Purchasing advice: Low mileage S. is boroscope necessary?
 

I am looking at purchasing an S model built in 2000 but 2001 mode year.
The car has just 130,000km or 80000miles.
Looking at the records, this car was driven mostly in the first 7 years averaging 14000km a year and then 3000km a year up to 2015, when was last sold and sat unused for the past two years.
The car looks great and sounds good, but I am looking at your advice on how to deal with such a “garage queen”

The local Indy suggested a two stages ppi
1- visual inspection and computer reading 200$
2- if everything checks out then removal of spark plugs and video inspection to see the state of the cylinders 400$

Is it worth it to go all the way?
What should I check on such a low mileage car?
Thanks for your kind advice

Suggest local indy follow typical steps for 9x6 cars...
Get car on the rack...
Inspect for leaks, especially the area between the Engine and Tranny
Remove oil filter and then sump to check for FOD.
Inspect suspension CV joints.
Inspect rotors, pads etc.
Inspect tires for uneven wear

Lots of things to consider and check.

Although a Borescope is a great tool, not sure I'd pay $400 to have it done as part of a PPI.

Thanks for the great info.

I am not sure as well that a compression test or a boroscope will be more helpful than a road test and a visual inspection.

If it’s not this car it will be another one soon, I loved the sound of the 6 cylinders

Low mileage? 80,000 miles is NOT low mileage. On the plus side, it made it that far without an IMS fail. On the negative there are likely suspension issues you aren't currently aware of. A 17 year old vehicle will have issues. Cracks, broken xyz and so on. If they have a complete vehicle maintenance history, I'd consider it. Without it, run, do not walk, away from this vehicle.

You didn't mention how much this car is going to cost. There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. However, if the price is low enough you can always budget for necessary maintenance, including IMS bearing etc. 2000 to 2001 was a change over year from dual row to single row IMS bearing and there is no way to know what is in the car.

A lot of it comes down to economics and what you are willing to do to the car. But running away from it sounds a little drastic if things check out in your favour and the price is right.

The price is ok for what the car is, and in line with the market requests around here.

I am mechanically inclined and I can do most of the maintenance on my cars.

I have no records on the maintenance done on it except for the one below that I was able to find in one of Ontario’s dealership after contacting them all

The Carfax (our Canadian equivalent, carproof) shows no accidents and no maintenance records either.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dad73a040f.jpg

For reference, I bought a 89 for $8000 about 2 months ago with 72K miles. I didn't get a PPI out of pure ignorance. Records did indicate good maintenance and IMS, RMS and new clutch all done at about 36K. I kind of got lucky on this, I've not found any significant issues but I have spent about $1500 on basic maintenance, new door lock mechanisms, missing or broken small fasteners, AOS and associated brittle hoses, as well as a Durametric and a few tools. I still need to do plugs, get an extra key and suspension refresh.

thanks for sharing your experience. Did you find that the durametric tool is necessary or is a nice to have tool?

Yes agreed, should seek a mechanic with the most Boxster knowledge. Check oil filter 1st, if you find excessive metal cancel the rest of the PPI & pay for that only. :chicken:

Where in Canada are you and what shop are you using for PPI? Some are definitely better than others

On a date, yes; on a PPI, no.


The person performing a Porsche PPI should already know this - that is why you're willing to pay them $100+/hr. If they aren't Porsche experts, then find someone who is.

I’m out west on Vancouver island

It's not absolutely necessary but $287 for the Enthusiast version it's not truly that expensive. Whoever does your PPI should have the pro version, if they don't find someone else. The Durametric can show abuse info in the form of over-revs, see Buyers Guide to Used Porsches It may also reveal long standing issues. It did help me with my lock issues but really wasn't essential for that.

If you plan to do much of your own work on the car you should get one. It's fairly useful in its ability to activate things like the air pump, test gauge function, turn on individual dash lights, brake bleeding and a lot of other things I've not figured out yet.

However a decent OBDII tool is useful for a large number of check engine light issues that are primarily related to emissions components and vacuum issues. The Durametric is a bit more detailed than most ODBII devices.