[NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE!] Question about repairs!

[FirstPorscheAt18]

Lessons learned I guess.

For the $3000 initial repairs, I completely replaced the top with a new one. That costed around $1100 or so (I bought a brand new top that looks great off ebay)

The headlight assemblies I bought new for $600 each off ebay, and replaced them myself. I guess I overpaid according to what you said. One was cracked and wouldn't pass a safety inspection so I had to replace both to make it look right.

The brake pads costed maybe $400 installed? maybe less. and I had the dealership put them in, they squeak though

All of the above added up to a bit less than $3k

I know nothing about car repairs so I don't think I am going to be able to replace the belts, especially on a boxster.

$600 was spent recently on a cheap bottle of touch up paint and replacing the rear tires. I did this at the dealership, probably a mistake. Probably could have saved $200-300 if I went somewhere else for this.

everyone has told me its almost impossible to blow a head gasket on a porsche. but the mechanic is confident this is the issue... how likely is it? I mean I did drive it hot for months.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by FirstPorscheAt18

Lessons learned I guess.

For the $3000 initial repairs, I completely replaced the top with a new one. That costed around $1100 or so (I bought a brand new top that looks great off ebay)

The headlight assemblies I bought new for $600 each off ebay, and replaced them myself. I guess I overpaid according to what you said. One was cracked and wouldn't pass a safety inspection so I had to replace both to make it look right.

The brake pads costed maybe $400 installed? maybe less. and I had the dealership put them in, they squeak though

All of the above added up to a bit less than $3k

I know nothing about car repairs so I don't think I am going to be able to replace the belts, especially on a boxster.

$600 was spent recently on a cheap bottle of touch up paint and replacing the rear tires. I did this at the dealership, probably a mistake. Probably could have saved $200-300 if I went somewhere else for this.

everyone has told me its almost impossible to blow a head gasket on a porsche. but the mechanic is confident this is the issue... how likely is it? I mean I did drive it hot for months.

Do yourself a favor & search this forum for threads by Jake Raby, he knows Boxster engines better than anyone else in the country & you can learn what you need to do for your car.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by FirstPorscheAt18

I know nothing about car repairs so I don't think I am going to be able to replace the belts, especially on a boxster.

i was in the same position. prior to buying my boxster the only thing i ever did to my cars myself was add gas and washer fluid.

after buying my boxster, i've done more than i thought i would.
- changed the serpentine belt
- changed spark plugs
- installed new alternator
- changed brakes and pads
- changed my own oil.

for the most part, those are all really easy things to do on this car. start with the belt, it'll give you confidence that you can in fact do a lot more yourself. for most of the maintenance items, porsche made it quite easy to do. check out pedro's garage ( http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site/DIY_Projects.html ) and build up your confidence. and you'll be able to save those $100/hr labor rates for the big things when you take it in.

[FirstPorscheAt18]

i dont want to risk damaging my vehicle by doing things myself. I lack the tools as well, so i'd have to invest in those.

is it really reasonable to expect that catastrophic things are just going to happen to my boxster? should i sell it?

i can't afford to be paying $2000 maintenance fees every few months.

how long do you think the car will last before it completely dies? it only has 60k miles but it is over a decade old.

[Kenny Boxster]

Originally Posted by FirstPorscheAt18

i dont want to risk damaging my vehicle by doing things myself. I lack the tools as well, so i'd have to invest in those.

is it really reasonable to expect that catastrophic things are just going to happen to my boxster? should i sell it?

i can't afford to be paying $2000 maintenance fees every few months.

how long do you think the car will last before it completely dies? it only has 60k miles but it is over a decade old.

I hate to break it to you but it is not at all uncommon to spend half the value of the car on repairs and replacements. It all depends on luck I'd have to say. Some people have over 200k+ miles on this forum with very minor problems, while others have had engine failures at just 20,000 miles! A little research goes a long way when it comes to these cars. Since you're based in Richardson, I sent you a message regarding your situation.

