Boxster 3.2 - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I'm looking to buy my first Porsche - a Boxster 3.2 from 2003. The dealer wants ~£4,999 for it, with 93K miles and dosen't look like any work has been done on the IMS bearing or RMS. Apparently there's a full service history which I've not yet seen. What questions should I be asking to work out if there are any issues? Thanks for your help!

Depending on where it is, I’d be contacting Nick Giles and booking him for a PPI. They’re awesome cars and not ruinously expensive to run, so if it looks half good for that money I’d be tempted at taking a punt. Using Nick will help go in with eyes open

JonnyWhitters said: Depending on where it is, I’d be contacting Nick Giles and booking him for a PPI. They’re awesome cars and not ruinously expensive to run, so if it looks half good for that money I’d be tempted at taking a punt. Using Nick will help go in with eyes open Is he the same person that did a marvellous job of inspecting another PHer’s prospective 986 a while ago?-said it was all good,car was sold for scrap shortly after purchase……. Edited by and31 on Friday 21st March 17:45

hiphopjunkie75 said: I'm looking to buy my first Porsche - a Boxster 3.2 from 2003. The dealer wants ~£4,999 for it, with 93K miles and doesn't look like any work has been done on the IMS bearing or RMS. Apparently there's a full service history which I've not yet seen. What questions should I be asking to work out if there are any issues? Thanks for your help! At that sort of price I wouldn't really ask them anything. Unless they know the car well they will only be able to tell you what you can already ascertain yourself, and even if they do know it, at the end of the day, they are selling a car. I trust no one and into every sale with my eyes absolutely wide open which is sad but I expect no favours. Or you pay above the odds and buy from a known marque-specialist who wouldn't want the reputational aggro of selling a dud. I'd be looking at it hard, myself and making my own conclusions. Check the service history to see if it's at least consistent and that there are no gaping holes in it. If it's got climate, check it works. Check there's no evidence of damp under the seats or along the rear bulkhead carpeting ie, mould, funny stains etc. Do the remotes work on both keys? Does even come with both keys? Are the headlights going hazy? Does it have Cruise and does it work? Does the roof open and close OK? Are the side elastics on the roof still good. Any evidence of accident damage on the body or rot on the trailing edges of the front arches or leading edges of the sills? Look underneath at the general state of the floors and sills. Is there any sign of careless jacking (crimped/collapsed sill flanges, cracked underfloor trays, ,mangled A/C pipes etc). Get a torch and look into the front bumpers either side and see if the rads and condensers are showing any signs of weeping or leaf/road crap build up. Does the car "look" straight when you look at it (panel gaps / paint mismatches). Get into a position where the light reflects off it and look along the body sides to see if there are any inconsistencies to indicate damage but bear in mind its 22 years old. Is the exhaust showing any signs of blowing or outright bodgery? It won't look pretty (unless its a quality stainless set up which is unlikely at that price) but if its solid-ish then that's as good as you can expect. Are the struts showing any signs of leakage, are the springs OK or showing significant corrosion? Are the tyres "in date"? Even if they have good tread left, if they're showing cracking in the tread or inner sidewall, or are over 5 years old, factor in replacements as it'll probably handle a bit oddly if the tyre has age-hardened. Do the electrics work? Is the interior OK. Start it from cold, do all the lights go out on the dash, does it blow any smoke (a little bit on start up wouldn't be unusual but it should clear more or less immediately). Any metallic ticking noises that don't go away after a short time? Is there any evidence of oil in the coolant tank? Does it drive OK, is the clutch good? Any knocks from the suspension? All standard used car stuff. Don't fixate on the RMS/IMS. It's 22 years old (I think I said that already) so if it's survived this long and its been driven a reasonable amount every year and had oil changes more or less consistent with the mileage, I wouldn't sweat about it. The ones I worry about are the garage queens that haven't done more than a 1000 miles a year ie 250 miles a month then laid up for 8 months. You can go to the trouble of getting it bore-scoped and professionally PPI'd but at £5k it's probably more pragmatic to expect a few issues and put some money to one side to fix them and get it to a good base line, then just keep on top of the normal maintenance, drive it often and enjoy it. And if it breaks, it's life. Put it into context, £5k (or £4500-£4750) is not a lot of money these days. I've just been to look locally at a 2011 Fiat Panda 1.2 with 55k on it , as I need a basic dog car, and it was an absolutely shed in the flesh. And they were asking £2,500. For £5k I'd probably prefer the 986.

