Expected life of my 97 Boxster

[stinson]

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and just bought a 97 Boxster with 75K miles on it. The car is in amazing condition and runs great. The previous owner had the oil inspected and showed me a report saying how there were no metal deposits in the oil. I even spoke to the shop that did it.

So in reading more about Boxsters, it seems they are not so robust. Any idea how long I should expect the car to run or what failure I would expect to see in the future?

Thanks,

[ABQautoxer]

I can't comment with any statistics or real facts other than to say that car forums tend to emphasize the negatives of a car. Rarely do people get on a forum to report how problem free their car is, they usually come here for help and usually that means a problem. I've been watching the boxsters locally, somewhat closely for the last 6 years before I decided to buy one. For the local owners, they have been very reliable other than some annoyances like AOS failure, ignition switch, etc. Given my sample group is small, it was still enough to convince me to buy one myself. HTH.

[racer]

Spend enough money and it will last a lifetime. How much do you want to spend? usually folks get tired of spending money on the same car and simply buy a newer one that statistically is likely to need fewer repairs (but not ZERO repairs).

Theres a fellow on RL with over 230,000 miles on his Boxster. I bet he has a healthy folder of receipts and repairs.

The engine is potentially the weakest link, but you will have other items (shocks, brakes, clutch, waterpump, belts, powersteering components, electrical etc) to consider as well.

So, not really sure if you are looking for a sense of life in TIME vs Miles vs Your wallet and desire to keep (any) car running.

[mikefocke]

You probably know more about this car than you did about your prior car. That is perhaps because people care about their Porsches and write about them. Owned 3 and the 2 modern ones were much much more reliable and cheap to maintain than the last Honda or Acura or Nissan I owned. And more fun too.

But in the end it is just a car, drive it frequently and safely, maintain it twice as well as the book calls for and you'll have good chances for a long lived car. Yes things can happen..to any car..at any mileage.

[ProjectM96]

It all depends on how it was taken care of and how it was driven and where it has spent most of its life.

They can last 300,000 miles if you have a very good one that was well taken care of.
Or they can last 120,000 miles if they were not taken care of.

The guy had the oil inspected because of the IMS issues with Boxster's. Not all Boxster's get those issues, but some do.

Here is what you might expect in terms of reliability problems?
IMS issues(worst case scenario) Fixable, but expensive.
Engine Mount Replacement, Cheap.
Water Pump replacement, Not so bad.
Coolant overheating issues because of old coolant cap in rear trunk, Very Cheap.

And I heard pre-2000 Porsche Boxster's have oil leak issues because the 2.5L was their first water-cooled engine car. They still had kinks to work out.

[stinson]

Thanks to all. That was good information and makes me feel a bit better that if the car had a good history and I do the same, I can keep it going for a while or at least long enough to justify a newer one

[Doug&Julie]

Forum rules, you gotta post a picture!

I agree with others, overall robust. I'm seeing many early Boxsters with well over 100k miles and only wear and tear issues. For ultimate piece if mind, consider an IMS bearing update. But otherwise drive, maintain, and enjoy.

Oh, have you seen the cool book our host has put out?

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=BK-145835&catalog_description=%31%30%31%20Projects%20for%20Y our%20Porsche%20Boxster%2C%20by%20Wayne%20R%2E%20D empsey