can i afford a 981 boxter - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

hi all , sorry this will most likely be quite a long post so bare with me.. I currently own a spotless much loved white Golf GTI ( worth about 11k) but have had my head turned by a convertible. Started looking and fell in love with the Boxter . Firstly the 987 but recently the 981. I have been doing lots of research as to running costs. We have a well respected Indy nearby , Revolution in Birstall. had a chat to them re service costs etc and they don't seem too bad considering its every 2 years . My mileage will be low as live near work so walk and bike ( will do barely 3500 a year ) The Golf was the most expensive car I've owned and the 981 will put another 8-10k on it. As a non millionaire I guess I am nervous should anything go drastically wrong , it would cost me thousands.. ( is warranty a option) the one i was looking at has fresh service and new tyres so that's a good start?? surely a set of tyres should last 10k miles . That's 3 years in my world so at 800-1000 per set that's still less that 300 per year.. I know its hard to put yourself in someone else's position as you don't know mine ( I don't want to make it sound like am totally skint lol ) , I guess I want some reassurance that if I buy well and do lots of research and look after it then it will serve me well . Would it be safer paying extra but buying from a garage for example ?? cheers all

So, the youngest one will be about 8 years old and the oldest c12yrs. I have a 997 911, so an older generation to the 981 and may not be comparable?? But, my 911 was 10 years when I bought it and I still have it at 18years old. It has cost A LOT of money to maintain. I'm sure you'll love the car but I would strongly advise that you keep funds available for on-going maintenance. Not sure Porsche's components fail any more often than other cars, but they are usually more costly to replace and even an Indy will charge £100++ an hour for labour. On a car of 8-12 years ols coolant pipes, suspension wear, brakes etc, all the usual stuff will crop up through ownership. Clutch depending on miles etc. Maybe try and find one where some of this stuff has been done?? Servicing isn't really that much of an issue but some of the jobs that crop up on a Porsche are more expensive due to the configuration of the car - e.g. mine needed rear coolant pipes earlier this year and that required the engine to come out which was 18hrs labour! You can read up on what'll likely crop up and when and so you should be able to prepare for it. Go in to it with your eyes open and some funds kept available (at least £2-3k) and you should be fine. In the last 3 years my 911 has required £11k spending on mechanical upkeep, none of which was discretionary. But, that's an older car!

Chris340gti said: I have been doing lots of research as to running costs. We have a well respected Indy nearby , Revolution in Birstall. had a chat to them re service costs etc and they don't seem too bad considering its every 2 years . In reality its never going to just be the off-the-shelf service cost, there will something else needed that can send the bill spiralling into thousands. Can that is, not always. Not to scare you, just being a realist. You'd need to ring-fence more than what I sense you think it will cost every two years.

I recently had my sports Chrono clock replaced under warranty, but the dealer tells me it would have cost around £1k. A quick Google suggests they are right. Nothing is cheap on these cars.

What is your budget? When newer the high residuals make them a great prospect under warranty. Later on out of warranty there are certain issues that could make ownership expensive. I’d be trying for an early 718 pdk myself, ideally under warranty. Just won’t lose money vs an out of warranty much older 981 that could get very expensive.

I had a 987 cayman S, I did tons of work on the car myself-oil changes and brakes are very easy indeed-no way would I be paying someone else to do them! , I did a suspension overhaul which was a bit daunting but not too bad, but there is always something that needs doing at the “specialist “ and it still cost me a fortune in the two years I owned it before it got written off Lovely cars but just beware even if you do a lot yourself it “might” cost significantly more than your golf

My suggestion, Buy a manual transmission car With as few glitzy extras as possible - do you really need switchable suspension and electronic engine mounts? They tend to go expensively wrong. Look after it properly. Shouldn't be expensive to run. The service interval is two years so even at £1,000 a time that's only £500 a year - unless you're doing mega mileage and the services come round more quickly. As ever, when buying a used car buy the best you can afford - never get sucked into a cheaper one that "just needs a few bits and pieces done". The main points are, Overall condition, and Service history.