Holy moly can I buy a paragraph please?

Apparently the car has leaking power steering but the garage are insisting they'll fix before pickup. Could this be sign of more serious damage? Should I consider this a red flag?

Also does anyone have experience repsraying porsche's? is it worth it or financially pointless?

hiphopjunkie75 said: respraying porsche's - is it worth it or financially pointless? It's a great way of spending £££££££ to turn a £5k car into a £5k car. At that price a 22-year old Porsche is IMO "disposable" rather then "repairable".

At that age and miles, the likelihood of RMS/IMS issues diminishes, but never goes away Conventional wisdom suggest budgeting £2-3k to bring any 986 up to acceptable condition, and £1-2k a year after that. It's 2 decades old. You're going to have niggles and issues, and the common faults are well-documented (other than RMS/IMS). A cheap Porsche is never really a cheap Porsche.

Something else to consider-can you do any work on the car yourself? An oil and filter change is very easy and so is changing pads and disks-absolutely no way I’d be paying a specialist to change the oil or pads on one of these-

and31 said: Is he the same person that did a marvellous job of inspecting another PHer’s prospective 986 a while ago?-said it was all good,car was sold for scrap shortly after purchase……. Edited by and31 on Friday 21st March 17:45 Sure is and he is still at it...

I just read a bit of that thread and didn't realise the PPI didn't even involve having the car on a ramp. Sod paying for that.

Patrick Bateman said: I just read a bit of that thread and didn't realise the PPI didn't even involve having the car on a ramp. Sod paying for that. Exactly….and zero comebacks when the car turns out to be a lemon

Patrick Bateman said: I just read a bit of that thread and didn't realise the PPI didn't even involve having the car on a ramp. Sod paying for that. They can, and often do, look a million dollars when on the road-side. It is not until the vehicle is raised that you can really get into it and the true condition of the vehicle can be seen.

Patrick Bateman said: Holy moly can I buy a paragraph please? Ahhhh, yeah...sorry about that. I was very tired and mainly looking down at the keyboard, not at the screen. Absolutely amazed there weren't 438 spelling mistakes in it.

If you do get one subscribe Torque Boxsters on Facebook. Paul Lewis who runs it is more than happy to answer any questions and I’d strongly recommend you get him to look after the car. He’s based in Sunbury and he’s probably one of if not the best 986 specialists there is.

hiphopjunkie75 said: Apparently the car has leaking power steering but the garage are insisting they'll fix before pickup. Could this be sign of more serious damage? Should I consider this a red flag? No, it's really common the hard lines on the rack corrode over time and spring a leak. Easy to fix and plenty of line kits available to repair with but it's rack out to do it, which is a bit of a job.

Smollet said: If you do get one subscribe Torque Boxsters on Facebook. Paul Lewis who runs it is more than happy to answer any questions and I’d strongly recommend you get him to look after the car. He’s based in Sunbury and he’s probably one of if not the best 986 specialists there is. Seconded. Also OP get yourself on boxanet forum-very friendly forum with lots of great advice

Also is it pretty standard for sellers to lie and say they were verbally told by a previous owner that the IMS/RMS had been changed but have no paperwork. The first time I heard it i let it fly, but heard it twice now so just wondering if it is BS.

Healthy scepticism can do no harm. I ask myself how many times I've lost paperwork for major work...zero.

