Cheap 2003 Boxster 2.7. Am I crazy? - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Firstly, I was not looking for a Boxster, but this one popped up and captured my attention. It's a 2003 2.7 Tiptronic S with 91000 miles. Cat N. 16 service stamps (so there is a hole somewhere). MOT history looks OK with nothing major cropping up in the last few years and the mileage only increasing by a few hundred each time. Age related marks as expected. What are the main things that I should be asking/looking at other than if the IMS bearing has been sorted? Is it just worth a punt in the hope that it doesn't die in 5 minutes given that it is up for just over £3000? I am not adverse to doing some DIY mechanics and have worked on a lot of my cars in the past, but never on a Porsche!! Your real world advice will be greatly received. ETA - I'm not looking to make money and I'm fully aware of what a Cat N means for values etc. I'm a mature (46) driver, so fully understand that no car is free to run, but wondered if this could provide a bit of fun for a year or so without crippling me for a new engine or box. Would it have any value as a breaker if it all went pear shaped? Edited by Japcreation on Wednesday 22 September 10:14

Some random thoughts off the top of my head: 1) DIY servicing, you’ll need a piece of kit to reset the service indicator. Costs about £200. Can’t remember the name. Repairs and maintenance are nothing special. 2) Cooling system, radiators are prone to corrosion long before the age of this, make sure they have been regularly cleaned or expect to replace. 3) More cooling, radiator pipes and crossover pipes leak, costs ~£300 in parts and £300 in labour to drop the subframe. 4) Gearcables, prone to snapping, this might be specific to the 6 speed, you’d think that’s cheap enough. No! The cables are only Porsche and cost £400 5) IMS. Oddly this would not bother me, if it has done 91k it is likely to have been done or absolutely fine. They normally die before then

I've owned a 2001 3.2S manual as my only car for the past 2 years now. Other than its MOT, it's never seen the inside of a professional garage. Paid £5,100 for it with 100k miles, and it's been almost faultless. It's a well made and (nuts & bolts corroding aside) easy to work on car. I'm not a mechanic, I work in banking, but have done all my own servicing and minor jobs on the car (did a droplink last weekend - nothing went wrong ). It's been designed with hard(er) usage in mind, so mileage and enthusiastic driving would not scare me provided the car had been suitably maintained. Have a dig through the service history - try and find out more beyond a stamp in a book (any paperwork to look through, breaking down what work was done? Try ringing the places the car has been serviced, see if they can provide you with any more info). If all else fails, consider the car itself ... 4 matched branded tyres indicate it's been cared for. 4 mismatched ditchfinders indicate corners might have been cut (and if they've been cut there, where else that you can't easily see might they have also been cut?). In the case of the car you're looking at, I'd consider the Cat N status to be the first thing to try and find out more about. When was it declared Cat N? If it was at 1 year old, then you're looking at some pretty serious damage (cost wise) to write off a nearly new Porsche. If it was at 15 years old, then a small parking prang could write it off. Everyone tries to claim a Cat N was very light non-structural damage ... but try and find evidence to confirm exactly what happened and how it was repaired. I'd also personally not touch a tiptronic with a barge pole - but that's very much about my personal preferences for cars, and not because there's anything fundamentally wrong with them. So there's every chance your £3k Cat N, 91k miler could be bulletproof and serve you well. But it could also be a complete dog. Only a careful look over the car and its history will give you the best chance of telling 1 from the other! Good luck. P.S. You're not crazy!

Thanks for the replies so far, much appreciated. I've messaged the guy and he has responded fairly honestly from what I can tell. Radiators and IMS - He doesn't know if they have been done Car was written off in 2019 and had the driver's door replaced by the garage that he bought it from. There is still some evidence of damage on the rear 1/4 panel, but nothing too significant. He had a basic service carried out when he bought it, but nothing to back it up. Freely admits that the cosmetics let the car down a bit, but what do you expect for £3000? I'm thinking that I might just go and have a look at it and see how good/bad it is in the flesh!

Japcreation said: I've messaged ... has responded fairly honestly from what I can tell. ...written off in 2019 ... is still some evidence of damage on the rear ... nothing too significant. Freely admits that the cosmetics let ... down a bit, but what do you expect ...? I'm thinking that I might just go and have a look at it and see how good/bad it is in the flesh! sounds like my last tinder episode.

