PPI feedback

[Mike_Yi]

Hi all. I'm new here. I've finally found the right Boxster for me. I looked at the car and drove it, and I'm happy with what I saw. It's a '99 (01/99) with 46k on it.

I had the PPI done today. It was done by a dealer. That wasn't my choice, but all independent specialists are over an hour and half away from the car's current owner. Anyway, the results have me thinking that the dealer is trying to screw me. Here's what they said....

The previous owner did, what the dealer called, a "pad slap." In other words, he just replaced the front pads. They then went on to say that this is not right. He should have changed the pads, rotors and sensors. They say this is a must. I say BS since it's the first change of the pads. BTW, the guy hasn't tracked it at all.

Oil Fill Flex Tube is leaking. Whatever.

He said the clutch is VERY stiff. This is, he said, and indication that the clutch is going out. The worn clutch material builds up around the actuating rod and makes the clutch feel stiff. My first reaction was, "BS." That's mainly because I drove the car the clutch felt fine. It didn't feel stiff at all. My other car is an '02 Pontiac Firehawk (special edition Trans Am), and the clutch in the Boxster felt softer than that. That may not be an indication though. My only reservation is that the owner mentioned that the last time he had it in for maintenance, he had them look at the clutch. That makes me think that maybe he noticed something that made him have it looked at. Records (he has full records) didn't indicate any clutch work.

It needs its 45k maintenance. I will negotiate the price based on that needing to be done.

So what do you guys think of the brakes and clutch thing? I don't see the brake thing being valid. However, I have no idea about the clutch. I've only driven two other Boxsters, and that was months ago, so I have no idea what it should feel like.