To keep or sell, serious maintenance problems

[97 Boxster]

These posts really get you thinking about what you've done yourself. I have done the following
-Tires
-Alignment
-Door Lock Mechanism
-Horn plate in steering wheel
-Ignition Switch replacement
-Top Replacement
-Brake Pad replacement
-MAF
-Air Filter
-Cabin Filter


To do:
-Motor Mount
-Plugs
-Suspension/bushings
-Control Arms
-IMS

[LAP1DOUG]

Originally Posted by truegearhead

I'm certainly not new to the used lux car market, and believe it or not the boxster are parts are very reasonable compared to the BMW M parts that I'm used to. My 2002 M3 for example had a $750 water pump fail! I'm also religious about preventative maintenance. The thing about the Porsche that I hate (when compared to older BMWs I've owned) is that the Boxster keeps getting me stranded. Waterpump, shift linkage, ignition switch all left me dead away from home. I think I'm going to keep the car because I really do enjoy it! I need to identify what else could fail in the next 20,000 miles and then go ahead and replace it. The wheel bearings are a great place to start. Any other suggestions?

Truegearhead: I don't know if you have done any or all of the work on your car yourself, but in case you have not, let me interject - The Boxster is much, much easier to work on than a BMW M3. I have a 2002 M3 also, and it seems like everything is a huge PITA to get to, compared to the 986, where most things are fairly easy to get to. the P-car designers did it right.

[Bala]

And i forgot the new front original bumper, shocks for hood and trunk, collant flush.

What a money pit!

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by truegearhead

I'm certainly not new to the used lux car market, and believe it or not the boxster are parts are very reasonable compared to the BMW M parts that I'm used to. My 2002 M3 for example had a $750 water pump fail! I'm also religious about preventative maintenance. The thing about the Porsche that I hate (when compared to older BMWs I've owned) is that the Boxster keeps getting me stranded. Waterpump, shift linkage, ignition switch all left me dead away from home. I think I'm going to keep the car because I really do enjoy it! I need to identify what else could fail in the next 20,000 miles and then go ahead and replace it. The wheel bearings are a great place to start. Any other suggestions?

I understand your frustration with being stranded. I had a lot of initial problems with my car. I think some of them may have been related to the fact that the previous owner didn't drive it very often during the 2 or 3 years immediately before he sold it to me.

Since you live in Richmond, I suggest that you take your car to Luftechnic and ask them to check it over. I realize that asking a mechanic if anything needs to be repaired on your car is liking asking a barber if you need a haircut. They are both likely to say "yes". I was experiencing a lot of problems with my car when I bought it. I found that while I did spend more than a few dollars on it, that they communicated very well with me and gave me a good idea of what I was facing.

I think that Luftechnic's labor rates are a little lower than Euroclassics and that they are willing to work with an owner who does some tasks on a DIY basis.

Good luck.

[recycledsixtie]

[QUOTE=KevinH1990;279895]I understand your frustration with being stranded. I had a lot of initial problems with my car.
Since you live in Richmond, I suggest that you take your car to Luftechnic and ask them to check it over. I realize that asking a mechanic if anything needs to be repaired on your car is liking asking a barber if you need a haircut. They are both likely to say "yes".

It takes a very brave man or woman to do this but great if you can find that suitable garage that would work on your behalf and not go town to it. I credit your great advice. Too bad that insurance requirements prevent the customer from occasionally looking over the mechanic's shoulder. From another thread I believe this is frowned on. My worst nightmare is to find later for example that my new replacement ceramic ims was sitting on the workbench and had never been installed

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

Originally Posted by truegearhead

I bought my Boxster 6 months ago, had a Porsche 60,000 mile check up, she's always been dealer maintained and I have the records. Everything looked great. Since then the following has failed(as in physically left the car stranded or running very poorly condition, non of this is preventative)
-Engine mount
-ignition switch
-water pump
-fuel pump
-shift linkage shaped(this pissed me off)
-thermostat
-mass airflow sensor

"Small" things that failed
-Convertible top
-air oil separator
-Driver's seat



I love the car, but part of me says sell this poorly made piece of sht now, and buy one of those Corvettes that you hate or go back to BMWs! And the other half says you've already replaced everything that's going to fail why sell it now. What would you guys do?

I really don't see what you're complaining about here, chief. I've known your cars for sometime and this one isn't any further off base than the others. For instance:

1999 Z3 Coupe- failed seat bracket bushings, window regulator required significant structural reinforcement, air vents get sucked out of the windows, hood cable which required the removal of the front end of the car, rear hatch rattles, strut bushings. You had that car for eight months.

1995 BMW 540/6: Head gasket, valve cover gaskets, $432 key replacement, head light ballasts that blew up, seat cables snapped and locked in position, OBC fan that sounded like a miniature weed wacker in the dash, door rust even though it lived inside, clutch slave, clutch master, idler pulley, glove box latches failed, steering box failure. You had that car for a year...

Should we talk about the E46 M3 or even the M52 swap car you had before that or have I been able to make my point??

[truegearhead]

Originally Posted by ReallyDirtyThirty

I really don't see what you're complaining about here, chief. I've known your cars for sometime and this one isn't any further off base than the others. For instance:

1999 Z3 Coupe- failed seat bracket bushings, window regulator required significant structural reinforcement, air vents get sucked out of the windows, hood cable which required the removal of the front end of the car, rear hatch rattles, strut bushings. You had that car for eight months.

1995 BMW 540/6: Head gasket, valve cover gaskets, $432 key replacement, head light ballasts that blew up, seat cables snapped and locked in position, OBC fan that sounded like a miniature weed wacker in the dash, door rust even though it lived inside, clutch slave, clutch master, idler pulley, glove box latches failed, steering box failure. You had that car for a year...

Should we talk about the E46 M3 or even the M52 swap car you had before that or have I been able to make my point??

The internet is a great place...right up to the point that you run into someone you know.



It's a little reassuring that some of you have experienced the same thing when you first purchased the car. Maybe I'm almost out of the woods. I will say that the car is very easy to work on, and yes far simpler then the M3 which was a complete nightmare. There were several jobs on that thing that took days to finish!

Cheers,
Stu

[ProjectM96]

I am at 86,000 miles in my 2000 2.7 and the only things I have replaced are Water Pump and Rear plastic window and 1 inner tie rod and a few light bulbs. Starter is starting to go bad, but still has at least 1 year left in it. My rough idle was fixed by cleaning the throttle body.

Thats it, as far as I know from previous maintenance records, everything else is original except brake pads, tires, and air filter.

I expect your Boxster to last a while without any major problems since you just fixed the problem areas. IMS does not happen to every engine. Get the "IMS Guardian" to be safe.

[MileHighBoxster]

Sounds like routine maintenance to me. Other than being stranded, which is horrible, nothing sounds out of bounds - not enough to call the car a poorly designed.....