RAY WOJSZYNSKI

This is my first post. (I'm a paid member, renewed for 2 years this past summer.)

I have a 78 911SC in prime condition. I've had it for about 5 1/2 years. It doesn't handle all that well and I've spent hundreds of $ on it to get it right and am running out of patience. I want something that handles better and is more fun to drive.
My question for the Boxster forum is: I'm really attracted to Boxsters, and am thinking about selling the 911 to buy one, but I'm very concerned about all the mechanical issues on Boxsters. Cylinder liners on old ones, rear main seals, separators, etc. If I buy one, I'd buy one with at least 1 year left on the warranty.
Would present owners recommend buying one, or avoiding it?

Any thoughts, opinions, experiences will be appreciated.

Thank you.

Ray Wojszynski
'78 911SC coupe
'04 Mini Cooper
Rennlist Member number 030818-4020

Rolla

Even with all my trouble I love my car and would recommend them to anyone. just make sure to get a PPI even with a warrenty on it.

ELUSIVE

If you buy a used Boxster from a dealer they can do a certification process that gives you a 6 year/100,000 mile warranty. The 6 years is from the original purchase date. Pretty good option in my opinion.

Stacey

machina

I agree.

I bought a 2001 certified car. Has warranty until 2007. Just had the car at the dealer today.

Had to replace a broken ignition switch and the coolant bleeder valve. Definitely would have cost me a few bills if it wasn't under warranty.

Also, because the car was certified. They had to put new tires on the rear, replace the windstops, etc.

I paid a little more but it is worth the peace of mind IMO.

Look carefully, its a buyers market.

PaulStewart

You can probably lease a new one for $500 a month, nothing down....

fezz

i want to move up to a boxster too, and am concered about the same things. I agree, with the way these cars have been failing, the only way to go with a boxster is to buy/lease new or get a certified dealer car - pay a little more and as get as much warranty (piece of mind) as you can.

Ray S

Boxsters have some issues, but so have every single Porsche model ever produced. I think the problem with these boards sometimes is that the problems get discussed (by their very nature) and non-problem cars are ignored. The liner problem only occured on early cars and seems to have been fixed long ago. The only problem that seems consistent is the RMS problem.

My "perception" (from reading boards like this one) is that with each engine revision Porsche seems to improve the RMS problem, but not totally eliminate it. For owners that have had the RMS problem it must seem like every M96 has the problem, for those of us w/no issues it seems blown out of proportion.

I can tell you that my 2000 Boxster has been the most trouble free car I have ever owned.......Period. I have not had one single problem with the car.

If you want a car that "handles", this is the car for you. It is simply the best handling car I have ever driven and it has extremely forgiving "at the limit" behavior.

If you are worried about RMS problems get a "Porsche Certified" car and enjoy!

Ray S

Plus......you can't beat the looks!

machina

hijack

ray, those wheels are gorgeous. are they RH or gembella?

what is the widths and offsets?

Ray S

Gemballa Competition 18"

f 8.5 x 18 ET 46 (23lb 10 oz)
r 10.0 x 18 ET 40 (24lb 12 oz)

pdutta2000

The majority of Boxster issues came from pre-03 models. I know that covers the 1st 6 years of production....but at least they got it right at some point. Anyways...if you go pre-03 I would definitely get a Porsche certified car. Why chance it?...also with prices tumbling and 987 deliveries occurring within the next few months, dealers will be more open to talking about throwing in the certification process for free.

I once thought about trading in my 03 S for a 996 or 997, but now realize that the Boxster is an incredible car...and I plan on keeping it for years to come. I have no reservations regarding the reliability of my car and haven't heard of too many issues with post-03 cars at all. If you want to keep this car for the long term...I would look into purchasing an 03 or later car.

Ray S

"The majority of Boxster issues came from pre-03 models."

Where do you get that info from? To the best of my knowledge the last bunch of engine replacements that came from anything other than RMS happened in '99.

What big improvement came in '03?

machina

I guess he means the glass rear window

Hey, if it makes him happy, That's all I got to say about that.

pdutta2000

No big improvements, but my dealer mentioned that the number of RMS issues had decreased and stayed low for post-03 models. Probably phrased my statement wrong and should have said that less RMS failures have been reported for post-03 models.

pdutta2000

Having known a few people who have plastic rear windows that have cracked....I don't think it's a small issue. Doing "the chop" is all fine and well, but it does become an expensive fix if your car is out of warranty.