Oh noes! NOTHING is wrong with my car!! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Wintermute · 06-08-2006, 07:20 AM

Oh my god! I was driving my car home from work yesterday and nothing went wrong! The RMS didn't fail, the top still works, my rear window hasn't cracked, the fuel pump hasn't died, nothing! I don't know what to do! Maybe I should go drive it around some more!

Sorry, with all the problems people have with their cars and posting about them, I thought I'd bring a little humor into the mix. I know I haven't had my car for long, but c'mon! How about some good news for once!

P.S. To all those that do have problems, I hope they get fixed soon!

RandallNeighbour · 06-08-2006, 07:28 AM

You know, lots of potential boxster owners come here and get scared off. They don't realize that if nothing's wrong with your car, or you don't need info about a mod you want to do, you are busy driving the car and not wasting your time on the internet!

I tell you what though... I went for an in-town drive last night in my box and had no CE or airbag lights, no problems whatsoever and man, it feels great!

Now I'm dreaming about new rims and a Turbo front bumper & side skirts!

mach schnell · 06-08-2006, 08:13 AM

wait a minute - maybe that shimmy/vibration in my 987 - maybe it's just me, i mean, maybe i'm having a seizure everytime i drive the car. maybe this is something that needs to be documented in the medical literature! maybe i just need to install an aftermarket dilantin iv in the car and then all will be good! if only...

Wintermute · 06-08-2006, 11:22 AM

I tell ya, you've had nothing but bad luck with that car man. Sometimes it just happens. Hopefully things get worked out.

06-08-2006, 11:33 AM

I have to admit, I had heart failure yesterday. I pulled the Box out of the garage and what was on the floor.... a spot of OIL.

Oh, Sh-- *PANIC* RMS Failure!

Took the car to the garage and put it on the lift....

*whew*

The oil was coming from the pan gasket, no where near the RMS. One of the bolts on the oil pan was a bit loose. Tightened her up, and brake-kleened the pan, and I'll check her out again in a week or so to see if that fixed it. [/panic]

Perfectlap · 06-08-2006, 12:47 PM

other than my throttle body failure of last week This car has gone close to 30,000 miles without a single problem. Mechanical or electrical.
People say Porsche never report problems because the owners never put enough miles on them but based on my experience I have to say its been no different than when I owned my Honda or Mazda.
....well except for the oil change that costs 4X's more.

Wintermute · 06-08-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

....well except for the oil change that costs 4X's more.

Humph. Oil change in my Prelude was about $70 at JiffyLube. And that was every 7500 miles with Mobil 1. I won't ever let anyone do an oil change on any car I own again, except me. I consider it "bonding time" and I can do a better job anyway.

So for about the same price I can do it myself, and only every 15k miles. So for me, it's about the same really.

blinkwatt · 06-08-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wintermute

Humph. Oil change in my Prelude was about $70 at JiffyLube. And that was every 7500 miles with Mobil 1. I won't ever let anyone do an oil change on any car I own again, except me. I consider it "bonding time" and I can do a better job anyway.

Speaking of "bonding". When I first picked up my Boxster,I changed the oil and figured it would be "bonding time" as well. Well I didnt expect the drain plug to shoot off at about half of the way loose and hot oil shot out,it got into a cut I had on my hand,man that hurt. Oh well,no pain no gain.

Wintermute · 06-08-2006, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Speaking of "bonding". When I first picked up my Boxster,I changed the oil and figured it would be "bonding time" as well. Well I didnt expect the drain plug to shoot off at about half of the way loose and hot oil shot out,it got into a cut I had on my hand,man that hurt. Oh well,no pain no gain.

Haha, almost exact same thing happened to me the first time I changed the oil in my Prelude. Damn near lost half the oil on the driveway (and the plug) when it shot out and overshot my oil pan by about a foot.

