50,000 miles of 987S

[eslai]

I'm 300 miles away from the 50,000 mark in my 2005 Boxster S. I picked it up in May of 2005.

The car is currently at my dealer getting some last minute minor details taken care of. In addition, my car popped its first-ever check-engine light, which as everyone knows is usually an emissions thing. Sure enough, my evap system is leaking.

No biggie.

As I head into my extended warranty period, I thought it'd be a good time to reflect on the car.

Pre-20,000 miles experience:

• "Shoestring" tension lines in cab top came loose three times.
• Tranny replaced twice due to failure that PCNA (and certain ex-members here ) tried to blame on me. Zero problems after third replacement and no change in driving style by yours truly.
• Took car to dealership multitude of times for radio issues.
• Rattling windstop was serviced a multitude of times.
• A bunch of minor recalls.
• Trim ring around shift boot replaced because it wouldn't stay in place.
• Low-tone horn replaced once due to failure.
• Key replaced once after I dropped it on the ground in the supermarket and it exploded into a zillion pieces. Quality is job #1.
• Rear PASM shock replaced at 20,000 miles due to failure
• Rear-view mirror replaced at 15,000 miles after developing streaks in glass.

Post-20,000 miles experience:

• Dead pedal replaced once due to cracking.
• Driver seat was replaced at 30,000 miles or so due to stitching failure.
• RMS replaced somewhere along the way with the "new design". No leaks since...
• AC unit's controls were peeling at around 40,000 miles. Unit was replaced and I noticed that the controls are no longer rubberized. Must have been a common issue.
• Passenger-side rear tail light housing replaced once due to fogging (may have been due to prior rear-ending)
• Retrofitted PCM replaced once shortly after receipt due to weird software glitch.
• Axle boot came loose once on right rear, spewing axle grease on inside of wheel.
• Front thermostat sensor popped out of its housing around 45,000 miles, was replaced.
• Replaced floor mats once due to wear from my heel.
• Passenger-side driving light in fog light housing replaced.
• Glove compartment started rattling, dealer replaced.

Miscellaneous comments:

• Front brakes and rotors replaced once.
• Oil changed every 10,000 miles.
• Still on my original clutch (I never dump the clutch or launch the car)
• Fourth set of rear tires, second set of fronts. Rears got punctured twice.
• Have only had one door ding.
• Got rear-ended once. (nothing major, just bumper parts replaced)
• Got backed into once. (minor)
• Still loving the Reus audio upgrade, still hate Bose.
• Never bought the $300 chrome exhaust tip, on principle alone.
• Did buy the $50 aluminum-look gas cap.
• Lots of sandblasting in the glass, but no cracks or chips.
• Clear plastic fender guards around the side vents are a bit yellowed.
• Lots of chips in the side vent paint.
• Clear bra has helped immensely. New ones cover the entire hood, which would've been nice.
• Nose scraped twice on pavement.
• Sad that a PCM nav upgrade costs over $300.
• One self-inflicted nick in rear bumper from me dropping the car key two weeks ago
• Still have grease streaks on windows after reporting the problem a zillion times.
• Three speeding tickets, one fix-it ticket for missing front plate.
• Front plate has never been attached to car. CHP does not apparently enforce their fix-it tickets.

Total amount spent on any repairs and maintenance beyond tires, brakes and oil changes: ZERO.

Suffice to say, the guys at Pioneer Porsche know me very well now and I've had an exceptional experience with the service department. In a way, I guess that this could be a lesson learned on buying a first-year model of ANY car.

But I've learned that Porsche does take care of their problems. I can't complain too much--they've given me a loaner car each time I've taken the car in for anything--saves me some gas and mileage. The car's pretty well shaken down and after PCNA and I came to a bit of a settlement, I'm happy to have a 100,000 mile warranty in place and very confident of continuing ownership of this car.

It's been nothing but a joy to drive and I still get comments from people that can't believe that it has 50,000 miles on the Odo. "Still looks brand new!" I'm still enamoured with my choice, although I wish I had spec'd her out a little differently when I ordered her.