5 problems on my 97 Boxster cost $5,125?!?!?

[my89_928gt]

$300 labor to change a Mass airflow sensor???? That is insane. I would change it myself for sure. Was your check engine light on? Preaty sure it would come on if it is bad.
Coolant tank or tube? Coolant tank is in the back, see if you smell any colant in the rear trunk or pull up the carpet and look. As for the tube, I don't know what they are talking about on that one..But off hand do not see why the gas tank is needing to come out(unless their is a tube their that they are talking about). I RR my coolant tank this summer. I got the tank at Zimms Auto Technic for $259 and some change. With a 3rd hand this is a easy job, without a third hand it's dam near inpossable, lol.

Richard

[MikenOH]

chat with a few local porsche club members and see who they use for repairs other than Porsche dealers. Most of what you'ree talking about can be done by a repair shop that does Porsche work for a labor rate a lot less than the dealer--I'm guessing a difference of $20-30/hour. I'm guessing there are a lot of good Porsche repair shops in the LA area.

The top issue is a know problem on early cars; Porsche changed the cables in '99' IIRC.

Unless I missed it, was this bought from a private party or dealer? If a dealer you should have recourse.

[Ronzi]

I agree with some of the other folks. There is no need to panic just yet.
Your car appears to have been the victim of some deferred maintenance, but nothing that is not fixable.
As advised, find yourself a trustworthy independant Porsche repair shop and show them the list of stuff that needs to be done, then level with them about your ability to swallow the bitter pill of the repairs, and take them one at a time from a priority list.
At the end of the day you will have the Boxster you wanted, and will have the satisfaction of knowing you did not simply pass the problem(s) on to some other poor soul.
If it makes you feel better, think of the guy that is going to end up with a Boxster that was under water in New Orleans for a month.

[xclusivecar]

1) The Mass Airflow Sensor is literally a 5 minute DIY job! AND...you can find the sensor through vendors other than the dealer for hundreds less than what you were quoted.

2)The Top...search renntech org for problems and answers to the top...maybe its not as bad as they say...hell for $2500 i would try to fix myself!

3)The hand brake...nothing special about this...its a HAND BRAKE like all other cars! If it seems OK to you then don't worry about it at all. If it is bothering you I'm sure a basic mechanic can adjust it for under $50.

4)Coolant Leak...This is a pretty normal problem that has been talked up a bunch...go to renntech.org and see how to change yourself. Other than being a bit of a pain in the ass to change its really not hard to do. Save yourself the $1500 and spend 3+ hours changing it yourself.

5)The extended warranty...for $3000 it sure doesn't cover much! Why even have it? Cancel it immediatly 'cause your getting screwed!

Good luck!

[bhduxbury]

great points x -- indeed, renntech even has a whole forum dedicated to top issues alone:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showforum=46

[TVC15]

which dealer in LA did you take it to?

hi boxsterian
it is funny but you seem to have similar problems with your 97 as I had with mine(i have since change for an 2000 S)
the airflow unit is very expensive I kept the old one as a souvenir on my office shelf, it is only made by bosch and to my knowledge cannot be purchase outside an official porsche part supplier, I even tried Germany but the cost in Euro is around €500.
this unit as it is called regulate the air flow going into your engine and when faulty your motor will not run on 6 cylinder but less and causes misfire.
an other problem that I encounter is with the water pump which litterally snap, maybe you should keep an eye on this too, it snapped the supply belt and everything on the boxster in run by this belt (this is NOT the timing belt as there isn't one on the Box but a chain is used instead)
If you manage to buy and change the airflow mass unit yourself you will have to get it set up with a porsche approved electronic unit which connect under the passenger side of the dashboard.
I hope you can get your car sorted out quickly and cheaply to get you back motoring
it is madness to deal with a porsche dealership to repair a 97 Box, find a good local porsche specialist which will charge probably half the cost and have all the needed tools.

[97Boxsterian]

Thank you for all valuable advices! I appreciate that a lot!
Since the motor mount and RMS leak are covered by the warranty, I am not worried about that. I guess I will fix the rest of problem myself. The priority are:
1) Coolant leak and Mass Air Flow Sensor
2) Top issue
3) Hand break adjustment (may be I just live with it or just fix it when I have nothing to do in the future)

My Box is my wife's daily driver and we drive it out to dinner and grocery market every weekend. We don't feel anything wrong with it except sometime need to try 2-3 times to get the engine. The check engine light of my car never on, I doubt how serious the Coolant leak and MAF problems are. I check the oil and coolant level once a week and found both tank are always full. I notice both RMS leak and coolant in about 3 weeks ago when I bought my Box to a Porsche specialist to do the 30K service. He said it is not so bad and can be fixed in November when my extended warranty ready. I check the ground of my garage and see no coolant drop and just couple drops of engine oil every night. I smell no coolant on the back trunk so I assume my coolant leak is not so bad. I think the service rep from Porsche dealer just makes it a big deal and want my business.

I bought my box in a local used car dealer. I called them several time and they sound like they don't want to be responsible for that. I don't want to spend time with them and I will try to fix my car as soon as possible and may go back to sue the dealer for the money and time I spend on this mass. My advice for all used car shopper: PPI is a MUST and stay away from used car dealership.