986 reconsidered 2003 "S"
 

Looking back on the last ppi done on 2003 S
The overall basic inspection revealed
bad alternator , cyl misfire, oil low , needs tune up
On the positive side tires were good but from 09 , brakes had half wear

Made a mistake and told them to stop before they checked catalytic 's ( I think there may be issue due to sounds heard while driving )
Dealer had problem getting car driving battery was dead due to bad alternator

They didn't get to "read" paint or run codes It would be another $250 and I was pissed at prices they gave me for alternator & tube up ($$$$$ crazy numbers )
The car appears to be in good overall shape body looks good usual small chips a ding or two but doesn't appear to have be resprayed any where , all stickers are there front and back wheels are in good shape 18" , interior has some wear but not abused
I feel it will clean up well

Is it worth the "risk" factor. I'm thinking Alternator, tune up , oil change at best
May need cat on one side
Miles are low at 48k asking price has been reduced from $15,000 to 11,500
And now is very firm at reduced price
Any thoughts & suggestions welcome.

MaN, You are trying so hard not to make a mistake you are making it hard upon yourself.
I guess I’m not the one to be answering but my thoughts are to pass on it; That said it sure seems you are determined to purchase it no matter what has been put forward, and when all is said and done its your decision to make.
Good Luck.
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Have you seen this car? Do you like it?

There are LOTS of Boxster's out there.

That being said, $11.5K is a very fair price for a 2003S with those miles. Please remember that you are looking at a 13 year old car so it (or essentially any car you'll look at) will not be perfect.

I purchased a very nice 2003S with 105K miles in January of 2014 for $11K. Sold it a year later for $14.5K.

If you like the car;
1. Fix alternator and misfires.
2. Buy a decent set of tires
3. Drive the car.

If you don't like it, sell it next spring.

Not sure who you were talking to when they said you needed new oil tubes, but the 2003 doesn't have them. If there is a code being thrown, they should be able to tell you exactly what it's for (and it shouldn't be oil tubes). In that car (model year and millage), the first thing I would do is have the IMS bearing changed. For the price of the PPI, did they change and inspect the oil filter?

Tony

In my mind, (a scary place at times:eek:) you need to be honest with yourself and your abilities. Can you change the alternator yourself? If you can, then that issue is any easy fix. The same can be said of most repairs that this car needs, or will need in the next year. Most people can't or won't do the IMSB swap themselves understandably. Can you afford that repair and the clutch, RMS, motor mount, while your in there repairs that go with it?

$11500 sounds high-ish to me for the SoCal market. What's the $$ number in your mind that makes this a no-brainer?

I know you are wisely trying to be careful in your selection. I am concerned that you are taking the joy of these cars ownership out in the process. Some of these cars explode, despite our best efforts and intentions. If that is going to haunt you, you won't be able to fully enjoy what these cars have to offer.

Let them sit on it awhile. The market for a Porsche that needs an alternator on day one of ownership can't be very large. Especially after the first snows start falling. Make sure they have your number and tell them to give you a call when they are more reasonable? Good luck in your search.

Stick with the original plan.

Since the seller has been willing to adjust the price, I'd follow through with the remainder of the PPI. Now is not the time to throw caution to the wind and go on faith - you need to know about the CAT's, CEL, and whatever else might still be an issue.

Once you have a full PPI, then you'll know exactly what at you're getting into and, if you want to buy the car, you can determine a price that you are comfortable paying for that car in that condition.

Sure the seller says that he's "firm" at the new price - but no one knows what else the rest of the PPI might discover. Get that data and then if the seller won't come close to your price, then walk away and find another car.

They didn't pull the codes??? This requires about 30 seconds to do and should have been the first thing done once a jumper box was fitted.

Has the owner had the charging system fixed yet?? You can't be buying a non runner.....

If you have above average skills, offer him 9K in cash to take it "as is" and do the work.

This is how I bought my car:

1. Found a nice car
2. Talked to them on the phone, they were really nice
3. Test drove the car
4. Did a check, all passed fine
5. Haggled, got a good price
6. Bought the car

Bought it a year ago, flew past its last MOT, mechanically perfect.

And guess what, it's not rare for that to happen. It's normal. So why you'd want to go ahead with this car that has these many issues with alarm bells ringing, I've no idea. Just give it a miss and look for another one? Like other people said, there's plenty out there. Just go elsewhere.

