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New member need advice on buying 986 Boxster


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I have been dreaming to own a Porsche for a very long time and I'm now finally financially able to purchase a second-hand 986 Boxster. I'll appreciate some advice from the experienced members from this forum.

1) Where is a good place in victoria for a prosche specific pre purchase inspection? Or is a generic one from RACV good enough? How much should I expect to pay for that?

2) Would you recommend getting the IMS bearing changed as a prophylactic measure? And how much does it normally cost and where will be a good place to get it done?

3) I'm just weary of the potential costs of repair for a Boxster if anything goes wrong and was wondering if any one here had picked up a 3rd party warranty and had good experience with it? I've been reading that many 3rd party warranties are almost as good as scams.

Thanks in advance!

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1 hour ago, Ameloblast said:

I have been dreaming to own a Porsche for a very long time and I'm now finally financially able to purchase a second-hand 986 Boxster. I'll appreciate some advice from the experienced members from this forum.

1) Where is a good place in victoria for a prosche specific pre purchase inspection? Or is a generic one from RACV good enough? How much should I expect to pay for that?

2) Would you recommend getting the IMS bearing changed as a prophylactic measure? And how much does it normally cost and where will be a good place to get it done?

3) I'm just weary of the potential costs of repair for a Boxster if anything goes wrong and was wondering if any one here had picked up a 3rd party warranty and had good experience with it? I've been reading that many 3rd party warranties are almost as good as scams.

Thanks in advance!

1. @Dave Brennan can do a PPI and he is a mobile guy, so can go pretty much anywhere

Edit: He is a Porsche guy, you MUST get a Porsche specialist to do the PPI. 

2. IMS = yes, but also ensure it has a full service history. Cost depends on type and you’d do clutch at the same time.

3. Parts might be a little more expensive but I reckon labour charges (non-Porsche dealership) at a specialist is on par with BMW or Mercedes. I agree with those 3rdparty warranties from non-manufacturers. They are just another income stream for the stealership.

Also, my 2003 2.7 is for sale. FSH, IMS and clutch done at 98,000kms (has 115xxx kms now), no mods, black exterior and black interior.

Im wanting to upgrade to a 997. I’m in Victoria too.

PM me if you want to get in touch about it. 

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13 minutes ago, Dave986 said:

1. @Dave Brennan can do a PPI and he is a mobile guy, so can go pretty much anywhere

Edit: He is a Porsche guy, you MUST get a Porsche specialist to do the PPI. 

2. IMS = yes, but also ensure it has a full service history. Cost depends on type and you’d do clutch at the same time.

3. Parts might be a little more expensive but I reckon labour charges (non-Porsche dealership) at a specialist is on par with BMW or Mercedes. I agree with those 3rdparty warranties from non-manufacturers. They are just another income stream for the stealership.

Also, my 2003 2.7 is for sale. FSH, IMS and clutch done at 98,000kms (has 115xxx kms now), no mods, black exterior and black interior.

Im wanting to upgrade to a 997. I’m in Victoria too.

PM me if you want to get in touch about it. 

Thanks for your reply Dave, sent you a PM.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm due to pick up a 2001 986 auto from Lorbek this weekend and need to decide if the 5 year warranty for $3k is worth it.

The car has done 155,000km and has full history at Porsche/Weltmeister and has had the IMS bearing done. I got a pre purchase inspection prior to delivery it is getting a new water pump, drive belts and rollers, new roof tension cable and some minor suspension work and fluid replacements. 

The warranty looks good on paper in terms of coverage. Has anyone had real world experience, do claims get honoured, or based on overall reliability of the cars would I be better served just banking the $3k and using it if something goes wrong? It is only going to get weekend drives, probably less than 2,000km per year.

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3 minutes ago, Kevvie said:

I'm due to pick up a 2001 986 auto from Lorbek this weekend and need to decide if the 5 year warranty for $3k is worth it.

