What do I need to know about early Boxsters?

They're getting so very cheap that I'm thinking of adding one for commuting. But there's bound to be known issues and problems.

So, what should I be watching for?

Thanks

 

I was looking at Boxsters once. A Porsche mechanic told me to stay away from 1997 and earlier cars because many of them had catastrophic engine failures.

 

Do some research on "rear main seal" and "intermediate shaft" failures.
You will probably come to the conclusion that you can only go forward if you have a comprehensive extended warranty. My friend's '99 carrera one day at 54k miles sounded funny on start up; IMS failure; new shortblock covered under his warranty $13K job but only cost him $500.
Every water cooled flat 6 that is not a GT3 or turbo has this potential total engine failure possibility.

 

The air/oil separators tend to clog up on higher mileage cars. I ran mine to 75k miles and Changed the oil every 7500 miles which was twice as often as the normal maintenance. The separator clogged up and caused the engine to bog down and blow huge amounts of smoke. It was about $1200 to replace but the consequences and be very bad if it is not done quickly.

 

+1. Some people refer to the check engine light in the early boxsters as the "change engine light."

 

A Pbug ! Blasphemy !
Road and Track did a Classic used car acticle on them. I'll see if I can find it.
If you can swing it the "S" version, like most Porsches, is often worth the extra coin.

 

You'll have to learn how to do "The Boxster Chop" if the car is <2003.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCZBJHSvLCw[/ame]

Part 1 of a series.

 

Tillman, frankly, these cars are so cheap, you can't go wrong. Compared to a 30X Ferrari, you will have more fun than the law allows.

Dale

 

Friend of mine bought one used. Picked it up on the way home from work one evening, it shat its engine on the way to work the next morning.

 

as stated above, they have some expensive repair bills if something goes catastrophically wrong, but they're so cheap they're basically disposable at this point.

my BIL has one ('02 base Boxster tiptronic) that he uses as a commuter car, I think he paid $17k for it about a year ago. no problems, just oil changes so far. though he does ***** about $100+ oil changes on a $17k car

 

I have a 2001 Boxster S and I love it! I bought it for 15.5 last February with 62k.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me.

Quick things:
Buy an 03 0r 04 if you can afford it.
Don't buy a pre 2001.
Buy one with higher mileage that's in really good condition.

I just started a company that makes one-touch convertible top chips for 986 boxster and 996 cabs, let me know if you want one!

 

This topic has been beaten to death. Read up on it and you can ask for maint. records to see if they've done any upgrades to avoid the issues. You can just plan to spend several thousand to upgrade and have some piece of mind. I'm in the market for a Boxster myself.

 

I think they are good cars, just one potentially fatal flaw. If you can protect yourself with a warranty or preventative rebuild of the IMS (?) or otherwise then fine. They would be nice cars with a GT3 lump dropped in there...

 

Wouldn't that be nice?

 

GT3 motor swap into a 986 Boxster isn't easily doable. 996 3.4 or 3.6 is pretty straight forward. You could even drop a 345hp 3.6 X51 motor in there without too much hassle.

 

99 s were the first year with side airbags-- nice safety feature

They sound really nice. I bought one brand new in 99 and the engine bit it in under 10k miles. Porsche was really good about the warranty- they replaced they replaced the engine, and added a 2 year unlimited mile warranty to the engine. Which came in handy around 30k miles when they did the RMS.--- it has to do with the concentricity of the drive shaft.

I'm not a fan of the lokasil cylinder liners they used to reduce displacement on the m96 boxster engines

But overall -- a very fun car

 

Try to get the latest model you can afford.

 

From Exellence Magazines buyers guide;

"There is one other problem unique to Boxsters. Some of the early crankcases had a porosity problem, resulting in oil seepage. Compounding the problem, the supplier had issues with one of two machines it used to make the crankcases. To keep the production going, it decided to save as many of the porous crankcases as possible by inserting cylinder sleeves. On the surface, this seemed like a good idea, as manufacturers have been sleeving engines forever and it is an acceptable fix. However, they apparently didn’t do the job right, as there were a number of catastrophic failures. This problem is limited to 2.5-liter Boxster engines built in late 1998 and early 1999, and the engines usually failed in the first several thousand miles. As a result, I would steer clear of low-mileage 1998 and 1999 Boxsters."

http://www.excellence-mag.com/resources/buyers-guide/1035392063


FYI


Joe

 

A Porsche for the price of two belt changes.

Can't go wrong with these cars at these prices

 

From my research and actually buying, 2000 and forward boxster's are fine, excepting the mythical IMS failure. If you are going in there doing the clutch, the IMS replacement from LN engineering is nice to do for peace of mind.

Very fun car, I got it for under 10k.

 

Man they are tempting at the market price now...

 

Some early Boxster owners have reported serious engine issues. But my mechanic is the PCA Boxster tech guy and he thinks that they are pretty reliable. He bought one for himself and it has 130K miles and is running great. I suggest that you find a PCA member and ask him/her to give you a copy of the club's monthly magazine. In the back, they list all of the tech experts - Boxster included. You can call them (no charge!) and ask any questions you need answered.

However, the rule of thumb with all Porsches is to buy the newest you can afford. I spoke to a Porsche engineer on a press trip once and he recommended the Boxster S and only cars with the glass window. Better brakes, more power, better wheels and tires.

Good luck.

 

I think it's just bunk to buy as expensive as possible. Get a good inspection so you know what you're getting into with any car and then buy CHEAP! Boxster's are fairly well understood with a good mechanic so that's another pro.

 

Tillman,


Come by and take one for a quick drive if you want; afterwards you can go over and talk to Mark or Bob in the shop who both know Boxster's very well and have a very accurate insight on what to look for.

JP