On a 2003 oil leaking out around the spark plugs can be a expensive repair!!! Minimum the valve cover has to be removed and new seals installed between the tappet carrier and the valve cover. Worst case the cams and tappet carrier have to be removed and new seal and orings installed. The latter would require dropping the motor.

I may be forcing the issue with this one but in my defense an 03'S with 48K is not easy to find around these parts
overall impression of car, & some service records supports this, it was taken car of regularly until a couple of years ago .

I understand that there are other cars out there and that may be the way

this 986 was the most solid out of the 5 I've seen even with it's warts & all

Mileage has nothing to do with a cars condition.

There's people on here with 350,000 on the clock on the original IMS bearing. I'd much rather have a car with 100,000 on the clock which has been looked after, as opposed to one that hasn't with half the mileage.

Mileage does not mean a car is in decent nick. There are plenty of examples I could show you of low mileage cars being written off due to neglect.

Just avoid any with issues and keep looking. Don't bother buying this one.

"They are all $20K cars" -someone here said. All this talk of purchase(buy-in) price ignores the Stay-in cost. We've hashed this out many times but basically you need $20k before you buy.Whatever isn;t taken by the Purchase cost needs to be saved and budgeted for repairs.I am not talking about routine maintenance - repairs. If you have a nest egg left over after a few years - that is a bonus !
The short version is to buy a very well maintained car with a long, known history - just to reduce(but not eliminate) risk.

Hahaha! :D

That's hilarious! How do do so many of us get by with half of that? :rolleyes:
5 years in, my total is under $12k.
Do your homework and don't splurge buy and you won't be stuck with a $20k bill on a $10k car. ;)

Save money and buy one from an indie shop with a history of good maintenance. That's what we did, luckily. Maybe a bit more up front, but at least you have a car without hidden faults to begin with.

Anker

Sounds like you already have a bad taste in your mouth about the car...that there tells me to RUN FAST.... as these cars are Joy Toys. Something that brings Joy to you when driving and if down the line your toy breaks down the Joy of driving it over-powers the money factor or time spent fixing it. If the Joy factor drops below then it's time to SELL. That's my 2.7 cents ... lol

I would like to put my 3.2 cents worth in. I recently bought a 2002 "S" for $5900. I was desperate to keep up with my buddy who was buying 911's like nobody's business. We were going to Porsche gatherings and I was a passenger. I couldn't afford a 911, thought about a 928, but decided on this Boxster. 195k miles are on it. the body and paint is in damn good shape. The interior is close to perfect. The car had a CEL on, I had a scan tool so I checked it out. Bank 1 Cam Pos Sensor. I looked the car over myself and did not want to spend the money on a PPI. I went ahead and bought the car. Now I have replaced both Cam Pos Sensors, because after replacing the first I got a code for the other side. That didn't go away so I was past my ability and took it to a reputable local shop. $3k later the car is fine, runs like a bat outta hell and I was able to get it registered. I think I understand what the O.P. is worrying about. This is a really cool car, I want it, but what happens if it ends up needing all this work that I cant really afford? These cars are total luxuries, I understand why some people say you need to have plenty of cash in your pocket ready to spend. These things are German engineered, that means they were able to put a lot of stuff(technical term) in a small space. It is hard to get to, took my mechanic 10 hours to replace the Cam Adjustment Solenoid. So now I am 9k into it and I am ok with that. If something more spectacular happens well then, I may have to get a loan to buy that 3.6, because that would make this car even more awesome! I am not getting rid of it.

I saw this right after I bought a 2000 for my wife. Looks pretty nice to me... ON this forum, 'orangeman', it's in Syracuse, don't know where you are in NY. More miles, but a lot of work done.

http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/63261-well-sorted-2001-boxster-s-black-tan-black-manual-ims-clutch-done-%2Aupdated%2A-%2410-500-a.html

Thanks for the opinions & understanding. I'm moving on , expanding my horizons & looking out of state :)

Why aren't you looking at this car?

http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/62845-fs-well-sorted-2001-boxster-s-6spd-black-ims-clutch-done.html

It checks LOTS of boxes and looks very well cared for.

I have looked at the
http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/62845-fs-well-sorted-2001-boxster-s-6spd-black-ims-clutch-done.html

Sent message , was ready to travel but communications were poor