All I'm saying is, if you cannot afford to spend a lot of money on care and feeding for a 20 year old Porsche, and you are a young guy starting a family, just buy a Miata.

:cheers::cheers:

I'm not sure your point landed. Here's what you said:
That doesn't sound ANYTHING like the point you're trying to convey above.

I'm afraid that to me, it reads as more of this elitist crap that drives newcomers away.


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Really?!?!?
 

"Elitist crap"?

Come on, man.

I'm just a working slob who never had two nickels to rub together and put 325,000 miles on my 1993 Miata because it was my ONLY car for over twenty years.

Now, at age 50, I have a new career and I have enough coin left over to buy a 2004 Boxster and keep her on the road.

You folks need to lighten up out here in internet land.

There is zero tone on the screen, so forgive me for trying to make a point and it falling flat. Jeeze, "Elitist crap"? Seriously?

You got a new young guy who is getting married and asked for advice, my advice is don't buy a Boxster, buy a Miata.

Elitist?

How is trying to explain to the guy that buying a 20 year old Porsche is one thing, and keeping her running is another?

Lighten up. We are talking about toys here, not the fate of global nuclear proliferation or displaced refugees. Wow.

There's no need for name calling.



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Hmmm.... I may be guilty of being too uptight then. Because that's what I thought I read reading from YOU? haha, funny thing here, 10, is that you and I have done this before, haha.

Sorry. I read your comment as trying to dissuade another enthusiast from what is, truly, a more exciting car than a miata, in the name of an unrealistic maintenance requirement ($10k/yr).

I see too many people trying to suck the fun out of ownership, and trying to make it serious, with talk of porsche engineers knowing best, only one way (the most expensive) to do a repair or maintenance, etc. Etc. As if porsche ownership should be reserved for only the most capable. I don't know what else to call that, if not elitist. And perhaps I've misread your post in that spirit.

So let me be more clear what I was trying to say:
B.S. on $10k/yr in maintenance. If you buy a $7k porsche 986, be prepared for some hefty bills, just like you'd have if you buy a $2k miata. Nowhere near $10k, but maybe close to $3k. But if you buy a $10k 986, you're gonna be just fine on a couple hundred bucks a year maintenance budget.

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Fair enough...
 

....sounds reasonable to me.

:cheers::cheers:

As I mentioned in my earlier post if you want a 986 get a 2003-2004. I've owned both a 1999 & 2003. 2003 is a way better car in every way with a larger motor.

I had my IMS changed on the 2003 at 75,000 miles when I replaced the clutch and it was perfect.

Don't buy an older car because your worried about a problem that's 90% it won't happen!

People are blowing this single row IMS way out of proportion. My Indy shop works on a lot of Porsches and he said he's never seen a bad IMS yet!

The new wife said 7k budget she did not say beyond that.Once again there is no such thing as a cheap porsche, they will get you in the end.
okay maybe not 10k first year but at least 2k a year. Get the car, any car, as long as she gives you a maintenance budget of 2k a year.If you dont spend it great but you will go over sometime. PPI is a must. Alot of people dont understand performance car maintenance cost.For the sake of happiness tell your wife it is going to cost more than a oil change like the toyota! It sucks trying to ask for money in a marriage for your car that is not too practical.The first bill I had I said to the mechanic what am I going to tell my wife?
He said DONT TELL HER! LOL Hard to do when I dont handle the money. One thing for sure...There is no substitute. For me worth every penny and all the aggravation.Good Luck

I guess this is for guys that can't work on their own cars.

I've owned mine for almost 8 years, and excluding tires and oil changes, I haven't broken $2k total for the entire 8 years, never mind every year. :D

I was thinking the SAME THING.
My case aside ('cuz all bets are off when you start tracking it, haha) I think most items that come up regularly could be handled DIY with standard tools, a meager budget and a modicum of bad words.