Unacceptable Problems - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Dave Mold · 06-17-2007, 03:04 PM

I have now owned my BoxsterS Tiptronic for coming up to 5 years. I am now 60 and wanted a fun car and the Boxster certainly has proved to be a magnificent driving machine, marred only by the seemingly endless problems. Just out of warranty, oil seal betweeen engine and gear box developed a leak. 18K miles only but no goodwill payment from Porsche. Gear box out to repair. Both camcovers leaking oil at 27K no goodwill, Cylinder heads off. Tensioner cables to hood broken causing severe leaks - Back of seats swimming in water. - new hood @ 31k. Broken central cubby lid, broken cigarette lighter. Broken front electric window guide. corroding alloys, new discs all round, broken silencer mounts. missing heatshields to cat, all before 40k. Now both condensers for air con leaking and require renewal, new arms for rear suspension needed and still not done 45K, and theres quite a lot more. At my age, I dont hammer the car, its serviced regularly by Porsche main dealers as per the handbook, however this build quality is plain hopeless. Previously had an old 911 - bullet proof, but these newer Porsches seem to be going the way of Mercedes as the accountants take over from the engineers.
Son has had a Honda S2000 for three years - problems during 63,000 miles - none. Not as refined as the Boxster although high revving engines wonderful. At a recent service, the number of customers complaining was far too many. If you are thinking of buying a pre owner Boxster, only buy if you can get a l,ong term warranty for the length you intend to own the car, or remortgage your house.

thepress83 · 06-17-2007, 03:23 PM

I disagree I've owned a 2001 boxster for 2 years without a single issue, just oil changes and brakes ... normal wear and tear for a car with 70,000 miles. I suspect part of your problems may be bad luck but also your car has so few miles I suspect issues that would have normally been found during the warranty period came up afterwards. These cars are intended to be driven not parked in a garage 6 months of the year (and that's coming from someone in Vancouver where it rains 9 months a year)

Boxtaboy · 06-17-2007, 04:18 PM

Me too. 01 Boxster. Only thing I've had to replace was the coolant tank due to a leak, and a peeling door pocket lid (both replaced for free under the warranty period). 50K miles now, and still running like a top.

racer_d · 06-17-2007, 05:04 PM

Porsche can no longer afford to build cars the way they used to. If they did, they would have been out of business in about 1994. Discussion over.

Now, "should" the cars be built better without myriad of small and sometimes large problems, yes. Vote with you wallet. Don't buy another Porsche if you don't like the product. Or buy the Porsche that you know, love and trust -an "old" 911.

JCL12 · 06-17-2007, 05:16 PM

No excuses for overly poor quality are acceptable.

Many car companies make reliable, high quality automobiles (and not just honda). Putting a few of the big 986/987 whoppers aside, I do not get the feeling porsches are lagging in quality to the degree brands like mercedes are. (Maybe I am wrong)

Over time, continued lack of quality/reliabilty will degrade a brand. I personally will never buy a jaguar or mercedes unless they make massive improvements to long term reliability. I hope I never find myself saying this about porsche because I have no interest in being stuck with only BMW & Audi

Thumper · 06-17-2007, 06:10 PM

I have a 2001 which I bought used and have had a few problems, but nothing to the extent that you have endured. As with any make of car, there are going to be a few that just seem to be jinxed. I've had to replace a rear wheel bearing, a fuel pump, the ignition switch, the driver's door window regulator and worn front sway bar links. Most were replaced right after I bought it, which also was right after the warranty ran out. The only other items were normal wear items such as brakes and tires.

Overall, I have been very pleased with the reliability of my Boxster. The pure enjoyment of driving my Boxster far, far outweighs the repairs that it has required. If you are ready to give up on this Boxster, I would recommend trying another one.

Brucelee · 06-17-2007, 06:18 PM

Having been a used Porsche dealer and having owned this Forum for over 3 yrs, it is my opinon that Porsche has a LONG way to go to get to acceptable overall long term quality.

Lexus, they ain't.

funster · 06-17-2007, 06:55 PM

I think that a lot of porches do a lot of sitting and that is not good for any car. I think getting a car with too low of miles can be detrimental, seals and other parts dry out, I agree that they need to be used. I can't say that this is your problem, but it seems to be a common occurance.

RandallNeighbour · 06-17-2007, 08:39 PM

Dave, all the things you said you had to fix are indicative of the Boxster. Some go a lot longer than you on some of the items, but it's true... the car requires a lot of repairs to own long-term.

I am learning quickly that the best way to own a Porsche is buy one pre-owned with a certified, 100,000 mile warranty from Porsche. This way, the first owner gets the depreciation hit (most of it, anyway) and you, the new owner gets a much better warranty than any new Porsche owner will enjoy. This is the ONLY way I will purchase another Porsche... when most every repair is covered by a dealership fixing the car for free.

I am not sure what they offer in this regard in Wales though.

MikeinLA · 06-17-2007, 10:21 PM

Sounds like an inordinate number of problems compared to what I've read here from most owners. Also the thread referring to the latest JD Powers initial quality # 1 rating. But just in case, I'm glad my new CPO '05 has 91,000 miles and 4 years left on the warrantee.

