How much to keep a 986 on the road? - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Look at this ebay ad and scroll down to the service history, 40k ??? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-Boxster-3-2-S-20...

Wow, that is quite shocking. Unless the owner is a £m'air and requested nothing but the best? In which case that car should be worth double to a collector. Is this any different to the sort of practice you see on watchdog or via trading standards. Where builders repeatedly find more jobs that need doing, charging a homeowner time and time again for jobs which are nice to have but far from essential ?? Just a car not a house...

Shouldn't cost anywhere near that much. However, you may want to budget some 'upgrades' depending on the condition of the car you purchase (e.g. IMS upgrade, replace the AOS before it fails etc). AOS failure won't kill your car like an IMS failure would, but it can cause you some concerns about the amount of oil smoke coming out of the exhaust To give you an idea, when I bought my 987 I had Revolution replace the clutch (70k and never had one before), IMS bearing, RMS, AOS and engine mounts. None of these items were needed at that point. However, I wasn't prepared to drive around with a potential IMS failure and the other items simply made sense to do at the same time. After this, I'm expecting to replace all the brake discs this year, but that will be parts only cost as I'll do the work myself. Similarly, at some point I'll replace all the springs & dampers myself.

That's not a lesson in how much a 986 costs to run, that's a lesson in how to get tucked up by a main stealer... Example: 26/10/2011 95,617 - Discs & Pads - Porsche Centre Bristol £978 It only had them replaced 13k miles before and according to Euro Car Parts, decent quality Pagid parts all round cost £338.94 plus a couple of hours labour. I'll bet Porsche Bristol had a party every time that mug arrived! Edited by Megaflow on Wednesday 10th February 12:45

DavidJG said: However, you may want to budget some 'upgrades' depending on the condition of the car you purchase (e.g. IMS upgrade, replace the AOS before it fails etc). AOS failure won't kill your car like an IMS failure would, but it can cause you some concerns about the amount of oil smoke coming out of the exhaust The car's had an AOS within the last 20,000 miles and with now over 141,000 on the clock I think we can say that the IMS is not likely to be an issue. We all agree that the owner could have saved a lot by not using the main dealer but at the same time, as we all say that we should buy on condition....this could be a good buy for the next owner!

had a missfire on my 987 3.4 - feared the worse as it was the first fault since I got her last summer. Local guys (porker experts) said "Pop in" - 25 mins later left with no coil fitted for £50......no plans to ever go near an OPC

Tiggsy said: had a missfire on my 987 3.4 - feared the worse as it was the first fault since I got her last summer. Local guys (porker experts) said "Pop in" - 25 mins later left with no coil fitted for £50......no plans to ever go near an OPC Sure, but it can be very satisfying to win the depreciation game by getting something that someone has spent a fortune on for peanuts. In this example you're just getting more depreciation, so more win for the buyer. I'm not in the market for a 986, but if I was I'd be going to view this one. Actually, if I got some garage space tomorrow I'd go see this one, just for the depreciation fun.

I've had an original '99 guards red 3.2s for a number of years. Admittedly, it's not a daily driver, so it only racks up about 2-3k miles each year. Tyre wear is therefore not an issue and neither is major mechanical maintenance. I usually allocate £500 pa for servicing, etc. and £500 pa for insurance. I'd agree with some of the earlier points in checking the AOS & IMS and I would certainly have the geometry/wheel alignment looked at, as this will also effect tyre wear...also look at suspension bushes & track rod arms. Other than that, they're fairly bulletproof...

£200 knocked off this morning with a few hrs to go. Now £5500 ono.

Sounds like a good car to buy but the previous owner needs sectioned.

Patrick Bateman said: Sounds like a good car to buy but the previous owner needs sectioned. QFT!

anonymous said: [redacted] Surely this was the result of some form of trip through a field. Who would spend £6000 on a new set of wheels, tyres, suspension bits, brakes and alignment in one hit?

I was looking at this ad last week and continue to mull over a Boxster, but I just aren't brave enough to go for it..IMS failure is what worries me...(see my other post about 6 months ago)..... anyway, how much is an IMS upgrade and would you bother on a car that had one over 100,000 miles such as an earlier 2.5?

