Finally signed up for this forum after years of gleaning information from it.
My story: I live in Bellingham, Washington (closer to Vancouver BC than Seattle) and bought a 2000 986 Base for my fiftieth birthday back in 2016. I probably paid too much for this, but when I first started looking at Boxsters, was amazed at how affordable they were. It had ~92k on the odometer, and it hasn’t been driven much since I’ve owned it (less than a thousand miles a year). It is in good shape, and was told the clutch and IMS were replaced around 80,000 miles
My mechanical abilities are average. I’m mostly an air-cooled VW person and have owned many over the years: ’74 T1 sun beetle, T2’s (a ’67 split and the current 1972 weekender), ’70 T3 fastback, jetta, golf, fox and two rabbits, as well as a BMW R60/6. A 2003 Ford Ranger is my normally driven vehicle, although my bicycle is mostly used for daily commutes and getting around town.
The ’72 Weekender (if I am able to upload this picture) required most of my attention over the last few years, so any maintenance on the 986 was minimal (basically all I did was change the oil once). However, I just finished changing the water pump, thermostat, belt and engine mount. And again, considering my average mechanical skills, it was pretty straightforward. YouTube videos, the “101 Projects” book and this forum have helped out quite a bit. The Bentley manual is on order now.
I hope to drive down to the Oregon Coast in a few weeks before the weather changes (about a thousand miles total), so this will be its first significant road trip. Of course, there’s the everpresent concern of a breakdown, but with AAA, cell phones, credit cards…times have certainly changed since the days of yore where I’d take the vee-dub across Pennsylvania to a Grateful Dead concert with nothing more than twenty bucks in my pocket, basic tools, a case of beer and a half case of oil.
But back to the Boxster - I am overall quite satisfied with the purchase, and have zero regrets. It can be a headache to find someone to work on them, just because of their uniqueness. A lot of the European mechanics in my town shy away from them even, and my one experience with one local mechanic specializing in German cars that I did go to was not the best.
So if you decide on owning one, my only suggestion would be to be able to maintain the vehicle. Or learn how. And it’s also nice to have a place to work on it where it can sit for a few days on jack stands while I’m waiting for parts or reviewing videos or forums finding the trick or solution to the next challenge that invariably lies ahead.
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