1998 Boxster Prices/ Mechanical Issues

FLAT6FAN · 08-19-2003, 04:03 PM

Hello fellow Pelicans:

I am currently looking at a 1 owner in LA County , 1998 Boxster with 47K miles on it. The car is Silver with Tan leather. I would rate the condition of the car as "Good" (B Plus to A Minus) by Kelley Blue Book Standards.

What do you think a reasonable price to pay is? Their seems to be a lot of Boxsters for sale lately.

Are their any specific problems to look out for this year. The car was built in June 1998.

Thanks in adavance for you input.

SpeedracerIndy · 08-19-2003, 04:13 PM

What mileage??

Before I decided on my 911, I was looking for a boxster. I looked at about 10 and tested about 5. For what you are describing I would take a wild guess at mid to low $20s. The one I almost bought was a 99 with 53000 miles, 18s, full leather, full power, and a few other extras for $25K, and I thought he was high (which is probably why it is still sitting on his lot!).

The boxsters are VERY fun cars to drive. I just couldn't spend that kind of money on a daily driver. Instead I decided to go with an older 911 and keep my DD. Good luck, and have fun with it!

FLAT6FAN · 08-19-2003, 04:23 PM

Casey the car has 47,000 miles. Did you come across any common problems/issues with the Boxsters? Thanks for your input.

SpeedracerIndy · 04:41 PM

Well, I wish I could remember. I know there were two things to look out for but they were very rare and mostly limited to the early 97s. I know that is very little help for you, but since I focused on the 911s, I purged my mind of my Boxster info. I *think* there was an issue with the rear main seal in the 97s. All in all, as I remember the boxsters are very reliable. I have also heard that they tend to go through tires very quickly.

The thing that really steered me away was that most of the engine maintenence required dropping the engine. And it is very hard to even LOOK at the engine without doing some minor surgury. I just enjoy turning wrenches, and that turned out to be easier on an old 911. Granted, you probably won't have to do much wrenching on a newer boxster though.

I guess I should have read your first post earlier since you put the mileage in there, oops. NADA says around $28k for that mileage, but in this economy I doubt you would pay anywhere near that. What are they asking?

FLAT6FAN · 08-19-2003, 08:58 PM

Bump

maxnine11 · maxnine11's Garage

a 98 with 47k miles should be low 20s. There seems to be SO MANY for sale, you should be able to pick out the colors you want and find a relatively low-miler for under $25k

boxstr · 08-19-2003, 09:24 PM

The 97-98-99 Boxsters had a tolerance problem and they would bend valves. My 99 with 18000 miles blew the engine and was replaced by the factory, new motor. Thank you PCNA.
The MSRP is $45100, I paid in 2002 $22,000. One owner from Fla. Triple black, base model, handles very well and I love driiving it.
I also love driving my 83 SC Cab and 914 6 and 914 4.
Craig C. Laughlin

89911 · 08-20-2003, 03:33 AM

Consumer Reports has the 97-00 boxster on there "used cars to avoid". The also have it as one of there "recommended" new cars.

SpeedracerIndy · 08-20-2003, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 89911
Consumer Reports has the 97-00 boxster on there "used cars to avoid". The also have it as one of there "recommended" new cars.

Just another reason I rarley if ever listen to CR.

s_wilwerding · s_wilwerding's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by 89911
Consumer Reports has the 97-00 boxster on there "used cars to avoid". The also have it as one of there "recommended" new cars.

I think a Boxster is pretty much like any Porsche, even the older Porsches. All Porsche models have some kind of issue (pulled/broken head studs, rubber clutches, alternator belts on 964s, wiring harnesses on 993s, etc.) The Boxsters have a few issues, but they can be fixed correctly. The only big problem is the blown engine issue, but Porsche has always been very good about replacing known bad engines.

If you want a Boxster, go for it. There's no better time to buy a good used one.

greenmonster · 08-20-2003, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by maxnine11
a 98 with 47k miles should be low 20s. There seems to be SO MANY for sale, you should be able to pick out the colors you want and find a relatively low-miler for under $25k

I usually run searches for pcars w/ the under $25K option (autotrader etc). Now, I have to modify the seaches to weed out all the boxsters. Boxsters seem to have come out of the woodwork.

