How Much Have You Spent
 

When I was shopping for used Boxsters, I had a slush fund I had set aside for any work that might need to be done. Well, that slush fund for my Boxster went pretty quickly as I continued to do things that needed to be done (MAF/O2 sensors, clutch, regular maintenance, etc) as well as those things that were not necessary.

I reluctant to admit that I have probably spent half of the what I paid for the car last summer "fixing it up". It has been great fun adding to and modding the car, but it has also definately been a slippery slope, at least for me, when I started dumping money into mods. I was wondering how much others are putting into their used Boxsters both for normal maintenance and for non-essential mods.


Ed

:cheers:

$34.99 for an iPod cable and $58.00 for an iPod mount. I have plans for more stuff, but I am saving for a wedding... once that's over my Boxster is getting some mods. :)

I got my 01 986 in 02 with about 10K miles on it, and a lot of remaining warranty, so didn't really worry about having to fix things for a while. During the warranty period, nothing went wrong with the car except a leaking coolant tank (replaced under warranty) and peeling radio knob and door bin covers (both also replaced by warranty).

Now with 46K miles, car is still running like a champ. No RMS issues, original clutch. I've spent about $3K on mostly cosmetic mods (ie. clear headlamps (now litronics), clear sides/tail lamps, painted center console and other bits, dansk sports exhaust, upgraded tequipment shift knob, rear speaker kit, etc.) Only other expenses are for consumables: have changed my own brake pads, done oil changes, changed a set of tires, etc. This car is dang fun man! No regrets at all.

Im guessing 3-4k in the last year and the probably only needed about 300 bucks worth of work. Ignition switch, clutch line, oil, filters, plugs, belt, tune up stuff. The rest was all mad money. Dont forget I do all my own work.

$0 on repairs, about $10k on mods and another $10k for the trailer. All of that in the past 7 months. More to come over the next few months I hope. Although I may be switching cars. Maybe a 996 or 997. I'm looking for more power.

Way more than I expected. :). I bought the car in Nov. 05
Bought windstop (~$300), Becker aux in cable, Litronics (~$800), clear side markers and lumbareez just to get the car to the way I wanted it.
Needed to replace tires, bought Eagle F1s $1400, blew out one on a trip to Phoenix, replacement was $400, damaged another by driving on it at too low pressure and had to replace both rears because of the wear of the other rear - $800.
Had engine replaced because of RMS, $0 (warranty), had leak in cam shaft cover fixed (~$800).
Damaged inside of both right hand side wheels by driving off the edge of the road at speed (~$700).

I'm really hoping year #2 will be less costly or I will have to ditch it and get something that's not so costly to repair. :(

$200 for window regulator. and just recently, new coolant cap and flushed coolant

60k D.I.Y.(spark plugs,serpentine belt,oil & oil filter,air filter,tranny fluid,cabin filter & fuel filter) $300 w/ some of the necassary tools needed

$350 in repairs,MAF,Air/Oil Seperator w/ "J" tube & the intermediate shaft connecting the throttle body to the intake manifold(bolt snapped so I replaced the whole part)

$15 in misc. repairs(if it's scratched/cracked I replace it), the ignition trim,mud flaps in driver side wheel well

$1.5-2k in updrages/mods 18" Turbo design wheels,aluminuim/leather shift knob & handbrake,Artic Silver interoir trim,rear speaker kit,MB Quart Reference Tweeters in the dash,steering wheel crest,Porsche U.S. First Aid Kit, Clear Halogen Headlights,clear headlight corners,clear turn signals,clear rear taillights,door sills & so on....

Paid $15k for the car 2.5 years ago. So far, I've spent $5k on repairs, $6k on mods. Yeah, I'm an idiot. It's not a car, it's a friggin' hobby now.

But I sure do love it! Drove the piss out of the car this morning and still can't get the grin off my face! :dance:

"Paid $15k for the car 2.5 years ago. So far, I've spent $5k on repairs, $6k on mods. Yeah, I'm an idiot. It's not a car, it's a friggin' hobby now."

Thats me, I paid 21k for the car last summer put 10K+ into it. It looks great, runs great, sounds great (exhaust and stereo), but I cannt help but think what sort of newer Boxster I could have gotten with what I have spent. But hey, it still brings a big smile to my face when I get in, and as in many of my endevors, I am a little older and a little wiser......