I'd second getting a pre-purchase inspection done. I bought a Boxster unseen and had it inspected by Precision Porsche. They gave me a full run down of what needed doing when over coming years (basically a plan). As someone else said, these are all old cars and parts can be expensive, especially if like me you aren't good with the spanners. I wouldn't worry about the RMS (some engines just weep and Porsche ended up refusing to do it under warranty) and the IMS is a relatively low risk (bore score too). But go into it with your eyes open as the wear and tear items can add up if they all need doing at once. Rads, condensers, brake pipes, suspension bushes, springs, dampers, discs, expansion tank, tyres etc could all add up to £10k+ if not doing it yourself. On a £5k car it would be a bonus to see some of these have been done in recent years but I wouldn't expect it. I've had two 986s and a 996 and all have been hugely rewarding but cost me (well) over £2k a year with specialists to keep them mechanically fresh.

I would echo this, Paul Lewis from torque Boxsters is a great bloke and very knowledgeable on 986’s he also usually has one or 2 for sale, he always sells good cars with all necessary works done. I drove to him from Gloucestershire for some work on mine and an inspection and would happily do the same again ! Alternatively you could buy mine for £10k ! 46k on clock and needs nothing Smollet said: If you do get one subscribe Torque Boxsters on Facebook. Paul Lewis who runs it is more than happy to answer any questions and I’d strongly recommend you get him to look after the car. He’s based in Sunbury and he’s probably one of if not the best 986 specialists there is.

and31 said: Is he the same person that did a marvellous job of inspecting another PHer’s prospective 986 a while ago?-said it was all good,car was sold for scrap shortly after purchase……. Some seem to swear by him, though having been on the receiving end of one of his "inspections" and knowing the list of caveats that apply to his inspections : ie that he won't undertake any kind of inspection that requires mechanical intervention (bore-scoping or leakdown/compression test) I'd much rather take a car to a proper garage with a ramp/vehicle lift so they can inspect the underside properly and in the case of M96/M97 engined cars, have the bores scoped at the same time.

Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986.

hiphopjunkie75 said: Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986. Yes Paul Lewis Torque Boxsters is in Sunbury on Thames Edited by the benno on Wednesday 16th April 06:51

hiphopjunkie75 said: Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986. At least you purchased the car with your eyes wide open to possible future expense. Always a stab in the dark when you purchase a used car, no matter what age…enjoy

hiphopjunkie75 said: Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986. Torque Boxsters Lower Sunbury Close to London

TROOPER88 said: hiphopjunkie75 said: Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986. Torque Boxsters Lower Sunbury Close to London I was just going to say the same but you beat me to it.

hiphopjunkie75 said: Thanks for all your help everyone. Bought the 3.2 and it's driving beautifully. Might take it for a long ride this weekend but wanted to get a service done before (not been serviced in 2 years). Do you know any porsche specialists who you recommend in the London area? It's a 2004 Boxster 3.2, 986. I'll put in another good word about Paul from Torque Boxsters. A very helpful and honest gent who helped me with the purchase of my 2003 Boxster S a couple of years ago. Really helped me buy a wonderful car and Paul inspected and maintained mine and I would not hesitate to recommend him for any work on yours. My car at Paul's workshop.