It wasn't meant to be. Someone got in there before me!!

Japcreation said: It's a 2003 2.7 Tiptronic S with 91000 miles. Cat N. 16 service stamps (so there is a hole somewhere). Service interval is 20k miles/2 years. Rgds, Dunc.

Not exactly a rare model so would personally hold out for a car that doesn’t have Cat history - will be a lot easier to sell if you ever want to. The seller says it doesn’t need much bodywork, but why has it not been done when the rest of the repairs were done? Sounds fishy to me. Look for something that has had decent maintenance history and buy on condition more than miles. Perhaps wait a few weeks and we ‘might’ see soft top prices soften slightly due to winter weather

It’s survived 18 years so why would it go pop now

I found another one!! It's a 2002 2.7 manual with just under 60000 miles. Seemed to good to be true, so I gently pursued it with lots of questions. The service history has been "misplaced" since the guy moved business premises, but will of course turn up!! The seller side stepped all of my questions and just kept saying about how well the previous owner looked after the car and that it was lovely. Wouldn't tell me how long he had owned the car for or what he had done to it in his ownership. I got it checked and it turns out to be another cat N!! I asked the guy straight up in my first communication if it was a write off at any time, but strangely he didn't answer that one!. I called him out on it yesterday and ,strangely, I've had no reply. The hunt continues.

I got a response last night...... "I have spoken with last owner and enquired about what on earth a cat n is and all that..the porsche is in such great shape it didn't come up. evidently it was a door that had a scrape and being unreplacable they put a cat n on her.. It was no biggy for me at the time, I didn't know, and the repair must have been first class as I didn't even notice. I'm not to worried about it now really, as its a lovely car ... I think the best thing I can do is explain this to all the other people messaging.. . I would appreciate your thoughts on that. I've ordered a new fob and a door switch. If I get time to organise fitting then I will, or give to new owner... Whichever comes up." So did they know or did they not? For the right price, I'd still consider it. If all else fails it would go on the track and then end it's life as a parts car!

I purchased an 86k 04 2.7 manual a few months ago and had similar questions to you in my mind. Mine has been superb, the only costs are things I actually want to spend money on (preventative Maintenance and servicing). Very reliable and no regrets, so yeah, do it!

The search has continued and I am now going to have a look at a 2003 3.2s with 105k miles on at the weekend. Flawless MOT history, need to check the service history when I'm there, new clutch and gearbox rebuild around the 70k mark. I had decided a while back that I would need to up my budget to get something that should hopefully stop me worrying if it is going to lunch itself every time I turn the key!! Fingers crossed that this is what I've been looking for. The only problem that I forsee with ownership is that I'm 6'2" and they don't have a tilting steering wheel (I have sat in one), but I have done plenty of research and seen that there are people bigger than me that drive them with no issues.

As the owner of a 2001 3.2S on about 107k miles, all I can say is 'nice'. My car had a flawless MOT history, but very little service history beyond stamps in a service book. Nothing to say that any of the "problem" engine issues had been addressed. I took the view that if it was going to lunch it's engine, it'd likely have done it by now. It's my only car, but since Covid that's become less of an issue as work has been a lot more flexible about being in the office vs working from home. However, when I bought it, I was commuting to work 5 days a week. Mechanically it's not put a foot wrong in 2 1/2 years ... and I can't think what I'd replace it with that would be "better" (to me) at similar-ish kind of money. I paid £5,100 for it with bang on 100k miles. I hope your search does you well. I'd say that options make a huge difference on these. I was specifically looking for the smaller (17") wheels, litronic headlights and heated seats on mine, as I was intending to use it all year round. I'm not sure if I'd have felt it was as good a commuting car if I was going down an unlit back round at 6pm in December, trying to make out the road ahead through the gloom of the standard lights, freezing my ar$e off on the cold leather seats, while crashing and thumping over the poorly maintained tarmac. Plan your options to your use case.

Japcreation said: The only problem that I forsee with ownership is that I'm 6'2" and they don't have a tilting steering wheel (I have sat in one), but I have done plenty of research and seen that there are people bigger than me that drive them with no issues. Snap Also 6' 2" but it is not the wheel height adjustment which is the problem. It is the seat itself and general legroom. I think both standard and sports seats for this generation of Boxster are rubbish. Gave me back pain driving it longer than around 30 minutes. Legroom so distance from lower back to pedals. I also have a 996 which is supposed to be the same car but you can see from my measurements that is not the case. The seat mount is actually 1cm closer on the Boxster than the 996. Then you can see the seat has slid back on the runner an extra 2cm too. So that is a 3cm difference overall. Trust me your wife will notice that. I still love the 986 so for now I have fitted 9x7 seats to mine. These bolt straight in. These sit you a little bit further back and a reasonable amount lower also. The car is now comfy and fine.