I’m not sure this is particularly helpful given I bought a 718S and budget therefore quite a bit higher, but … I was also worried about potential costs, so bought from Porsche - it came with a warranty (which we used in the first week!) but other than that, it’s only cost what I expected it to. Interim service at Porsche, to keep the warranty, was about £1k, full set of tyres was £1200 and I think that’s it. Admittedly, it’s a second / third car, so only gets driven when I feel like it and mileage is only a few thousand a year. Next year will be more expensive, bigger service and another £1k for the warranty if I extend it and that’s assuming nothing breaks. The other lesson I’ve learnt is that OPC are useless, so I’d go for a good indie next time!

peterfield781 said: What is your budget? When newer the high residuals make them a great prospect under warranty. Later on out of warranty there are certain issues that could make ownership expensive. I’d be trying for an early 718 pdk myself, ideally under warranty. Just won’t lose money vs an out of warranty much older 981 that could get very expensive. £19k-£21K but the sounds of it

Personally I would not run a Porsche without one of their extended warranty as I just don't want any big bills hanging over my head. Ideally buy one privately that has one already (it can be transfered) Be wary of any non Porsche dealer selling a car with the official extended warranty - it cannot be transferred. You may get away with it (I did in the past) if you don't let on to the OPC. If you buy from an OPC it will come with 2 year extended warranty which is worth about £1700(?) plus some form of good will from them if there are some grey area of issues. Alternatively buy private or from non OPC warranty (with full Porsche service history) and then purchase the extended warranty from OPC after 3 months. Saying all this my GT4 has been faultless and the warranty doesn't cover everything. Its the parts - they are not cheap and as someone mentioned above - avoid any options that have dynamic settings etc. I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr vs OPC £200-300/hr - they can be used under warranty still I believe so as long as they use genuine parts. If you are not doing many miles and its more of a weekend summer car I'd be looking at a Lotus Elise - way more fun and cost pennies to run and maintain. Edited by bosshog on Wednesday 23 October 22:39

Gixer968CS said: Servicing isn't really that much of an issue but some of the jobs that crop up on a Porsche are more expensive due to the configuration of the car - e.g. mine needed rear coolant pipes earlier this year and that required the engine to come out which was 18hrs labour! I remember reading a report on a Nurburgring 72 hours race where a Porsche team changed a hot 911 engine in a 22 MINUTE pit-stop!

bosshog said: I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr Where is this!?

Go and see RPM at Knaresborough. They often have 981s in and are honest, their cars are well prepared and the good ones. i would expect Revolution have given you a good sense of likely things and cost, but good to get a second opinion. I wouldn’t bother with an OPC for one of these, you’re going to pay through the nose. You’ve got a decent indie and there are others. I am sure you’ll be paying less than £100 an hour. The question is what can you afford should it need it and what can’t you afford should it need it.

KittyLitter said: peterfield781 said: What is your budget? When newer the high residuals make them a great prospect under warranty. Later on out of warranty there are certain issues that could make ownership expensive. I’d be trying for an early 718 pdk myself, ideally under warranty. Just won’t lose money vs an out of warranty much older 981 that could get very expensive. £19k-£21K but the sounds of it That won't buy a 981 Boxster from an OPC. If you do by one there expect to lose £5k when you drive it off the forecourt. Warranty is your choice. Yes it's 'only' c£600pa (plus inspection and major service if it's been out of the network - that's £2.5k to start along with taking off and replacing any non genuine parts) then bank on paying £1k at an OPC for an interim service and £1,700 for a major with plugs. An Indy in your neck of the woods will be a third of the cost and things can be fixed whereas the Porsche answer is to just exchange the part for a new one hence the high 'repair' costs often quoted. I looked at several high miles 981 that were (18 months ago) c£20k, most seemed bulletproof and had worn the mileage well with a mix of OPC and Indy servicing with no howlers flagging up. In the end I bought a cheap 718 as the cost differential for a newer and improved car was a no brainer. That said I was all set to buy a private sale fully optioned ex demo 981 2.7 but the seller started to change his mind. I just thought I'd try a 718 for comparion and that was it. I don't have a warranty and my Indy services it. 981 Boxsters are a 'solid' buy in base spec are well built and appear robust. Check the side skirts near the intakes as they can get hammered with road rash. Electric power steering failure can be an issue which is a £2k fix (or £3k with OPC). Consumables will be more expensive than the golf but overall the cars seem to hold up well.