spoolio said: hiphopjunkie75 said: I'm looking to buy my first Porsche - a Boxster 3.2 from 2003. The dealer wants ~£4,999 for it, with 93K miles and doesn't look like any work has been done on the IMS bearing or RMS. Apparently there's a full service history which I've not yet seen. What questions should I be asking to work out if there are any issues? Thanks for your help! At that sort of price I wouldn't really ask them anything. Unless they know the car well they will only be able to tell you what you can already ascertain yourself, and even if they do know it, at the end of the day, they are selling a car. I trust no one and into every sale with my eyes absolutely wide open which is sad but I expect no favours. Or you pay above the odds and buy from a known marque-specialist who wouldn't want the reputational aggro of selling a dud. I'd be looking at it hard, myself and making my own conclusions. Check the service history to see if it's at least consistent and that there are no gaping holes in it. If it's got climate, check it works. Check there's no evidence of damp under the seats or along the rear bulkhead carpeting ie, mould, funny stains etc. Do the remotes work on both keys? Does even come with both keys? Are the headlights going hazy? Does it have Cruise and does it work? Does the roof open and close OK? Are the side elastics on the roof still good. Any evidence of accident damage on the body or rot on the trailing edges of the front arches or leading edges of the sills? Look underneath at the general state of the floors and sills. Is there any sign of careless jacking (crimped/collapsed sill flanges, cracked underfloor trays, ,mangled A/C pipes etc). Get a torch and look into the front bumpers either side and see if the rads and condensers are showing any signs of weeping or leaf/road crap build up. Does the car "look" straight when you look at it (panel gaps / paint mismatches). Get into a position where the light reflects off it and look along the body sides to see if there are any inconsistencies to indicate damage but bear in mind its 22 years old. Is the exhaust showing any signs of blowing or outright bodgery? It won't look pretty (unless its a quality stainless set up which is unlikely at that price) but if its solid-ish then that's as good as you can expect. Are the struts showing any signs of leakage, are the springs OK or showing significant corrosion? Are the tyres "in date"? Even if they have good tread left, if they're showing cracking in the tread or inner sidewall, or are over 5 years old, factor in replacements as it'll probably handle a bit oddly if the tyre has age-hardened. Do the electrics work? Is the interior OK. Start it from cold, do all the lights go out on the dash, does it blow any smoke (a little bit on start up wouldn't be unusual but it should clear more or less immediately). Any metallic ticking noises that don't go away after a short time? Is there any evidence of oil in the coolant tank? Does it drive OK, is the clutch good? Any knocks from the suspension? All standard used car stuff. Don't fixate on the RMS/IMS. It's 22 years old (I think I said that already) so if it's survived this long and its been driven a reasonable amount every year and had oil changes more or less consistent with the mileage, I wouldn't sweat about it. The ones I worry about are the garage queens that haven't done more than a 1000 miles a year ie 250 miles a month then laid up for 8 months. You can go to the trouble of getting it bore-scoped and professionally PPI'd but at £5k it's probably more pragmatic to expect a few issues and put some money to one side to fix them and get it to a good base line, then just keep on top of the normal maintenance, drive it often and enjoy it. And if it breaks, it's life. Put it into context, £5k (or £4500-£4750) is not a lot of money these days. I've just been to look locally at a 2011 Fiat Panda 1.2 with 55k on it , as I need a basic dog car, and it was an absolutely shed in the flesh. And they were asking £2,500. For £5k I'd probably prefer the 986. I'm looking to buy one of these for the summer. This was a great post, thanks!

Thanks Everyone! Took it to Paul Lewis at torque Boxsters from your recommendation and was not disappointed. He changed my PAS/steering rack and replaced my clutch spring and now the car is driving beautifully. Couldn't be happier. Great guy. Next time though, I'd buy through him vs open market!

nessiemac said: I'll put in another good word about Paul from Torque Boxsters. A very helpful and honest gent who helped me with the purchase of my 2003 Boxster S a couple of years ago. Really helped me buy a wonderful car and Paul inspected and maintained mine and I would not hesitate to recommend him for any work on yours. My car at Paul's workshop. That's a lovely colour!

CanAm said: nessiemac said: I'll put in another good word about Paul from Torque Boxsters. A very helpful and honest gent who helped me with the purchase of my 2003 Boxster S a couple of years ago. Really helped me buy a wonderful car and Paul inspected and maintained mine and I would not hesitate to recommend him for any work on yours. My car at Paul's workshop. That's a lovely colour! It certainly is. In the right light it is just stunning!