The car has done 155,000km and has full history at Porsche/Weltmeister and has had the IMS bearing done. I got a pre purchase inspection prior to delivery it is getting a new water pump, drive belts and rollers, new roof tension cable and some minor suspension work and fluid replacements. 

The warranty looks good on paper in terms of coverage. Has anyone had real world experience, do claims get honoured, or based on overall reliability of the cars would I be better served just banking the $3k and using it if something goes wrong? It is only going to get weekend drives, probably less than 2,000km per year.

Kevvie, welcome.  Who is doing the work and supplying the parts?  If you do a search through the Forum on Lorbeks you might find some posts which may lead you to seeking further info, and may give you some insight into whether such aftermarket warranties are value or not.  Search function is at the top of the page?

And, might I add, once you've driven it a little, you'll want to drive it a whole lot more than 2,000kms for the year ?  (says he who has driven his "new" 996 12,000kms in 6 months...

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Second the idea of walking if it doesn't feel right.  It's not the type of Porsche you can only get from one place.  Regarding the warranty....it only works as a business model if, on average, they pay out less than the warranty is worth...which means it's not worth it to the client/consumer, on average.  Plenty of online stories about 3rd party warranties and not many of them are glowing with praise.

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Forget the warranty. If you're wary about the diligence of any repairs etc and have paid a deposit and can get out of it, and you are second guessing the purchase, there are heaps of these autos around for sale.... in saying that, the car and the details of sale could be quite good ...... just be aware that it's your choice and these cars are easy to find everywhere...

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Hi,

From a buyer's perspective, I have a question regarding negotiating a deal to buy with a pre-purchase inspection. Do you:

1) Agree on a purchase price, on the condition that it will only be valid if the car passes the pre-purchase inspection, or is willing to pay the costs required to pass the pre-purchase inspection. If not, the seller will absorb the cost of the inspection.

or

2) Buyer pay for the pre purchase inspection, and if it is unsatisfactory, then tough luck buyer will incur the cost of the inspection.

Which option is more common? Considering that the PPIs can be quite expensive, I wonder if there's a way to avoid having to pay PPIs one after another if a string of bad vehicles come my way while shopping for the car.

Thanks!

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Option 2. Doubt whether any seller will pay for multiple PPI's if several people want one.  Soon adds up!

My suggestion is that everyone who gets a PPI done on a car, offer it to other members on the Forum, if they do not go ahead with the purchase, at say $100-$200 to recoup some of the cost.  Reason being that what may turn me off buying a car, would not be a factor for someone else.

Beats everyone paying for a PPI on the same car!  Maybe we need a PPI "sale" thread!

I paid for 4 PPI's before I bought my car!

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deano - yes I did the search. Not much really other than the initial post that kicked off the broader media storm, but definitely necessary to read what that complaint was actually about. Lots of commentary from people that weren't involved and I guess everyone needs to form their own opinion of what is reasonable to expect. I loved the fact that a hairdresser from Birmingham UK felt qualified to add a viewpoint on their homepage. My view is that you should always do your own due diligence.

ameloblast - I signed the contract for a price subject to a mechanical inspection. You wear that cost ($550 in my case) and then use it to either 1) get the dealer to fix things, 2) negotiate the price on the basis you will get someone else to fix things or 3) walk away knowing you have avoided additional spend you didn't plan for. Think of it as insurance. You wouldn't get the mechanical inspection unless everything else looks good. In my case the dealer was happy to wear the cost of putting it on a truck and sending it to my nominated inspection place.

 

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Thanks @PhilH and @Kevvie for answering my previous question.

I have another question.

What milage range would you recommend in a secondhand 986? i.e. 15+ year old car

From what I researched these are the consensus:

1) IMS issues are more common in cars that are not driven enough.

2) Good service history more important than low milage

On one hand I don't want to buy a car with too low milage that may have higher risk of issues but yet pay a premium for it,

On the other hand I don't to buy a car that has too much on the clock and things start falling apart because it is too worn or have troubles reselling it when I decide to upgrade in the future.