hi and thanks for all the replies.. So I wont be buying from a OPC as i don't have the kinda cash. But I will buy from a garage rather than private.. couldn't take that kinda risk on a near 20k motor, Are the warranties available ( if any ) from a reputable local car dealers worth the paper they are written on?? I mean they wont cover every possible fault surely? The reports I've heard from the Revolution guys in Birstall sound good and the services don't look bad at all considering. So how long should tyres last ?? I wont be hooning around , well not too much anyway!! I'll only be doing 3/4 k miles tops per year , surely you must be looking at 3 years ?? and I've been looking around , am not sure where 1200 a set comes from. Seen them way cheaper then that.. And re garage costs, a little while ago I needed a new heater matrix on the Golf. My local German marque guy wanted 800 quid to do it , so I rang round and found a place 7 miles away ( loads of 5star reviews ) did it for 420.. happy days . So I appreciate some people will be happy paying a OPC 1200 for a service but it doesn't mean we all have to pay that.. Already been quoted 720 for a new clutch as a example.. so maybe ill put my trust in FSH , reputable seller and overall condition/miles..

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254... If you can see the link , that's what id be looking at. Not too flashy , nice subtle colour.. all round lovely to be cherished and polished and driven!!

Chris340gti said: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254... If you can see the link , that's what id be looking at. Not too flashy , nice subtle colour.. all round lovely to be cherished and polished and driven!! I reckon that is totally spot on. Don't hang about, that's at a respected dealer and it will sell.

If buying from an independent dealer (non Porsche specialist) I'd have a PPI done on it. It could save you a packet in unexpected bills. Warranty Wise seem to be a good provider of warranties but do your research and read the fine print.

If you don't want an OPC warranty you can put whatever tyres you want on the thing. I ran a 987 Boxster, then a 981 Cayman GTS and now a 718GT4, servicing and parts will be the major expense, I wouldn't worry about tyres if I am honest. The Boxster had a few issues which would have costs thousands but warranty covered it all, likewise my 981 was pretty bulletproof in the 40K miles I put on the thing, only thing that went wrong was a parking sensor, again covered under warranty. The GT4 sprung the PADM fault within a few hundred miles which again warranty covered. I'm all for having an OPC warranty given the above, but you're buying out of network so you just need to be prepared for any additional expense. They're reliable cars generally, but some things can go wrong, and some things are expensive, you say you have a good indy so you should be fine.

That’s interesting , thanks again. So if it is in the last stages of Warrenty , ya can just pay 1200 ?? Won’t need the service prior to that ??? That doesn’t seem so bad ..I’d have to look into what’s covered and what’s not , but of course it’s a gamble . As most have said it’s either a complete waste of money or a life ( car ) saver ..

scrounger73 said: If buying from an independent dealer (non Porsche specialist) I'd have a PPI done on it. It could save you a packet in unexpected bills. Warranty Wise seem to be a good provider of warranties but do your research and read the fine print. Generic third party warranties are not worth the paper it’s written on- “ good provider of warranties” can you back this up from experience claiming from Warranty Wise? And have a look at Tame Racing Driver’s thread on the 986 he bought after having a PPI done by a well respected and recognised guy-when it turned out his car was a bag of s te, the guy that did the PPI washed his hands of it despite saying it was a decent car… Edited by and31 on Thursday 24th October 18:53

and31 said: scrounger73 said: If buying from an independent dealer (non Porsche specialist) I'd have a PPI done on it. It could save you a packet in unexpected bills. Warranty Wise seem to be a good provider of warranties but do your research and read the fine print. Generic third party warranties are not worth the paper it’s written on- “ good provider of warranties” can you back this up from experience claiming from Warranty Wise? And have a look at Tame Racing Driver’s thread on the 986 he bought after having a PPI done by a well respected and recognised guy-when it turned out his car was a bag of s te, the guy that did the PPI washed his hands of it despite saying it was a decent car… Edited by and31 on Thursday 24th October 18:53 Hate to agree but that warranty direct thread with the bmw where they tried every trick in the book to avoid paying out severely damaged my trust in 3rd party warranties. Lord flashheart M5 thread is worth a google.