Japcreation said: The search has continued and I am now going to have a look at a 2003 3.2s with 105k miles on at the weekend. Flawless MOT history, need to check the service history when I'm there, new clutch and gearbox rebuild around the 70k mark. I had decided a while back that I would need to up my budget to get something that should hopefully stop me worrying if it is going to lunch itself every time I turn the key!! Fingers crossed that this is what I've been looking for. The only problem that I forsee with ownership is that I'm 6'2" and they don't have a tilting steering wheel (I have sat in one), but I have done plenty of research and seen that there are people bigger than me that drive them with no issues. I think very much down to your build and comfort requirements. I'm 6'4 and it was a bit of a squeeze. 987 is much better - a bit more room and adjustable steering. 911 seats go back further as someone mentioned also. But at 6'2 I think you'll find it ok. I had mine for 3 years and enjoyed it lots! Good luck with your search.

I'm still looking. Did a 300 mile round trip to view a 2000 3.2 manual on Monday that looked reasonable (apart from aftermarket lights). Got there to be told that the roof won't open, did yesterday, but we're trying to sort it!! A little rougher around the edges than I would have liked, but I know that I'm not going to get a showroom finish on my budget. I walked away from it in the end as it just didn't sit right with me. There were conflicting stories about how long it had been on/off the road, issues with finding the registration on a few sites for HPI checks etc. and the guy dropped the price by a further £500 for the roof issue without really thinking about it. Screamed of wanting to get rid!! Tempted to go and see a facelift 2.7 at the weekend, but budget creep is setting in. Is there much noticeable performance difference in the real world between the 2.7 and 3.2? On the plus side, I now know for sure that I fit in one with the seat dropped and right back.

Japcreation said: Is there much noticeable performance difference in the real world between the 2.7 and 3.2? Hmm I am a sucker for always buying the S or the faster version. But in the real world.... I took my car for a bit of a blast up in the hills with this guy. I didnt know him. From a different enthusiast website for Boxsters. His car is a 2.5 Tip which must be the slowest of all the 986. I had trouble keeping up with him. So if your real world means traffic light gran prix then yes the 3.2 will get its nose ahead of a 2.7. If your real world means flying round some country lanes with corners then both cars are as fast as your skill set and balls allow.

Japcreation said: I'm still looking. Did a 300 mile round trip to view a 2000 3.2 manual on Monday that looked reasonable (apart from aftermarket lights). Got there to be told that the roof won't open, did yesterday, but we're trying to sort it!! A little rougher around the edges than I would have liked, but I know that I'm not going to get a showroom finish on my budget. I walked away from it in the end as it just didn't sit right with me. There were conflicting stories about how long it had been on/off the road, issues with finding the registration on a few sites for HPI checks etc. and the guy dropped the price by a further £500 for the roof issue without really thinking about it. Screamed of wanting to get rid!! Tempted to go and see a facelift 2.7 at the weekend, but budget creep is setting in. Is there much noticeable performance difference in the real world between the 2.7 and 3.2? On the plus side, I now know for sure that I fit in one with the seat dropped and right back. What’s your budget, I might consider selling my 99 2.5 manual. Good condition, fully serviced last year (fuel filter, plugs, coil packs, air filters, oil filter and oil change, plus a pair of new rear tyres. Zenith blue with black. No air con car so no condensers or pipes to worry about. Only thing it needs is a fix to horn push, which is common and on my list for Spring. Earlier cars supposedly have a better engine bearing.

This sounds nice but not cheap Hartech engine rebuild 5000 spent this year £7,995 https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12008284

Pockets aren't that deep I'm afraid, and it's going away from my initial brief (in my head). The plan was to by something in the £3-4000 range that I wouldn't cry over if it went pop and feel compelled to put a new engine in. I am hoping to do a track day this year (not done one before) so this went into the "low budget won't cry if I bin it" category too. Budget crept to £5k and is now heading towards £6k as I still can't find what I'm looking for and that means I'm heading into considered purchase territory. Might be going to look at a facelift 2.7 manual tomorrow, if I can free up the time, that's up for £6k. If it looks good, I'm hoping they are up for a bit of winter negotiation to get it off the forecourt.