Now that the factory warranties have run out on alot of the earlier 986's the prices have really started to become *very* attractive. Like maxnine11 posted, you should be able to pick an choose what color combo you want as there are so many forsale. Looks like it's a buyers market out there.

I wonder if the independant Pcar shops have seen enough boxsters to do an adequate PPI on 'em.

If you do a google.com search for "porsche 986" and porsche boxster, you'll find a bunch of sites that will help in your "problem area" research.

John

Zeke · 08-20-2003, 07:01 AM

I avoided posting here yesterday as I thought for sure thhis would be moved. Records on that car are most important There were issues with the '98. In -99 they went up to the 2.7. The '98 could have oil leak problems and top problems. That is why the records are important. These may have been fixed. Another common problem is the seat belt warning light staying on. It's a dealer fix, trust me. Get the records or walk away.

s_wilwerding · s_wilwerding's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Zeke
In -99 they went up to the 2.7.

For the 2000 model year. All 97 - 99 model year cars have a 2.5 liter engine. 1998 cars don't really have any more problems than any other model year. I've heard of people with 2001 and 2002s with leaking rear main seals. I've heard of post-2000s with top problems. There's no magical formula that says a particular year = no problems. Just try to find a car that has been well taken care of, has a full service history, and has had all the warranty work done (gas cap recall, airbag warning light fixed, etc.).

FLAT6FAN · 08-20-2003, 03:16 PM

Thanks for all of your replies. The response on this board is fantastic.

kvolkan · 09-08-2003, 09:29 PM

Hi folks,

I've been following the replies here with much interest. I bought a 98 boxster last year paid a little above mid 20's + 2K more for an extended warranty. I researched 98's pretty carefully and would agree with the above statement that thye do not have any problems that are unknown to other years of the boxster.

There may be one important exception however. There is a rumor that some of the 2.5 engine blocks were cast a bit too porous. These engines had the cylinders bored out and steel liners inserted. The rumor is that these liners are causing catastrophic engine failure in some 98 and 99 boxsters. How do I know? This happened to my car last month. The insidious thing about the problem is that there was no warning, the engine just suddenly went kablooeey while I was sedately drivng along at 45mph in 3rd gear. My car has 36K miles on it and is out of warranty. Porsche has not copped to the problem existing and is not replacing engines in out of warranty cars. I am very thankful I bought an extended warranty which will cover the engine. In fact, I would not buy any boxster without a waranty of some kind - including something beyond the meager factory warranty.

In my area (Ventura County, CA) I have not found any good independents who can work on the boxster with any degree of confidence. Therefore I end up at the dealer (Rusnak) who is expensive but treats me well. Any suggestions for decent independents appreciated.

Elfer · 09-17-2003, 08:43 PM

Regarding the blown engine issue: What Ive seen so far is that the frequency of the blown engines happen in the early mileage of the Boxster, say, less than 50K miles. Now, would it be a pretty good assumption that a good-running, well documented higher-mileage Boxster be a tested and reliable machine? Im not talking about too high, maybe around 80K or so. I was really considering buying this car until I started reading up on it. Minor issues really do not bother me, just the engine seizing up that really made me reconsider. The prices are very attractive and I was really about to snap one of these already. Any thoughts?

kvolkan · 09-18-2003, 09:24 AM

There were actually two major boxster engine issues. The first one was with the early 97 cars. From my understanding the alignment of the boring machine was off at the factory resulting in bad cylinder bores. These engines failed right away usually within a thousand miles. Most all of these engines were replaced by Porsche under warranty. Howevr, this gave the early boxsters a much maligned reputation.

The casting liner failure problem I mentioned above is an emerging problem for 98 and early 99 boxsters. Unfortunately there is no good way of knowing whether or not a 98 or 99 car has this problem without tearing down the engine. Therefore, I would not buy a 98 or 99 unless it had some sort of a warranty.

As an update to my situation: I am haggling with Porsche to cover the cost of having a Porsche remanufactured engine put in my car versus the used engine the warranty company wants to install. The difference is about $4K. It looks like Porsche will pick up some, but not all of this difference. An interesting note is that the Porsche remanufactured engines are built along with the new engines at the factory. I have been assured that they will not have the casting liner failure problem.