If you don't want to buy from an opc, which I can understand, it may be worth a private seller with full service history and opc warranty that can be transferred. That will give you some time to find any faults and the opc warranty will get you out of trouble. If you were based in the NW the Hartech do their own warranty that seems very good.

In 2008 I had only had vw golfs for the previous 25 years but was porsche daft and had to have a 987 boxster! I sold my 9 year old mk4 golf easily and was scanning the ads! A low mileage private sale came up in Newcastle and I was off. She was asking £26500 but remember this was when the car trade was imploding! She had been to the OPC and they were not interested in buying it back so I made an offer of £20k. Turned down but I got a phone call 2 days later offering it for £22k. Said my top and final offer was £20'500 which was accepted. Dealers were asking low 30's so I felt I had done well. I am strictly a diy service guy and I had not had it long when timing chain tensioner spewed oil over the garage floor but to my great relief it hadn't done the rms or worse. I still had to make a locking tool to keep the timing right when replacing tensioner but all ended well! I kept it for 5 years and it was only a spring ,discs and pads ,oil and filters after that. Traded it in for a 993 for £10500 so lost £10'000 in 5 years. The biggest loss I had had on a car by far but great memories. Toured Europe on my honeymoon and have treasured photos on the Furka,Nurburgring etc. Sometimes in life you just have to take a leap of faith! Good luck whatever you decide!

Depends on your appetite for risk if you want a warranty, but on the whole I believe the base spec 981 to be very robust so I'd be tempted to put some money aside just in case. I ran a GT4 for nearly 5yrs and yes I kept it in warranty with OPC along with the ridiculous service costs because it was a fairly new car and buyers were more picky come resale. I never had cause to claim on the warranty once. Where you are there are some very good Indys that have very keen pricing. When I bought my 718 it was checked over by the ex partner of Revolution who has set up on his own in Batley. He knows his onions, gave a really good appraisal and identified a few things the dealer had to put right before I bought it. I found him very fair, straight talking and very good pricing with good contacts to get parts. My 'go to' Indy is in Brighouse who I've known for over 15yrs and looked after my air cooled stuff. The car linked above looks good. The PCM has been replaced for a more modern unit that I suspect offers CarPlay etc. It won't give you the maps in the RH instrument dial but PCM3.1 was outdated before it went into the car!

I've run a 2014 2.7 pdk for 4 years, from 26k to 36k. Nothing has required fixing. Indy serviced twice, c £1,100 in total. Could have done all that myself for around a third of the cost and normally would on a car this age. Did front discs and pads myself recently, c £320. Tyres for me, well over 10k. I'll be changing them for age rather than wear. However and as has been said, these cars can throw a big bill at you. The 986 I had previously probably cost me on average £1k per year over 6 years. So can you afford one? If you're prepared and have the means to stomach a significant 4 figure cost (over and above servicing and consumables) should something expensive break then yes you can.

I feel like your appetite for risk is going to be the decider as to whether you proceed. Dotting I's and crossing T's for maintenance costs is very pragmatic when it comes to working out if you can afford to run a car but there's always the unknown and sometimes the unfortunate occurrences that you need to decide how you would cope with should they crop up. Example, tyres and servicing and known entities, but what happens if a bush or two goes bad, throws off the tracking and it eats a set of tyres in a few months, that's an example of an unfortunate situation that will cost you £1k or so to fix, does that cause you to pause or are you okay with it? I'd try to think like that as it's not fun having a car sat on the drive that takes away from other things. Personally, i'm risk averse so I paid a little more for main dealer cars that can remain within the OPC warranty for many years. This doesn't cover me for the situation described above (which is what happened to a mate with a 997 for reference), but it's within my wheelhouse for either a DIY repair or just paying up for it, so owning the car doesn't give me much concern. The ideal situation, in my view, would be to find a private seller who has a car that's currently under an OPC warranty so you can extend it easily and de-risk the big costs, and if you go into it with a view of having a few grand sat in a war chest that should stop worries about non-maintenance type costs that crop up. HTH

