I'm taking the plunge-01 Boxster- need advice

[icedude]

Originally Posted by geoff

All '01 Boxsters came with the inside top liner.

Carefully examine all the interior "soft touch" trim. My '01 had most of the interior parts replaced by the dealer under warranty because the finish was flaking off - a few pieces multiple times. I think 2001 was a bad year for interior trim from what I can tell.

If the battery is original, expect it to die in the near future. Tires will wear out, and at 40K miles, a lot of people have to replace the MAF, AOS and motor mount. I'm still on my original motor mount at 56K miles, but have replaced the AOS (dealer under warranty) and MAF (easy, but intimidating the first time you access the engine). You will probably need to clean the throttle body in the next 10K miles. Depending on debris in the air, you might have to take the front bumper off and clean out the radiators.

If the car hasn't had an alignment for a while, plan on getting that done or replacing a lot of rear tires (check wear there). Also, check to make sure the brake fluid has been flushed every few years per Porsche service recommendation.

Other 2001 things to check: rear window - it will crack if not properly maintained. Rear bumper extensions - if faded, Mothers Back to Black does a good job making them look new. 2001 tail pipes are stainless and polish up nicely. Porsche changed the cigarette lighter dimensions in 2002, so if you plug electronics in, plan on spending $15 or so to swap out the original for a new style that fits better. If no OBC or cruise control, they can be added later but it's easier if the cars comes with.

You should get the Bentley service manual for the basic things

Read out the OBD2 codes to make sure nothing is wrong and readiness is set for all the systems, i.e., nothing cleared to get rid of CEL right before you get the car.

Even at $14.5K, if your engine explodes and you have to spend $10K for a factory rebuilt one, you still have a fantastic car - nothing even close for twice the price! My '01 hasn't had the original engine blow up - go figure! I tell everyone the longer I have the car, the more I enjoy it

Thanks Geoff. I meant an insulated liner which is an upgrade to the top and heated seats since this car is a NJ car many dealers sell cars with the winter upgrades. This car isn't under warranty any longer so how much will replacing the AOS and MAF cost? There isn't a spec of anything on the interior. I'm dead serious, this car looks brand new. A little wear on the left edge of the drivers seat which is normal from getting in and out, no chips, cracks, stains. The passenger sid floor mat looks like noone ever sat in that side. 5 nicks on the exterior of the entire car and the rear window is literally perfect. He has a kit of Porsche cleaners in a case in the front trunk and one is the window treatment which he said he's used and he also puts a felt piece between it when the top goes down and folds it. Again, unless the engine blows, this car honestly looks like it's 6 months old.

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by icedude

Thanks Geoff. I meant an insulated liner which is an upgrade to the top and heated seats since this car is a NJ car many dealers sell cars with the winter upgrades. This car isn't under warranty any longer so how much will replacing the AOS and MAF cost? There isn't a spec of anything on the interior. I'm dead serious, this car looks brand new. A little wear on the left edge of the drivers seat which is normal from getting in and out, no chips, cracks, stains. The passenger sid floor mat looks like noone ever sat in that side. 5 nicks on the exterior of the entire car and the rear window is literally perfect. He has a kit of Porsche cleaners in a case in the front trunk and one is the window treatment which he said he's used and he also puts a felt piece between it when the top goes down and folds it. Again, unless the engine blows, this car honestly looks like it's 6 months old.

Icedude, I would not replace your AOS or MAF unless you are experiencing problems. If you see that you have a big plume of smoke coming from your tailpipe at startup for a few times in a row, then you may need to change out your AOS. If you don't see any CEL light come on, your MAF is ok. At 58k miles, I have yet to change either on my car.

Oh, and Geoff is correct- starting in 2001 model yr., Porsche offered the insulated liner for the top as standard equipment for the base Boxster. Came with the Boxster S in 2000 as standard. Your dealer didn't add the liner to your car...it came as standard in all 2001 model year Boxsters.

