Parts Sourcing
 

Good day all.

I have yet to take possession of a 98 Boxster with 65K miles, but it should be a done deal within the next 72 hours. Yay!!! It’ll be the first Porsche in our fleet.

I had a question about parts, is it a reasonable expectation to be able to get parts through our local VW dealer? The closest Porsche dealer is almost an hour away, so I’m just wondering if its an option, since they are closer.

I’m mainly looking to the Porsche folks for a second key, and I’m fully aware of the three day trip the key blank has to make from Atlanta, and the other associated costs of getting a new key, the wife wasn’t though...:)

I have a shopping cart full of stuff from Pelican Parts, so i think they will be my primary source for a bit.

Thanks in advance for any info, time to go over to the Intro Board and say HI!!!

I get most of my stuff from Pelican, and have also found ECS Tuning to be another good source of parts.

I'm not sure about getting parts through the local VW dealer, some parts are shared between VW and Porsche, but it's mostly things like window regulators and some switches.

Welcome to the forum!

There may be some parts that are shared with VW like ignition switches, but most are Porsche Specific.

Do a web search for online Porsche dealer that sell parts. I have gotten some great deals from the one based in Las Vegas. You can also join your local PCA chapter and most dealers give a PCA discount. For a key blank, they are easy to get and can be cut at many places, the key fob, which the car needs to be programmed for to accept, you need to get a genuine Porsche one, and they are not cheap (be sure it comes with the bar code tag or its useless) and then you have to pay for the programming. Do a search on this forum for more info

Another source for parts is warehouse 33 auto dot com (remove the spaces, etc.) use RENNLIST as a promo code and get an additional 10% off.

Pelican is a good source for lots of parts too

YMMV

Welcome to the forum. It's rare that the local dealers will be cheaper for parts. I have seen that happen. Ordering the parts at the dealership's website, if available, is cheaper with coupons sometimes/in-store pickup.

You'll save the most money sourcing the parts from reputable online dealers like Pelican Parts and wrenching on the Porsche yourself. Do the research on the forums and see what others have used as a direct replacement over Porsche brand parts. You'll learn who Porsche own suppliers are. Some parts you should stick with Porsche despite the premium cost. I would suggest before ordering all these parts to inspect the car first. You can order the common maintenance items first like oil filter, engine oil, fuel filter, and air filters. If you have the spare time drop the engine sump during the oil change, clean the throttle body and MAF sensor. Those projects will keep you busy for a few days while you wait for the parts you will need after the inspection. :cheers:

I never use the stealership, unless it's a last minute small part.

Find the part number and search on Pelican or one of the other online part dealers, it's significantly cheaper than the dealership. Be aware that the last two digits may be different, that's the version number, Pelican's website is really good about noting when a part number has been superseded with a newer part number. For the key, make sure you buy a new one with the white tag so it can be programmed, and you might not have to drive if you can find someone with a PIWIS, I'm not sure a VW dealer would have one, but an Porsche independent shop might.

Take a look here: https://www.porsche.com/all/media/pdf/originalparts/en/E_986_KATALOG.pdf

Anyone know of a good place to get a Service or Repair Manual?

Pelican, ECS, also connect with Woody on this forum ITSNOTANOVA for used parts.

Pelican Parts is the forum sponsor and has decent prices and good customer service. They also have a great collection of DIY articles: https://www.pelicanparts.com/boxster/boxster_tech.htm Because of that I will often buy there.
I don't want to promote their competition, but I do sometimes find very good pricing on some "manufacturer's closeout" parts at Rock Auto.

Woody may still have a few 986 parts remaining, but he has pretty much stopped buying salvage 986s to part out. For used parts, it is probably best to look through the classified section of the forum or post a 'WTB' for whatever part you need. I have two parts cars and boxes of stuff from a couple cars that I have scrapped. Although I'm not an active seller, there are people like me who will often reply when someone needs stuff.

There are some reliable eBay sellers. One of the best is Quality Porsche Parts

European Parts Depot has been very good to deal with as well.

Manuals? The Bentley manual is probably the one that is used most. Often available here on the forum used. https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/BOOK/POR_BOOK_PORBK1_pg7.htm

I have the factory service manual which sometimes comes up on eBay for around $1,000 ...and I still often use Wayne Dempsey's 101 Projects book instead.

Pelican F*cked me on my last part, never got the right part even though I went through 3 different phone channels to get it right. Ended up costing me about $30 with shipping and returns, never got the right part... had to buy used on line.

I no longer trust Pelican.

Pelican, FCP Euro

ECS is off my list at this point they screwed my last two orders and it was a bear getting my money back.

Having a bad experience is frustrating but it can happen anywhere. I have dealt with Pelican for almost 10 years for my 924S, 928 and boxsters. In that time I have had 1 part that expired under warranty, which they replaced. One advantage of Pelican is that it is convenient to order parts for different cars at the same time to get to the free-shipping amount. I also order parts elsewhere, of course Ebay and sometimes even the local Porsche dealer, especially for small parts that are difficult to find elsewhere or things that I need quickly without waiting for cross-border shipping.

+1.
Always a good experience dealing with these guys.

And if they allow an "offer" on one of their eBay items, they'll usually accept 75% of the asking price.

Just sayin'............

TO

I have a brand new Bentley manual for sale.

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-cayman-parts-sale-wanted/78230-sundry-986-parts.html

It`s nice that you are getting free shipping to Quebec from Pelican, I didn`t get that to Ontario. ECS Tuning has lost me as a costumer a long time ago, the fact that they used an independent courier that charged me an arm and a leg when they delivered my B-12 suspension and they did no specify that when I placed my order was enough for me to never order from them again. The U.S. has a a lot of suppliers but their shipping is what makes no sense, some of them charge just as much as the parts cost to ship to Canada :rolleyes: plus we still have to pay customs. Rock auto is one of the places that I order most of my car parts from, but now due to covid19 their shipping also has gone up quite a bit.