[mylamb]

Good morning!

I am new to Porsche ownership & just have a few quick questions on reliability. I'm just curious as to whether the following issues are par for the course for a low mileage, well maintained 986 or does it seem like I'm having an unusual amount of difficulty with keeping the car running.

I purchased a 2001 986 S with 32,000 miles. It looked like a gem of a car and after reading all of the posts on the various Porsche sites, I decided to get a PPI before I made a decision. The PPI stated: Perform 30K Service, Bleed the brakes, Rear tires worn, Perform an alignment. I felt that these were reasonable requests (no RMS issues) so I purchased the car and had everything done by a Porsche dealer or shop within a month. This was in August of 2006.

I have since put about 8000 miles on the car and here's what has happened (all fixed, most under an aftermarket warranty)

1. Oil leak at the crank case shorting out Bank 1 O2 Sensor
2. Torn cv boots (not spotted on PPI)
3. Replaced driver side rear wheel bearing.
4. Disintegrating Cat (on passenger side)
5. Failed alternator

When I go online, I see these problems popping up on 986/996 models all the time, but is it normal to have quite so many issues in a relatively short amount of time on 1 car??? I plan on attending PCA DE events & doing some aggressive driving, but... not at the cost of tearing the car apart! Luckily, I do have an aftermarket warranty, but there is always a cost involved plus the inconvenience of being stranded or having to wait until a tech can fit you in. I used to autocross an MR2 Turbo in the 90's and while aesthetically it's no comparison to a Boxster S, it actually offered 80% of the real world performance and was absolutely bulletproof, so these issues seem a little startling to me. Your thoughts on the reliability of my vehicle would be appreciated.


Thanks, gurus!