SJP0tato

Hey all, long-time reader, first-time poster:

I started the purchase process on a 2014 Boxster S today from Carvana: It should be getting delivered this coming Thursday.

I'm planning on scheduling a dealership PPI for shortly after delivery, and asking Carvana to take care of any small issues (or outright returning if major problems are found) within the 7-day return window.
Any other reasonable precautions I should take that anyone can think of offhand?

I'm not going to let myself get too excited yet until the inspection comes back good: I had a really nice 987.1 Cayman I drove last week until I found the A/C didn't work (along with a few other maintenance problems) and I decided to pass.

It's definitely slim pickins out there right now for the market! Hopefully everything's good and I can become a "real" member of Rennlist (finally).

Cyclman

Good luck!

Schwinn

Congrats and good luck! I bought mine from Carvana as well, and detailed the situation on a thread here, so be sure to take a look. Others have detailed as well, of course.

A few comments:
1) Schedule the PPI now if you can, so you don't end up running out of your 7-day "test drive" period.
2) I found that you don't need to call SilverRock before having work done or getting estimates. Granted, my experience was from a year ago, but see if you can have the shop handle it... saves you the hassle.
3) Don't be afraid to ask for things to be covered - I got many things covered that I didn't expect they would approve... even cosmetic things.
4) Be sure to operate EVERYTHING in the car when you get it. Someone here wrote a checklist when I bought mine, which was more detailed than even I went into, but it was great info to have.
5) For S-motors, many recommend a borescoping... be sure you can get that done, too (another reason to schedule the PPI ahead of time)
5) Ask questions here... everyone will be sure to help answer!
6) Document everything you can - photos, papers, emails... just in case! I recommend that for any big purchase, even if it's not from Carvana.
&) Be patient with Carvana's DMV process... it's not great...

SJP0tato

Thanks for the info, this is super helpful!
Here's a quick link to your previous post, in-case anyone stumbles across this post in the future: https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...ed-my-car.html

1. Good call here: Originally I had the vehicle scheduled for delivery this Tuesday, but thought better and pushed to Thursday to give time to contact a dealership to schedule the inspection well within the 7-day period.
2. That's good to know: I wasn't really sure what the process would look like, I'll have to read through your post and I'll report how my experience goes so hopefully it can help others.
3. This is reassuring to hear: One of the defects listed on the pictures looks like (I'm guessing based on reading here) de-lamination of the passenger door panel. I'm sure I could handle it myself, but if the dealership can take care of it and Carvana is willing to foot the bill then I'd much prefer that route.
4. Smart thinking here too: I'll see if I can dig up that post (or similar) and link it here as well.
5. Do you know if borescoping is standard during a PPI, or should I specifically ask for it when scheduling the service?
5.1 Will do: Hoping to add my own anecdotes so it can help others be as informed as possible as well.
6. Really good idea here: I like keeping a folder with anything relevant to each vehicle I purchase/own throughout its life.
6.1 hah, I wondered about the DMV/registration process: It sounds pretty hit or miss depending on your luck (some say quick title/registration, some say it takes months). I'm in Phoenix (their home-base) so hopefully that means things will be better handled than say Florida.

Thanks again for the detail!

Borealis161

Curious about this. Are the S motors defective in some way, like the IMS bearing issue of the past?

Schwinn

For borescoping, you do need to specifically ask for this... it's not normally part of a PPI, and takes extra time, effort, and cost. Basically, they're looking into the bores to check to make sure they aren't scored.

Yes, this is a relatively common issue on the S motors... not as much on the base motors. I won't pretend to know everything about this issue, but FSI has a good page about it here: https://flat6innovations.com/cylinder-bore-scoring/ and https://lnengineering.com/products/w...html?limit=all
In fact, now that I look at it, your car may not have this issue, as it seems to be related to the earlier years... but you may want to read up on it to make sure. Again, I'm no expert!

Bore scoring is one of the reasons I stuck with a base model (I also didn't feel the $10k difference for the S for my needs, and there were other reasons of course) for my 987.2... again, you may not have this issue. I would recommend reading up a bit more than I have, just in case.

For the data collection, I actually saved all the images from Carvana, one by one... and any document I got... all of it is in a folder, just in case. I even saved every webpage I accepted or had to click through, etc. Yeah, I'm paranoid... especially since it was my first time. In the end, it's just being defensive... and it's very easy to do with modern browsers, so why not?

The DMV issues are largely because they farm this out to a third-party, who really doesn't do a great job. In my case, they did a new-plate instead of a plate-transfer which is much lower cost in my state (many states this is not the case)... and I wanted to keep my plate number... so there was extra incentive for me to do it. Just be prepared for the issues there. Some people have said they couldn't even get plates from Carvana in time, so they had to extend the temporary plates. Again, stay on top of it, and be aware of it... this seems to be the biggest issue I have read about, in general.

Also, for the delivery... that could change for random reasons. I had my original date delayed due to snow in the area... that's fine. But then when the car was being delivered it was delayed further because the driver wasn't at the right location or something. Again, nothing crazy but just be aware these things can happen. I think of it like when I call a dealer, ask them if the car advertised is there, and they say sure, come on down... only to find it's NOT there, and they're going to push me into something else. At least in the Carvana case, you'll still get the car you saw (not often the case with the dealer)... so it's not right, but it is what it is.