That was fun cleaning up dirty oil from my dad's garage floor.

der Geist · 06-08-2006, 08:32 PM

I guess I have the same problem. I have been driving my 03 Boxster verrrry happily for about 4,000 miles now in the short time I have had it. This car is absolutely the best vehicle that I have ever owned. Have not had 1 drop of oil on the garage floor and I just did my first oil and air filter change since aquiring it last week.

Now if only I could avoid the drama of finding dependable suppliers for all the extras this baby needs.....The past two weeks was spent trying to find someone who could actually ship me a Motive bleeder and didn't want to charge $60.00 plus $15.00 in shipping charges. Thank goodness for apexperformance. Got a kick out of the guy that wanted to charge me $21.00 to ship 4 oil and one air filter (actual shipping cost is about $6.00 via priority mail). I used to own a 914 and I said it then and I say it now. Anyone can buy a Porsche. But mainting it-well that's a whole other story!

I think my biggest gripe with the car is that every kid with a Honda, Subaru and Eclipse wants to race me. Is it just me or do these cars with megaphone exhausts sound like the car is farting?

OI!!

06-08-2006, 09:47 PM

That is why they are called fart-can exhausts. For me, I have all the rednecks in their Ford F-350's racing me. I just laugh when I think of the gallons of fuel they are spewing out their tail pipes to prove their manliness.

jangobox · 06-09-2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creseida

That is why they are called fart-can exhausts. For me, I have all the rednecks in their Ford F-350's racing me. I just laugh when I think of the gallons of fuel they are spewing out their tail pipes to prove their manliness.

You must live in VA!

I get Acura TL's and Lancers

06-09-2006, 05:52 PM

Yeppers. Fortunately, I am no longer in NoVa though. The traffic just makes me go

Thumper · 06-09-2006, 06:37 PM

I believe that these forums sometimes seem like doom and gloom with all of the posts about problems, but if no one is having any problems, then they are much less apt to post a question. Whereas, if someone is having a problem, they are more likely to post their situation in hopes of another owner providing advice or piece of mind about their problems/concerns based upon their experiences. These cars are not as shadetree mechanic friendly as other brands and parts and repairs can by a qualified mechanic can get pretty expensive.

I've had a few problems, and spent quite a bit having those problems repaired, but overall I've found my Boxster to be remarkedly reliable and a pure pleasure to drive. I, for one, am glad we have a place to post these types of questions and in no way do I do so to scare anyone from purchasing a Boxster of their own. I hope to be a Porsche owner until I draw my last breath. It is going to take that long for me to save up for that GT3.....

MNBoxster · 06-09-2006, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thumper

I believe that these forums sometimes seem like doom and gloom with all of the posts about problems, but if no one is having any problems, then they are much less apt to post a question. Whereas, if someone is having a problem, they are more likely to post their situation in hopes of another owner providing advice or piece of mind about their problems/concerns based upon their experiences. These cars are not as shadetree mechanic friendly as other brands and parts and repairs can by a qualified mechanic can get pretty expensive.

I've had a few problems, and spent quite a bit having those problems repaired, but overall I've found my Boxster to be remarkedly reliable and a pure pleasure to drive. I, for one, am glad we have a place to post these types of questions and in no way do I do so to scare anyone from purchasing a Boxster of their own. I hope to be a Porsche owner until draw my last breath. It is going to take that long for me to save up for that GT3.....

Hi,

I agree with what you say. These type of Forums always lean toward the 'What's wrong with this Car' end of the spectrum. For current owners, the wealth of info. available here can save time and $$. If the discussion is a little scary for the prospective buyer, maybe that's a good thing.

If you're not used to Sports Cars, Exotic Cars and Porsches in particular, you probably have not factored in the greater maintenance and maintenance cost that owning one of these cars brings with it when deciding to buy one. A lot of people are just on the edge of being able to afford these cars and as we all know the Price of Entry is just the beginning.

