I finally did it! 2004 S 550 Spyder
 

Two years ago I took a 2002 Boxster S on a test drive on a whim. I wasn't even close to considering buying one...until I hit the gas and turned a corner. After that test drive I knew that no other car would do. That single handedly turned me from being completely indifferent about owning a nice car to a car enthusiast.

After an offensive amount of research over a couple of years I narrowed my sights on a 2004 Boxster S 550 Spyder, manual, with brown interior. It was a reach goal. I thought I was going to have to compromise on a non-550 Spyder edition of a Boxster S but luck shined through! Here are the highlights:

• 2004 Boxster S 550 Spyder Edition
• Manual
• Immaculate Brown Interior
• Original engine replaced in 2007 due to IMS failure

I picked it up in western NY (private sale from a Porsche sales guy as it was his personal vehicle) and had the best road trip ever driving back roads through NY, the green mountains in VT, and white mountains in NH before arriving home to ME. A great quote from the wife after driving it through Crawford Notch in NH, "I wish I was never not driving this and there was no one in my way. And there were no cops." Indeed.

A huge thank you to everyone in this forum. I look forward to contributing more regularly now that I have a more valid reason to.

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Very nice - congratulations!

You couldn't have bought a better car.

Welcome, that's a very nice looking S. I just bought mine about a month ago and love it.

That's a beauty! A friend ordered an 07S in that same color combination and I thought he was completely nuts until I saw it and decided it was gorgeous.

I just might get a brown interior in my next Porsche :)

Welcome to the addiction. Save your money for tires and brake pads :)

CoNgratulations! I never did consider getting a car with a brown interior...until I saw one in the flesh...er...hide(?) that will be the interior of my next P car! Nice car! Enjoy!

the previous owner dresses funny for a Porsche salesman.

another 550 with an original engine failure. Do you know if they installed the permanent IMS bearing?

p.s.
Do you mind sharing the initial asking price, no need to tell us what you paid(and mileage), I'm sure you negotiated.

The first generation Boxster (986) is, IMHO, the best looking Boxster. And, the '04 550 in your color combination with a manual is my favorite one. Nice find!

Great find, patience pays off! We need a picture of the interior though, it is my favorite:D

Very nice and congratulations!

Beauty!

Can already see what your first project should be - get rid of the pumpkins! Amazing the difference that makes to the look of the car.

Congrats! Enjoy it, dont baby it, and drive it every chance you get.

I posted the 550 brochure a while back. Nice car. I have same combo, but just replaced IMS at 135k miles. Original motor. Interesting that it's GT metallic silver, which was not available on Boxsters. Also, black gauge faces not white, with chrome rings. See my sig line below.

Beautiful car! First mod should be clear parking lights, other than that, drive the piss out of it.

I called LN and they told me that the 2007 M96s have a larger single row which they have never heard of failing. If I DID want to upgrade I'd have to split the case. I'm waiting for a call back from Porsche North America to see what they can tell me.

45k on the car and 29k on the engine. It is in pretty much perfect condition except minor rock chips in the front, He was asking 19,900. It books for somewhere around 19,200. We settled on 19, which I thought was fair for both.
He threw in four beat up 17'' alloys with good winter tires and a pair of used 225 x18 Michelin Pilot PSAs with the final price. (He didn't drive in the snow. They were from an older Boxster of his.)

The latter has already begun and I completely agree about the former. What the hell were they thinking?

Congrats. I bought my second boxster last month.(2004 S 3x Black) I bought the following within the first week...:cheers:

Clear Side Markers
Cabin Filter
Center Caps
Key Plate (old one was shot)
Spoiler Indicator Switch
Becker Radio Knobs
Smoked 3rd Brake Light
Cigarette Delete Tray
LN Magnetic Oil Plug

A fair price for a very well appointed car. I always give my friends the advice of buying a Porsche after 20k miles and to get out before 60K. Let the previous owner eat the bulk of the depreciation and let the next owner eat the major maintenance bills. But if its not a daily driver and you limit the number of ice cold engine starts, suspension punishing winter roads, it should be problem free for a much longer period.

The only thing I might be tempted to adress (if it hasn't yet) is the water pump. if its still on the original, or a new was put in 8 years ago when the engine was swapped you might want to be proactive in getting a new one in, those should be replaced by calendar and not really mileage. The other thing I would strongly advise you to do is to install trunk shields front and rear. I'm guessing you want it to keep it looking show room condition. Because of the curve of those lids it's very easy to end up with a dent from contents in your trunks moving around. And bodywork and paint matching a option color can be a pain. Clear film protection is also money well spent on your bumper and hood. I had it on my car from the factory and it kept the car looking sharp. I made the mistake of not replacing it after a repaint of that area, and within a short time it was back to the paint booth and the old paint-matching hassle. I don't like to see the car with chips. Paint ages with time and the shop needs to blend it correctly to match the rest of the car. Avoid that hassle if you can.

I love this advice. This is the kind of stuff I come here for. I'll look into the water pump. As for the cold starts, when do you put yours away? And do you start it up and drive it around a little when the roads are clear once or twice a month during the winter to keep everything moving, or is that a bad idea?

Congratulations Laf! I'm guessing you're a perfectionist with a desire for uniqueness and fun who has found your uniquely perfect, perfectly unique vehicle which is engneered for fun.

Hope you drive your uniquely perfect fun!

DBear

Congrats Laf!!!! It will make you smile everytime you turn the key!!!

My Boxster S has been my only car for over 11 years and I drive it year-round, although it is not a daily driver. I mostly ride one of my six bicycles :o.
I'm a little skeptical on the idea of storing the car for winter. Even if you store it correctly by immediately changing the oil before its rolled into storage (so that the oil 100% clean as possible) engine components dry out/get brittle over time. One of our resident engine experts recently described engine oil as lifeblood, and blood usually works best when its flowing and not stagnant.
We have a forum member here FloridaBill who has 300K miles on his daily-driven 986 and has had no major engine issues, and wasn't even aware of the IMS issue. Although reading his posts he followed a very strict maintenance regime. My take away from that is that a car that never sits for too long, and is driven at least an hour or so to burn off all the engine build up say once every week or two, running a high quality oil (I use Motul now, previously Castrol Edge and Mobil 1 initially) is better than an engine that spends months in storage each year. So your questions are spot on. But at the same time you want to avoid all the daily ice cold engine starts, we had some real doozies this year with below 0 zero temps. I cringed when I fired it up those few times, I should have just called an Uber even if it was far. And the other issue is that there's just more crap on the roads during winter that kicks up onto the paint, more pot-holes to tax all the suspension, mounts, etc. -- more new and annoying rattles. Having a second car really solves this completely.

p.s.
I just picked up my car from having the bumper repainted yet again. The shop has a PDR (paint-less dent repair) guy that is top notch. He was charging $75 per ding, which takes him all of two minutes to pop out. One penny-sized ding on each corner and he's done for the day. That is a great business to be in.

I split my driving between a bright yellow Mercury Milan (manual!) and my Harley so my plan is to drive the Boxster 2-3 a week spring through fall. During the winter I plan to drive it for an hour or so every week or two when the roads are clear and the temperature is reasonable (20ish+). I do the same thing with my motorcycle (yes, even in the winter).

I haven't decided if I want to try to rack up hundreds of thousands of miles, a la Boxster Bill in FL, or keep the miles down and sell it in 4-5 years. A large part of me wants to see 200K on the odometer years down the road but time will tell I suppose.