Japcreation said: The plan was to by something in the £3-4000 range that I wouldn't cry over if it went pop . Yes, but how will you feel when it delivers an easy bill for £1,500? Cheap to buy doesn't mean cheap to look after.

Some of us Porsche enthusiasts who have been round the block a few times will tell you this pearl of wisdom we have all learnt the hard way - there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche

Japcreation said: Pockets aren't that deep I'm afraid, and it's going away from my initial brief (in my head). The plan was to by something in the £3-4000 range that I wouldn't cry over if it went pop and feel compelled to put a new engine in. I am hoping to do a track day this year (not done one before) so this went into the "low budget won't cry if I bin it" category too. Budget crept to £5k and is now heading towards £6k as I still can't find what I'm looking for and that means I'm heading into considered purchase territory. Might be going to look at a facelift 2.7 manual tomorrow, if I can free up the time, that's up for £6k. If it looks good, I'm hoping they are up for a bit of winter negotiation to get it off the forecourt. I’d possibly sell mine for £5k. 1999 2.5. 78k miles. Zenith with black. New rear tyres, full service with spark plugs, fuel filter, coil packs on top. Drives very well. Owner before me had for 18 years.

I was considering going to see this one. There are a couple of things wrong with it, namely wheels and cheap tyres, but it has no service history apart from the last two!! Seems like a big old gamble as there is no proof if any of the big ticket items have been taken care of. www.beenhamgarage.co.uk/used-porsche-boxster-readi... Getting the link to work is driving me mental. I'm not the best at IT related stuff!!!

Japcreation said: I was considering going to see this one. There are a couple of things wrong with it, namely wheels and cheap tyres, but it has no service history apart from the last two!! Seems like a big old gamble as there is no proof if any of the big ticket items have been taken care of. www.beenhamgarage.co.uk/used-porsche-boxster-readi... Getting the link to work is driving me mental. I'm not the best at IT related stuff!!! Exhaust looks crooked Also headlight corner piece missing on driver side

Japcreation said: I was considering going to see this one. There are a couple of things wrong with it, namely wheels and cheap tyres, but it has no service history apart from the last two!! Seems like a big old gamble as there is no proof if any of the big ticket items have been taken care of. www.beenhamgarage.co.uk/used-porsche-boxster-readi... Getting the link to work is driving me mental. I'm not the best at IT related stuff!!! I lived a mile from there for almost 20 years, if serious about that one then Northway Porsche (Marque Specialists) are also in Beenham and offer pre purchase inspections. Without seeing it I'd say its a bit of a dog, wrong wheels, discoloured headlights, wonky exhaust. Mike Brewer is currently selling a 2.5 in Silver for £5500 thats just had engine our work, his advert went live on twitter earlier today. The 2.7 engine has a more troublesome engine bearing seal than the earlier 2.5. I'd said earlier i've a nice one I might take £5500 for, which is more original, straight and had £700 of servicing (inc plugs, coil packs, all filters inc fuel and tyres late last year). Zenith with bacl, 78k miles....

Just been reading this thread with interest as I was looking for a 986 and managed to buy what I think id a good one at the weekend from a private seller. Anyway posting more as a heads up because I went to view this one on Friday https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265409283619?hash=item3... I found the roof to have a suspicious repair on the passenger side not mentioned, looked like they had jammed some velcro strips in a gap to plug it. There was very damp carpets in the passenger footwell under the dash board, I pressed it down and water came out. When I looked in the boot I found two bottles (empty) of ready mix coolant. Both door cards hanging loose from the panel I tried asking the garage about the car but they just said "Don't know anything about it we just collect them and put them up for sale" I didn't bother asking for a test drive. Luckily it wasn't too far from me so didn't waste too much time on it. Hope this helps anyone else looking for a 986. I'm over the moon with the one I bought though.

