Newbie Maint. Question.....

[onbypass]

Hello everybody,

Wasn't sure if this should go in the INTRO section..but here goes..........

I am a brand-new (12/31/07) first-time owner of a 1997 Boxter with 76K miles.
I bought it from a very reputable local dealer/service facility, but the car was never serviced there. Also, there are only two stamps in the maint. book from two other service centers. I was able to contact one of the places that it was serviced at, and they sent me their history since 2004 (when the previous owner bought the car)....Here's what I found out............

In 2004 at 45K miles or so, it had its full 45K porsche inspection with LOF, brake flush, etc. Since then, It had a couple of top repairs (push rod, dash switch) and a air mass sensor that went bad.

Maintenance wise, it had an air filter replaced in 2005 at 47K miles. The most recent was a LOF at 70K back in March of '07.

I have not been able to find out any information from the other service location. I would hope that it had some maint between 47K and 70K, besides just the repairs to the top, etc. I learned never to assume!!!

So, the problem is that although it was checked out by a reputable dealership/service center (pre-owned only not a porsche dealership), and I know it had a LOF within the past year (7K miles ago), I don't really know anything else (60K service, etc). It did pass its state inspection in December of '07.

Here is the big question!!!! With all that in mind, what maintenance items (if any) would you have done at this time. I beleive the next Major Maint. is at 90K.
I do have a 30 day warranty (but it's only major stuff).

THANK YOU in advance for any and all advice. I am glad to be part of this board!!
Mark
Hampton Roads part of Virginia!!

[RandallNeighbour]

There are a few key maintenance items that should be done as a boxster passes the 60k mark, but if you don't have complete records on the car, you might be replacing things that have already been replaced.

Spark plugs are usually changed by 60k (cheap). O2 sensors are recommended to be changed out at 60k, although many boxster owners just wait until the car's ECU throws a CE light and then all four are replaced (replacing just the failing one can make the ECU go haywire). These are not cheap. $450 a set, but the job is an easy DIY job taking 30 minutes max.

If you have no record of the car having the radiator overflow tank replaced, do a visual inspection by removing the carpet in the rear trunk and the floorboard wood and see if any radiator fluid has accumulated down there. If you see fluid, make the dealer you bought it from replace it. It's expensive.

My web site has some other stuff that will help you. You should also visit Mike Focke's pages ... his web site is simply a wealth of information.

[tboyer]

Congrats and welcome to 986 ownership

Most used 986's come with little or no service history. You will learn what your car needs within the next thousand miles. My experience since owning two Boxster's, is that the average cost within the first 2 months of ownership is 2 to 3 K. Problems are typically passed on between owners. My suggestion is to drive your car often in order to sort out the pings and tangs that you never hear during test drives. Eventually a laundry list of items, hopefully small, will begin to appear. If you approach those repairs with realistic expectations, you'll enjoy your car immensely!

[rick3000]

Welcome to the forum!

I wouldn't worry to much about the service history. My car also came with only two service stamps, and I just decided to wait 10k miles for the 30k service to do/check everything.
You can check some of the things yourself if you would like to. But I wouldn't stress about it. Since your 14k miles away from your next service, if your really want to play it safe, you could take the car to a good mechanic and have him check everything. He might even be able to tell you if they did a 60k service, based on what he sees.

[David N.]

My PPI turned up everything I would need to do once I bought my car. I guess it ended up being about 2k, but that was new tires and CV boots, so basically wear items you would expect to change.

Unless I sell pretty soon, next up I'll be doign the 60k service and new clutch, not looking forward to that

-David