Jon61

3 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Change 'value' to 'desirability' then... but £347 on the options list for that much metal from Porsche was a bargain!!

I'd agree - and as a comparison, it was exactly the same amount just to have the 986 roll bars painted in body colour  (which I did )

11 minutes ago, ATM said:

Weren't these like 4k new?

Not quite, I'm afraid  Though I'd say they've probably been a good investment for anyone that bought them at list price:

From the Model Year 2000 price list (prices as at 1.5.2000): Roof Transport System: £347 (Hardtop: £1,960 incidentally)

5 hours ago, greenman986s said:

Anyone got a picture of one in place?

2 minutes ago, phazed said:

Another question while I’m down there! Is there supposed to be a cover over the fuse box.? If so, mine is missing. Typical! 

Yes, a black plastic panel, with a finger hole. Also has notches on the back for a paper guide to the fuses, IIRC

8 minutes ago, phazed said:

While I was in the footwell I noticed a small rocker switch at the bottom left-hand corner of the fuse box. Can someone let me know what this is for Please.

It's the manual switch for the spoiler, isn't it? (One touch up, but you have to keep it pressed to put it back down, and of course you can't see the spoiler from inside the cabin, even if you aren't contorting to reach the wonderfully-positioned switch 🙂)

6 hours ago, cozzykim said:

Are there any variations of the CTEK devices? Should I be looking for a specific S/H model to fit this socket?

That is the Indicator connector (I think it used to be called the Comfort Indicator), which was an optional extra and shows, with coloured lights, the standard of charge of the battery when it's not connected to the battery maintainer. However, the actual physical connection is the same as the standard CTEK connector without the indicator lights, so any current/recent model should physically connect to it.

As to the specific model - check your battery to see if it's an AGM type (which is likely on a 981) - if so you should ideally get a CTEK that has an AGM-specific mode on it - so for example I think the MXS5.0 has it but the 3.8 doesn't; the latter still says in the spec that it's suitable for AGM batteries, but it doesn't have a setting to (presumably) charge them the optimum way.

Just now, Davey P said:

Nothing wrong with the dark side mate, we are living the dream over here 😂

Sorry, I meant to type "the dark inside" ... 

28 minutes ago, McDonald said:

A one hour dash to Precision Porsche for some help with the hardtop.

Possibly you meant to post this in the 987 subforum @McDonald ?

If not, please tell us more about the 981 hardtop ...  Or are you breaking the news to us that you've joined @Davey P on the dark side? 

15 minutes ago, daz05 said:

Look at the other items, M4 and X5 also £10k. Scam 100%

He's got 5 vehicles for sale, photographed outside five different houses 

3 hours ago, daz05 said:

The spec list states it has bi xenon's as an option in one of the pictures which likely means pdls were specified as xenon's were standard on the S and so wouldn't have a corresponding price otherwise.

Apologies for furthering the geekery ...

I don't know if this is different by model year, but the 2015 981 brochure says that the Boxster S has bi-xenons as standard, but without PDLS(/+) or headlight washers. See p68 of brochure here: https://www.stuttcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Porsche_int-Boxster_2015.pdf  - this is the worldwide (EN/WW) version but the EN/UK edition is the same.

But just to confuse the issue further, I was under the impression that 'bi-xenon' meant that both full & dipped beam uses xenon bulbs. But that Porsche brochure describes the PDLS option on that page as follows: "Comprising Bi-Xenon main headlights with halogen main beam headlights, a headlight cleaning system and automatic dynamic range control, ... ". Is there a typo in the text I've made bold, or if not, what is going on??

Edit: Just checked a 06/2013 edition of the Boxster brochure, and bi-xenons were already standard on the S then.

16 hours ago, bandit_287 said:

This is the GTS I’m looking at, I’m just not sure I could live with red.

I would never have thought I could drive a brightly coloured car before I got a Speed Yellow 986, having never even had a red car before. In 15 years I only ever had good comments about it (at least to my face) - and I was surprised how many strangers would compliment it. I dare say it might depend where in the country you are, but I'd say don't rule it out just because of the colour.

It does appear to have the 2-zone aircon from one of the photos.

I've got the 25W xenons in mine and have no problem with them. (But then I never really had an issue with basic lights in my 986 either, perhaps I just eat more carrots than most 😀).

4 hours ago, RedBarediver said:

Mine can only go to 136mph on a very good day (according to the specs)

You may be being a bit unfair on your car. The original 2.5 specification top speed was 149mph, so even if yours has lost a few horses in the interim it's probably good for more than 136. 

4 hours ago, RedBarediver said:

I guess what I am saying is that you have a whole lot of car with the Boxster

Fully agree with this though , and for some people (me included) a Boxster is actually a better car than a 911, which I've never hankered after (for a variety of reasons).

3 hours ago, Dubdubz said:

if I go for an S what should I make sure it has, I’m confused over sports and the Sports plus for example.

All 981 models have a Sport button; it's standard equipment (although the extent of what it does depends on what options your car has eg PDK). The Sports Chrono option is what gives you the Sport Plus button.