maz8062 said: spoolio said: hiphopjunkie75 said: I'm looking to buy my first Porsche - a Boxster 3.2 from 2003. The dealer wants ~£4,999 for it, with 93K miles and doesn't look like any work has been done on the IMS bearing or RMS. Apparently there's a full service history which I've not yet seen. What questions should I be asking to work out if there are any issues? Thanks for your help! At that sort of price I wouldn't really ask them anything. Unless they know the car well they will only be able to tell you what you can already ascertain yourself, and even if they do know it, at the end of the day, they are selling a car. I trust no one and into every sale with my eyes absolutely wide open which is sad but I expect no favours. Or you pay above the odds and buy from a known marque-specialist who wouldn't want the reputational aggro of selling a dud. I'd be looking at it hard, myself and making my own conclusions. Check the service history to see if it's at least consistent and that there are no gaping holes in it. If it's got climate, check it works. Check there's no evidence of damp under the seats or along the rear bulkhead carpeting ie, mould, funny stains etc. Do the remotes work on both keys? Does even come with both keys? Are the headlights going hazy? Does it have Cruise and does it work? Does the roof open and close OK? Are the side elastics on the roof still good. Any evidence of accident damage on the body or rot on the trailing edges of the front arches or leading edges of the sills? Look underneath at the general state of the floors and sills. Is there any sign of careless jacking (crimped/collapsed sill flanges, cracked underfloor trays, ,mangled A/C pipes etc). Get a torch and look into the front bumpers either side and see if the rads and condensers are showing any signs of weeping or leaf/road crap build up. Does the car "look" straight when you look at it (panel gaps / paint mismatches). Get into a position where the light reflects off it and look along the body sides to see if there are any inconsistencies to indicate damage but bear in mind its 22 years old. Is the exhaust showing any signs of blowing or outright bodgery? It won't look pretty (unless its a quality stainless set up which is unlikely at that price) but if its solid-ish then that's as good as you can expect. Are the struts showing any signs of leakage, are the springs OK or showing significant corrosion? Are the tyres "in date"? Even if they have good tread left, if they're showing cracking in the tread or inner sidewall, or are over 5 years old, factor in replacements as it'll probably handle a bit oddly if the tyre has age-hardened. Do the electrics work? Is the interior OK. Start it from cold, do all the lights go out on the dash, does it blow any smoke (a little bit on start up wouldn't be unusual but it should clear more or less immediately). Any metallic ticking noises that don't go away after a short time? Is there any evidence of oil in the coolant tank? Does it drive OK, is the clutch good? Any knocks from the suspension? All standard used car stuff. Don't fixate on the RMS/IMS. It's 22 years old (I think I said that already) so if it's survived this long and its been driven a reasonable amount every year and had oil changes more or less consistent with the mileage, I wouldn't sweat about it. The ones I worry about are the garage queens that haven't done more than a 1000 miles a year ie 250 miles a month then laid up for 8 months. You can go to the trouble of getting it bore-scoped and professionally PPI'd but at £5k it's probably more pragmatic to expect a few issues and put some money to one side to fix them and get it to a good base line, then just keep on top of the normal maintenance, drive it often and enjoy it. And if it breaks, it's life. Put it into context, £5k (or £4500-£4750) is not a lot of money these days. I've just been to look locally at a 2011 Fiat Panda 1.2 with 55k on it , as I need a basic dog car, and it was an absolutely shed in the flesh. And they were asking £2,500. For £5k I'd probably prefer the 986. I'm looking to buy one of these for the summer. This was a great post, thanks! While all of the above is good I think there is a bit of a hole. When buying a 22 year old Porsche you are effectively burying a very risky proposition. These cars can easily swallow a lot of money if you want one that is right. If you buy one that isn't right and go down the road of making it right you can easily spend a lot of money. Obviously most people have a different definition of what is right. But even the least most demanding buyer can still get burnt. So to keep this short and simple I would advise any potentially interested parties to ask what has been done to the car they're looking to buy. A 22 year old Porsche with a long list of recent repairs isn't a red flag it is the opposite, is that a green flag. The red flag car is the one which has had no repairs. So think of it this way, you are effectively buying the list of recent work rather than the car itself. So if you can buy a car which has a long list of stuff done compared to one with a short list then buy the first car. It will probably cost you less in the long run. But be warned the car you buy will probably still spit out some surprise bills all the same. So please don't buy a cheap car thinking you did well. Buy a car you will still want to keep even if it tries to test your resolve, because it will. Remember there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche.

