Buying a 99' Boxster
 

Hi,
I am planning on buying a 99 Boxster. I am getting a PPI done tomorrow, but would like your input as well. The owner seems to have maintained the car well. It has 90k miles on it, and had the tires replaced about 7k miles ago. The clutch, RMS and the IMS(FL6 innovations) was also replaced at 84K. The cars drives very well except for a few sounds (I think the suspensions when I turn or go over something), should I be concerned abt it? He is asking $6000 for it. do you think thats a good deal? It also has a hardtop.

Does any of the recent work: clutch, RMS, IMS; still have a warranty that can be transferred to the new owner (you)?

Have you confirmed the IMS by FL6 Innovations? Shouldn't there be a sticker? Or possibly a record of this with FL6 Innovations?

About the noise... Could be some worn suspension/steering parts. Does the car track true? No wandering? Is tire wear across the tread faces even? If you run your hands over the tread do you feel signs of tire scrubbing? Cupping? Feathering?

All I can recommend is you experience the car in its natural state: engine running and the car on the road. You want to visit the car cold, turn off the A/C, be sure the CEL comes on when you turn on the key and then goes off after the engine starts.

Letting the engine run get out and look the car over. Check body panel fit an finish. With a flash light check out the radiator ducts. Lots of trash build up budget for a radiator duct cleaning.

After some idle time have the seller take you on a test drive. The route should be around 15 miles long and give the driver a chance to demo the car as you intend to use it.

Back at the starting place switch seats and take the car out and drive it over the same route, driving the car the same way as the seller.

If after your test ride/drive if you still like the car give it a thorough used car check out. Check everything.

If after all of the above if you still like the car get a PPI. Among other things this gets the car in the air so a careful inspection can be made for any leak sign. Part of the reason for a 15 mile test ride/drive is to get everything up to temp and to keep it there for about an hour to give any leaks a chance to show themselves.

Every gasket, seal, hose, hose fitting, hydraulic line, line fitting, o-ring, CV boot, radiator, etc. gets checked for any leak sign.

At this time the PPI guy can check the suspension/steering and even the engine/transmission mounts for any signs of any problems and if he finds anything he can advise you.

As for price my usual advice, and I see no reason to change this (and I have nothing better to replace it with), is to price the car at the NADA/KBB web sites. The car is worth somewhere from its trade in value to however much the seller wants and you are wiling to pay.

Remember: Price is not fact only an opinion. And if you find something off putting about the car don't be afraid to walk away. There is always another car.

Best of luck!

When you do the test drive pay attention to when you hear the suspension rattles. It is fairly common for the rear trailing arm bushings to get worn and get noisy when driving over bumps. If the rattle disappears when you are accelerating it probably is the trailing arm bushings. They are quite easy and inexpensive to fix by replacing the trailing arms. Parts will be about $250.

Another clue is different levels of rattle from the two sides.

If the rattle is the same regardless which side goes over the bump it may be the engine mount. Again a relatively simple repair.

Good luck/Anker

>Does any of the recent work: clutch, RMS, IMS; still have a warranty that can be transferred to the new owner (you)?
I can check if the warranty can be transferred, I am not sure. I will check though.

>Have you confirmed the IMS by FL6 Innovations? Shouldn't there be a sticker? Or possibly a record of this with FL6 Innovations?
Yes, there is a sticker on the door panel saying Fl6 innovations and there is a receipt as well.

>About the noise... Could be some worn suspension/steering parts. Does the car track true? No wandering? Is tire wear across the tread faces even? If you run your hands over the tread do you feel signs of tire scrubbing? Cupping? Feathering?
yea, the car runs fine and does not wander. the tire wear is even from what I can tell. Just feel like the convertible top cover is rattling behind me. the springs make some noise in the front as well.

I drove it around and except for some of the vibrations, i like it a lot. I am taking it to a porsche indy for a PPI today, lets see what he says. if its an inexpensive fix, I will go ahead and buy the car.

Ok, the two big things that came out of the PPI are as follows.
1. coils are old design, recommend upgrade. ( what is this? should be done asap?)
2. Front left suspension is knocking.
3. belly pan broken ( this is a plastic cover. its just cracked in a small place, still fits well and covers the engine)
4. some oil seepage from cam covers and spark plug tubes. They guy said this was very minimal and not a big deal.

when i drive, this is what bothers me most.
1. the front suspension makes creaking noises when turning and so on.
2. rear suspension makes a thud kind of noise when going over bumps.
3. some vibrations right behind me when driving(i have the hardtop installed and the convertible top is down). sounds like a loose pieces of plastic shaking against the top.

I assume by "coils" he is referring to the ignition coils? They are probably original equipment but if the coils show no signs of cracking and the engine doesn't misfire while the coils can be replaced they don't have to be right away. I don't know what coils the '99's use now. Porsche has probably released new part numbers for these but that is no reason to rush right out and install them.

