986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Would you buy a 986 with a milage inconsistency?

Atreyu8088 · 06-30-2023, 06:35 PM

Thanks guys!
I saw and drove it today. The current owner spent a lot of time and money getting it back into shape. New center radiator, new brakes/rotors, new rear calipers, new leather upholstery on the seats, some new lights, new light switch, new filters, replaced all of the fluids… like a lot of things. He had a compression test and reported all cylinders were at 170psi. Not sure how warm the engine was or how much throttle that was under.

I suspect the car was neglected at some point and the guy the current owner bought it from did some touch up paint, removed the catalytic converter (probably to sell it), tossed in a “performance exhaust” muffler and rolled back the mileage to increase the value. Apparently the dude had two 968’s so perhaps it was a hobby as he only had it for 6 months.

While the current owner has done an excellent job going through and addressing many of the problems… since there is 1) a high probability of a history of neglect, 2) unknown mileage, 3) an airbag light,4) the check engine light permanently on supposedly because the removal of the catalytic converter has caused the engine to run rich (that seems like a fishy explanation given to the current owner by the previous one), I have decided to stay away from this one.

I feel terrible for the current owner. I’m the jerk who brought the reported mileage inconsistency to his attention so now he will have that on his mind as he tries to sell it. He seemed like a stand up guy who would struggle with that.

06-30-2023, 06:35 PM	#7
Atreyu8088 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2023 Posts: 5	Thanks guys! I saw and drove it today. The current owner spent a lot of time and money getting it back into shape. New center radiator, new brakes/rotors, new rear calipers, new leather upholstery on the seats, some new lights, new light switch, new filters, replaced all of the fluids… like a lot of things. He had a compression test and reported all cylinders were at 170psi. Not sure how warm the engine was or how much throttle that was under. I suspect the car was neglected at some point and the guy the current owner bought it from did some touch up paint, removed the catalytic converter (probably to sell it), tossed in a “performance exhaust” muffler and rolled back the mileage to increase the value. Apparently the dude had two 968’s so perhaps it was a hobby as he only had it for 6 months. While the current owner has done an excellent job going through and addressing many of the problems… since there is 1) a high probability of a history of neglect, 2) unknown mileage, 3) an airbag light,4) the check engine light permanently on supposedly because the removal of the catalytic converter has caused the engine to run rich (that seems like a fishy explanation given to the current owner by the previous one), I have decided to stay away from this one. I feel terrible for the current owner. I’m the jerk who brought the reported mileage inconsistency to his attention so now he will have that on his mind as he tries to sell it. He seemed like a stand up guy who would struggle with that.