I did it and wish I didn't
 

I just added up what I spent of my Boxster in the last 18 months not including the the purchase price and the cost of the hardtop. Over $6k. There's a reason many say don't add it up or tell the wife!

Having said that I've done alot to get the car sorted.

IMS bearing
Water pump
Wheel bearings
Motor mount
GT3 delete kit
Secondary cat delete
UDP and belt
ALL fluids (oil and filter multiple times)
Ignition lock
Full 60k service including spark plug tubes and O2 sensors (engine came on)
Window tint including the hard top
Professional ding removal (worth every penny)
A long list of other misc stuff

At least I've had a lot of fun and I know there's more to come of both fun and $$$ spent.

At least these are mostly upgrades/mods and improvements. When it's all fix this fix that, it's much less fun! :rolleyes:
If I didn't do almost all of my own work, I could never afford this car!

When you plan on keeping the car, the numbers are meaningless. I'm putting $2,700 into wheels and tires, another $2,200 into exhaust upgrades. I plan on keeping the car until it rust away, which I don't think will be happening soon as there is zero rust on it right now, interior is in perfect shape too, almost like the car is in a time capsule.

The money you put into the car goes with it should you ever sell it, the memories and experiences you have in the car stay with you for life! Never regret any of it if it makes you happy.

I kept receipts the first year or two when I started Formula Ford racing, then I decided it's better not to know, as long as I can still pay the bills !

A wise philosophy Stephen! :cheers:

That's my thing too. My car is in nearly PERFECT condition interior and exterior. I washed it this weekend and jeeze it's so shiny and beautiful. I really don't know when I'll ever "upgrade" - what is there to upgrade aside from more horsepower? I love the Cayman but this car is just in perfect condition despite being 15 years old. And I daily drive it!

Thanks guys. The one thing the shop owner said that made me feel good about my Boxster is that he thinks its one of the best Boxsters he's seen both cosmetically and mechanicly in a long time. That was good to hear from someone that see's alot of Pcars (he had about 40 in the shop when mine was in, everything from 356s to the latest Pcars).

I was looking at your previous cars. I just love the 1978 911, had to look up one in Petrol Blue.

Bring back any memories? :D

http://porsche.used-classic-car.com/...95571833_0.jpg

The way I've looked at is if I sold the car as-is and skipped whatever repair was needed, I simply could not find a better car (both on appearance and performance) without having to spend more money. Certainly more than the cost of the repair itself.

But all in, repairs and upgrades, I've probably paid for the car twice over a decade plus of ownership. I bought the car with only 9K miles and I still get compliments on almost every single drive even now that it has 99k miles. Had the Boxster Spyder come out sooner I probably would have switched as that's the only Porsche I felt would really check all the boxes like this one does for me. And that includes all other Porsche models. Air-cooled would probably have been the smarter move as far as resale, but that's not really a car that I could have used day-in and day-out over a decade like this 986S.

I still think about that hard top. I just don't miss the storage issues I had with having that thing.

The picture I posted above your post I got from a for sale ad. The asking price is only $5,600.

1978 911SC Sunroof Coupe - A spectacular, original, low mileage example, Used Classic Porsche For Sale

Pffft. $6K in 18 months? That's bush league spending right there. You're getting off easy so far :D

An SC that "runs like new" for $5,600? Either "for sail" by Mr. Lagos out of Nigeria or long gone. :D

EDIT. didn't see that it was an auction. That car will sell for $25-30K.

It says "Also published at eBay.com ". Must be long gone because I didn't find it there. I did see 3 others of that year, highest was $18k so far and that car has 133k miles on it. It probably did sell for what you posted.

If this car was actually for sale at $5,600 it would have sold in the first 30 seconds. The actual market value is around $25,000-$30,000.

Maybe it was a typo and he wanted $56,000 for it? His phone number is in the listing. Someone could call him to see what it sold for.

Just like this plus a spoiler and 17" cup wheels.

I use it all the time and get tons of compliments, more then when the roof is down.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1427344585.jpg

Crappy photo of a photo. She too was a money pit. Pop off valve, chain tensioner upgrade, transmission rebuilt, ignition lock, etc. One thing I've learned is that pretty much all Porsches have expensive to fix weaknesses. She was a looker.


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1427344878.jpg

Desert Porsche, you joke, but you are not wrong.

I've got roughly $40k in my 1997 Boxster including the low purchase price of $15k way back in 2003.

And the motor was replaced a couple of months before purchase.

It was all smaller stuff to fix and enhance the appearance outside of the used tranny I had installed on the motor ($2200).

These are hobby cars. I doubt I could get $8k out of my car as it sits, even with all the upgrades I've made to the interior and exterior and exhaust and suspension and the fact that it fires up every time and is as dependable a car as the day is long.

Its mostly a typical comment from regular folks when they ask what is the NEW car I bought.

They are flabbergasted when I tell them its 14 years old, and then speechless when I mention its a Porsche.

Makes you proud to have washed/waxed your car to a mirror finish, and not have any place for food/drink helps keep the interior spotless.

The only nasty going on is the vinyl rear window thats browned a tad and is now getting tears at the edges/seams.

Thats the next project.

Can you please share more into on this?
 

I have 3 dings that perhaps can only be seen by my eye, given the right light. But I know where they are and I can see them in my sleep. (Live in Mesa)

There are a bunch of companies in the valley that do dent removal but I only found one that was willing to make the effort to get to those hard to reach and fix dents (rear fender edge). They go by the name Colors on the Run and their shop is not too far from the Broadway curve. A few just said they couldn't do it and they made it a personal challenge to get them all.

This is what a real $7,500 911SC looks like... (be forewarned; it ain't pretty)

no bumpers
no door handles
broken windshield
trashed interior
Oh, and it has no engine or transmission

1978 Porsche 911SC

Beautiful! Were those wheels stock factory wheels?

I plan to keep the car for a very long time too. I've done many mechanical repairs, many of which are in OP's list to make sure the car runs well forever. However, my biggest fear is that if I spend a lot of money (because parts ain't cheap) to make the Boxster mechanically sound and such, and some idiot runs into my car one day and totals it, it'll be a big loss to me. The Boxster's current market value doesn't reflect the true cost of the car or how much it's worth to us.

When my colleague the other day asked how old mine was he nearly fell over when i said 11 years this year, he commented that it looked as good as a new car.

I have one under my door mirror which my eye draws too every time i look at the car. The dent ppl tell me its in a position they can't access, but i don't know if i believe it.:(

I bought a 2001 Boxster non S just before Thanks Giving and have already put 2K into it but it was partially by choice. IMS bearing cuz it I had an oil leak and it made me nervous, coolant tank cuz I could smell coolant, new clutch cuz I was there, and belts for the same reason. I love this car but my only regret is I didn't wait and get the "S".

There are thing that do you no good to think about. This is one that I don't want to calculate because if I did I could have easily bought a nearly new car over the coarse of the last 5 years. The bottom line is if I had I would have been nervous about going to the track as much as I did. Possibly I could not have afforded to do that in the end. The car has pretty much always been paid off. Which to start with means that I have $250 a month available to put back into mods and repairs with no real concern.

what newart said