dallison28

The wife and i are looking for an inexpensive toy. Looking at prices it looks like i can either buy an older boxster or 84-92 911.
I had an 02s boxster and sold it last year. I did all the repairs myself as that really makes it much more affordable to own compared to paying someone else.

I am familiar in what to look for in a boxster but don't know what is good or bad on an older 911.
It will be driven on mostly nice days and no snow but may see rain occassionally. It won't be tracked and may see a DE once a year or two.
It's going to be a driver that the wife and i can tinker with as it will be her car too.

What problems do i really need to be aware of? I keep hearing that the engines are bulletproof, are they really that reliable?
I know the a/c systems are weak and i keep hearing about a g50 trans.

I don't want an auto and convertible doesn't really interest me unless the price is right.

What are the things that i need to make sure that were replaced? Are there features that i really don't need?

theiceman

Well there are tonnes of info on this if you search around a bit . but i would start with Pete Zimmermans "used 911 story" I think we all have that book. Will give you some great reading.
Bottom line is the boxster is a great modern car but i would never own one without IMS Guardian, newer IMS bearing etc coz that is just a nighmare.
The cars we own here are really that bulletproof if you get a looked after car and the only big expense comes if you miss a shift. The rest is fairly reasonable if your Handy.

ivangene

you wont need radiators or water pump - that's for sure

my suggestion is to drive a couple...you might fall in love and then again you might start looking for a 996......it really is a very different experience and not everyone is interested in getting a car with a very heavy clutch, shifter like rowing a boat, smelly old car - then again, most of us have no desire to get a numb new car either.....

if I were buying right now I would be checking for a pretty big log of records and an owner that knows the car inside and out...have access to a really good shop for a very thorough PPI and watching for poor paint work, I would be looking for a 915 not a G50 and have all the things the car came with from the factory (tools, manuals ect) with somewhere south of 130k miles...that would give you 10 years of 5k miles/year weekend drives and the occasional DE without any real worries......

I will tell you, at the track you will find yourself in a very strange place....I call it riding the *** off the Boxster's wondering why they are driving so SLOW!

No HTwo O

Unless you can do a lot of DIY stuff (I can't), I just don't think there are a lot of inexpensive toys (Porsches). But, well worth the effort and expense. IMO.

dallison28

Thanks for the info. A 996 would be great and i was searching for them, but decided to lower the toy budget. A 996 or 997 will be in order after we buy the next house in four years.

You are right about the IMS, it's a crapshoot if the engine will fail and it still makes the wife nervous too.

I need to get my butt in a few to see if it's really what we like. We love the classic design.

We just want an inexpensive toy until after the next house purchase.

dallison28

The maintenance i don't mind as i do it on our other vehicles. The boxster was pretty easy to work on and enjoyed it. It was nice to leave the car on jackstands over the winter if needed to fix/clean/etc and not have to worry about getting it done quickly.
I know i can find something under 15k that was taken care of and still needs some love.

Quadcammer

I don't think so at all, but others disagree.

biggest thing is a PPI and drive a few of them. You may hate them.

tincob

I just started my search for a first Porsche 911 and this is where I'm headed.

I started with a 964 but am now looking for a Guards Red targa in the '84-'89 years for the lower maintenance cost. A G50 would be nice since my wife will be driving it also like the OP. My head hurts thinking about explaining double clutching a 915 to my wife.

How important is a top end job on 100K+ mile 3.2 Carrera engines? Finding one with it already done would remove a potentially big cost item off the list.

I've been scouring Rennlist, Pelican, Cars.com, Autotrader, Craigslist, etc. for the right one. I would like to see and drive it before buying so I've cast a 300 mile radius search around CT.

500

They are very reliable engines in that they rarely suffer a failure that leaves the car inoperable. However, they are old cars and there are some things that will likely need attention to sooner or later, if not already addressed. In the motor department, the valve guides do wear and eventually the car will need a top end. Some cars have this happen early (sub 60K) others are good well over 150K. But it is an incremental thing... the car will burn more and more oil (which you may be able to tolerate) but eventually the valves will be so loose that you have to do it. If you are looking at an SC or a Carrera with over 100K that has not had a top end, then you should realistically prepare yourself for the POSSIBILITY that you will need one in the not-too-distant future. Of course, you will hopefully be luckier than that, but you have to accept the "risk". Head studs are another bugaboo that can trigger a top end.

They are great, strong cars, but they are old, and you just can't get around that.

ivangene

my car has 180+k miles and has never had the heads off

naturally having a big ticket item "already done" is a plus....I dont think you need to double clutch but waiting for the right moment is the key....dont hurry (I double clutch up and down..but i am weird)

RED??
YUKK!!!

1stgear

Speaking to your G50 and 915 gearbox comments - I have had them both. I really don't have a preference to either. I liked each platform equally as well as the other.

500

Which means you have one the real good ones, where that combination of actual valve guide material batch and tolerances that were great. However, a lot of cars have needed top ends well before that point too. I don’t agree with the recommendation that buying a car with 130K miles will mean ten years of 5K per year before major work is needed. That MAY turn out to be the case, but it certainly may not.

A good PPI will certainly help, but even that can only give you as snapshot and cannot reliably answer how much life is still in your valve guides, or whether you might have one of those head studs that decide to snap one day!

Great cars, not trying to scare anyone. However, if your goal is “inexpensive toy”, then you have to rationally weigh these risks.

tincob

By the way, my apologies to dallison28 for piggybacking on your thread but it's on-topic discussion so I hope I'm not millering too much.

Interesting thing is I looked at the Boxster but the IMS issue turned me away.

dallison28

No problem at all.
I'm leaving work soon to go to vermont for the week , so i won't be able to post here just in case someone would wonder where the OP ran off to and didn't reply any more to the thread.

ivangene

agreed 100% !!

but you talk about the valve guides as if that is a normal problem and fromo what I have found the years the OP has stated are very much in the minority for having that issues...many years that is the issue...but i have not seen that in the 3.2's 84-89

am I wrong or blind?