Maintenance over past year...ooch!
 

So I just pasted the 1 year mark with my 97 boxster. I bought it at 75,000 miles and now have just shy of 100,000. Below is a list of parts that have failed and been replaced in the past year. Am I just horribly unlucky or is this what you guys are dealing with. Whats even worse is that it had passed a Porsche inspection with flying colors at the dealership before I bought it.

Parking brake switch (prevented top from operating)
Engine mount (terrible vibration)
Clutch
IMS (didn't actual fail but was full of some nasty oil)
Water pump (failed on trip to Ohio)
Fuel pump (didn't completely fail but started singing me the song of its people)
Mass airflow meter (failed)
Tires (brand new when I bought the car, all 4 have now been replaced)
Serpentine belt
Shift linkage (snapped and left me stranded)
Ignition switch (failed)
Coolent bleeder valve (failed)
Clogged radiators (didn't have to replace a part but had to disassemble the whole front of the car)
Windshield wiper assembly (this was an odd ball one, luckily not hard to fix)
Radio (old one stopped working)
Speakers (front blew)
Rear main seal (leaking)
Pilot bearing (because, thats why)
Driveshaft boots (two were torn, replaced all 4)
Coolent cap (old one failed and couldn't maintain 15psi)
Cracked intake manifold (vacuum leak)
headers (ok so the exhaust manifold was fine)

and no, I don't have any idea what all this cost me. Luckily I did the labor.

Should you fold in the fuses you had to replace in the BMW you had to borrow from me while your Boxster was down for the count for the last three weeks?

You probably also had atleast on relationship fail because of this car as well. Those are expensive failures indeed....

Proves that PPI is only as good as the mechanic, there is no way for the manufacturer to safeguard that every PPI is uniform. They vary as much as house inspectors which is another occupation where glaring problems are missed even though they billed you to find them.

I just bought an 02 Boxster with about 75k on it as well, and already have done the following:

Serpentine Belt (old one clearly never been replaced, SO many cracks)
Spark Plugs (also, clearly never done, but was nice tan color so no issues there)
Motor Mount (nearly split in half at the rubber)
Air Filter (also, never changed)
Cabin Filter (same story)

Right now the left rear strut is blown, and I think the front balljoints need to be replaced (loosey goosey feeling and creaking sounds). ROW M030 kit it is, and new joints.

Rear Main Seal leak.

Thankfully the clutch feels strong, but might just replace that along with the IMS and RMS in a few months, knock it all out.

All in all, not terrible, but not cheap. But I knew what I was getting into, and I rather enjoy working on these cars. Though doing the spark plugs and motor mount left my arms looking like they got mauled by a cat.

Reading all these threads scare me. I bought my '97 Boxster a year ago with 68k. I don't drive it that much so I've only put on about 6k in a year (including a drive from Chicago to Dallas which I will never do again. I'm way too big for a car that small). And all I've had to do was replace the brake pads, brake pad sensors, replace the hood ornament, and I still have to replace or repair the passenger seatbelt buckle due to the airbag light being on.

Reading all these threads, I've already scrapped the idea of upgrading the car stereo and putting that money into rotors and a savings fund for my clutch (original), and possible future engine failure. Y'all got me nervous.

As they say, there are no cheap Porsche's. :D Plan on $2K per year for repairs and maintenance and if you have money left over, consider yourself lucky!

And the car celebrates it's 15th birthday. Isn't it wonderful it is still fun enough that you fix rather than junk it as you would with so many other cars. I;d have expected O2 sensors somewhere at this mileage too.