potential owner with questions
 

Hi all
my name is Michael, im 26 from Fife, Scotland
last month i sold my MR2 MK2 and Celica GT4 (great cars btw)
Anyway im looking to get my next car and i very tempted to get the Porsche boxster. the early model 2.5 version. Iv done quite a bit of research on it and have some questions if you could help please.

1) Can most repairs/service be done yourself at home? i do have quite a bit of mechanical knowledge as iv repaired my previous cars

2) It looks very awkward and not much room to work on the engine. is this the case?

Any help much appreciated.
cheers
Michael

Hi Michael,
Welcome aboard, this is probably the best 986 site I have found with loads of 'how to' guides.
The Boxster is relatively straight forward to work on yourself. If you can get the back end on ramps, you can access most things from underneath (plugs, coils etc), but some of the top side stuff is fiddly. If you are handy with the spanners, its fine.
Access to the aux belt for example is from the inside of the car (randomly) as there is a panel behind the seats that comes out.
There is no space age tech in there, oil leaks are common from the RMS and AOS (on mine) but parts are readily available - I find 'the Porscheshop' online in Birmingham to be pretty good for parts and knowledge.

If unsure, just ask on here as there seem to be specialist bods for most areas of the car.

I had a '95 GT4 (ST205) a couple of years back, loved it and the Porsche driving feel is pretty similar, one of my favourite bits!

Welcome and good luck!

thanks for info on that mate. Yeah iv read a few other posts on here seems a very helpfull site
yeah GT4 are fast cars. i had the ST185. Just out of interest did you find the fuel consumption about the same? running cost differ much?

Also a question i ment to ask in my first post. Is it best to buy now September time.
My first plan was to wait till December time as i was hoping they would be cheaper then. But my uncle ( who use to work in the auto trade for many years ) says about December there proparly arent that many for sale and most people selling them now end of Summer?

One of the things I do love about the Boxster is how easy it is to work on at home, and there is a DIY guide for just about every tiny little thing! Quite nice having a community that is 100% for doing your own work. Whenever I owned a newer Audi, trying to find guides on how to do simple things was a chore. Since the most common response was "take it to the dealer!".

At first it seems rather awkward to do stuff with the engine. But in reality it takes less than 3 minutes to remove everything to access the engine, a few more minutes to remove all the undertray stuff underneath it, but it is all very simple.

This is one of the very few cars I have owned, that I honestly do not forsee myself selling anytime soon out of boredom, it is a fascinating car, with amazing performance (even for a base 986 with a 2.5 or 2.7L engine) and just a pure joy to drive, with enough character to keep you entertained, especially if you enjoy working on cars.

Fuel consumption is pretty similar, mid 20's round town and low-med 30'on motorway type runs. To be fair, economy is not their forte, its handling and brakes (Brembo's all round).

We bought ours about 3-4 weeks ago from a car dealer, went in low as the summer was awful and he wanted it shifted while the sun could come out. Your uncle IMO is right, most folk will keep them tucked away in the winter rather than losing a load of cash.
Tidy

Welcome Michael,
As others have said, these cars are pretty straightforward as to DIY repairs and maintenance providing you are willing to own a handful of specialty tools. I own a 98 and have a personal preference for the first gen cars. When buying, a detailed service history is King and spending $150 quid on a pre-purchase inspection is well worth the trouble. Tires, clutch, IMS, and suspension are now due on most of the early cars and might add up to a pretty penny if not already done. Good luck and good hunting!