Thinking of buying a 97 Boxster - Engine Failure Question

[NickCats]

Originally Posted by chiefsalami

Great information here, guys. I just took my 2002 S in for a PPI today at Sunset Imports (I believe one of your sponsors), and picked it up a few minutes ago. My car also has a leaking RMS and they also stated the clutch felt too stiff, which indicates it needs replacing as well. To me, the clutch feels pretty typical Porsche (of course, I don't have enough of a base for comparison like the techs do). I still have plenty of free travel and it seems to engage just fine, though.

On the phone, they said the job to replace the seal, clutch, and flywheel would run about $3000. That sounds pretty high to me though, given that just the parts alone add up to about $1300.

Does this seem reasonable, or should all of this be less money?

When I brought my Box in for the 30k I found out I have a minor leak in the RMS. Dealer quoted $951. So $3000 for the RMS, clutch, and flywheel sounds about right.

Hope this helps...

Nick

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by NickCats

When I brought my Box in for the 30k I found out I have a minor leak in the RMS. Dealer quoted $951. So $3000 for the RMS, clutch, and flywheel sounds about right.

Hope this helps...

Nick

Hi,

That's an awful quote! The Dealer is charging you to do both jobs separately, not combined. Yet, about 50% of the procedure is the same for each.

A local dealer charges $60(+parts) more to do the RMS when you have the clutch/flywheel done, and that's still charging an hour extra labor when it's a 5-10 min. job once the motor is opened up for the Clutch. That puts it around $2300.

It's unconscionable that so many Dealerships are such profiteers. This is something PCNA should look into. There should not be such varying prices for the same work. It's a racket pure and simple...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[chiefsalami]

You're right. And (except for parts, where they can offer a decent discount), Sunset Imports seems to stick it to you wherever they can. I'm going to try to work with them, and see if they can offer me a better quote on that work. There are also some other good shops in the area that could do it.

[splatch]

I looked at the car and unfortunately, it really was a $11k boxster. I didnt find any signs of an RMS leak. The plus side of the car was that all the maintenance had been done, it had been lady driven, ownership history was good, it had a new top, new alternator, and other new parts that had been replaced. She claimed her parents were very anal about maintenance b/c they didnt want to see her stranded on the road.

The downsides were that it had been lady driven (after seeing it and hearing her talk, I could only assume she treated it like a fashion accessory), the top leaked, the cables were cutting through the plastic above the windows, and a metal piece was damaged causing it to not go up and down automatically. whether it was a transmission cable or not, i dont know. she claimed to have a $600 quote on it. the lock actuators were broken so she couldnt lock it from the exterior (she had a $1200 quote on that). the airbag light was on and had been on for 4 years. she said it was a factory recall but jim ellis porsche and hennesey porsche wouldnt honor it, but that a dealership in charleston would. while it had apparently been replaced, the clutch felt awful. It had ungodly amounts of clutch shudder and didn't feel smooth at all. the paint was fading in places, it was pretty scratched, it had over 10 dents in it from a college campus, it had very very yellowed headlights, it was due for its 100k servicing, and more things i can't think of right now.

I think it may have been an $11k boxster, but I'd rather spend more money and get something good than take the cheap route and get a headache. Plus some of her stories didn't add up, so I bailed. She claimed to be getting 10.5k from a dealer, so I told her to take it. It's always a shame to see nice things trashed like that.

[rdancd816]

Good Call! Seems the old adage "If it's too good to be true..." I am an owner of a '97. I love the car and it's pristine. But I paid too much and went for it based on appearance and low miles. No regrets but it takes some extra care. It was PPI'd and cleared all inspections, but the dealer missed a couple of important items. One - tires were original and nearly 9 years old, $1,050 to replace. Two - Convertible cables never addressed by original owner, no problem yet, but I watch the retract and raise process like a hawk. Any small oil leak creates undo stress as well! If I were do redo the Porsche purchase process I would have held out for a newer car. Hope you find a car that meets your requirements, but walking away from this one is a smart move! Good Luck!

[chiefsalami]

Just to close on the issue of cost of the RMS and/or clutch replacement work, I called a couple of local shops, very highly recommended by other Porsche owners and the local Posche Club. The dealer had quoted me around $3k to do everything, and one of the two shops quoted me $2k for everything. I'm going to take the car to them to have a look at it, but I'm probably going to do it with them. It will be getting a new clutch, pressure plate, fork, flywheel, and rear main seal. Potentially a new clutch slave cylinder, too.

[playboy]

im also think about getting a 97 boxster w/ 92miles. Seems to be in good shape but hasnt been inspected.

Couldnt a seal be replaced pretty easily by yourself? Ive got clutches/rear main seals on plenty of cars but im not familair with the boxsters. Is there must from separating the tranny and engine in a driveway? If its not a problem the seal couldnt be more than a hundred or so....