Hi OP - make sure to buy from a reputable Porsche specialist as some offer their own in-house warranty which is underwritten by themselves This gives you the confidence that 1) the specialist has checked the car over before selling it 2) means not having to jump through hoops dealing with underwriters if something goes wrong Feel free to check out my profile for the running costs of my old 987 which I had for 6 years & will give an idea of servicing/maintenance. Probably add 10-20% now though as parts & labour have increased. Tyres you should get 20k+ out of the rears, depends how hard you drive it & whether changing at 1.6mm lowest for MOT or 3mm recommended by tyre manufacturers. On maintenance/servicing, a lot of people do maintain these cars themselves, particuarly the classics. Yes, you will find Porsche indys cheaper than OPC & probably 'general' garages cheaper than Indy's. And even moreso if not in the South East. It's possible to shop around but make no mistake, most Boxster's are £50k+ new & carry the maintenance of a car that value, so even paying £20k it will still have running costs with a car of that value. Just work out what the most expensive thing to go wrong will be and how much it'll cost to put it right. Porsche Club & Pistonheads have their own buyers guides detailing costs of out-of-service maintenance tasks. Little point having a car where everytime it gets driven there's a concern about affording maintenance.

paulguitar said: bosshog said: I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr Where is this!? Me too. Mine is Porsche Euro in a village near to Barnsley.

944 Man said: paulguitar said: bosshog said: I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr Where is this!? Me too. Mine is Porsche Euro in a village near to Barnsley. Is your Indy also £60 per hour? If so I can foresee some trips to Barnsley in my future…

I bought my 2013 2.7 PDK from a local specialist nearly a year ago, they gave me a 3 month warranty funded themselves as they said third party warranties weren’t up to much A couple of minor things needed fixing, but other than that it’s been perfect They had already done the following before I bought it from them; 2 N rated tyres 4 discs and pads Condensers The 2.7 and PDK seem pretty robust if you look after them Wonderful cars, I’ve had many quicker ones but it’s just right

My number one piece of advice is to keep a slush fund that’s ready to go. I’ve had my 981 2.7 manual for 18 months and have done about 18,000 miles. In that time it’s had a major service for £1200 and 2 new rear tyres for £520. I’ve done numerous road trips and 5 track days so far and touch wood it hasn’t missed a beat. They like to be used and hate being babied. Get them warm, kick their head in and enjoy them. I bought mine with no warranty and to be honest with the age of these cars it’s doesn’t matter. Buy a car that’s had the maintenance, steer clear of the low mileage cars as chances are they deferred various things under the guise of low miles. Bought mine on 58k and now I’m heading towards 80k and it’s only getting better.

paulguitar said: 944 Man said: paulguitar said: bosshog said: I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr Where is this!? Me too. Mine is Porsche Euro in a village near to Barnsley. Is your Indy also £60 per hour? If so I can foresee some trips to Barnsley in my future… Yes

If we are talking 2 seater soft top sports cars isn't the default answer unless you can comfortably cover an average of £2-3k a year in maintenance and repair costs buy a Mazda MX5 (perhaps an NC model with BBR Super 200 conversion to narrow the performance gap) instead. However agree it is possible to get in and out of these for a year or two with little spend if you pick up a well maintained car e.g. just serviced with fresh rubber and brakes, especially if you're not covering much mileage. Be wary of cars with too many owners who have scrimped because they didn't intend to own for very long. The longer your ownership period and older/more tired the car the more the average yearly spend will increase. On a vaguely related note does anyone know what decent condition, reasonable mileage but poverty spec manual 981 2.7 Caymans are actually selling for in the current market?