FYI, another thread that didn't work out, but has good info on Carvana and such: https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...transit-3.html

I've been looking for the thread of the inspection recommendations. I could have sworn it was here on RL, but I'm not so sure anymore. I usually save these pages via PDF on my computer, but I can't find it there either. I'll keep looking and post here if I find it again!

EDIT: Did some Google searching and maybe I was wrong. This article seems to say some of the key things I remember readong: https://www.consumerreports.org/used...r-a1377126659/ key items include "smelling" the car, testing EVERY button and feature, sitting in all seats, etc... all good advice for ANY used car purchase. In the case of these cars, again, focusing on my 987, there was an issue with water leaking and building up in the passenger area... under the passenger seat is the rear control module which ends up being damaged by this. So this is something to look out for on the 987... not sure if the same applies to the 981, but IMO any water inside is cause for concern...

Now, you may not get to test all of these things during delivery, and that's ok since you have 7 days to get through the "test drive" phase... but make sure you do it over the next week. Drive the car hard, soft, fast, slow, turn hard, turn soft, etc... don't hesitate to push it! And listen for issues... clicks, squeaks, rattles, thumps, etc. You may want to put a wrench on the wheels before doing some of this stuff - lest a wheel come off because someone forgot to tighten it!

Quix

On Jake Raby's web page, link is above in the chat:

FACTS

• FACT #1: Cylinder Bore Scoring is the #1 leading cause of misdiagnosed engine failures for the following vehicles:
  *1999-2004 Porsche 996 (all models except GT3 and Turbo, less prominent with 99-01 years, but still occurs)
  *2005-2008 Porsche 997.1 Carrera and Carrera S (Turbo and GT3 models excluded)
  *2006-2008 Porsche 987.1 Cayman S (Base model remains unaffected)
  *2007-2008 Porsche 987.1 Boxster S (Base model remains unaffected)

So I'm not sure that boroscopy (is that a word?) is really needed for a 981S. Does anyone know differently? Hate for the OP to have to arrange that for a car that is unlikely to experience this failure mode.

Prairiedawg

If you haven't scheduled you ppi, you should do so immediately. Most dealers and indy's are very busy with backlogs and you may find your 7 day window coming and going before it can be seen.

SJP0tato

Thanks all: it sounds like the bore scoring isn't likely on the 2014 model.

I have my PPI scheduled for Friday, the day after delivery.

I'll report back how it goes after things start happening.

Kitc2246

First best luck.

Manual or PDK? How many miles? How many previous owners? Overrevs are not an issue for a PDK. Bore scoring is NOT a common issue for 981s. Replacing delaminating door cards is expensive. Delaminating headlights is another common failure. Age of tires is as important as tread depth. Not sure what the Carvana standard is but anything more than six years is too old. Same with the battery. Thoroughly review the CARFAX and any service history. Changing the engine air filters is a PIA on a 981. At the recommended four years the car is due a second spark plug change which is labor expensive. Check the bumper and windshield for excessive stone chips and sand pitting. Also brake rotors and pads. All can be an indication of track time. A few track days/miles are not an issue. I would pass with high miles that showed track usage.

SJP0tato

Manual, 3 previous owners: probably easier to just link: https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/2281696

I'm planning on telling the shop to go through and find literally anything that might even possibly need replacing due to age. Everything I've read says Carvana covers 100% of anything in the first 7-days.

ncster

Bore scoring is not a major concern on the 9A1 engines. I wouldn't bother with a borescope. A few points:
1. Check for water pump failure. Can hear the squeaky sound from behind the seats with engine running.
2. Check for door card delamination at the window sills. More common on standard interior but I believe it occurs on leather interior as well.
3. Get DME overrev report. High numbers in range 3,4,5 will be a concern enough to skip the car.
4. Check headlights for cracking/hazing. Common issue.
5. Check rooflining for dropping. Common issue.

Checking the usual cosmetics + wear items is a given, of course.

Good luck!

EDIT: If over 40k miles, ensure that the 40k intermediate service has been performed (plugs and air filters).
EDIT 2: Just checked the link. Since this is a low mileage older car, have them check the tires for both tread as well as age. Request replacement if older than 5 years.

SJP0tato

Good points, thanks for those:

1. Good callout on the water pump: I'll put some miles on it after delivery and listen closely for any indication.
2. I'm pretty sure at least the passenger door is delaminating based on the pictures provided. I'll be sure my shop mentions it in their list of "to be repaired/replaced" items.
3/4/5: Definitely will have these checked as well.

It looks like worst case the tires were last changed (according to Carfax) on 9/2016 which if they haven't been changed since are a little over the 5-year mark. I'll take a look at the sidewall manufacture date and treadwear levels, and ask my shop to assess as well.

It does look like a 60k mile service was performed about 2-years and ~3k miles ago which included spark plugs. I'm very curious to hear my shop/mechanic's assessment of things.

AR_Motorwerkz

Congratulations man! Post pictures soon!

rock-rf

How did it go? Did the car arrive on time?

I also purchased a car on Carvana, and just heard that my delivery was delayed until May. Hope yours is going more smoothly!