Ed

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

I got mine for 17, and ive put $2700 in mods. But after that im planning on another 1600 in mods and im done for a while. I figure I could sell my car for 21 and make a couple hundred from the mods ive put in, looks a thousand times better than stock. (and yes, im fixing that last bit of amber tomorrow, I got adhesion promoter and stuff so its good this time.)
Wheels and tires-2200
GT3 front bumper- 500
Rear diffusers- 115
B&M short shifter-70
Smoked lights- 40 (should have only been 20 but I messed up)
Windscreen-400
Push start- 40
20% tinted windows-120
CD player-200
Exhaust tip-40
Planned mods:
Porscheleds.com for an all blue instrument cluster and climate control
caliper paint
racing seats and harnesses (buying the seats tomorrow)
side skirts
exhaust bypass valves

Please don't make me count it up. I don't want to know.

Besides the normal maintence stuff in the last 3 yrs, I've spent $60 on a non-smoker tray, $200 on a B&M short shift kit that I didn't use, and $50 bucks on clear side markers which I could've picked up for half the price at suncoast. That's about it.

Come on Griz, to thine own self be true! Those 19's had to set you back a couple grand with new rubber, so that's a good start. What else have you done?

Look at my mods and you do the math I can not or my ass would be grass and the wife would be a 21HP John Deer tractor.

In two words...... Super Charger

David, I refuse to even think that you ay "switch" cars if you want more power just borrow mine ;)...I have an extra set of keys for you anytime you want.

If labor counts as part of the mods then ive dropped about 25-30k into my car since buying it new in 2001. Most of it is cosmetic, but im just really anal and sometimes change out things multiple times like wheels; I'm on my third set. It just keeps thing interested.

FYI I have another 8k modding to do by march-april 07.....TWIN TURBOSSSS! :)

Get a 100 hp shot of NOS too while your at it..Why not if money is object? A TT 2.7L boxster with NOS....it would be a force to be delt with on the SO Cal scene! :cheers:

Never really thought about it, but you bring up a good point. I think the NOS would put the engine over the edge though. The twin turbos will be running 6lbs of boost. I will ask the shop about it. Thanks.

Id be too much trouble to put NOS in. On the M3 forum, they would have to buy new intake kits, change out their spark plugs, and other stuff just to run juice. With the stock air box (i know you dont have one) you have a box, and a short tube to the engine, thats not enough distance (may even be too crooked) to fully separate the NOS (like the front 2 cylinders would get a 50 shot and the rear ones would get hit at all). A direct injection system on a porsche seems imposible to me, so thats out.

I hate to admit it, but here are all the damages in 7 months of ownership:

4/6/2006 Pre-purchase inspection $155.00
4/10/2006 State Inspection, align front wheels $54.95
5/1/2006 PNP Rear Speaker Kit (No Shipping Cost) $200.00
Used OEM Porsche "Silver" Car Cover $80.00
5/3/2006 Aux-In Cable for iPod $16.40
5/3/2006 Becker Power Cable(To Power iPod) $5.00
5/14/2006 Air filter and cabin filter $45.91
6/16/2006 Two Toyo Proxes T1R (rears) $312.88
6/24/2006 Mount, balance, align $114.15
6/29/2006 Hard Top Installation Kit (spinlocks) $80.02
7/7/2006 Replace spark plugs $132.92
7/8/2006 Hard Top $610.00
8/18/2006 EZ-Top Hard Top Lift $470.00
10/5/2006 Replace MAF sensor and air filter $583.60
10/14/2006 Oil Change (DIY) $78.65
10/27/2006 Replace Evaporative Control Valve $494.67
10/27/2006 Replace driver's side reflector triangle $39.90

Grand Total $3,474.05

I've also committed to buying an additional used OEM "silver" car cover, hard top cover and window felt for $200 - but I haven't spent that money yet. This used car cover was never actually placed on the owner's car, so it is in new condition.

The expenses related to the hard top and the unplanned repairs were the big hits. Fortunately, I had budgeted for $2000 in "unexpected" expenses, so it's not so bad.

The only solace I can take is that my car (as equipped with a hard top) would have listed for $50,916. Including the purchase price of $21,250 I have exactly $24,724 "invested". The car had only 30,000 miles on it when I bought it, so I'm hoping for a lot of miles from my half price Boxster.