Mike

MNBoxster · 06-17-2007, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeinLA

Sounds like an inordinate number of problems compared to what I've read here from most owners. Also the thread referring to the latest JD Powers initial quality # 1 rating. But just in case, I'm glad my new CPO '05 has 91,000 miles and 4 years left on the warrantee.

Mike

Hi,

To me, Initial Quality is no metric for longterm reliability. Most Initial Quality Survey respondents are still in the Honeymoon phase.

In subsequent surveys, the Boxster (and Porsches in general) do not fare that well...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

mikefocke · 06-18-2007, 07:36 AM

A '99 with 25k miles initially driven for 1 year, $0 unscheduled repair costs.
A '01 S with 42k miles initially driven for 2.5 years, $460 in unscheduled repair costs.

One airbag/seat-belt light problem, one air injection system leak problem, one O2 sensor problem.

Comes out to ~$11 per month for maintenance. Nothing special done to the car. Serviced by the book by independent mechanics.

Cloudsurfer · 06-18-2007, 07:43 AM

I will agree that some of the problems you've experienced are related to the lack of use the car gets. Cars are meant to be driven, yes, but even more so, the issues you had pop up out of warranty would have popped up under warranty if the car was driven more.

At the end of the day, however, Porsche (and most of the other German car companies) are beaten by leaps and bounds in overall reliability by the Japanese.

Patrick

IowaS · 06-18-2007, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikefocke

A '99 with 25k miles initially driven for 1 year, $0 unscheduled repair costs.
A '01 S with 42k miles initially driven for 2.5 years, $460 in unscheduled repair costs.

One airbag/seat-belt light problem, one air injection system leak problem, one O2 sensor problem.

Comes out to ~$11 per month for maintenance. Nothing special done to the car. Serviced by the book by independent mechanics.

not complaining, just stating facts:

2000 Boxster S, 39,000 miles... cam housing leak, cylinder head leak, coolant tank cracked, cv boots replaced, and misc other little things....most of this under warranty...estimated cost from dealer $5500....comes out to $65/month for maintenance...that is crazy....

super66 · 06-18-2007, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IowaS

not complaining, just stating facts:

2000 Boxster S, 39,000 miles... cam housing leak, cylinder head leak, coolant tank cracked, cv boots replaced, and misc other little things....most of this under warranty...estimated cost from dealer $5500....comes out to $65/month for maintenance...that is crazy....

hmmmm.....good thing you didn't buy the 97 blazer I had!!!!! brand new by the way.....lets just a 65 bucks a month average would have been a real pleasure

djomlas · 06-18-2007, 02:43 PM

man thats a lot of repairs.
you think that if you wuld have bought a ferrari and drove it few times a year you wouldnt be fixing stuff on it?
i think also that the problem is not driving the thing...

Brucelee · 06-18-2007, 03:10 PM

It is interesting, no matter how many guys post with tons of mechanical issues with their Boxsters, the faithful protest.

I have to tell you, I have seen thousands of posts on this forum and I am convinced the Box could use some attention from the engineers to make it much more robust.

r9i8c7k · 06-18-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racer_d

Porsche can no longer afford to build cars the way they used to. If they did, they would have been out of business in about 1994. Discussion over.

Now, "should" the cars be built better without myriad of small and sometimes large problems, yes. Vote with you wallet. Don't buy another Porsche if you don't like the product. Or buy the Porsche that you know, love and trust -an "old" 911.

You make a very good point. The ultimate power is in your wallet.

spark00 · 06-18-2007, 06:15 PM

i'm setting up boxster repair account and putting in $100 per month after reading all this. i took mine into shop today to get her checked out finally and found pads and rotors need to be replaced. little less than $1100 for front and rear pads and rotors. a bit higher than volvo s40 which costs little over $800. but i expected that when i was buying a p-car and consider it cost of owning a fun roadster.

Dave Mold · 06-22-2007, 05:49 PM

Thanks for all your responses. One interesting point that has come out of this is how poor Porsche Guarantees are in the UK compared to yours in the US. We only have 2 years, - as far as I am aware the only Company selling cars in the UK with less than 3. My main car, a Range Rover Vogue came with a standard 3 year unlimited mileage and the dealer threw in a further 2 years free. My wifes Toyota Corolla came with a three year guarantee, but what the hell! you might as well give it a five year as it never sees a mechanic apart from normal services.

Incidentally I came back from a touring holiday in California in April. Getting a bit old now so wanted to drive Hw 1 up from LA through Big Sur. Hired a Mustang Conv, - a bit archaic but great fun, but saw nothing from San Simeon other than Mist!. Got home and Porsche UK had sent me a new promotion brochure- it folded out into 7 glossy pages and guess what it was? -
Porsche Boxster 3.4S The drive of your Lifetime - and an aerial photograph of HW 1 showing Big Sur from San Simeon almost up to Monterey!!
Very sad to see how few new US Cars on your roads, the Japs and Koreans seemed to have taken over.
Had a wonderful time, thanks to some great people in California. Am now packing the Boxster to travel through France to Spain. I really do love this car as a driving machine, I just hope it behaves itself, but just in case, I've taken out the best European Travel Cover possible.

Grandson's Porsche has no problems at all!