Thinking of buying a Boxster ? - MUST READ !

[clickman]

Originally Posted by DEye

That makes me seriously think about getting the Extended Car warranty ( if i can get it on a US car imported into Canada)

I looked into aftermarket warranties about 4-5 years ago, and you couldn't get them in Canada. You had to have bought the car from a Canadian dealer. Maybe things have changed...

As it was I did that - bought my 01 from a Canadian dealer, and I bought the extended warranty. Waste of money.

If you're handy and like working on cars, these are easy cars to work on in spite of the engine being "hidden". Between the Bentley manual and all of the uber-helpful folk on this forum, I started off with brakes (snap), have done a few other projects, and am currently doing a project that includes replacing water pump, low temp thermostat, "S" oil cooler, fuel filter, motor mount, and a brake/clutch fluid flush.

As I get more confident of working on the car, my plans are that when the Box is hibernating for the winter, I'll change the clutch, and at the same time do the IMS and RMS. I'll probably do the spark plugs and tubes at the same time.

For some reason I have no interest in doing this sort of work on my other cars - I just find it fun on the P-car.

[WhipE350]

Don, I have to second Clickman, if you are getting the bug to work on cars these are great, I got mine with 53K miles in Nov and have learn and enjoyed working on it so much. Getting warm in the garage and the weather is nice for driving so I'm slowing down my projects. I will say though I got a great car, when I look back on the records from the previous owner it really has been a great car, above average in repairs. I have found things to do because I wanted to do them.

If you are really worried about the IMS either plan on replacing it or buy one with the fix already. Once you get the car you'll get hooked and find so many things you want to do, or maybe not, it depends on your requirements. In my case i wanted a car to work on. If you are interested I'll PM you the history of my car...you'll see most stuff was just fun.

I ended up getting new rims (18 inch) and really love the car...once you get used to a convertible and every cars unique rattles or squeaks you'll start just feeling the car. I like driving mine most at night on smooth winding roads, I could just drive it for hours. I find by the weekend I find excuses to go for a ride. For me it is addictive. I have a bad back so driving to work hitting the clutch all the time is not fun so I drive the Benz.

The hardest thing for me now is avoiding big hits like Aerokits and expensive headers and cats.

Good luck!

[DEye]

I can certainly appreciate the sentiments you both put forward, I got into the same spirit with the last two cars I've had, to the point where I started to wonder is I was too obsessed with the MINI to the point of turning it into an Object Art - looking every where for photo opportunities, and enjoying getting back into working on cars.

I have not given up on the purchase, just got a does of reality I guess.
I'll be getting the car checked out, and will indeed consider looking into getting the IMS job done ASAP should i take the plunge.

Thank for the support,
Don

Originally Posted by clickman

I looked into aftermarket warranties about 4-5 years ago, and you couldn't get them in Canada. You had to have bought the car from a Canadian dealer. Maybe things have changed...

As it was I did that - bought my 01 from a Canadian dealer, and I bought the extended warranty. Waste of money.

If you're handy and like working on cars, these are easy cars to work on in spite of the engine being "hidden". Between the Bentley manual and all of the uber-helpful folk on this forum, I started off with brakes (snap), have done a few other projects, and am currently doing a project that includes replacing water pump, low temp thermostat, "S" oil cooler, fuel filter, motor mount, and a brake/clutch fluid flush.

As I get more confident of working on the car, my plans are that when the Box is hibernating for the winter, I'll change the clutch, and at the same time do the IMS and RMS. I'll probably do the spark plugs and tubes at the same time.

For some reason I have no interest in doing this sort of work on my other cars - I just find it fun on the P-car.

Originally Posted by WhipE350

Don, I have to second Clickman, if you are getting the bug to work on cars these are great, I got mine with 53K miles in Nov and have learn and enjoyed working on it so much. Getting warm in the garage and the weather is nice for driving so I'm slowing down my projects. I will say though I got a great car, when I look back on the records from the previous owner it really has been a great car, above average in repairs. I have found things to do because I wanted to do them.

If you are really worried about the IMS either plan on replacing it or buy one with the fix already. Once you get the car you'll get hooked and find so many things you want to do, or maybe not, it depends on your requirements. In my case i wanted a car to work on. If you are interested I'll PM you the history of my car...you'll see most stuff was just fun.

I ended up getting new rims (18 inch) and really love the car...once you get used to a convertible and every cars unique rattles or squeaks you'll start just feeling the car. I like driving mine most at night on smooth winding roads, I could just drive it for hours. I find by the weekend I find excuses to go for a ride. For me it is addictive. I have a bad back so driving to work hitting the clutch all the time is not fun so I drive the Benz.

The hardest thing for me now is avoiding big hits like Aerokits and expensive headers and cats.

Good luck!

[jsmith]

i have learned about the alphabet soup check list, ims, rms, aos etc etc, specially after getting really close to getting my dream car. the search continues, and this one popped up on ebay. car has 4 owners, third one allegedly a porsche mechanic. i don't think he's on the forum as the car is not in the for sale section.

Porsche : Boxster 986 in Porsche | eBay Motors

i asked if he checked the dtc's on the airbag, since this is a known item with a TSB and a kit to address the problem. came back saying there was nobody in the area that could read it(???).

still watching and thinking about it, what do you guys think?

[WhipE350]

Wow these prices have come down in the last two years. Was the IMS replaced with the LNS one? Nice rims also. Seems hard to go wrong at that price.

[jsmith]

Originally Posted by WhipE350

Wow these prices have come down in the last two years. Was the IMS replaced with the LNS one? Nice rims also. Seems hard to go wrong at that price.

On ebay, I see cars not moving for months. The IMS also gives me pause because I spoke to a Porsche "specialist" here in NJ about doing the IMS & RMS on a car I wanted a PPI on. He said they "only use Porsche parts" and that there was an upgraded factory part for it. He had no idea about this forum which is where I got most of my information from. There are also statements like "the old IMS was fine" - I mean, like how could they tell? Did they break the seal open to see if the grease was intact? Did they even know what the issue really is...