I didn't bother with the one in Beenham. I called them on Friday to be told that there was no service history other than the one that they performed in October + one from the previous owner. At that point, I said I'm out as it was just a big old gamble!! I did look at a '03 2.7 manual that was local to me that the guy would take £6000 for (up for £6500). It needed both bumpers repainting, wheels refurbed, windscreen replaced. It was basic spec, but full service history. The seller was a nice guy and gave me loads of pointers and things to look for when viewing others and wasn't trying to push this one on me. I've got a couple more that I'm looking into, so the search continues........... I'm just wondering if I'm expecting too much and the prices are going to climb? Having pushed my budget to £6000, I thought I would be able to find something half decent or are people putting them up at silly prices to test the market and see what they can get?

It really depends how many you look at. Sounds like you have looked at 2. There are good cars around and some will not be asking the earth but you need to invest a bit more time into looking. If you are already thinking you want a better than average car then you may need to up your budget. But the biggest variable here is time. Do you need a car right now or can you just keep looking?

I am in no hurry to get one, my only worry is that as time goes on and the weather warms up, the prices will follow the temperature. I have only physically seen 2 cars, but that is because I do as much research beforehand to try and ensure that I'm not wasting my time going to see something that is a dog or has poor history or a list of advisories on the MOT as long as your arm. I have 2 kids, the youngest of which is disabled and requires more care than your average 7 year old, so I have to be fairly confident that if I'm taking the time out of the house to look at a car, it has potential. With this in mind, travelling a few hours each way just to view a car is not practical. There are a couple more on the radar that are no more than an hour or so from home, so I will investigate those further and hopefully view one or both this weekend. The other irritation that I have currently is sellers not responding to messages. I ask pertinent questions and am honest with my intentions, but some choose to not even acknowledge that I've asked a question and the car remains for sale!

Japcreation said: I didn't bother with the one in Beenham. I called them on Friday to be told that there was no service history other than the one that they performed in October + one from the previous owner. At that point, I said I'm out as it was just a big old gamble!! I did look at a '03 2.7 manual that was local to me that the guy would take £6000 for (up for £6500). It needed both bumpers repainting, wheels refurbed, windscreen replaced. It was basic spec, but full service history. The seller was a nice guy and gave me loads of pointers and things to look for when viewing others and wasn't trying to push this one on me. I've got a couple more that I'm looking into, so the search continues........... I'm just wondering if I'm expecting too much and the prices are going to climb? Having pushed my budget to £6000, I thought I would be able to find something half decent or are people putting them up at silly prices to test the market and see what they can get? When I was looking I looked at three, buying the third one I saw at asking price because I knew there were others also after it if I didn't buy it, and I finally found a good one. I paid £7000 for mine which is a base spec 51 2.7 model with a hard top roof as well as a new soft top fitted and not quite full service history but a big pile of invoices to show all the big bills have been sorted, IMS etc, it's been well cared for. What I found fairly quickly was that rough ones seem to sit around forever on the market and good ones go very fast, the one I bought was listed 40 minutes when I got on the phone and I was the first to make an arrangement to view it.

Auction No MOT Must be cheap https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265507362763

Yep I won that on eBay this week, what the seller didn’t show was how bad the lacquer peel was. The thing needed a full respray. Disappointing really….

I'm off to view a 2000 3.2 manual with sub 100k miles on tomorrow. Negotiations on price have already been made, so if it looks right, hopefully I will be buying it.

Japcreation said: I'm off to view a 2000 3.2 manual with sub 100k miles on tomorrow. Negotiations on price have already been made, so if it looks right, hopefully I will be buying it. Ive a nice senith blue 2.5 which was fully serviced in autumn + 2 new tyres and is a three owner car, milage just under 80k. Toying with whether to sell or keep - whats it worth at the mo roughly?

I appear to have bought the 3.2 🙂 I’ve only driven it from Southampton to Portsmouth, so not really tested it properly.

I bought my 3.2 in Southampton last year and it’s been mega. Take that as a good omen and enjoy.

I'd just like to say thank you for all of the helpful advice that I have received and questions answered whilst on my quest to find the right car. I will have more questions coming soon!!

I'd recommend joining boxa.net

Japcreation said: I appear to have bought the 3.2 ?? I’ve only driven it from Southampton to Portsmouth, so not really tested it properly. You've owned it for 3 days and you haven't even shared a photo

Japcreation said: I'd just like to say thank you for all of the helpful advice that I have received and questions answered whilst on my quest to find the right car. I will have more questions coming soon!! As discussed, show your appreciation by posting some pics of the car you've bought. Come on. Don't be shy.