ATM said: While all of the above is good I think there is a bit of a hole. When buying a 22 year old Porsche you are effectively burying a very risky proposition. These cars can easily swallow a lot of money if you want one that is right. If you buy one that isn't right and go down the road of making it right you can easily spend a lot of money. Obviously most people have a different definition of what is right. But even the least most demanding buyer can still get burnt. So to keep this short and simple I would advise any potentially interested parties to ask what has been done to the car they're looking to buy. A 22 year old Porsche with a long list of recent repairs isn't a red flag it is the opposite, is that a green flag. The red flag car is the one which has had no repairs. So think of it this way, you are effectively buying the list of recent work rather than the car itself. So if you can buy a car which has a long list of stuff done compared to one with a short list then buy the first car. It will probably cost you less in the long run. But be warned the car you buy will probably still spit out some surprise bills all the same. So please don't buy a cheap car thinking you did well. Buy a car you will still want to keep even if it tries to test your resolve, because it will. Remember there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. Totally agree! Buy the car that's had money spent on it over the years. I went into Boxster ownership with my eyes wide open and although the cars' purchased price was cheap, I was all to aware that big bills could occur. It's one of the reasons I bought a 986 and had a wad of cash should anything happen. About a year in I had a £2,500 bill which could have been even higher if I'd done a few other things like the aircon.. At the time I thought that was chunky but since then it hasn't cost me much more outside of the usual servicing costs. To put it into perspective, a friend had a lot of work done to her 986......£7k's worth!! And another Aston DB7 owner had a £20k bill whilst a neighbour's paid £4.5k on his Jag XKR. I feel that I've h=got off lightly. I know when I sell mine I wont get much for it as it's got lacquer peel and a few other paint issues but as a car to get out and drive, I can't fault it. A few friends with multiple Porsches in the garage have bought 986s in the last couple of years and love them. Says a lot when there's also a 991.2 in the garage.

Worth a read here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=20...

ATM said: While all of the above is good I think there is a bit of a hole. When buying a 22 year old Porsche you are effectively burying a very risky proposition. These cars can easily swallow a lot of money if you want one that is right. If you buy one that isn't right and go down the road of making it right you can easily spend a lot of money. Obviously most people have a different definition of what is right. But even the least most demanding buyer can still get burnt. So to keep this short and simple I would advise any potentially interested parties to ask what has been done to the car they're looking to buy. A 22 year old Porsche with a long list of recent repairs isn't a red flag it is the opposite, is that a green flag. The red flag car is the one which has had no repairs. So think of it this way, you are effectively buying the list of recent work rather than the car itself. So if you can buy a car which has a long list of stuff done compared to one with a short list then buy the first car. It will probably cost you less in the long run. But be warned the car you buy will probably still spit out some surprise bills all the same. So please don't buy a cheap car thinking you did well. Buy a car you will still want to keep even if it tries to test your resolve, because it will. Remember there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. Spot on. There are so many "Never missed a beat and cost me nothing" cars around, and they're all just dogs with a list of deferred maintenance as long as your arm.

BS62 said: ATM said: While all of the above is good I think there is a bit of a hole. When buying a 22 year old Porsche you are effectively burying a very risky proposition. These cars can easily swallow a lot of money if you want one that is right. If you buy one that isn't right and go down the road of making it right you can easily spend a lot of money. Obviously most people have a different definition of what is right. But even the least most demanding buyer can still get burnt. So to keep this short and simple I would advise any potentially interested parties to ask what has been done to the car they're looking to buy. A 22 year old Porsche with a long list of recent repairs isn't a red flag it is the opposite, is that a green flag. The red flag car is the one which has had no repairs. So think of it this way, you are effectively buying the list of recent work rather than the car itself. So if you can buy a car which has a long list of stuff done compared to one with a short list then buy the first car. It will probably cost you less in the long run. But be warned the car you buy will probably still spit out some surprise bills all the same. So please don't buy a cheap car thinking you did well. Buy a car you will still want to keep even if it tries to test your resolve, because it will. Remember there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. Spot on. There are so many "Never missed a beat and cost me nothing" cars around, and they're all just dogs with a list of deferred maintenance as long as your arm. When I bought my 987, it had every receipt since new, and it came to about £22,000.

I bought one. Not a fan. Cheap to buy, bloody expensive to run, finicky, vacuum leaks. Hard work. Money pit. Fantastic handling. Wouldn't again.