[icedude]

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

Icedude, I would not replace your AOS or MAF unless you are experiencing problems. If you see that you have a big plume of smoke coming from your tailpipe at startup for a few times in a row, then you may need to change out your AOS. If you don't see any CEL light come on, your MAF is ok. At 58k miles, I have yet to change either on my car.

Oh, and Geoff is correct- starting in 2001 model yr., Porsche offered the insulated liner for the top as standard equipment for the base Boxster. Came with the Boxster S in 2000 as standard. Your dealer didn't add the liner to your car...it came as standard in all 2001 model year Boxsters.

Thanks, my bad on the liner. You guys would know best - which is why I am open to advice/critique. Boxta, the brake discs are a bit rusty, which is common on all cars and I'd like to get new, colored shoes if I go with new rims. how do I shine up the discs. nice rims + rusty and drab discs and shoes = ugliness. Where in NJ are you? I work in Piscataway. Any recommended Porsche mechanics you can recommend?

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by icedude

Thanks, my bad on the liner. You guys would know best - which is why I am open to advice/critique. Boxta, the brake discs are a bit rusty, which is common on all cars and I'd like to get new, colored shoes if I go with new rims. how do I shine up the discs. nice rims + rusty and drab discs and shoes = ugliness. Where in NJ are you? I work in Piscataway. Any recommended Porsche mechanics you can recommend?

There's probably not much you can do about the rusty brake rotors besides removing the rust and then painting the rotor hats. You can paint the calipers, as I did. Here's a link to my DIY instructions that a member from another board posted on his website: http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/paintingyourcalipers

I do most of the basic work on my car with the help of my other Boxster friends. We have an informal Tri-State Boxster Club where we get together a couple times a year for a work on cars day and even take annual trips together. Here's our website: www.tsbl.org

I live in the Edgewater, NJ area now.

Cheers.

[23109VC]

you will love the Boxster. I have driven my fair share of performance cars, and the Boxster is THE most fun car i have driven. Not the fastest, but the MOST FUN. Period.

my car, a 2000 base, with 18s, M030, and 75k miles still feels tight, runs VERY smoothly, and corners like it's on rails. Literally. you can't have more fun in a car for what you will pay for that car - period.

I also worried about IMS after reading all the stuff here and I said " go for it". you only live once. the odds of it happening are low. I too am a married guy with 3 kids, and this is a third toy car for me. I drive it to work on Friday... in about 20 min I"m hoping in it for lunch - can't wait!! - and like you, I really can't afford a 10-15k repair job... I can easily afford the car, but then another 15k just to fix it - no.

I have one GOOD car that is new/reliable that fits the whole family. New Acura MDX. I have an older, PAID off, reliable sedan I use as a DD. the box is for friday, weekends, date night, etc.

i figure in the UNLIKELY event that I suffered total failure - i'd just park it, cover it, and start saving for the 3.4L swap. it would suck, ut eventually i'd find a used 3.4L buy it, and find a mechanic who could swap it in for me and I'd just have to be patient. the end result would be one bad A$$ wicked boxster. i hope that never happens...but there would a silver lining to the cloud.... albeit it would be painful to have to cough up that money...

life is short. too short. if you are like me and you love cars - you WiLL get a substantial amount of pleasure from this car. i say the risk is worth it. but only you can say for sure what YOu are comforatable with.

extended warranties aren't cheap. i priced one for my car and with tax it would have been over $4000 for a 3 yr full warranty. even an "engine / drivetrain" only warranty was 3k+ - but my car has 75k miles. you might get a lower quote since your car has less miles - but not mch less. from what i saw, once the car was over 15k miles all the extended warranties were 2-3k+. IMHO not worth it. if you only drive the car 5-7k/year - you're paying a LOT for that peace of mind. and if it never happens - you wasted a lot of money.

take the risk, enjoy it. if you can wait a little and come up with more money to buy a CPO boxster - that might be a better idea, but it will cost more. if i could afford to blow $30k i'd be getting a newer one, but I wanted to be at or below 15k..so you have to bear some risk and get an older car.

good luck

[joshua6060]

I have an 01 Boxster, Love it, seriously, purchased it 3 years ago when it had 40,000 miles on it, now i'm up to 78,000 and still feels great.