[FirstPorscheAt18]

Thanks. Is your icon a picture of your vehicle's rims? If so how did you get them like that? it looks badass

Originally Posted by Kenny Boxster

I hate to break it to you but it is not at all uncommon to spend half the value of the car on repairs and replacements. It all depends on luck I'd have to say. Some people have over 200k+ miles on this forum with very minor problems, while others have had engine failures at just 20,000 miles! A little research goes a long way when it comes to these cars. Since you're based in Richardson, I sent you a message regarding your situation.

[Leeper]

If in fact you are truly dealing with a blown head gasket it is likely that there's more damage then simply replacing it. You won't know that until you get it to a qualified mechanic who can do a compression test. Driving it hot for more than a few miles, let alone weeks is terrible for any car.

We can all agree that you've spent more money than needed in the wrong areas but that has little to do with your current situation. right now you need someone to go through he car and make sure there's not further damage as when cars overheat hat happens is that the dis-similar metals now warp at different rates causing warpage (that's when the head gasket blows and no longer seals properly). Once that has happened you're looking at having the head milled back to being flat and probable other things. Rarely have I seen any car post 1995 car recover properly from a blown head gasket and last more than 20K miles. There always seems to be reoccurring stuff that gives you grief.

Don't ever deal with a general mechanic, either they know your Porsche car or they don't, if they don't know your particular car you're only paying them to learn at your expense, hence the issues you're having. Of course they'll have no issue with you paying them to do so but it is not helping you.

Good luck going forward. In the future you may want to post your issues PRIOR to blindly throwing cash at problems to those who have little knowledge of how to resolve them. What you're going through could have just as easily happened on a Honda, Toyota, etc with the very same results so the fact that it is a Porsche has nothing to do with your circumstance.

[FirstPorscheAt18]

Actually the mechanic does seem pretty qualified because he immediately said he needed to do the compression test. He found what I've already mentioned because during the compression test the coolant system had issues. It seems like they have a confident solution which is replacing what I've already mentioned, but i'll ask about the warping

Originally Posted by Leeper

If in fact you are truly dealing with a blown head gasket it is likely that there's more damage then simply replacing it. You won't know that until you get it to a qualified mechanic who can do a compression test. Driving it hot for more than a few miles, let alone weeks is terrible for any car.

We can all agree that you've spent more money than needed in the wrong areas but that has little to do with your current situation. right now you need someone to go through he car and make sure there's not further damage as when cars overheat hat happens is that the dis-similar metals now warp at different rates causing warpage (that's when the head gasket blows and no longer seals properly). Once that has happened you're looking at having the head milled back to being flat and probable other things. Rarely have I seen any car post 1995 car recover properly from a blown head gasket and last more than 20K miles. There always seems to be reoccurring stuff that gives you grief.

Don't ever deal with a general mechanic, either they know your Porsche car or they don't, if they don't know your particular car you're only paying them to learn at your expense, hence the issues you're having. Of course they'll have no issue with you paying them to do so but it is not helping you.

Good luck going forward. In the future you may want to post your issues PRIOR to blindly throwing cash at problems to those who have little knowledge of how to resolve them. What you're going through could have just as easily happened on a Honda, Toyota, etc with the very same results so the fact that it is a Porsche has nothing to do with your circumstance.

[Kenny Boxster]

Originally Posted by FirstPorscheAt18

Thanks. Is your icon a picture of your vehicle's rims? If so how did you get them like that? it looks badass

No, I wish. Brake rotors will glow red hot under extreme conditions. I don't think it's possible to get a boxster's rotors that hot unless you are driving on a gt3 circuit or the likes.



In comparison to super cars, the Boxster's rotors and calipers are puny. Have you ever seen a Ferrari's rotors and calipers with your own eyes? Gigantic! Amazing!

[Mark_T]

If you were spewing white smoke out the tail pipe then you will also want to check the condition of your AOS.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by FirstPorscheAt18

is it really reasonable to expect that catastrophic things are just going to happen to my boxster? should i sell it?

i can't afford to be paying $2000 maintenance fees every few months.

how long do you think the car will last before it completely dies? it only has 60k miles but it is over a decade old.

If you are going to drive it hot for 2 months, then yes, you can expect catastrophic things to happen.

My '99 Box has 75k on it now and came with full maintenance records. The most expensive "repairs" were the serpentine belt and tires. If properly maintained, upkeep can be reasonable, from what I've seen.