BS62 said: ATM said: While all of the above is good I think there is a bit of a hole. When buying a 22 year old Porsche you are effectively burying a very risky proposition. These cars can easily swallow a lot of money if you want one that is right. If you buy one that isn't right and go down the road of making it right you can easily spend a lot of money. Obviously most people have a different definition of what is right. But even the least most demanding buyer can still get burnt. So to keep this short and simple I would advise any potentially interested parties to ask what has been done to the car they're looking to buy. A 22 year old Porsche with a long list of recent repairs isn't a red flag it is the opposite, is that a green flag. The red flag car is the one which has had no repairs. So think of it this way, you are effectively buying the list of recent work rather than the car itself. So if you can buy a car which has a long list of stuff done compared to one with a short list then buy the first car. It will probably cost you less in the long run. But be warned the car you buy will probably still spit out some surprise bills all the same. So please don't buy a cheap car thinking you did well. Buy a car you will still want to keep even if it tries to test your resolve, because it will. Remember there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. Spot on. There are so many "Never missed a beat and cost me nothing" cars around, and they're all just dogs with a list of deferred maintenance as long as your arm. When I bought my 986S I had viewed quite a few and had plenty of options within budget. (I had enough for a 987 and was tempted by getting a 2.7 Cayman as an only car instead, but decided I liked the idea of a more "classic" car experience). Out of all the cars I was looking at I ended up with the one with the highest milage and possibly the slightly tattier bodywork. This was all because it had a massive stack of receipts, old and recent works being done, very clean MOT throughout it's whole life considering it was 20+ years old and it also had a lot of rare options I liked. So far it's not cost me too much, but there is a slight list of things which I would like to do this winter. But that's just a brake and potential suspension refresh. Neither of which are urgently needing done, but thought I'd do some preventative measures.

TROOPER88 said: Torque Boxsters Lower Sunbury Close to London Is this not your own company?:

zalrak said: TROOPER88 said: Torque Boxsters Lower Sunbury Close to London Is this not your own company?: Nothing wrong with him doing that at all. He has a very good reputation, by the way.

paulguitar said: Nothing wrong with him doing that at all. He has a very good reputation, by the way. I totally agree but I think it would be fair to at least mention it at the same time. The thread has already highlighted issues with an inspection by another assessor that went awry. Edit to add: I have 986 and do check out Boxa.net from time to time and have seen some of the positive feedback for him. However I hadn't made the connection to here. Edited by zalrak on Tuesday 10th June 13:54

zalrak said: I totally agree but I think it would be fair to at least mention it at the same time. The thread has already highlighted issues with an inspection by another assessor that went awry. Edit to add: I have 986 and do check out Boxa.net from time to time and have seen some of the positive feedback for him. However I hadn't made the connection to here. Edited by zalrak on Tuesday 10th June 13:54 Correct I have made it very clear on another PH thread but apologise if you did not know.

zalrak said: I totally agree but I think it would be fair to at least mention it at the same time. The thread has already highlighted issues with an inspection by another assessor that went awry. Edit to add: I have 986 and do check out Boxa.net from time to time and have seen some of the positive feedback for him. However I hadn't made the connection to here. Edited by zalrak on Tuesday 10th June 13:54 My Boxa name is identical....

paulguitar said: Nothing wrong with him doing that at all. He has a very good reputation, by the way. Many thanks Paul

Semmelweiss said: Trooper88 has been fantastic in sorting out my Booster with brake pipe bursting, rear suspension, exhaust furniture. Much better than any of the "named specialists". Thanks Paul. Cautionary note about the typo - I'm assuming - Booster instead of Boxster. A PHer has built a car and he is calling the car or project Booster as he plans to sell kits. It uses a different Turbo engine from VAG with numbers approaching 500 bhp. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=20... https://www.porscheclubgb.com/news-and-events/news...