I'll get some decent pictures of it at the weekend and I'll post them up. It's already developed a rough idle which wasn't there when I bought it. So it looks like I'll be cleaning the throttle body, MAF and changing the AOS. To be fair, the seller did suggest that these would be things worth looking at anyway! Let the tinkering begin

Japcreation said: I'll get some decent pictures of it at the weekend and I'll post them up. It's already developed a rough idle which wasn't there when I bought it. So it looks like I'll be cleaning the throttle body, MAF and changing the AOS. To be fair, the seller did suggest that these would be things worth looking at anyway! Let the tinkering begin Mine did that, fuel filter, 99 Ron, plugs, coil packs and all sorted. D911 best for bits.

Here you go. It's the only one I've got so far!! Boxster first shot by Alex Hawkes , on Flickr

Japcreation said: Here you go. It's the only one I've got so far!! Boxster first shot by Alex Hawkes , on Flickr That looks almost identical to mine! Same wheels, same headlights, I think the same colour (although silvers can all look the same in photos). Mine is Meridian Silver - looks almost like it has an element of pink in it in the sunlight. I hope you're enjoying it.

bennno said: Mine did that, fuel filter, 99 Ron, plugs, coil packs and all sorted. D911 best for bits. But quite expensive and all prices shown are not including VAT so they will add 20% to everything.

ATM said: bennno said: Mine did that, fuel filter, 99 Ron, plugs, coil packs and all sorted. D911 best for bits. But quite expensive and all prices shown are not including VAT so they will add 20% to everything. Still a lot cheaper than gsf / euro car parts / oe porsche

bennno said: ATM said: bennno said: Mine did that, fuel filter, 99 Ron, plugs, coil packs and all sorted. D911 best for bits. But quite expensive and all prices shown are not including VAT so they will add 20% to everything. Still a lot cheaper than gsf / euro car parts / oe porsche I didn't know that. Just recently bought 6 discs from ECP or Car Parts 4 Less which is the same business. They even sent a little ECP van to my house just to deliver them.

Rotary Potato said: That looks almost identical to mine! Same wheels, same headlights, I think the same colour (although silvers can all look the same in photos). Mine is Meridian Silver - looks almost like it has an element of pink in it in the sunlight. I hope you're enjoying it. I think mine is Arctic Silver. Cleaned the MAF and the throttle body at the weekend, but it made no difference to the rough idle. The AOS was changed in early 2019, so I'd be surprised if that had failed again. However, I've already bought one< so I might as well fit it. There was oil in the pipe from the AOS to the throttle body and in the intake pipes from the throttle body. (I might not be using the correct names for parts yet!!) I've only used it for a little bit of pottering around so far to make sure it moves OK and I'm not too far from home if a fault should raise it's head.

A good video here on chasing vacuum/inlet leaks that could be causing your rough idle. https://youtu.be/MN206c5W1T0

Japcreation said: I've only used it for a little bit of pottering around so far to make sure it moves OK and I'm not too far from home if a fault should raise it's head. Still building confidence that it is gong to keep working and not die on you. Its been a long time since I did this. Nowadays I just think F it. Life is too short.

ATM said: bennno said: ATM said: bennno said: Mine did that, fuel filter, 99 Ron, plugs, coil packs and all sorted. D911 best for bits. But quite expensive and all prices shown are not including VAT so they will add 20% to everything. Still a lot cheaper than gsf / euro car parts / oe porsche I didn't know that. Just recently bought 6 discs from ECP or Car Parts 4 Less which is the same business. They even sent a little ECP van to my house just to deliver them. My sons a mechanic so get plenty of bits at true trade cost, 4 x 18” branded tyres for my 3.0L BMW cost £250 last week.

Stolen from another thread RM said: From a well-known seller on Boxa.net, £3k https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325044889092

Japcreation said: Here you go. It's the only one I've got so far!! Boxster first shot by Alex Hawkes , on Flickr Like mine it has Litronics which are nice. It doesn’t look Arctic Silver in photo but it may just be the light.

Definitely not Meridian Silver as it doesn't have the pink tinge in the sun. Probably just the light as it was first thing in the morning.

This was Meridian Silver..

Finally sorted the idle issue last night and it was just the MAF sensor. I bought a cheap diagnostics tool last week which has already paid for itself, so things are slowly moving forward.