Keep up on your maintenance and expect a few major repairs in the future, I have had a bad rear wheel bearing replaced, don't drop your top unless the temp is above 70 degrees or else the vinyl rear window will crack(speaking from experience) and you will need to get that replaced because riding around with a cracked rear window while driving a Boxster looks, well, stupid! A crack in the engine coolant tank cost a few bucks to fix. You can do a lot of work yourself on Boxsters, I changed my own Brake Pads, and oil, the stealerships wanted way to much!

Don't remember any of that stuff when I'm riding down the interstate with the top down and the engine humming behind me!!!!!

[geoff]

Originally Posted by icedude

Thanks Geoff. I meant an insulated liner which is an upgrade to the top and heated seats since this car is a NJ car many dealers sell cars with the winter upgrades. This car isn't under warranty any longer so how much will replacing the AOS and MAF cost? There isn't a spec of anything on the interior. I'm dead serious, this car looks brand new. A little wear on the left edge of the drivers seat which is normal from getting in and out, no chips, cracks, stains. The passenger sid floor mat looks like noone ever sat in that side. 5 nicks on the exterior of the entire car and the rear window is literally perfect. He has a kit of Porsche cleaners in a case in the front trunk and one is the window treatment which he said he's used and he also puts a felt piece between it when the top goes down and folds it. Again, unless the engine blows, this car honestly looks like it's 6 months old.

I consider myself a mechanical spaz, but no more than normal for a guy these days. I do little maintenance things myself, like changing the MAF when I got a check engine light (intimidating the first time you access the engine compartment and wonder if you will terminally break your car), but there are tons of resources on the Internet to walk you through the process, as well as this and many other great forums to ask dumb questions (Hint - Search is your friend). But I don't bother changing my own oil - I just buy Mobil 1 on sale and take it to the dealer for an oil change. There's nothing complicated or difficult about changing your own oil, just a personal quirk that I don't want to bother. I get the oil changed twice as often as Porsche recommends, which all the engine rebuild threads seem to indicate helps longevity.

Joanne at Color Plus - http://colorplus.com/ - will have the right color leather dye to make your seat look new

There are lots of ways to make owning the car a lot less expensive. PCA (Porsche Club of America) members typically get around 10% off at dealers and other service places. Buying parts online (I use Sunset in Oregon, but there are others) can save a LOT of money. The more you drive and enjoy your Boxster, the per mile cost goes down and per mile pleasure goes up. I've read Boxsters that are driven frequently last longer and have fewer problems than pristine garage queens. I also found the more you drive the car and understand how to drive it, the more you appreciate the Boxster's capabilities and how difficult it will be to ever be a good enough driver to fully take advantage of what it is capable of doing

Depending on how you drive and your car's alignment, some people change tires more often than oil. Make sure you understand that cost and plan accordingly. I find the low profile tires need to have air checked more often than on a typical family car. Lots of places to get OK tire prices (Costco, Discount Tire, Tire Rack, etc.). I do a lot of canyon driving and got 27K miles on my original rear tires. Front tires will last quite a bit longer than rears, and front brake pads will wear a lot more than rears. Brake pads are supposed to wear out about twice as fast as rotors, and I still have the original brake pads all around at 56K miles, with lots remaining. Porsches are not street racers, so burnouts, donuts and stoplight racing will hurt your ego and your wallet (tires, brakes, clutch, etc)

I found it's worth it to make good friends with service advisor if you take your car to the dealer for any work. A lot of them will take good car of people they like

If my car blew up this weekend, I would get another one without hesitation