Buying a 986 Boxster

[Nko]

Hi

I was actually in the same situation and instead of opening a duplicate thread thought coming here ... hope its ok ?

I'd be looking at an older S - for weekend fun. How do people here feel about doing maintenance yourself - if you have never done it before ?
Im reading conflicting info about the 986 with some people saying its a easy to work with, and other saying the exact opposite.
Of course I understand it depend a lot of what the job IS , but for basic maintenance like changing oil and filters, maybe a water pump or belt, or a headlight ...this sort of stuff. Not complete engine rebuild : )
Never done those before but keen to learn.

Another thing is, I already own a Porsche, a 718 cayman, for daily driving, and sure one is a hard top and the other one is a convertible, and the two are separated by over 20 years - but the two are also 2 seater sport cars - and I wonder how diferent the experience would be -

And finally - would you feel confortable at leaving the car outside, on a private driveway, in a midly cold but very wet climate (Scotland). How well does it fare with rust ?


(I am also concidering a Z3, if people have experience with that one too.)

thanks !

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by Nko

Hi

I was actually in the same situation and instead of opening a duplicate thread thought coming here ... hope its ok ?

I'd be looking at an older S - for weekend fun. How do people here feel about doing maintenance yourself - if you have never done it before ?
Im reading conflicting info about the 986 with some people saying its a easy to work with, and other saying the exact opposite.
Of course I understand it depend a lot of what the job IS , but for basic maintenance like changing oil and filters, maybe a water pump or belt, or a headlight ...this sort of stuff. Not complete engine rebuild : )
Never done those before but keen to learn.

Another thing is, I already own a Porsche, a 718 cayman, for daily driving, and sure one is a hard top and the other one is a convertible, and the two are separated by over 20 years - but the two are also 2 seater sport cars - and I wonder how diferent the experience would be -

And finally - would you feel confortable at leaving the car outside, on a private driveway, in a midly cold but very wet climate (Scotland). How well does it fare with rust ?


(I am also concidering a Z3, if people have experience with that one too.)

thanks !

Doing your own work is not that difficult, even for 1st timers. Just start with easy jobs and work your way up as your confidence builds. There are plenty of instructions available, whether online or in book form. If you don't have a good set of automotive tools, you'll be making quite a few trips to the auto store for special tools. But hey, it's not a project unless you have to buy a new tool! I'm working on a 928 project and I'm up to 13 new tools (I've worked on cars for yrs, so I'm not some rookie).

718 vs 986...
Digital vs analog. While they are distant relatives, they are 5 generations apart. The thrills will be relatively the same but entirely different. I own both an 08 Box S and Cayman S. While these are basically the same car, there are still differences between them. The gap will be quite a bit bigger between a 718 and 986. Not that you won't like the 986, but it will seem substantially different on how it executes the mission.

Sitting outside...
You shouldn't have to worry about rust as Porsche does a good job with protecting them. Unless someone left a rock chip deteriorate, there shouldn't be rust situations. However, what you will need to take extra care of are the drain holes. If they get clogged and you leave it out in a rainy environment, your floors will flood or get wet. That's fatal as Porsche placed the CPU under the driver's seat - a perfect place for water to accumulate and fry it. Window seals are also important for the same reason. These aren't game stoppers but more important to maintain if you're going to store a convertible (any convertible) outside in wet conditions.

[Zzorro]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

You shouldn't have to worry about rust as Porsche does a good job with protecting them. Unless someone left a rock chip deteriorate, there shouldn't be rust situations. However, what you will need to take extra care of are the drain holes. If they get clogged and you leave it out in a rainy environment, your floors will flood or get wet. That's fatal as Porsche placed the CPU under the driver's seat - a perfect place for water to accumulate and fry it.

This is important. I related to this, I can also add, that if your roof is having any issues, make sure you look into it. If the end cap on the arm that moves your roof breaks you will end up tearing the "foam pan" that makes sure water stays out of the car. And you get the same issue. Ask me how I know! Some POs (Previous Owners)! But it's all fixable!

[mikefocke]

I used a car cover and the car sometimes sat with a foot of snow on it or a sheet of ice. I was always super careful where I parked it knowing that debris could clog the drain holes.

I did all the simple things and found them simple once I had the right tools and had done the research on how to do them. It isn't a 1930s simple car. But it isn't tough to get at things (cover your belt buckle).