I was thinking about buying a used 2006 Porsche Boxster from a private owner & was wondering what should I inspect or listen for prior 2 buying it & on the test drive. I was also wondering about how much basic maintenance like oil changes & tune ups, etc. would cost. Thanks.

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This post was auto-generated based upon a question asked on our tech article page here: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Oil Change

Gosh there are a ton of things to consider. I should probably write an article on this, but in the meantime I will copy this question to the forums where others can chime in with their opinions.

- Wayne

Easy...get a PPI (Pre-Purschase Inspection). I didn't and got lucky, the guy I bought it off of honestly knew of only one minor issue and reduced the cost for me to fix it. Any form of documentation on service is almost a must, it can be from dealer service or the owner if they did it themselves...though some of these cars have such low mileage it won't tell you much.

The PPI will tell you how much maintenance you'll need once you receive the car, if you like doing the work yourself, if you don't you can call the dealer and ask, it might help with the negotiations on the price of car. If you do the work yourself you can look up prices on PelicanParts.

Last and not least...is it awesome to drive!!???

I just bought my 00 Boxster in October. Here are my experiences.

I sent a PPI to check it out and he said it was fine. I bought it and it had a bad water pump, vacuum leak, and a broken wheel lock key, and a bad inner tie rod noticeable at highway speeds. Also, the radio tracking knob did not work right and some interior pieces were broken or not attached. So as long as you know what to look for, I say check it yourself.

At the Porsche dealer in Maryland, I just recently got these quotes.
Oil Change=$145 U.S. Dollars(Boxster takes 9.2 quarts of oil)
Hourly Labor Rate=$133
Alignment=$185

At MIDAS, it cost me $80 for the oil change.
At independent mechanic, it cost me $600 for water pump with labor. I am sure Porsche dealer would charge double.
At independent mechanic, it cost $80 for alignment.
At independent mechanic, it cost me $114 for inner tie rod replacement for labor and parts. Porsche dealer wanted around $250 for parts and labor.

So it is affordable is you avoid going to the Porsche dealer for repairs. But for major repairs like engine or tranmission repairs, I would take it to the Porsche dealer because I would feel more confident that they will do the job right.

Here are some good tips on what to look for when buying a Boxster. mikesporscheboxsterwebpages - mikefocke2

Get good and familiar with Boxster's is first and foremost. Plus drive as many as you can. This way you know what to look for and what the car should drive like. Before we bought ours we had looked at and drove at least 6 others including a nearly new one at the local Porsche dealer. Also try to find out as much history on the car as you possibly can. I would rather buy one with 40,000 miles on it and has been correctly taken care of than one with only 12,000 on it and never had its oil changed.