Scared to Death of these cars !

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by Pat

Step 1: Don't buy a car that you are scared of.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit

so far, year and a half later i'm not sorry i bought the car. it's been fun. every once in a while some little bit of my brain will say "what about the IMS?" and then i just give the car a little more gas and go around a corner. that part of my brain shuts down and all is well again.

if you're scared, pass on it. it's not for you.

[stephen wilson]

I was worried also, so I bought an '06 CPO car last year, and I'm in love every time I drive it! ( well, except for the ticket I just got.... )

I will have to make a decision in 2 years though, when the warranty is up. I'd love to trade up to an '09-'10 S.

Steve

[Mark_T]

-new top $500, should be good for the life of the car now
-1 drop link, don't remember how much, but not that expensive
-a section of clutch line that was damaged by road conditions, not the car's fault, cost about $300 including the power bleeder
-new tires, about $1200 for Michelins cuz the tires on the car when I bought it were crap. Based on the wear I see so far they should last another couple of years
-regular maintenance, filters, fluids, plugs, a couple of hundred bucks per year
-upgrades, about $2800. Includes new seats, steering wheel, shifter, cupholders, all totally discretionary
-I need to do brakes next spring - that will be $800 or so.

So, actual required maintenance and repair costs the first year were a little over $2200, and I expect that to be a bit above average because it was the first year and I had to deal with the previous owner's neglect. This is better than any other car of this age that I have ever owned - American, ricer, whatever and certainly less than I expected to pay to keep an exotic on the road.

Hey, if they were cheap to run then everybody would have one. Any good hobby costs money and this is no exception. I am actually suprised that somone might balk at $1500 - $2000 a year operating costs for a vehicle of this type.

[Lucky]

My '00 S is up to 108K miles & it has been problem free during my 3.5 years of ownership. Only work has been maintenance, including a few major wear items at 103K -- clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, throwout bearing, and rear wheel bearings. All done by me for a total cost of about $950 in parts.

It is on engine #2 -- first one started leaking oil at 69K and PCNA offered to cover 75% of the replacement so previous owner went ahead. No clear indication of what necessitated the replacement -- but could have been a failing IMS or an unrepairable RMS.

I may be crazy, but this car is now my DD and I plan to run it into the ground. Should be a good reliability test over the next few years.

I find the Boxster to be extremely well built and easy to work on. The model does have a few problem areas -- some quite serious -- but I'm more than willing to roll the dice. If I find any evidence of a failing IMS (I cut open and inspect my oil filter at every change), in will go the Raby upgraded bearing.

As others have said on this thread, you won't enjoy a car if you are worried it could blow up at any moment. If that's your mindset, stay away. Me, I'm very comfortable rolling the dice given how little I paid for this very fun machine.

[Frank M]

A Porsche is not the cheapest car to own nor the most expensive.
It just depends on the owner's view point of enjoyment.
Some will deprive them self and others will over splurge for the fun factor. (two extremes)
Like already posted, its a personal decision.

Corvettes are fun too and less expensive overall than a Porsche. Then again a Chevy Cobalt is an even better financial decision.

[jcb986]

Here is what my son spent twice having an oxygen sensor replaced on a Honda Civic. Cost plus part was $287 at the dealer. I think they all have high prices...

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Mr Snappy

I guess I should say howdy! I just found this forum.

Little background, I was a Corvette guy but sold it about 18 months ago....seemed like the thing to do at the time, definately miss her

Anyways, I decided I wanted a new toy and was amazed at the prices that used boxsters were going for. I had almost pulled the trigger and then decided to do some more research on these cars....I have to tell you, i'm not so sure now.

Yes, I know that people are much more likely to type a post about a problem then a post about no problems with their cars, but i don't know...

After reading the thread about "how much have you spent on repairs this year", I am amazed! To be honest, in the 6 years I owned my Vette, with the exception of a bad rear-end that was replaced under warranty, I never put a dime into any repairs. Mods? Yeah, lots of bucks, but that was fun stuff at my discretion.

I don't race or autoX. I just want a nice cruiser for weekends and love the Boxster...always wanted a Porsche.

Are yearly parts and maintenance really in the range of $1500 per year? Is this typical? I'm looking at 2003-2007 model year with as low miles as possible, so don't expect a factory fresh experience, but I don't want a money pit either.

Can you talk me off the ledge, or is this just par for the course?

