Your opinion on this vehicle's high maintenance?

[mylamb]

Good morning!

I am new to Porsche ownership & just have a few quick questions on reliability. I'm just curious as to whether the following issues are par for the course for a low mileage, well maintained 986 or does it seem like I'm having an unusual amount of difficulty with keeping the car running.

I purchased a 2001 986 S with 32,000 miles. It looked like a gem of a car and after reading all of the posts on the various Porsche sites, I decided to get a PPI before I made a decision. The PPI stated: Perform 30K Service, Bleed the brakes, Rear tires worn, Perform an alignment. I felt that these were reasonable requests (no RMS issues) so I purchased the car and had everything done by a Porsche dealer or shop within a month. This was in August of 2006.

I have since put about 8000 miles on the car and here's what has happened (all fixed, most under an aftermarket warranty)

1. Oil leak at the crank case shorting out Bank 1 O2 Sensor
2. Torn cv boots (not spotted on PPI)
3. Replaced driver side rear wheel bearing.
4. Disintegrating Cat (on passenger side)
5. Failed alternator

When I go online, I see these problems popping up on 986/996 models all the time, but is it normal to have quite so many issues in a relatively short amount of time on 1 car??? I plan on attending PCA DE events & doing some aggressive driving, but... not at the cost of tearing the car apart! Luckily, I do have an aftermarket warranty, but there is always a cost involved plus the inconvenience of being stranded or having to wait until a tech can fit you in. I used to autocross an MR2 Turbo in the 90's and while aesthetically it's no comparison to a Boxster S, it actually offered 80% of the real world performance and was absolutely bulletproof, so these issues seem a little startling to me. Your thoughts on the reliability of my vehicle would be appreciated.


Thanks, gurus!

[insite]

for that mileage, it's odd for you to have a bad alternator, CV boots, and a disintegrated cat, or a bad wheel bearing. the oil leaks sometimes happen. it's VERY odd for you to have all of those issues, usually associated with higher mileage, on your car all at once.

typically, these cars really do hold up well. mine has 114K on the odometer. my clutch, CV boots, alternator, and both rear wheel bearings are all original, and i drive the HELL out of my car. i have replaced worn suspension links that wore far sooner than should be expected for a car of this caliber. i've had some normal german electrical issues. other than that, this car's been really great.

[CJ_Boxster]

Insite is right about a car with that little miles having all those issue, however its a 6 year old car and parts do age and you live in Chicago... Temperatures arent too friendly on a porsche. I live in Long Beach Ca where the weather is like Jesus Christ is come to vacation in my area.... in otherwords its Porsche Heaven and all i have dont ever have those type of issues with my 1997 108k . Try to park in a garage as much as you can to protect your boxster from the elements cause weather doesnt only effect the exterior paint but also the mechanical parts of the car.

[Brucelee]

This topic has proven contentious in the past.

There are those like myself that long for a german car that is more maint and defect free than they seem to be.

Others are critical of my thinking on this topic.

I guess it depends on your own standards and expectations.

[velvet_jones]

My alternator failed at 36000 miles. When I brought ot to the shop I told them it was the alternator. They said "There's no way it's the alternator, they don't just go bad." Two hours later the service Mgr. calls to tell me I had a bad alternator.

[mikefocke]

You are having lots more problems than the average. But an average is made up with some extremes.

The odd thing is you aren't having any of what I consider to be the Top 12 Problems reported with Boxsters. I don't see lots of reports on any of your problems ... meaning not that I don't see any but the reports aren't numerous on the 4 Boxster forums I've monitored for the past 4 years.

No RMS, Ignition Switch, AirBag Light, MAF dirty, etc.

I wouldn't hesitate to race the car.

I would be upset that the PPI didn't catch the CV boots and the bearing. I know the several inspections I've watched on my Boxsters would have because they mentioned they were looking for them.

[blinkwatt]

Shouldn't the cat have been replaced under warranty?

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

You are having lots more problems than the average. But an average is made up with some extremes.



I would be upset that the PPI didn't catch the CV boots and the bearing. I know the several inspections I've watched on my Boxsters would have because they mentioned they were looking for them.

Mon. morn, bright and early we return our '02 TIP 2.7 back to Danbury Porsche for the leaking RMS. This was noticed when we brought it home last Dec. and had it inspected. I did not do a PPI as this was a 35k Porsche Certified vehicle. Service dept. claims a 6hr. job and it will be covered under warranty. I am wondering how this car got to be certified with a RMS to begin with and now fret that there may be other issues I/they didn't catch. I will keep you all posted on this adventure.

AKL 986geezer

[mylamb]

blinkwatt - Yes, the original Porsche Emissions Warranty covers the cats for 8 years / 80,000 miles. Interestingly enough, I had to take it in like 3 or 4 times to get it done. The exhaust would rattle about 80% of the time (did not seem to hamper performance) but everytime I took it in, they either said "I can't hear it" or "I think it's a heat shield." Finally, I made them put the car up while it was running, and we stood and waited until the noise kicked in (took about 5 minutes.) FINALLY, the dealership admitted that it was a covered item. I guess the cats on these cars are about $1500 each (would hate to lose more than 1 at once!!!) Anyway Porsche only charges for the gasket (about $13 - so I wasn't complaining.)

I guess I knew it was going to be more maint. than an MR2 or an S2000 but some of these issues either make you put the car up (failing wheel bearing) or leave you stranded at a gas station (alternator). Luckily I live in a big enough city with public transportaion, so I can get to work easily & still go out / run errands while it's being fixed. I guess I should be thankful there have not been any major catastrophic failures. Thanks for all your advice & opinions. Hopefully, we'll get this puppy relatively trouble free - it just looks like I'll be the one tasked with fixing everything!

John
(PS - I was never really sold on De-Ambering, but damn - some of your rides look nice! I may do it in the forseeable future.)

[JackG]

The CV boots don't seem to be an unusual thing for the '00 and maybe '01 models. My '00 boots were bad at about 6 years and 36k miles. I've head that the rubber was re-formulated in the German/European industries around that time. I don't know if this is true, or has anything to do with the failures, but there seems to have been a few reported on this forum from those model years.

[xclusivecar]

Welcome to Porsche ownership...I have had ALL of your problems on my 2000S between 45000 and 55000 miles. Hang in there...you'll get to know the service managers VERY WELL.