Lee Tilton

New guy looking for a base Boxster. I joined the PCA Test Drive and will be looking through The Mart. I am located in Northern Virginia in case anyone here knows of a good car. My wife wants to drive it so a Tiptronic is preferred. No need to sell me on the 5-speed; having raced Spec Miatas I love the shifting, but the deal is I need an auto.

Not afraid of a 90-100k mile car with decent service records. I found a few candidates but have yet to look. I assume $6-7k for a 1999-ish 100k miler is a fair deal?

I have built numerous cars so I'm not afraid to wrench on them. Is it practical to think I could drop the tranny (Tiptronic) myself to do an IMS/RMS service? Or if a 5-speed, DIY the IMS/RMS/Clutch?
I'm not averse to paying for professional help, but my joy of owning a car comes from the maintenance.

Macster

Can't help you with prices. I'm not current on used Boxster market prices.

While I didn't do big stuff to my Boxster early on I did oil changes, brakes, removed the bumper cover to clean out the radiator ducts, brake/clutch fluid bleed. The car never needed a clutch and I never bothered to install an aftermarket IMSB "fix".

I used Rhino Ramps to back the car up on for oil/filter services. Other things I did jacking up a corner at a time.

I had a garage and could have bought a portable hydraulic lift. When I moved and lost the garage I stopped doing my own services.

While I didn't get one I would recommend you get a good portable hydraulic lift. It will pay for itself in nearly no time. With a portable hydraulic lift getting the car up in the air quick and safe and securely makes oil changes, brake jobs, tranny drops, etc., less painful.

You can do as much work on the car as you believe is within your capability. I had a full set of factory manuals and if you can find a set that is recommended. For a number of services/repairs there are write ups and even videos to help you. A Durametric (Porsche specific OBD2 tool) is recommended.

Shawn Stanford

Spot on. In my opinion, this is the sweet spot for 986 Boxsters.

Yes, you can do it yourself. There's a guy on YouTube named 'Burner' who has a bunch of 986 maintenance videos. He did Clutch, RMS, and IMS in his driveway.

vza

FYI for prices I picked my 99 Boxster base up for 2800.....131,000.....had a check engine light which was a real pain but was able to fix it. So there are deals out there .....have to just look and be patient. V

elgy

Personally I am partial to the 2000 model year. The 2.7 litre engine but should still have a double row IMS bearing. But it is true the earlier cars seem to be a bit cheaper.
I am a IMSB sceptic... I did the clutch on my blue Boxster (which has since been sold) and inspected the IMSB in place... it turned smoothly and I found no play in it so I just removed the seal and didn't change the bearing.
My experience here...
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-g...er-refurb.html

Byprodriver

Be aware R&Ring a Tiptronic is much more difficult than a manual trans & also makes the 986 much slower. If you need a auto the 2000 up bigger engines help alot.

Brian in Tucson

If it's how he can get it past his wife, it's what he has to have. I have an 01 with a tip, were I to do it again, I'd buy an 04 or later 'S' with the 3.2l engine. An S gives you more for the money, with nice appointments. The automatic makes city driving more fun.

As for as R&R a tip, I didn't find it hard at all. But then I did my engine and trans out as a unit. and be connected them before I tried to put them back in the car. Nice thing about a Tip is that it's a good transmission and it doesn't have a clutch assembly to wear out. Lining up the input shaft with the clutch can be a real pain in the butt. Lining up the torque converter with the flex plate, not so much. Guide pins will get you within 1/2 inch so you wiggle it in.