TROOPER88 said: My Boxa name is identical.... Yes, that penny has now dropped...

zalrak said: Yes, that penny has now dropped... Haha, it's cool Hope your 986 is going well

Trooper88 has been fantastic in sorting out my Boxster with brake pipe bursting, rear suspension, exhaust furniture. Much better than any of the "named specialists". Thanks Paul. Edited by Semmelweiss on Wednesday 11th June 15:29

Thank you, indeed it is. Gratuitous photo for no particular reason:

spoolio said: At that sort of price I wouldn't really ask them anything. Unless they know the car well they will only be able to tell you what you can already ascertain yourself, and even if they do know it, at the end of the day, they are selling a car. I trust no one and into every sale with my eyes absolutely wide open which is sad but I expect no favours. Or you pay above the odds and buy from a known marque-specialist who wouldn't want the reputational aggro of selling a dud. I'd be looking at it hard, myself and making my own conclusions. Check the service history to see if it's at least consistent and that there are no gaping holes in it. If it's got climate, check it works. Check there's no evidence of damp under the seats or along the rear bulkhead carpeting ie, mould, funny stains etc. Do the remotes work on both keys? Does even come with both keys? Are the headlights going hazy? Does it have Cruise and does it work? Does the roof open and close OK? Are the side elastics on the roof still good. Any evidence of accident damage on the body or rot on the trailing edges of the front arches or leading edges of the sills? Look underneath at the general state of the floors and sills. Is there any sign of careless jacking (crimped/collapsed sill flanges, cracked underfloor trays, ,mangled A/C pipes etc). Get a torch and look into the front bumpers either side and see if the rads and condensers are showing any signs of weeping or leaf/road crap build up. Does the car "look" straight when you look at it (panel gaps / paint mismatches). Get into a position where the light reflects off it and look along the body sides to see if there are any inconsistencies to indicate damage but bear in mind its 22 years old. Is the exhaust showing any signs of blowing or outright bodgery? It won't look pretty (unless its a quality stainless set up which is unlikely at that price) but if its solid-ish then that's as good as you can expect. Are the struts showing any signs of leakage, are the springs OK or showing significant corrosion? Are the tyres "in date"? Even if they have good tread left, if they're showing cracking in the tread or inner sidewall, or are over 5 years old, factor in replacements as it'll probably handle a bit oddly if the tyre has age-hardened. Do the electrics work? Is the interior OK. Start it from cold, do all the lights go out on the dash, does it blow any smoke (a little bit on start up wouldn't be unusual but it should clear more or less immediately). Any metallic ticking noises that don't go away after a short time? Is there any evidence of oil in the coolant tank? Does it drive OK, is the clutch good? Any knocks from the suspension? All standard used car stuff. Don't fixate on the RMS/IMS. It's 22 years old (I think I said that already) so if it's survived this long and its been driven a reasonable amount every year and had oil changes more or less consistent with the mileage, I wouldn't sweat about it. The ones I worry about are the garage queens that haven't done more than a 1000 miles a year ie 250 miles a month then laid up for 8 months. You can go to the trouble of getting it bore-scoped and professionally PPI'd but at £5k it's probably more pragmatic to expect a few issues and put some money to one side to fix them and get it to a good base line, then just keep on top of the normal maintenance, drive it often and enjoy it. And if it breaks, it's life. Put it into context, £5k (or £4500-£4750) is not a lot of money these days. I've just been to look locally at a 2011 Fiat Panda 1.2 with 55k on it , as I need a basic dog car, and it was an absolutely shed in the flesh. And they were asking £2,500. For £5k I'd probably prefer the 986.

Paragraphs anyone?

TameRacingDriver said: Paragraphs anyone? Agreed. TL/DR

A genuinely intimidating read.

Hi just brought a boxster s and would like it serviced by Paul Lewis anyone have his contact information please

keith pockett said: Hi just brought a boxster s and would like it serviced by Paul Lewis anyone have his contact information please This is his profile here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=...

keith pockett said: Hi just brought a boxster s and would like it serviced by Paul Lewis anyone have his contact information please If you PM me your number I can pass it on to Paul. I will also WhatsApp him and tell him to take a look at this thread. You won’t regret using him.

Thanks guys: www.torqueboxsters.co.uk Paul