Ouch!!! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Took my car into the local Porsche dealer for a look at a couple of problems and was hit with an $15,000 estimate to fix everything. Please take a look at the attached action plans. As I see it, I have 2 options, try to fix the "FAIL" items or sell the vehicle as a project car. Which "FAIL" tasks can I accomplish at home and which will I have to take in? If this will be too large a task, what would the fair market value be for this car to be sold as is?

Wow, I guess it's not April 1st.... Every one of these tasks looks to be at least 5x or more than it should be. I hate the throw parts at a problem and hope for the best. Do you want breakdown of each repair?? How are your wrenching skills?? You should find a local independant shop as well to estimate this work.

Did you just buy this car, or have had it a while? The serp belt and window regulator are easy DIY

If you are mechanically inclined, you can fix a lot of those problems yourself. Replacing the AOS and spark plugs will probably solve most of your misfiring problems. Those parts will set you back a whopping $230 and take you a Saturday to do.

15 000$ for that ! Where is that dealership I want to work there ^^ Everything is way overpriced and none of these thing are really hard to do nor take really long time. They say the car is not drivable due to the clutch not realesing ? First, I would go somewhere else. Then consider do most of the thing yourself. No need to sell it as a project car.

Well, KBB says a '99 base in fair condition is worth about $5700... Since it needs $15,300 worth of work according to the dealer, you should pay the next owner $9,600 to drive it away. I'll drive it away for 1/2 that! Seriously, go see and Indy and get a realistic assessment. I'm honestly shocked that dealership didn't try to sell you $4000 in tires and $200 worth of air to fill them up.

You can buy another, newer, Boxster for that and use yours for spare parts.

Thanks for the feedback. FYI, I took this to Brumos in Jacksonville, FL. My wrenching skills are ok, plus I have the "Projects" book. I paid $5k for the car knowing I would put a few grand into it. Regarding the clutch, it releases just fine. Some difficulty getting into 1st and reverse. I suspected the Master Cylinder had a leak and that doesn't look like a difficult task. Will probably start with plugs first and go from there. Again, thanks for the advise. Time to start getting pieces and parts together. It's a big elephant and I'll have to eat it one bite at a time...

Try to rent a lift, it can makes a lot of things easier ! If the clutch releases, there is no problem with the master or slave cylinder. Does it go in any other gear at a stop ?

BEN 006 It is sometimes difficult to get into first gear is static (idling). Reverse is more difficult. There are other times when it goes in smoothly, no resistance. When it is impossible to get it into 1st or reverse, I shut the car down, shift it then start it back up and continue on. Happens more with reverse. Occasionally, there is some resistance going into 2nd.

At those prices you should be getting a sponsor logo on one of Brumos' race cars. These cars hate vacuum leaks. Sort out the vacuum leak first: AOS & oil filler hose. The reverse/first problem may just be a shifter adjustment issue.

try Omega motorsports or technical dimensions in Jax. Omega owner and 1st Mechanic worked at Brumos for a combined 28 yrs? The stories they told me were scary. T. D prices are close to Brumos. If you enjoy wrenching and have time and money go down the road you are on as far as diy. If you are planning on paying someone else consider another car.Please feel free to P.M. for more lengthy conversation by phone if you like. I am at the beach in Jax.

Better hurry, estimate only valid for 30 days

Quotes source post: 471435

And when it's hard to go in first or reserve, is hard to go into the other gear ? I'm asking that to locate the problem, if it's a clutch/clutch hydraulics problem, or a gearbox/shifter mechanism problem. If it's a clutch problem, it will prevent you from going into any gear. If the problem is only for some gear, it comes from the gearbox. Of course... it can be both... It's always hard to exactly point the problem without seeing the car ! You might just running low on old gearbox oil, mine shifts way better since I changed it.

That's crazy, I would definitely get another estimate or do the work yourself. It sounds like most of it probably doesn't need to be done or at least not right away. The headlights are any easy swap if they really need to be replaced, although they are a bit pricey. I would just fix what's has to be done for now.

Get the order of things in line so you don't have a failure while changing wiper blades....

Haha! Another stupid ass dealer quote. And then dealers wonder why no one likes them?

Quotes source post: 471418

Things you can do yourself: Window regulator Air oil seperator Clutch adjustment (Check slave cylinder for leaks, Adjust cable accordingly) Ignition switch (you just need the manual, it's easier than it sounds) Replace coolant tank - Pain in the rear, but after doing the AOS and clutch adjustment you will see exactly what you need to do to remove the coolant tank. Right and left headlights - Get them used on Ebay or Woody from this forum ($500 or less for both) Lastly: Set fire to that shop

You can do all of the "Fail" items yourself. It takes time and commitment, but you can do them all. This forum will help make that happen.

I inherited my grandmothers car. It had every dealer receipt in the glovebox rolled up in about a solid one inch scroll. One was "remove and clean intake manifold". The PDFs you have provided bring that to mind.