Ok to make a long story short my wife found out about the glut of these cars on autotrader for less than $20,000. I have heard that maintence on these cars is expensive. Is this true? How much would routine maintence be on a Boxter with 50-70K miles? Are these cars expensive to keep maintained? Any feedback from boxter owners?
1998-2000 Porsche Boxter question
- Thread starter miri
- Start date
StageLeft
No Lifer
- Sep 29, 2000
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It's a porsche, so it's a given that it will cost more than a Honda. It's not going to be as dependable, and you can bet that repairs will cost a premium. Specifically for the boxter I don't know. I suspect that if you have some money in the bank it shouldn't be a killer on repairs. Pulling a number out of my ass I'll guess that you'd spend 3 times as much over any period of time as on something like an accord.
Really, if you keep it maintained it shouldn't be that bad.
Expensive items are clutches, and major engine damage (i.e. shifting from 5th to 2nd @90mph)
Routine maintenance is a little higher than some other cars, but it shouldn't be that bad.
The issue with German cars in general (in my experience), including VW, Porsche, Audi, BMW, etc. is that when a part fails, it tends to take other with it, and this usually isn't the case with Japanese cars.
On a Honda or Toyota, you can just drive it until something breaks, fix it, and then go back to driving it. With one of the German cars you really should take it in every 10k-30k miles (whatever it's scheduled maintenance interval is in the manual) whether you think it needs to or not.
Case in point: I had a friend with a 3 series BMW. He didn't take it in for every service, mostly just when something broke. One day a pulley failed on him and basically disentegrated. A new pulley, belt, radiator, and some other parts and labor later it was running again for about $1200+.
Had he gone into the service, that was a part that was actually on the list to be checked, and it would have probably been replaced. The dealership said it would have been about $300, which seems pretty spendy, but not when it prevents the $1200.
The moral of the story is that they can really be fine as long as they aren't abused and are maintained correctly.
A lot of misc parts are actually cheaper for my 911 than similar parts would be for my Honda Prelude.
And the golden rule with any Porsche is get a PPI from a good mechanic. (Pre-Purchase Inspection)
If you want some good people to talk to, check out Pelican Parts Forums I hang out in the 911 Technical forum most of the time.
Expensive items are clutches, and major engine damage (i.e. shifting from 5th to 2nd @90mph)
Routine maintenance is a little higher than some other cars, but it shouldn't be that bad.
The issue with German cars in general (in my experience), including VW, Porsche, Audi, BMW, etc. is that when a part fails, it tends to take other with it, and this usually isn't the case with Japanese cars.
On a Honda or Toyota, you can just drive it until something breaks, fix it, and then go back to driving it. With one of the German cars you really should take it in every 10k-30k miles (whatever it's scheduled maintenance interval is in the manual) whether you think it needs to or not.
Case in point: I had a friend with a 3 series BMW. He didn't take it in for every service, mostly just when something broke. One day a pulley failed on him and basically disentegrated. A new pulley, belt, radiator, and some other parts and labor later it was running again for about $1200+.
Had he gone into the service, that was a part that was actually on the list to be checked, and it would have probably been replaced. The dealership said it would have been about $300, which seems pretty spendy, but not when it prevents the $1200.
The moral of the story is that they can really be fine as long as they aren't abused and are maintained correctly.
A lot of misc parts are actually cheaper for my 911 than similar parts would be for my Honda Prelude.
And the golden rule with any Porsche is get a PPI from a good mechanic. (Pre-Purchase Inspection)
If you want some good people to talk to, check out Pelican Parts Forums I hang out in the 911 Technical forum most of the time.
Well I just sold my boxster about 2 weeks ago and purchased a new ford lightning. I owned it about a year and a half and during that time it required some expensive maintenance. Basically your looking at about $750+ for the 15,000 mile services and they have a nasty habit of rear main seal leaks which can lead to needing a new engine. My rear main seal was replaced to the tune of $1800, you basically need a porsche dealer to do it because they have the special tool from porsche to check if the engine is still in spec- if not have fun paying 5k for a new engine. I think it is the best looking car for under 30k but I wouldn't buy one and expect to not pay heavy maintenance. Dealer oil changes run 150-200$ for the 10quarts of mobil one. That said if you do buy one enjoy, it was well worth it imo and if I didn't need a truck for work and already have a 2000 911, I surely would have kept it. Overall it was pretty reliable...
Zenmervolt
Elite member
- Oct 22, 2000
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Finding a good independant Porsche shop can cut down on costs a lot ($150 for an oil change, come on, really now, how stupid do you have to be to say "OK" to that), but Porsches will always be more for routine maintenance than a Honda or something else. If a Porsche is going to be your daily driver, you need to either be able to afford to spend a _lot_ on maintenance or be a reasonably competant mechanic in your own right.
Historically, Porsches have been well-built cars, there are many 944's and 924S's on the road with 200,000+ miles, and many old 911's too. However, the newer Porsches are reputedly not as sturdy as the older ones were. I've got a 924S and a 914 and both have been good cars, but they have largely been weekend vehicles, so I haven't put a terrible amount of miles on them.
ZV
Historically, Porsches have been well-built cars, there are many 944's and 924S's on the road with 200,000+ miles, and many old 911's too. However, the newer Porsches are reputedly not as sturdy as the older ones were. I've got a 924S and a 914 and both have been good cars, but they have largely been weekend vehicles, so I haven't put a terrible amount of miles on them.
ZV
Fixed the bold.
I have a Porsche 911 SC and a Honda Prelude VTEC.
The 911 is sometimes actually cheaper to work on.
