Porsche noob questions..

[ZaneHolden]

Hey guys. Hope you dont mind these questions.. I may be a first time porsche owner next week. Going to see a 2010 boxster S with 19,800 miles. 6 speed manual.

It wont be a garage queen but I'll have a daily run around car as well. Let's say 8-10k miles a year usage probably.. anyways, seller says he has all records and it was bought at 4k miles as a CPO car. He says the top mechanism stripped gears on one side and he would recomend converting it to manual DIY since the dealer quoted him 2300 bucks. (I guess some people have done this?) Other than that, he says its sound.

What should I look out for? I keep reading how these cars are pretty damn reliable but are there any tell tale signs to run away when i see it/drive it? Given the location of the seller, i probably wont have a way to have it PPI'd but he has made day trips up to a porsche dealer for servicing. I've never bought a car with a PPI cause I was always a Honda/miata guy and fixing something never scared me but this is all so new to me with a Porsche.

Thanks for any insight!vidmate mobdro word counter

[Vaive]

#1 rule of Porsche ownership is you pronounce it por-SHA, not por-Shh.

Where do you keep reading that they're reliable?

After that, it's going to be a lot more expensive to maintain. What costs $500 for a Honda costs at least $1000 for a por-SHA. If you're a DIYer, it won't be that much of a difference since the extra cost comes from labor, usually. But it is still an expensive toy to own, generally speaking.

Also as you will quickly learn, every por-SHA has that one thing that was poorly designed and needs to be fixed. With the 996 it was the IMS. With the 997 it was bore scoring. Early Cayennes have coolant pipe issues. Find a model, find a year and you'll find "that thing".

That's the bad news. The good news is they're fun AF to drive and very quickly you stop caring about the money.

[Matt Monson]

Look into Smartop.

They are quite reliable, especially the DFI ones.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by Vaive

#1 rule of Porsche ownership is you pronounce it por-SHA, not por-Shh.

ya, that's it...

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by ZaneHolden

Hey guys. Hope you dont mind these questions.. I may be a first time porsche owner next week. Going to see a 2010 boxster S with 19,800 miles. 6 speed manual.

It wont be a garage queen but I'll have a daily run around car as well. Let's say 8-10k miles a year usage probably.. anyways, seller says he has all records and it was bought at 4k miles as a CPO car. He says the top mechanism stripped gears on one side and he would recomend converting it to manual DIY since the dealer quoted him 2300 bucks. (I guess some people have done this?) Other than that, he says its sound.

What should I look out for? I keep reading how these cars are pretty damn reliable but are there any tell tale signs to run away when i see it/drive it? Given the location of the seller, i probably wont have a way to have it PPI'd but he has made day trips up to a porsche dealer for servicing. I've never bought a car with a PPI cause I was always a Honda/miata guy and fixing something never scared me but this is all so new to me with a Porsche.

Thanks for any insight!

Good choice! 2009 and later cars have very high reliability rivaling many makes from Japan. There are no glaring hit lists with this 987.2 series that stand out as with nearly every prior Porsche model. Get the top repaired by someone who really knows them well and this may not be a local dealer but a convertible top shop that specializes in German cars. The top mechanism on my 98 Boxster was completely bulletproof for 10 years and 50k miles.

Change your oil at least every 5000 miles, pay attention to brakes and tires, enjoy the car.

[stealthn]

Why can't you get a PPI? I would at a minimum have a good look at it, try everything to see if it works, test drive and get the seller to allow the Porsche mechanic to talk to you/release all information on the car.

I bought my Cayman sight unseen from Florida, but had the PPI done at a P-car shop and went through everything on the phone with the mechanic.

Good luck

[L Sjoberg]

Originally Posted by ZaneHolden

Hey guys. Hope you dont mind these questions.. I may be a first time porsche owner next week. Going to see a 2010 boxster S with 19,800 miles. 6 speed manual.

It wont be a garage queen but I'll have a daily run around car as well. Let's say 8-10k miles a year usage probably.. anyways, seller says he has all records and it was bought at 4k miles as a CPO car. He says the top mechanism stripped gears on one side and he would recomend converting it to manual DIY since the dealer quoted him 2300 bucks. (I guess some people have done this?) Other than that, he says its sound.

What should I look out for? I keep reading how these cars are pretty damn reliable but are there any tell tale signs to run away when i see it/drive it? Given the location of the seller, i probably wont have a way to have it PPI'd but he has made day trips up to a porsche dealer for servicing. I've never bought a car with a PPI cause I was always a Honda/miata guy and fixing something never scared me but this is all so new to me with a Porsche.

Thanks for any insight!

I also have a 2010 S, these cars are great! The top surprises me, mine is up and down all the time and still works like a champ.

In addition to the normal maintenance stuff that comes with every used car, I would expect tires, brakes and a water pump. my Boxster is PDK, but my Cayman is a manual - the previous owner got a little more than 30k miles on the clutch, I will push 60k miles without a problem. just depends on how the prior owner drove your Boxster.

[sugarwood]

Post here. Read some buying tips
Porsche Boxster and Cayman Discussion Forum, DIY Technical Advice, Parts and Cars for Sale - Welcome to the 986 Forum!
https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum-67/

[sugarwood]

Do some reading to know common issues.
2010 no longer has IMS issues.

Do you have a local Euro shop that can service the car?
If you're not new to DIY, you'll be fine on the small stuff.

Just make sure the seller seems legit.
Why is he selling?

Very low miles. Garage queen?
How long did he own it?
What's the asking price?

If no PPI, print out a test drive checklist.
Test everything out

[Macroni]

Originally Posted by Vaive

That's the bad news. The good news is they're fun AF to drive and very quickly you stop caring about the money.

Visceral........

[Vaive]

Originally Posted by Macroni

Visceral........

Well played sir, well played.

[911heaven]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

ya, that's it...

There was once a poverty stricken man who was knocking on doors looking for work to buy some food, On a rich man's door he did knock saying Sir, please I'll work, do anything for some food to eat.

The rich man after scolding and shooing him away finally conceded after repeated requests saying -- alright, take this bucket of paint and this brush and paint my porch. When your done come back and I'll give you something to eat.

15 minutes later the hungry man was back ringing the doorbell. Man say what? Are finished with that porch already?? Poor man say Oh! Yes sir! but that wasn't no porch, that was a Mercedes Benz!

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Macroni

Visceral........

Really? All I ever hear the old air cooled codgers say about Boxster is the tired cliche of hairdresser car. Meanwhile, it is a great value and more car than anyone can handle on public roads. I see more Boxsters at DE events than air cooled garage queens that only get driven to C&C.