Any veterans here have a sweet spot to recommend? You think 100,000km to 150,000km is reasonable? Will driving for a few years and reaching 200,000km be bad? Just hoping to minimise depreciation while maximising reliability.

Thanks!

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You will be going to find a unicorn at around 30ks and not many come up around 50 or 60ks (and if they do you pay too much over the usual for them).

100 to 150ks is fine, both mine have 122 and 148ks and are near on mechanically and interior etc perfect for those ks....and I've done 5000ks and 1500ks in them and  I haven't spent a cent of maintenance anywhere on the cars on them since I purchased 1 year back and 6 months back ....... just get one with a full history dealer or Porsche indy preferably

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3 hours ago, Ameloblast said:

Thanks @PhilH and @Kevvie for answering my previous question.

I have another question.

What milage range would you recommend in a secondhand 986? i.e. 15+ year old car

From what I researched these are the consensus:

1) IMS issues are more common in cars that are not driven enough.

2) Good service history more important than low milage

On one hand I don't want to buy a car with too low milage that may have higher risk of issues but yet pay a premium for it,

On the other hand I don't to buy a car that has too much on the clock and things start falling apart because it is too worn or have troubles reselling it when I decide to upgrade in the future.

Any veterans here have a sweet spot to recommend? You think 100,000km to 150,000km is reasonable? Will driving for a few years and reaching 200,000km be bad? Just hoping to minimise depreciation while maximising reliability.

Thanks!

We sold a boxster a couple of years back around the 100k mark & it was still driving just as nicely as when we purchased it (not consuming oil, no rattles etc). 

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21 hours ago, Ameloblast said:

Hi,

From a buyer's perspective, I have a question regarding negotiating a deal to buy with a pre-purchase inspection. Do you:

1) Agree on a purchase price, on the condition that it will only be valid if the car passes the pre-purchase inspection, or is willing to pay the costs required to pass the pre-purchase inspection. If not, the seller will absorb the cost of the inspection.

or

2) Buyer pay for the pre purchase inspection, and if it is unsatisfactory, then tough luck buyer will incur the cost of the inspection.

Which option is more common? Considering that the PPIs can be quite expensive, I wonder if there's a way to avoid having to pay PPIs one after another if a string of bad vehicles come my way while shopping for the car.

Thanks!

Number 2

also, if you're doing a deal subject to a PPI, make sure you include the words 'subject to a pre purchase inspection to my satisfaction'. Same with finance. Make sure it is subject to your satisfaction, not the dealers or sellers. This way, if you need to get out for any reason you have the safety net of saying it's not to your satisfaction. I heard of dealers pushing very expensive finance deals onto buyers because their own fell through, and the buyer has to go through with it as they signed 'subject to finance'

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So the saga goes on. They have provided receipts for $1620 from an external mechanic to cover 2 globes, bump stop replacement, coolant flush, replacing upper link boots, priming the heater system, a basic service and RWC. It seems like a lot of money for not a lot of work, I'm curious if anyone is able to comment on that.

However, they *haven't* done the work that the PPI recommended because they said their own checks showed that work didn't need to be done so now I don't know who to believe. He's happy for me to walk away from the deal if I'm not satisfied. 

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Who was the external mechanic?  If you have read the results of the searches there appears to be a workshop that may be somewhat tied into Lorbeks.....  However, other people who appear to use that workshop seem to be otherwise quite satisfied...

Again, as has been noted by others, if you are otherwise concerned about the car, can the deal and look at the (quite a few) other cars out there.

 

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8 hours ago, Kevvie said:

So the saga goes on. They have provided receipts for $1620 from an external mechanic to cover 2 globes, bump stop replacement, coolant flush, replacing upper link boots, priming the heater system, a basic service and RWC. It seems like a lot of money for not a lot of work, I'm curious if anyone is able to comment on that.

However, they *haven't* done the work that the PPI recommended because they said their own checks showed that work didn't need to be done so now I don't know who to believe. He's happy for me to walk away from the deal if I'm not satisfied. 

RUN!

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