Unbelievable amount of money to spend. So far, after 16 months of ownership, my 2000 model 986S has cost me 30€. That was for an oil filter which has not been fitted yet. Will get the oil soon. My car was bought unseen and is still on the original IMS. Maybe I have been lucky but they do not need to be expensive cars, especially if you do not go overboard with preventative maintenance. Edited by el romeral on Saturday 20th February 18:54

GreenArrow said: I was looking at this ad last week and continue to mull over a Boxster, but I just aren't brave enough to go for it..IMS failure is what worries me...(see my other post about 6 months ago)..... anyway, how much is an IMS upgrade and would you bother on a car that had one over 100,000 miles such as an earlier 2.5? Don't bother on a pre 2000 car - certainly a pre 99 car. Double row IMS bearing, so as long as it's been maintained and had plenty of oil changes, if it's got to this age, it'll last forever (or near enough). Buy an early car for pennies (relatively speaking - for a Porsche) and enjoy it.

el romeral said: Unbelievable amount of money to spend. So far, after 16 months of ownership, my 2000 model 986S has cost me 30€. That was for an oil filter which has not been fitted yet. Will get the oil soon. My car was bought unseen and is still on the original IMS. Maybe I have been lucky but they do not need to be expensive cars, especially if you do not go overboard with preventative maintenance. Edited by el romeral on Saturday 20th February 18:54 So this was an ebay car? What mileage had it done, out of interest? sounds like you did well there!

GreenArrow said: see my other post about 6 months ago I just spent 10 minutes looking for this but couldn't find it. Be a nice chap and help us out.

GreenArrow said: So this was an ebay car? What mileage had it done, out of interest? sounds like you did well there! It was a Gumtree car. It had done about 80000 miles when I bought it. 2 owners, £5250 - very cheap for a LHD. The chap selling it had dumped the price from £7000 due to taking delivery of new vehicle. I think the price I paid was just a little over an agreed trade in he had in the event the car did not sell. Perhaps the unusual red/black colour scheme on the wheels put people off? Put back to standard now. I made a thread in the Readers cars section a few months ago.

So is no one here going to buy the 40k pant dropper?

I feel the problem with buying a 140k car, even if its in great condition, is resale in the future. You might pay more for a 75k mile car put 5k on it but then sell it on for much the same money. Is that true for a 140k car in very good condition if the price is inflated due to that level of condition?

wackydo said: I feel the problem with buying a 140k car, even if its in great condition, is resale in the future. You might pay more for a 75k mile car put 5k on it but then sell it on for much the same money. Is that true for a 140k car in very good condition if the price is inflated due to that level of condition? With an old boxster you are likely to spend more in annual maintenance costs (tyres, brakes, servicing, etc) than you will lose in depreciation. That was car was listed for £5,500. Put 5K miles on it and I don't see why you wouldn't get most of that back with patience to find a similarly minded buyer. The danger is what it could cost or happen in your ownership e.g. if the engine expires which I guess is what cmoose is eluding to above.

I have a 2002 Boxster S. In 7 years I am running about 6k. But that includes an RMS. £843 py. Any opinion on high or low? Next pending job is Front HBA rod seized and replace inner rack end. Full Service Replace O/S Diff seal Replace exh clamps Repair PAS pipe Replace coil pack Brake fluid change Clean and protect brake lines MOT £1003 2 Tyres £400 Fit Bottom Arm £260 Replace brake pipe MOT Replace disks and pads £448 Major Service Tip oil change New water pump £700 Minor service Brake fluid change RMS New pads Gearbox diff seal Wheel alignment Clean Radiators and condensors MOT 2 rear tyres £2100 Coil springs 2 front tyres £550 New battery Balance wheels Adjust heatshield £250 Track Control Arm £193 Grand Total £5904

Wow, that's a list and a half. I ended up buying a 3.0 Z4, instead of the Boxster S, interesting to see what the costs are with that.

Depends on your luck I would say. I've spent between 200-250 GBP every year with minor servicing and small defects(tires, lights and etc...) for 4 years ownership of my 986 (60k) until it needed a new engine thanks to IMS!

ooid said: Depends on your luck I would say. I've spent between 200-250 GBP every year with minor servicing and small defects(tires, lights and etc...) for 4 years ownership of my 986 (60k) until it needed a new engine thanks to IMS! Not a lot on tyres. Do you have the 16 inch wheels?

ATM said: Not a lot on tyres. Do you have the 16 inch wheels? Sorry I meant "Except" tyres bill.. Had to replace all tires at once, in 4 years, It was not a daily used car.