New Porsche Owner - '04 986 aero - and a question or 2

[davemon]

So I'm signing on the dotted line tonight for my '04 986 5sp w/ aero kit (40k miles). It should be delivered to my doorstep in about 5-7 days. I'm so excited for it to arrive. I feel about as giddy as I did on Christmas morning as a little kid (except this time, I'm writing the check, ha).

I love motoring and love cars and have an appreciation for quality, so this was an easy choice. A bit of an upgrade over my current car, a Celica, which I bought new 10 years ago and put 207k repair free miles on it.


Thanks for having me and thanks for all the great info on here.




Ok, so a few newb... new owner questions and thoughts. Hey sorry, seeking out advice of experienced owners is inevitable.

1) How do people like the aero kit? I didn't think the boxster needed it, but this one had it and wasn't reflected in the price IMO, so I thought sweet. Plus if it helps any at higher speeds, even better.

2) Should get the ISMR now? Is the ISM going to inevitably fail on every 986? Or is it a crapshoot as to whether you got the bum ISM?

3) Will this car be a reliable daily driver? No, I'm not expecting fortune telling. But would other 986 owners drive their cars daily or is that just a cash sink. I have a good job, but I'm young and appreciate saving/retirement investing and have a perfectly fine and absolutely free daily driver sitting. When not driven, the Boxster will be garaged and covered. I've heard that some cars' engines perform better when used frequently and keeping a motor sitting stagnant all week really isn't saving the motor.

4) I'm not afraid to "bust up" my knuckles fixing/maintaining cars. So is there anything else I should do here with this new to me, but used Boxster? Any trouble spots I should assess, etc?


Thanks for any input/help. Really just general advice is always welcomed!