When to change oil?
 

I'm new to Boxster ownership. Bought a beautiful, very lightly used, and very well maintained 2000S with just 10,800 miles. Have all maintenance records. Previous owner changed oil every spring. I will be storing the car in late November when I will have put about 4000 miles on it since the spring oil change. Should I change the oil before putting it into storage or when I take it out in early April or does it make any difference?

Larry (The Bald Eagle)

Generally, the thinking is that an engine stored with clean oil is better than an engine stored with contaminated oil. Whether this really matters or not is a subject of great debate. But, since an oil change in the fall is about the same price as an oil change in the spring, the safe bet is to replace now before storage.

Yes. Used oil will contain moisture, some fuel, and other by products of combustion that can react and form acids. Acids left to sit in the engine are not a good thing. Change the oil before you put the car away for the winter.

Thanks, that was my thinking but wanted some validation from more experienced Boxster owners.

Larry (The Bald Eagle)

Whoa, I was doing the exact opposite. I only put about 2000-3000 miles a year on mine, but will be doing my oil changes before storage from now on.

you may want to do the IMS swap at some point. You're going from extremely low miles to far more robust mileage in a short amount of time. That's a classic recipe for IMS trouble.

You might also want to replace the coolant cap with the most recent version if that hasn't already been done. Definitely if the coolant was flushed recently, those caps start to lose their sealing and air could get in which you definitely do not want.
If you haven't flushed the coolant yet, consider changing the coolant tank while you're at it. At the 10 year mark I did a coolant flush and the tank split open within a few months from being old and brittle, which meant having to replace the coolant again. $400 job at the independent shop rate in these parts.

Congrats on your like new car. Those are tough to find.

Thanks for the advice. Coolant issues were addressed last year. The previous owner spent more time and money on waxing and maintenance than on driving so, for now, we are in pretty good shape. Planning on IMS before storage or right after taking it out of storage.

Larry (The Bald Eagle)

Thanks JFP, as usual!! I am at 3200 miles and will be driving her less and less as we get into Winter. Sounds like a good time...also going to do my first Blackstone analysis (had her since January and put 8k already) - everything falls in place :)

Best part is, if the lab analysis comes back clean, I can enjoy Christmas this year ;)