New Owner. As usual, I have a few questions. Photos! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jakekit · 05-01-2011, 12:54 PM

Sooooo excited to own my first Porsche!

I picked up a 2002 Boxster S with 61k on it just yesterday and am super thrilled with the car. I've done a bit of searching around the forums and the rest of the internet and I am still left with a few questions that need to be answered.

I've been able to determine that the exterior color is Meridian Metallic which I LOVE. I am a huge fan of it with the "reddish" interior color that is on the car. The problem is that I need floor mats and I want to be certain I have the right color. I'm assuming that this is Boxster Red, no?

One other question is this. The rear window is ripped and it seems that the best way to go about it is just to replace the whole top with an aftermarket affair. The two options I've found are from GAHH and Auto Tops Direct. I'm definitely going to stick with the plastic rear window, I like the extra vision and light it brings in. The both have a few gray options that I think would look really nice with the paint color instead of black. Anyone have these gray tops? Happy with it? Any preference between the two options? Is GAHH really worth nearly double the price?

A few other items I'll be dealing with soon are the 60k service, fix broken visors (I don't think any Boxster makes it more than a couple of years without that imploding), MP3 hookup from Becker, floormats, and the top.

Thanks in advance for any and all assistance, I'll try to contribute back as much as I can!

Some photos of the new toy!

AndyA6 · 05-01-2011, 01:38 PM

Congrats, very nice car!

jwade · 05-01-2011, 02:19 PM

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forums!

Wow, you sure that mileage is not 6100 rather than 61k? Car looks great and meridian metallic looks very nice!

You have the full boxster red interior.

Go here is get the parts you need...they have them all.

http://www.****************************************************.com/category/POTEBX.html

J Tinsby · 05-01-2011, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakekit

Sooooo excited to own my first Porsche!

Some photos of the new toy!

Looks very nice and clean congrats on it. I'd want the glass window because all the ones I have owned have had 'em.

60k service ahead... any history of the car that can tell if the IMS bearing has been updated? This might Trump (no pun but go Donald) anything else you might want to do to the car.

I'm sure you are aware of the problems with it, but if not there is tons of info on this and other forums about it.

Best wishes and good luck!

ddb · 05-01-2011, 02:22 PM

Great looking car jakejit! Congrats and welcome to the Forum. That's a great (and maybe unusual) color combination. I don't think I've ever seen that particular color. Before I read your text I looked at the pictures and wondered about the color. I thought maybe it was GT Silver Metallic.

I have a gray GAHH aftermarket top that is Graffiti Gray I believe. I'm very happy with it. Gray will show dirt a lot quicker than black, but mine isn't a daily driver and this hasn't been an issue for me. Here is a pic of the top on my car.

I'm not certain, but read in a recent thread that both the Auto Tops Direct and GAHH tops are made by the same folks. The length of the warranty period is longer for the more expensive GAHH tops.

Best of luck with yours.

ddb

Burg Boxster · 05-01-2011, 02:28 PM

Congrats & welcome to the forum

Correct, you do have the Boxster Red interior. However, might I toss an alternative to you... go w/ contrasting black mats (and red lettering). I did in my Boxster and will also do so in my 997 some day soon.

Plus this way, you don't have to be afraid of an exact color match w/ new carpets either. Just a thought for you to consider before you pull the trigger. anyhow, either buy OEM mats thru Suncoast or Lloyds thru Pelican.

Enjoy and Drive her in good health

KevinH1990 · 05-01-2011, 02:45 PM

Nice car.

Regarding the top replacement - Some members of this forum have reported good results replacing just the plastic rear window. This may be an option if the rest of your top is in good shape. Check here for more info: http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/havingareplacementplasticwindowsewnin

This may be the most economical choice for you since you want to retain the plastic rear window.

While you are there, you might want to review all of the material Mike has posted. His information has been a big help to me.

jakekit · 05-01-2011, 02:47 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice.

I've got a cart full of goodies all lined up from suncoast ready to go. I'm going to take my chances on the boxster red mats and hope for a good match. I seriously considered the black mats since they would also be easier to clean, but for a non daily car, why not. As for the top, that is interesting to hear, I'll definitely opt for the 425 option from auto tops. Now to decide on color. I'll probably search around for some more examples.

Unfortunately no service history with the car. I really hoped for a car that had it, but it is soooo rare for these cars since a lot of them have auctioned or ended up at a dealer at one time or another. Sooo, with that, no word on RMS or IMS replacement. My PPI showed that it was unlikely that either had been done. When it comes time to do a clutch or I need to do the RMS, I may do a bit more investigation on the IMS options. I have viewed it as something that is VERY bad if I get unlucky, however, it doesn't seem all that common in the grand scheme of things so I'm just taking my chances. Hope I didn't just jinx myself!

clickman · 05-01-2011, 03:00 PM

You might want to consider replacing your top with one from a wrecked 03 or 04. That way you get the full size glass rear window and don't have to do the "Boxster chop" that, trust me, will get old real fast.

The project is an easy bolt-on. The issue is finding one from a wrecker in grey, if you're stuck on that.

Other than that, welcome, and enjoy!!

Overdrive · 05-01-2011, 08:15 PM

Great find, the car looks amazing! Someone took very good care of that interior, and if the only thing that happened to it in almost 10 years was a tear in the window, that's great.

Definitely look into the IMS retrofit/replacement as has been suggested earlier, and just don't leave it sitting around too long. I know it's not the daily driver for you, but it does like to be driven.

Enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy.