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Originally Posted by Boxtaboy
Since my 01 is getting a little old in the tooth now, I've been trying to stay on top of all the regular maintenance items to prevent any downtime (as I use my car as a daily driver to work now). I'm currently at 59K miles, and have done the polyrib belt, replaced a worn motor mount, plugs, oil/filter change, brake pads/rotors, fuel filter, and coolant flush. Battery's at the end of it's 4th year, so may change that also. Lately, however, I've been thinking about items that haven't failed on me yet, but could leave me stranded, and whether or not to pre-emptively replace them to possibly help save me from having to get a tow. (ie. water pump, AOS).
Which leads me to my question- how many of you have ever been stranded in your Boxster, and if so, what was the culprit? Also, how many have had to replace their water pump, AOS, or coolant tank, and at what mileage, and do you think it is worthwhile to change them out prior to a problem occuring?
I'll start:
01 Boxster / 59k miles, haven't been stranded in it yet
- Cracked coolant tank replaced at 38k miles
- Water pump, clutch, and AOS are original and still working fine
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Boxtaboy,
I have actually only been stranded once. The car was on it's original battery when the alternator failed. I had to get it jumped & the tow truck driver said it definitely won't hold the charge (he tested the alternator.) Sure enough, I got it in the garage ( a 20 minute drive from my break down) and it wouldn't start. Got it towed & fixed under warranty.
I don't know if it makes sense to change your water pump before it starts to fail. I'm sure there are people with over 100K & still on their original pump. You don't necessarily want to "give" your money away. Surprisingly, with all the issues I've had, my water pump is fine. And none of those issues prevented me from getting the car home. I only needed to be jumped for the dying alternator.
*PPI from P Car Dealer & a 60 mos/80K warranty
- oil leak at cam housing
- which shorted out an O2 sensor
- driver side rear wheel bearing
- cv boots (twice in 2 years!)
- rear brake sensor
- driver side strut
- lower control arm (twice up front)
- upper control arm (front - driver side)
- gearbox rebuild (synchros, 1 & 2nd gear)
- oil leak at spark plug tube
- half shaft replacement
- cracked coolant reservoir
- coolant reservoir cap
- coolant hose leaking
- mass air flow sensor
Right now, I need to swap out my front & rear sway bar links & get that mystery coolant disappearance issue fixed. Fingers crossed that it not going to require a rebuild.
I still like Porsches, but if I had I to do it over again, I would get a car that was less than 4 years old, with some of the OEM warranty on it & then I would get the CPO. Everyone's experience is different, but I actually prefer warranties & feel the money is well spent (especially on high performance German vehicles.) Many of these repairs got nickeled & dimed by the warranty & I paid a share. Still, I would have been up the creek if I had to foot all of these repairs myself. Up the creek & pissed. Considering it's not really that old & only has 58,000 miles on it, I consider that unacceptable build quality, and if I can get the manufacturer to back up their product free of cost to me, then why the hell not??? Hopefully, your ownership will be an easy one. I don't know if I'll stay in the family when I'm done with this vehicle - like 911's a lot, like Cayman S' a lot. A 300 hp Boxster sounds like a treat! But we'll see... I like to "drive", not "repair." And I'm not so enamored with Porsche that I wouldn't consider a well built, powerful Japanese sports car in the future. Just not an S2000...
Hate those...