Here is what I have on a recent trip to the shop:
Oil Change / new filter (about 10qts as well, it holds 13, but it doesn't all come out)
Transmission Flush and refill (I supplied the fluid for this, special order stuff)
Changed Oil Pressure sender (I provided, it was like $30)
Fixed leak near Oil pressure sender
Check sender against mechanical gauge
Pulled lower valve covers, inspected and torqued all head studs (the 3.0 motors have problems with studs sometimes)
Replaced valve covers with new gaskets installed
Fixed E-brake light (had a short, was always on)
Inspected speedo to identify problem and give me a bid
All for the grand total of $179.52 including the parts (oil filter, oil, valve cover gaskets), labor, and sales tax 8+% in WA
It's all about finding the independent mechanic. I go to one of the most highly recommended guys in the Seattle area, but it took me two weeks to get in, and he only does air-cooled 911s. There are other shops around that do water-pumpers as well though.
Actually, let me add one more thing...
I'm not saying that it's cheap, don't get me wrong in that my any means. If I blow my motor doing something stupid, it's going to cost me about $8k to rebuild it, which is more than a new motor for a lot of other cars.
There are things that will be more, but not every little thing is going to cost a fortune. Plan for it with a maintenance budget and maybe sock the extra away every month like it's a part of your payment.
There is a saying with older 911s (pre-1990 or so) that they are all $20k cars, you either pay now or pay later. Meaning, you get a 1988 Carrera for $19k and drive it for a couple years with no problems, you buy a 1984 Carrera for $15k and have to replace maybe suspension and brakes, maybe a clutch, looking at $4-5k over a couple of years, or you buy a 1978 for $8k and spend $8k rebuilding the motor, and the other $4k on random other stuff over a couple of years.
A Boxster is probably the same way, though I don't know what the magic number is, I'd imagine that the ones around $30k are new enough that they shouldn't need much of anything, $20k is the low end of the older ones that have been driven a lot. Maybe figure that over two years, a Boxster of any sort could cost you $26-27k and see if you can afford that.
A Porsche is not the type of car that you just barely scrape the payments together for, that's what you do with a Honda/Toyota/etc., it's a car that you decide if you can afford or not including the maintenance.
Anyone can buy a Porsche, mine was less than the cost of a new Civic, or even Focus, but not everyone can afford one. I already have lots of stuff planned for mine besides just the maintenance, simply because it's over 20 years old, and I have updating I want to do. I picked an older one because I got a great deal (I could turn it and make $5k on it fairly easily), and it was in good shape, and I could spend the money on making it mine instead of the higher payments of a newer one. (i.e. new interior, engine mods, suspension work, etc.)
I'm not saying that it's cheap, don't get me wrong in that my any means. If I blow my motor doing something stupid, it's going to cost me about $8k to rebuild it, which is more than a new motor for a lot of other cars.
There are things that will be more, but not every little thing is going to cost a fortune. Plan for it with a maintenance budget and maybe sock the extra away every month like it's a part of your payment.
There is a saying with older 911s (pre-1990 or so) that they are all $20k cars, you either pay now or pay later. Meaning, you get a 1988 Carrera for $19k and drive it for a couple years with no problems, you buy a 1984 Carrera for $15k and have to replace maybe suspension and brakes, maybe a clutch, looking at $4-5k over a couple of years, or you buy a 1978 for $8k and spend $8k rebuilding the motor, and the other $4k on random other stuff over a couple of years.
A Boxster is probably the same way, though I don't know what the magic number is, I'd imagine that the ones around $30k are new enough that they shouldn't need much of anything, $20k is the low end of the older ones that have been driven a lot. Maybe figure that over two years, a Boxster of any sort could cost you $26-27k and see if you can afford that.
A Porsche is not the type of car that you just barely scrape the payments together for, that's what you do with a Honda/Toyota/etc., it's a car that you decide if you can afford or not including the maintenance.
Anyone can buy a Porsche, mine was less than the cost of a new Civic, or even Focus, but not everyone can afford one. I already have lots of stuff planned for mine besides just the maintenance, simply because it's over 20 years old, and I have updating I want to do. I picked an older one because I got a great deal (I could turn it and make $5k on it fairly easily), and it was in good shape, and I could spend the money on making it mine instead of the higher payments of a newer one. (i.e. new interior, engine mods, suspension work, etc.)
Stupid enough that I've been able to afford boxsters and 911's rather then 924's I guess.....You pay to play, sure I could buy the oil and filter and DIY it for about $75 but when I/you/anyone goes to sell most people don't like that, I wouldn't want the former owner DIY' the maintenance on a p-car I was about to buy....but maybe that's just me, or maybe I could care less about spending $75 more and having it done right with a receipt.
The Audi Dealer I use is combined with Porsche. I've seen the service receipts and talked to people there. The prices for standard service and the like are insane. I'm glad Audi does the first 50k mile services for free.
hysperion is right....
DIY is a fine way to go if you plan on keeping the car a long time, but it's going to kill your resale value. One of the reasons my car was such a steal was that not only was it priced below book value, but it had a stack of receipts to go with it from the two previous owners, which let me know what upgrades were done, how it was taken care of, etc.
You don't have to go the complete opposite direction and go with the dealer all the time though, most of the records with my car are from independents, which is fine, as long as the work got done by a mechanic, and all the important stuff was recorded (parts changed, mileage at that point, etc.), I'm happy with it.
DIY is a fine way to go if you plan on keeping the car a long time, but it's going to kill your resale value. One of the reasons my car was such a steal was that not only was it priced below book value, but it had a stack of receipts to go with it from the two previous owners, which let me know what upgrades were done, how it was taken care of, etc.
You don't have to go the complete opposite direction and go with the dealer all the time though, most of the records with my car are from independents, which is fine, as long as the work got done by a mechanic, and all the important stuff was recorded (parts changed, mileage at that point, etc.), I'm happy with it.
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