Help buying a boxster pls,,,,

[Butty74]

Thinking of stepping back into the Porsche world with this little runabout

I just found my dream car... Search for yours via Auto Trader #DrivenByMe http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506154348755?atmobcid=soc4

Should I get a pre inspection as the car is only £6000 and I've heard an inspection is about £400?

I've obviously heard all the negative stuff about the 996 engine

Are boxsters as prone as 911's?

Any comments appreciated

Cheers worship

 

[madalaa]

Have you thought about buying this ........

http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=29854

 

[isysman]

Thinking of stepping back into the Porsche world with this little runabout

I just found my dream car... Search for yours via Auto Trader #DrivenByMe http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506154348755?atmobcid=soc4

Should I get a pre inspection as the car is only £6000 and I've heard an inspection is about £400?

I've obviously heard all the negative stuff about the 996 engine

Are boxsters as prone as 911's?

Any comments appreciated

Cheers worship

I would have an inspection as it could easily cost you 3 grand to put a car with issues right (even more). I speak from experience as well. I bought a 987 years back for £20k and it required £3k to put it right. Also by the time I had realised the 'warranty' the garage gave me was up and they didn't want to know.

Boxsters are susceptible to issues and IMS springs to mind mostly with these engines rather than bore scoring. Still rare though and I wouldn't let it put me off. My first Porsche was a 986 but one of the first 2.5 motors and I spent 4 years in Boxsters. The drive great and I'm actually looking at getting another as a daily.

 

[T8]

I've obviously heard all the negative stuff about the 996 engine

Are boxsters as prone as 911's?

Any comments appreciated

Have a read here => http://www.hartech.org/porsche_996_997_Boxster_free_car_buyers_guide.html

 

[Alex]

I've obviously heard all the negative stuff about the 996 engine

Are boxsters as prone as 911's?

Any comments appreciated

Cheers worship

I was always led to believe the Boxster engine was worse than the 996s.

 

[isysman]

I've obviously heard all the negative stuff about the 996 engine

Are boxsters as prone as 911's?

Any comments appreciated

Cheers worship

I was always led to believe the Boxster engine was worse than the 996s.

No, that's not the case. Not from my experience and everything I have read. The 911 engines are more susceptible to get bore scoring than Boxsters. IMS is the most documented issue with the Boxster engine. Again although very rare.

 

[Alex]

No, that's not the case. Not from my experience and everything I have read. The 911 engines are more susceptible to get bore scoring than Boxsters. IMS is the most documented issue with the Boxster engine. Again although very rare.

Bore-scoring on the later 3.6, Not the case with the 3.4.

Go on youtube or google and search for IMS failures - mostly Boxster engines.

 

[askgeez]

Pretty comprehensive article here


http://www.porscheinspections.com/content/downloads/M96_M97_GTPorsche.pdf


On a separate note , a friend recently bought a "cheap" boxster.
One or more keys didn't open the door, he thought it was a minor fix such as a battery or reprogramming. Required new keys and ECU, almost £1k .

(I don't remember exact cost or what else he had done)

 

[isysman]

No, that's not the case. Not from my experience and everything I have read. The 911 engines are more susceptible to get bore scoring than Boxsters. IMS is the most documented issue with the Boxster engine. Again although very rare.

Bore-scoring on the later 3.6, Not the case with the 3.4.

Go on youtube or google and search for IMS failures - mostly Boxster engines.

Yeah that's what I was saying, IMS seems to be the thing with those engines.

 

[isysman]

Pretty comprehensive article here


http://www.porscheinspections.com/content/downloads/M96_M97_GTPorsche.pdf


On a separate note , a friend recently bought a "cheap" boxster.
One or more keys didn't open the door, he thought it was a minor fix such as a battery or reprogramming. Required new keys and ECU, almost £1k .

(I don't remember exact cost or what else he had done)

Right but that is a one off case. there's nothing to suggest that will happen because you buy a 'cheap' boxster. Have it checked out and you should be good.

 

[wasz]

Did they not sell way more boxsters than 996s hence incidence of IMS bearing problems?

I always thought that an early boxster (pre 01?) will have the same ferrous piston coating as early 3.4 996 so will have the same resistance to bore score.

Theres waaay more running boxster engines available in ebay etc from scrap cars than 996 engine, and at about half the price.

Means they are a great buy!

However my reasoning is that a 996 will cost the same to own and run as a 986 - suspension bits and consumables are largely the same price. So you may as well stump up a couple of K more and get the 996.

 

[Alex]

:yeah: , :yeah: , :yeah: (down to the fact Boxster drivers have written more off :grin: ), :yeah: & :yeah:

 

[askgeez]

Pretty comprehensive article here


http://www.porscheinspections.com/content/downloads/M96_M97_GTPorsche.pdf


On a separate note , a friend recently bought a "cheap" boxster.
One or more keys didn't open the door, he thought it was a minor fix such as a battery or reprogramming. Required new keys and ECU, almost £1k .

(I don't remember exact cost or what else he had done)

Right but that is a one off case. there's nothing to suggest that will happen because you buy a 'cheap' boxster. Have it checked out and you should be good.

fair point , I should have said that . uh:

 

[nickd]

The question is are you mechanically savvy? if yes, you might not need an inspection, if no then I would probably err on the side of caution. If I wasn't willing or able to work on my cars myself then I would make sure there were no pricey issues hiding, if I need to spend 10 hours working on my car to replace a £100 part, then it costs me £100. If you need to take it to a specialist and they are charging for 10 hours labour...

However, IMS issues are unlikely to show up on an inspection as they usually let go with little warning.

When push comes to shove though , it is no different to buying any used luxury car - a used XK8, or Range Rover, or M5 - even something like a Skyline, all have the possibility of big bills if you don't buy sensibly. If you aren't going to be able to spot issues, go with someone who can, be that a friend, or a specialist inspection service.

Funnily enough, while I was saving for my 996, I considered a Boxster and (apart from the fact that what I really wanted was a 911) I discounted them as having almost the same running costs as they share so many parts, but will always be worth less than a 996. The approx £4k difference now will be much greater when inevitably they both go up in value.

It could be argues that the amount of Boxsters wout there means that it will be much easier to run an early 996 on a budget as so many parts are shared.

 

[F15HAR]

I've had a couple of Boxsters in the past and had no mechanical issues with either, the parts are widely available from suppliers and many breakers yards, most early cars are worth more in parts than as a car so many high milers have been dismantled.
At the £6k price point personally I'd possible be getting a friendly mechanic to stick it up on a hoist for a once over rather than an inspection. It is unlikely that the seller is going to drop the price to cover the cost of an inspection, and at the age and price point they are now at I think you need to accept that most cars advertised are going to require some work.
Parts are not particularly any more expensive than VW, and many parts are VW/Audi, I can see no point in using either an OPC or a highly priced "Porsche specialist" for any £6k car unless it is an ECU issue, lack of Porsche dealer history is not going to have any detrimental effect on its value.
Check the carpets behind the seats for damp/wetness as the drainage lines are prone to clogging, the water builds up and then spills into the cabin and flows to the lowest point beneath the seats, where sensibly the designers also chose to stick the ECU.
Great little cars and a lot of fun, just be careful applying the right foot on wet roundabouts!