Nobbie

At 130k, I think the struts are likely to be pretty shot if mine were anything to go by when I replaced at 140k. There were no leaks visible on them, but they had lost most of their damping ability. I never noticed anything going over bumps, but I was new to the car so didn’t know what to expect. The effect I did notice was a floaty feel when driving along fast slightly undulating A roads as the undulations weren’t being damped out effectively. Probably would have affected the sort of issues you describe.

A lot depends on how the old suspension comes off. Drop links are often seized and may need to be replaced, same with inboard end of coffin arms. Need to check the condition of the ARB and it bushes. Good luck.

Just seen one of these parked down my street in silver and I can’t believe how ugly it is at the front😱. That huge wide opening beneath the number plate looks odd. Much prefer the muscular look of the 981 GTS. I’ve told the wife to take it off my Christmas list😀

11 hours ago, Topbox said:

Well it's all subjective but the only reason in my eyes to change to a sports wheel with paddles is because they look better. I have a button wheel and find them easy to use, and really don't understand why people are sniffy about them from a functionality pov, but it's not the best looking wheel I would agree.

My 986 Tip came with the thumb shifters, but I found them very awkward to use when pressing on, particularly on tight twisty roads like the Strines where the wheel is at a large angle during changes. The thumb provides a solid grip on the steering wheel and operating the button takes this away. With the paddles, you can operate with the last two fingers which doesn’t affect the grip at all.

That probably makes it sound like I’m hanging on for dear life🤣

7 hours ago, bally4563 said:

 

 

 

more info 

Heated memory seats, cruise control, climate control, face lift roof, 4 new Kuhmo tyres, new alternates, new injectors etc etc. Billy bargain! 

and this was its demise, this found when sump was dropped!!   

Bit of Slick 50 in that and it’ll be fine👍

15 minutes ago, EXY said:

Holy macaroni did you see the state of the pictured wheel !!

Unless he's very honest and took the pic of the worst wheel which is what I would do, unless I refurbished them instead of course. 

“Car is immaculate and first to see will buy.”🤔

@kdh I just clicked on the picture then selected ‘direct link” from the list of options above the picture and pasted it here.

15 minutes ago, phazed said:

I’ve done nothing today!
 

Completed drilling and tapping 11 of the shared exhaust manifold bolts on Wednesday. What a job! I have backache from standing for many hours pushing a drill upwards! All seems good, manifolds at the ready and a new set of genuine manifold bolts will be dropped off to me this evening. Won’t have time to bolt them up until Sunday as participating in a track day at Bedford Autodrome tomorrow.

Would I recommend anyone doing it themselves? Only if you have good access, have the correct jig, (thank you, Mick) are patient, diligent, have time on your hands, and want to save £700-800!  I think my metalwork O-level definitely helped

Have dropped my cats and main silencer to a friend who is going to blast them and weld them where necessary as they had been badly repaired in the past. If all goes well with the car, then I will replace the system long-term at a later date.

Track day tomorrow in my super firm suspensioned Skoda with rock hard, minimal padding, lightweight seats. Just what my back needs!

Well done 🏆, when I’d done mine I felt like I’d finally graduated as a 986 Boxster maintainer and didn’t worry about any other jobs as they wouldn’t be as bad as that, although removing seized drop links came close🙁.

58 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

There really are some gems hidden in the history on this forum.  I'm only 5 years late finding this one!!! 🤣🤣

He did a great thread on his restoration of a 986, but I think he deleted it for some reason as I could find it when I looked.

What’s the MOT history like? If they’ve skimped on major services, I would suspect they’ve skimped on repairs in general and you’ll be spending a lot of money making up for the lack of maintenance over the last 8 years. Plenty of well looked after cars out there, so it’s false economy to save £1k by buying a poorly maintained one.

11 minutes ago, skoosh1970 said:

WBAC have offered £8500 ......!!!!!!!!!!

It might be worth taking that to avoid the grief of selling a high miles with people offering you £5k. I think £9.5k is probably about right.

1 hour ago, Escy said:

Not cheap enough!

It does look like it's been in the sea. A local guy bought it with the intention of doing a track car build with a VAG 1.8t swap. He wisely changed his mind as it's a total POS, not a redeeming quality about it. I'm stripping it for parts, everything I take off seems to be damaged. I thought I'd share some photos just so people can see how bad they can get. You'd never make a decent car out of this. I've had a few and mileage really seems to make a difference (based on the theory that lower mileage see's less Winter use)

The only thing making it from this to mine are the undertrays. 