Knocking noise and creaking noise from the front end is probably related. I'm a bit disappointed the PPI didn't advise you regarding the condition of the front and rear suspension, and steering. I've watch Porsche techs and they get under a car they pull and tug and push on various suspension components, even get out a large pry bar and check for excessive play/movement of some components so they can make a recommendation as to what -- if anything -- needs attention.

Without this guidance from the PPI it is hard to know what you are facing suspension/steering hardware wise. (None of my Porsches has required any suspension/steering hardware attention so I have no experience to call upon.)

Plastic under body parts take a beating. Over the years I've replaced a few of these. In a pinch I've applied duct tape to get more service life out of cracked plastic bits under the car.

My 2002 spark plug tubes leaked. Tech pulled them apart and replaced the o-rings. The original ones were in pieces. I don't recall what the cost was to do this. The camshaft covers have remained oil tight. If the covers prove to be the source of the leaking though you want these resealed by a pro Porsche tech. The resealing is not as straightforward as slathering a bunch of goop on the matiing surfaces.

Early on my 2002 Boxster's top made a bit of noise, flapping noise when up and the dealer adjusted the top/clamshell to put a bit more tension on the top when up which quieted the top and it remained quiet there after. But noise with the top down and the hard top installed? All I can offer is be sure the hardtop is properly installed and all the holddowns are present and secure.

I can tell you I had a weird noise problem and found the left front wheel well liner loose at its leading edge. Probably got that way from some impact by some road debris. At speed the wind would force the leading edge down and it would rub against the pavement. I could see where the plastic was abraded as if it had been pressed against a sanding disc with coarse paper. Duct tape to the rescue!

My point is the noise could be from some plastic underbody part flapping in the wind at speed. You have to check every panel for any looseness, cracks, etc.

Be sure to check the plastic cowl cover too. The one on my Boxster cracked around the bolts and became loose. Had to replace this plastic cover.

Thanks for the detailed response. I was also very dissapointed with the PPI. I went to a porsche specialist here and he hardly spent anytime looking at it and gave me a bill for $350. He did not even remove to coils to confirm the spark plug tubes were leaking. regarding the camshaft covers, he did say it wasnt a big leak.

i found out the vibration noise from the back is coming from a piece of plastic trim on the hardtop. Its a bit loose. The creaking sounds from the front still needs more investigation. Maybe I will take it to another small time mechanic for that.

My PPI for about the same price came with a detailed three page report covering the condition of about 100+ components/items. A leakdown test results, tire tread depth measurements, oil filter examination, etc etc. Also his impressions after a test drive. And when I came in after he had completed the inspection and writeup, he still had the car on the lift and he spent at least 20 minutes going over the car with me. Now in truth, he expected I'd be having the servicing done by him and I did. He also gave a copy and the same walk through to the seller.

The car is near the 90k service interval, was that done? That should have taken care of the coils. That they are old causes concern for the routine maintenance. Have you seen records of the at least yearly oil changes?

The bigger picture. No one wants to buy a $6k car and then be stuck with a $5k repair bill.
But, you're buying a 15 year old sports car, and need to be prepared to spend some money on repairs.
It will stink, but you need to be prepared for that to happen. Otherwise, you can't afford the car.

Ok, so the suspension was not properly diagnosed by the PPI, even though you identified it.
At this point, you want to explore what a suspension refresh will cost you.

The main point is that a worn suspension is not a deal breaker that you must run away from.
I am assuming this is a standard wear item, and you can price it into your offer.
The issue is your offer price, not if the car is a disaster case (which it does not sound like)

Can someone explain what he means here?

spark plug tubes
 

One of the leaks in pre-2003 M96 motors is from plastic tubes that seal the spark plug wells from the oil in the head. They are abotu 1.25" around and 6 " long, made of plastic.

They heat, cool, crack, and then let oil run out. Not a sign of imminent motor issues, just messy.

To be absolutely certain that its the plastic tube, you must remove the individual coil-packs that screw down on top of the spark plug/head and cover the whole mess up. The poster is noting that the mechanic did not remove them (unclear how he was sure). That said an experienced M96 expert would be able to make a very educated guess as to the source of oil there.

G

6 grand sounds like a good price...good luck and just get a price to repair the items mentioned so you know up front what expenses you will incur.

Let us know how you make out.

thanks guys! I plan to swap out the coils and the tubes soon using this DIY.

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/C...%26_Tubes.html

I just swapped out the stock speakers. The cone has completed disintegrated. New speakers are just awesome.

I also just found a few drops of oil leaking right below the driver side, about a feet in front of the rear wheel. Any idea if this might be spark plug tubes or the cam covers? Its right below the driver seat.

Right below the driver's seat is not where I'd expect engine oil to show up.

You need to check the coolant lines, power steering lines, brake lines and A/C lines (the A/C system compressor oil in it) that run the length of the car for leak sign.