Not another novice kicking the tires!

[peterbrown77]

Okay - a little patience for the handicapped please! I've been looking for a Boxster S for a couple of months (the ex is getting remarried and I deserve SOMETHING, right?). Never had a Porsche before.

I found a 2002, 2nd owner, 60K on the clock, guy's in his 70's and seems to have taken good care of it since he's had it. It has a manual, 18" wheels, CD player - I don't know if he needed the Sport package for those wheels or what.

The only issue the car has is that one of the power top cables is broken. I see the cables at pelican for about $50 a pair. Are they a nightmare to install? I'm more than handy, so it doesnt intimidate me unless I have to pull back the actual fabric or something.

Other than that, a small ding on the rear decklid from closing it on something, and a little curb rash on the rims. Hasn't had the 60K service.

The tires are incredibly loud, they're Sumitomos with about 20K on them.

So I guess my questions are 1) how difficult to replace the power top cable and 2) what is a quiet tire that doesn't cost a fortune? I'd like to make him an offer but need a little better idea of what I'm in for upfront.

TIA

[MN 986]

The power top cables are very easy to replace. There are a few online guides and Wayne at Pelican Parts has a great book that shows how to do many DIY projects.
As for tires, mine came with the OEM Pilot Sports and now I have Conti Extreme Contact DW. Both are quiet and handle great.
Good luck with the purchase, be sure to get a PPI from a Porsche mechanic, and welcome to the forum.

[peterbrown77]

Ummmm.... what's a PPI?

(I did mention I was a novice!)

TIA

[TWODAN]

Pre
Purchase
Inspection

[thstone]

Find a local independent Porsche shop and make arrangements to have them do a Pre-Purchcase Inspection on the car. They will know what to look for and will give you a list of issues with the car and items that need repair/replacement. They will also check the computer and see if there are any error codes stored in the memory. Expect to pay about $200-$300 for this service but it will be the best investment you could make.

The top cables are easy to replace yourself using a book or an online guide.

Tires have been discussed on this forum many, many times. Do some searches and you'll read some wide ranges of opinion but it should be easy for you to find a tire that is quiet and somewhat affordable. I have Michelin Pilot Sport 2's (PS2's) on my car that handle extremely well and are very quiet - however they aren't exactly cheap.

Remember that there are no cheap Porsche's. A 10-yr old car with a top that doesn't work and that hasn't had the 60K service probably needs a few other things as well (and thus the need for the PPI so you know what you're getting into). If you can do the 60K service yourself, expect to pay ~$300-$400 for the parts alone. This is why shops will charge $800 and up.

Just don't be surprised if you need to put $2K into the car in the first 6-months to get things working and catch up all of the maintanence.

But in the end, you will absolutely love the car as much as the rest of us do.

[peterbrown77]

Thanks for all the info.

The tires are the Sumitomo HTR ZII - which are pretty cheap at TireRack, and it shows....also complaints there about the noise.

I kinda live in the sticks though I did have a shop recommended to me by someone who has a 968 but they said it would only take an hour for the PPI, so it's going to be like $100.... sounds too cheap. Any kind of accredation of Porsche mechanics I can look at to find someone independent AND close? I did see the thread here about repair shops but when I searched it for "Connecticut" only one result was returned, and it was pretty far away. The rest of the stuff I find are actual Porsche dealers, and they're going to tell me the car needs a body-off.

TIA.