1998 Boxster Yes or No?

[wcroty]

Should I stay away from a 1998 Boxster (Garage Queen) with 26K Miles because of the known engine problems?

Wanted for a daily driver
Thanks

[thinkfloyd14]

probably get better responses in the boxster section

[Sonic dB]

depends on price and also PPI... there were reports of some issues with 98 engines, check it out over on www.rennlist.com in the boxster forum...but for the right price, may be a decent deal

[MRM]

I wouldn't stay away from it because of the year. Condition, options and price will carry the day. A PPI will tell you the true condition. Sitting can be hard on a car so don't rely just on the mileage.

[algs911]

I know the Boxster engine problem usually showed up before that many miles. My father has a 1998 with 126k miles on it. It has been 100% reliable. Great car, not very torqy, but a sweet song high up in the rev range. They handle like NOTHING else on the road. Gets 30+ mpg on the highway.

If the price were right, get a PPI and I say, go for it! Check on the mileage thing and the "cylendar sleeve failure" issue.

Al

[jackb911]

I believe the '98-99 Boxsters were the ones with the crankcase porosity issues in addition to the leaky RMS.

Not all of them have problems, but the ones that do may need a replacement engine when the problem manifests itself.

I had a early production '97 Boxster that had zero problems while I owned it, and I liked it a lot. As Al said, a PPI is a definite must.

[wcroty]

I was told on a boxster board to have a leakdown test. Will this help to determin if the engine will have the known problem?

[wcroty]

I just got home from driving it. Very very clean the gentleman bought it when he was 62 and drives it every weekend to the same place about a 50 mile round trip.
The interior looks new and it runs very good, could use a bit more power but its going to be a daily driver. I will have a PPI done this week. Should they complete a leak-down test?
By the way it has 26,446 miles Sport package, alarm, CD player, all the records serviced by the dealer he purchased from, window sticker etc.
I can pick it up for 16K

What do you think?

[Noah930]

Sounds like a good price. Before you settle on this car or on that price, though, have the PPI done. That might be able to detect the RMS and cylinder sleeve problems...or maybe not. Leakdown portion won't, but that's usually included in a PPI and can be a useful indicator of other problems. Compression test should also be included in the PPI. Just make sure the shop that's doing the PPI is familliar with Boxsters, and is of your choosing (not necessarily the owner's).

[N11Porsche]

Before I purchased my Z3, I spent a lot of time trying to find a Boxster in that price range (16 to 18k) Very little here in the Bay Area. The one's I did find had over 100k on the clock or other big issues. If the ppi checks out, sounds like a very good price.