You can do a disservice to one of these potential buyers with a lot of Rah-Rah talk about performance and provenance without fully explaining what it can potentially cost to own one of these cars. This isn't your average Mustang or Camaro. These Cars are as a whole less robust and parts cost a lot more, especially if you need to factor shipping into the equation. These costs can be a real hardship to some potential buyers and the car's allure can sometimes overshadow these realities.

Everyone cannot own a Porsche, even the entry-level model. We've seen many prospects persist and come back to the Forum as Owners, hopefully after they've weighed all the facts and decided they have the Will and the Means. But, we also see a significant number of initial inquiries, never to hear from that person again. Did we scare them off? I don't think so, I think that's how it should be...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

06-09-2006, 08:41 PM

I've had my box for over 2 years now, and I can honestly say it hasn't been any more expensive to maintain than any of my other cars.

MNBoxster · 06-09-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creseida

I've had my box for over 2 years now, and I can honestly say it hasn't been any more expensive to maintain than any of my other cars.

Hi,

Really...?? How many other cars have you owned which require 9 qts. of Mobil 1 every 10k mi. or annually, or go through $1000 worth of Tires every 3 years? True, you may not have had it long enough to realize these things, but talk to me in another year or two...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Wintermute · 06-09-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

Really...?? How many other cars have you owned which require 9 qts. of Mobil 1 every 10k mi. or annually, or go through $1000 worth of Tires every 3 years? True, you may not have had it long enough to realize these things, but talk to me in another year or two...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Well Jim, my Prelude required 5.1 quarts of Mobil 1, plus a new filter, every 7500 miles or annually. So that's a quart more more oil and 2 filters in the same time period as 1 oil change on a Boxster. So all of you quit your griping about expensive oil changes

However, the tire thing is somthing that irks me, but I'll deal. I think I'll just stick with the $70 Sumitomo's since I don't autocross or drive in the snow.

I think what really scares most people off is the wild differences in maintenance estimates from dealers. Anywhere from $1200 to $600 for a 30k service is a pretty broad range, so that can be a real turn-off coming from cars that cost around $300-400 for the same service. Considering you can get an extended warranty and be safe from unexpected failures, but still get kicked in the groin by dealers that way overcharge for what they offer (but what dealer doesn't).

But that's just my opinion. Take it as you will.

BoxsterRS · 06-10-2006, 07:40 AM

My car has 50,000 miles without an rms failure or anything related to the engine, only some minor top problems, but that is it, It's a 98 Box. Ohh forgot, I'm in the process of replacing the engine mounts which had a defect but nothing out of the ordinary. Runs perfect and smoke only comes out when its been sitting for two days or more. I'm freaked out about the RMS hope it doesn't fail on me(I'll have to pray a lot and throw a lot of pennys at anything with water to get the penny gods to hear me!!!)

FinBoxster · 07-18-2006, 04:25 AM

Hey. And greetings from Finland. I don't know if this would've been worth of it's own thread so I just put it here, hoping no-one gets hard feelings on it...

I came to your forums to seek for information about boxsters. I've been wanting to get one for a few years but never had the chance. Now, I'm selling my A4 Avant because I don't need the extra space on it anymore. The thing is, as I'm going a bit nervous reading these threads full of problems and what is more scary about it, expensive ones.

I'm only going to be able to get the entry level, early year and propably ~100 000 km = ~60k miles or so boxster. Based on anyones experiences, is it "wise" to get one that old or just let it be and think about something else? I really like the look on boxsters, but I haven't even been able to drive one yet. So I don't even know if it has enough room for me as I'm 189cm tall. Dunno how it's converted to feet and such, but lets just say I'm taller than average, at least around here.

I have had 290 whp in my turbocharged V6 Mazda mx-6 (and having more in time as I get it sorted again), so I don't expect it to be stunningly fast.

I gotta get back studying the boxsters secrets, but just wanted to hear some opinions about owning one of the older boxsters, whether it's asking for some problems or not.

Sorry if these are questions that you've answered million times before.

Mici