If you're at all confused about the various features and options, I'd suggest reading through the original sales brochures - and it's worth being aware that the 981 specification changed somewhat a year or two after launch (at least concerning the PCM features, I can't remember it is affected anything else major), so it may be also worth looking out both an early and a late brochure online to see what the differences were. You'll find an early UK brochure on this page: https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-boxster-981-sales-brochures/ but may have to look elsewhere if you want to refer to a late model UK brochure (I think the last standard/S UK brochure was a 2015 one).

I see they've made the PDK selector lever look like a manual gearstick, complete with alcantara gaiter, to try to minimise the shame of buying an RS car and getting an automatic 

2 hours ago, Terryg said:

@Patt "3 - Remember lass setting (great for those on extended warranty)"

Probably useful in this day and age, I wasn't aware they came with a warranty, mine has definitely developed some faults over time , where exactly do I register my claim?

Just remember to remove any non-approved accessories before you take yours in for the warranty work ...

28 minutes ago, BBB said:

Astonishingly good timing @iborguk

9 minutes ago, Steed said:

Is one of the issues around using Google Maps via a phone on the continent, going to be the reintroduction of Roaming Data charges since Brexit?

That's just another reason to make sure that before you go, you download to your phone offline maps for the regions you're going to need, as was suggested above. (It's also a good reason as it lets you continue to navigate even if you lose the data signal.)

On 4/16/2023 at 1:59 PM, cozzykim said:

Mine has 4.5x (2013 /14MY)

Is it worth the firmware update to 4.76 for any good reason?

I can't remember if there's been any discussion on here about what's actually in the firmware update - if there was, it wasn't notable enough for me to recall it (and I certainly haven't noticed any difference, though mine only went from 4.75 to 4.76 anyway)! So if you're not interested in the updated maps, I don't think you'd bother doing the upgrade just to get the newer firmware.

But as John found out above, there are MY2013 cars with PCM firmware version 3, which causes the 'zoom' issue referred to in the other thread. So best not to go just by the MY but check the firmware version.

i see it's for 2013 onwards boxster. My wife's 981 is late 2012. Do you know If this still applies and how can you tell the pcm version number please? TIA

@wmcg I think you press Source and Info together to find the firmware version. I'd suggest having a quick look through the thread I linked to in the 2nd post above; there's some useful info in there.

I've never had to replace the cats, but had always assumed, although the new parts are expensive, that you'd get something back for trading in the old ones? Surely the reason they're expensive is that they have platinum or other similar precious metals in them (which is what makes them attractive to thieves) - these metals don't get 'used up' during the lifetime of the cat converter and should be able to be recovered (at a cost) when the cat needs to be scrapped.

Yes, there's still any number of reasons ro use Google Maps, particularly for more complicated journeys eg European trips - multi-stop routes, traffic-routing (if you don't have the online system for PCM) or especially the ability to prepare routes ahead of time and just load them up from a link. But for me it's still good to have up-to-date maps in the PCM - I don't want to have to use my phone everytime I want satnav (it drives Mrs61 spare - 'you've got satnav in the car and you still stick a phone on the dashboard?!'). I wouldn't pay Porsche prices to update it, but for what the online chap charged I thought it was worth doing.

On European trips I tend to use Google Maps on my phone for the particular routing I want, but I still put the day's ultimate destination in the PCM so that I've always got some idea how far I am away from that night's stop (which I don't think Google Maps shows?) and also will have a route to follow if my phone dies, loses the route for some reason, or falls out of the mount (all of which I've had happen, usually at the most awkward moment).

I'd say that that was fairly standard - in fact almost universal until fairly recently. Nowadays, some motor insurers will include comprehensive cover for a certain period in the price quoted, but they usually make a point of saying so, particularly because it's not standard. And that's only been fairly common in the last 10-15 years anyway.

I don't remember the details on this, but I'm fairly sure that if you go back say 30-40 years, UK motor insurance didn't automatically provide any cover outside the UK, and you always had to pay for an extension ("get a green card"), and in some cases get special documents (eg a bail bond if you were driving in Spain, as the police there tended to impound your car if you were involved in an accident until they'd investigated it). Then something (premumably EU-related) changed and third part cover was automatically included, but usually no more. The reasoning was that driving abroad (unfamiliar road rules, especially driving on the right) meant extra risks that it wasn't fair to spread over everybody's premiums when relatively few people incurred the risk. As it's become more common for Brits to take their cars abroad, some but not all companies have built the cover into their standard policies.

If you intend driving your car abroad , it's worth comparing the costs and terms for doing so when you buy your insurance - it may be OK paying the extra per trip with your current insurer, but you may well find it's better to select one that automatically includes comprehensive cover in the basic premium as it can work out cheaper. But also take note of the way it works which can vary between companies - some say you're covered for x days in a year and don't need to tell them when you go (good for spontaneous last-minute trips), but others want to be informed of dates each time you travel (to tally the days you've used presumably) otherwise you won't be covered even though it's included in your premium.

Have a look at this thread, John - it's quite long but probably worth reading through quickly. I upgraded mine about a year ago through a third-party seller which is much cheaper than getting an OPC to do it (on page 4 of the thread). I've no idea if the original seller is still active, but hopefully there's a link in there somewhere that you can try. Worth reading through the thread though because a) some of us had slight hiccups in the upgrade process, though I think we all got it to work, but also b) there's something in there that certain versions of the PCM can only be upgraded so far, so worth checking if that applies to you before you go any further.