TheOctaneAddict said: My number one piece of advice is to keep a slush fund that’s ready to go. I’ve had my 981 2.7 manual for 18 months and have done about 18,000 miles. In that time it’s had a major service for £1200 and 2 new rear tyres for £520. I’ve done numerous road trips and 5 track days so far and touch wood it hasn’t missed a beat. They like to be used and hate being babied. Get them warm, kick their head in and enjoy them. I bought mine with no warranty and to be honest with the age of these cars it’s doesn’t matter. Buy a car that’s had the maintenance, steer clear of the low mileage cars as chances are they deferred various things under the guise of low miles. Bought mine on 58k and now I’m heading towards 80k and it’s only getting better. ^^^^ This all day long. Great advice.

Had my 2014 2.7 PDK 981 for 9 years, 5 of which under warranty, last 4 years using good indies (RPM, GCR in Leics). No mechanical issues I can recall apart from both AC condensers needing replacing once - this seems usual for the 981. Never used a drop of oil in 69k miles. 34mpg average over last 9999 miles. Chris at GCR describes the 981 as "bullet proof." Bought a 2019 Macan S last year from an OPC and that, by comparison, is a complex car. Everything conceivable went wrong, under warranty, so much so we took it back after 8 months of grief. Seems you can easily buy a lemon from an OPC so keep your wits about you!

944 Man said: paulguitar said: bosshog said: I have a great porsche indy near to me which is £60/hr Where is this!? Me too. Mine is Porsche Euro in a village near to Barnsley. Two independents near me , both with great reputations, 80 quid an hr so not too bad you’d think, the vat obviously makes that 100 per hr, and they seemed to charge a book price for a job, so job A might take 40 mins, that’s an hour then, job B takes another 40 mins, another hr, soon gets expensive I changed my outer track rod ends, car went in for some other work, so I thought I’d supply my inner track rod ends,and get them done, not too difficult a job to do myself but my sausage fingers would have struggled with the inner boot-they were happy for me to supply the parts, and fit them for me-charged me an hr each side! I also needed two rotten brake pipes to the rear callipers replacing-another hour each side if I remember correctly,and left me with a brake fluid leak that was picked up by my mot garage a week later… Other Indy with a great reputation online did my front coolant pipes, didn’t bleed properly and also left me with a not inconsiderable coolant leak, left it up to me to get the car back to them, and on both occasions they had the car, the owner used it to go home in! Both based in north Herts…. that’s why I do everything I can myself.. Edited by and31 on Saturday 26th October 21:11

Chris340gti said: hi all , sorry this will most likely be quite a long post so bare with me.. I currently own a spotless much loved white Golf GTI ( worth about 11k) but have had my head turned by a convertible. Started looking and fell in love with the Boxter . Firstly the 987 but recently the 981. I have been doing lots of research as to running costs. We have a well respected Indy nearby , Revolution in Birstall. had a chat to them re service costs etc and they don't seem too bad considering its every 2 years . My mileage will be low as live near work so walk and bike ( will do barely 3500 a year ) The Golf was the most expensive car I've owned and the 981 will put another 8-10k on it. As a non millionaire I guess I am nervous should anything go drastically wrong , it would cost me thousands.. ( is warranty a option) the one i was looking at has fresh service and new tyres so that's a good start?? surely a set of tyres should last 10k miles . That's 3 years in my world so at 800-1000 per set that's still less that 300 per year.. I know its hard to put yourself in someone else's position as you don't know mine ( I don't want to make it sound like am totally skint lol ) , I guess I want some reassurance that if I buy well and do lots of research and look after it then it will serve me well . Would it be safer paying extra but buying from a garage for example ?? cheers all Hi tried to PM/email you, but you haven’t enabled that feature on your profile. PM me if you want, I’ve owned and run one of these from new for 9 years. Andy.

I personally think 981S is the sweet spot in the line up. They don’t look to dissimilar to later cars, but are much cheaper to buy. I test drove a few 981 S and GTS cars when looking for a Cayman three years back, also a few 987.2’s including the R before moving on to 718’s and upping my budget three times. I think the front bumper design on the 981 Boxster looks better that the Cayman though. But again that is a personal view as some people prefer the round light design. Three years on, I would probably have been just as happy in a 981 and banking a few quid extra in the retirement fund.

thanks for all of you taking the time to reply, given me lots of food for thought.. when i take the plunge ill post a pic thanks again all..