So you bought a Corvette new ("rear-end replace under warranty") and drove it for 6 years on weekends ("I just want a nice cruiser for weekends") and didn't need any repairs over the few thousand miles you put on it over those 300 weekends (6 yrs x 52 weekends a yr) and want to know if the Boxster will be reliable for similar circumstances? The answer is yes, you would be fine with a new Boxster since you'll only put a few thousand miles on it during weekend driving.

That's assuming you're not trolling, which I believe you are, seeing how you posted this, then posted saying "I'll think about it" and left the forum.

But it's still funny you wrote "love the Boxster...always wanted a Porsche" Me too, never wanted a Corvette though, strange how that works out

I would gladly own a 10 year old Boxster and set aside $200/mo for repairs than drive a 10 year old Corvette and not need to set aside money for repairs.

There's also that whole Corvette owner stigma. When I image a corvette owner... well, let's just say it's not someone I'd desire to be like. But my vision of a Porsche owner is the kind of person I would like to be like so here I am, a Porsche owner

to each their own, if you want 0-60 get a corvette, if you want everything else get a Porsche

[thstone]

My Boxster is no more expensive to maintain and repair than either of my BMW's... but both German makes are definitely more expensive than the Miata!

[986_c6]

Hey OP, just look at my forum name, and you will know which two cars I think are the best in the world!

Bought 02 base new, and pure enjoyment 75K miles later!!!!!

[fatmike]

this thread is a year old?

[986_c6]

Originally Posted by fatmike

this thread is a year old?

funny i responded to this and didn't even notice the age of the thread.

[johnsimion]

Replace the IMS so you don't have to worry about a 5-figure engine replacement. Aside from the IMS and a few other relatively minor things, these cars are pretty reliable. I wouldn't worry about the small stuff like water pumps or AOS, but the IMS is just too big to ignore. Of course, it may never blow up, but the chances are high enough that you need to ask yourself whether it's worth a couple of thousand up front to save you from $10,000 and a huge headache if it does blow.

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by johnsimion

Replace the IMS so you don't have to worry about a 5-figure engine replacement. Aside from the IMS and a few other relatively minor things, these cars are pretty reliable. I wouldn't worry about the small stuff like water pumps or AOS, but the IMS is just too big to ignore. Of course, it may never blow up, but the chances are high enough that you need to ask yourself whether it's worth a couple of thousand up front to save you from $10,000 and a huge headache if it does blow.

The PO replaced the engine in 2008 when the original engine had 37k on it. The car has 68k now and the engine has 31k on it. In speaking with Pelican and Jake Raby, the consensus was that a 2008 rebuild from Porsche (which this was) is supposed to have the oversized bearing on it and is not externally serviceable. I'll find out for sure when I put a new clutch in it some day. Jake was going off of the year it was rebuilt and Pelican was going off the serial number indicator.

[woodsman]

I tell people that German cars age faster than Japanese ones. This is hard to accept for those of us who have owned the Japanese ones first. I can't stop wondering why my 300km Toyota beater is still using original parts that I've had to replace on my 140 km Boxster. I guess the engineers have a different mandate and for Porsche's it includes the lightest weight possible and durability is somewhere further down the list. To date the Japanese still can't build luxury like the Germans. As for Porsche, I still can't explain what their doing better than the other automakers but it's why I'm in one. A 10 minute test drive changed my life! An IS350, 350Z,G35 and a ZO6 didn't!

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by woodsman

I tell people that German cars age faster than Japanese ones. This is hard to accept for those of us who have owned the Japanese ones first. I can't stop wondering why my 300km Toyota beater is still using original parts that I've had to replace on my 140 km Boxster. I guess the engineers have a different mandate and for Porsche's it includes the lightest weight possible and durability is somewhere further down the list. To date the Japanese still can't build luxury like the Germans. As for Porsche, I still can't explain what their doing better than the other automakers but it's why I'm in one. A 10 minute test drive changed my life! An IS350, 350Z,G35 and a ZO6 didn't!

I haven't owned or driven one of the Japanese "rockets" to know what it feels like. Nothing I have owned or driven has handle and felt like the boxster other than my 914. The mid mount engine does a lot in conjunction with the suspension to make an amazing controlled vehicle. which has nothing to do with a compromised engine design. Or inferior wheel bearings, or inferior IMS bearings. The Japanese have made cars last like they SHOULD last whether performance or economical. That's my point of view as an engineer.

[stephen wilson]

Even the Japanese aren't infallible. My pickup had a head gasket and steering arm recal, and S2000's tend to blow rear diff's. Granted, not as catastrophic as an IMS failure !