986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - New 2004 The Boxster S Special/Anniversary Edition Owner

Greetings fellow enthusiasts! I've been lurking here for several months trying to educate myself, so many thanks to all who have taken the time to share their collective knowledge and experiences for the benefit of others, especially noobs like me. :)

I finally took the leap, and I now own an 04 Boxster S Anniverary/Special/550 Spyder Edition. It's somewhat unique in that it has a Tiptronic vs. the 6-speed manual. It has just over 82k miles, and I'm the 3rd owner.

The good: It was garage kept, and the exterior looks fantastic for a 15 year old car. All of the major mechanical systems seem to be working well. The IMS bearing went out on the 2nd owner at around 60k, and he had the engine completely rebuilt at a well known Porsche shop. They installed their DOF IMS solution when they rebuilt it. So, at least I don't have to worry about that.

The bad: The interior needs help. The leather is cracking on the driver's seat, and the padding seems to have been compressed down to the frame (and makes my backside ache!). The top has a couple of wear spots on it, and the headliner has pulled away from the top at the front and near the roll bars. The original radio looks like it was removed and then re-installed, and the speakers don't sound quite right. The interior has a weird, strong "off-gassing" type smell, and not the "new car" kind. There's also something funky going on with the light switch and one of the left rear bulbs

I'm going to start addressing these one at a time. I'm only used to working on Honda's and Toyota's, so I know I'm going to need some help on this journey into German engineering and will likely be posting a lot of questions. :D