Yes, mine was a daily driver for most of its life and had 140k on it when I bought it. It had been well looked after, but I can see that rust will finish it off in the next few years when I’ll break it for parts.

Plenty here have dealt with the coolant pipes issue, so I’ll leave it to them to advise. Looks like it’s spent its life by the seaside judging by the corrosion under it😱. Apparently you need to drop the front subframe to change the pipes, so don’t bother getting it aligned until you’ve done the pipes.

The factory ‘Sport’ option is a 10mm drop and different dampers (B6 rings a bell). I think most who’ve gone for more than this regret it if they like driving rather than showing the car. Koni Special Active dampers have been used as an alternative to the Bilstein dampers by a few on here, @edc being the first, so may be able to give some good advice.

Enjoy👍

I think generally it’s pretty irrelevant to most as long as it has been regularly serviced by at least a Porsche specialist. My only reservation would be that for such a low mileage car, they’re may be a particularly fussy buyer out there who would pay more for FPSH, but I doubt it’s worth the extra cost for the outside possibility that they are looking for a car whenever you decide to sell.

I’ve got a UDP and got the belt off eBay. You’ve just got to search for the size rather than car. Mine is a 6PK2075. You’ll probably find this printed on your existing belt.

1 hour ago, wasz said:

Absolutely get your point.

But if you buy a dirt cheap basket case around £1500

Buy all new suspension arms from autodoc, eBay etc not genuine and not specialist price

Source new or low mileage shocks springs and top mounts

New clutch and engine mounts

Cuprinol brake lines, textar pads.

Fit them yourself, don't pay specialist labour except for alignment.

 

You'll end up with a worthwhile project, and be driving round in a car that drives like a new one for under £4k

 

Or you could spend £4k on one, and have 80% worn suspension, end up replacing the arms one by one over a couple of years and never having a car that drives like new

I suppose it depends what you’re after. If you want a car that just drives well then your approach may work, but most want a car that looks nice as well, and this is what can really suck up the £££, particularly after it’s been kicking around Copart on a forklift😬. If you can pick up a car that is cosmetically good but needs some mechanical fettling, you can probably do most of that yourself over time. Depends on what the OP is after, but definitely worth considering carefully before buying something.

39 minutes ago, wasz said:

 

 

The guy wants a cheap project, if he buys a decent car there will be nowt to do!

 

Copart is the cheapest place to get a project! Anyone can see the MOT history, when you have an account you can see the reg

I think most cheap 986’s will be a pretty good project without scraping the bottom of the barrel at Copart. Best to start with something half decent or you may well lose heart before it’s brought upto spec. Mines a decent car, but I could easily spend loads of money and time getting it A1 if  could be arsed.

1 hour ago, sential said:

Hi Nobbie, arch liners not removed no, so that was probably the problem..
Battery is fine, as the constant setting off of car alarm testified to..
Key seems to move very freely in lock so I think it must be disconnected inside by some means. Doesnt actually spin, stops at each end of quarter turn.
 

When I changed my lock I forgot to connect the key linkage and had the same issue when I left the car for a week. Time to take off the wheel liners. Hope you didn’t leave the locking wheel nut key in the car🤔

Did they take out the arch liners to search for the cable pull? They can be hidden away in the back of the headlight and difficult to spot if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Any chance you have a dead battery? Normally the remote stops after a few days, but you can reawaken by turning the key in the lock anti-clockwise a quarter turn. Does it do this or does it just spin? 

On 9/18/2023 at 12:04 PM, fizz said:

I like to be able to slide the back end out when the conditions allow.  

You should have joined us up in Scotland. I remember one sharp bend where all three of us lost the back end, although, @benjohnstone did the most dramatic excursion with his Exige. I was still laughing when my back end stepped out😬

It seems like there maybe a bit of a standoff in the used car market at present for Boxsters with sellers holding out for the high prices of the last couple of years, whilst buyers are expecting prices to drop and are waiting it out.

Many people do a WBAC valuation on cars they are looking to buy as a bit of a sense check or when selling to set a backstop for offers and so a sustained drop in WBAC valuations is likely to feed through to used prices eventually. I certainly wouldn’t be paying asking price on most of the currently advertised 981s. Time will tell.

Not a great time to try and sell a Boxster and suspect your car will have a limited appeal at nearly £10k. It might be worth that to someone that really wants those options, but I’m not sure many do. MO30 at 94k is probably due a refresh if someone was after sharp handling and the body kit is not necessarily a selling point to most of the market. Either drop the price or be prepared to wait for just the right buyer.

18 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

I think you covered most of the draw backs I was thinking of!  Only missing one - the shear pain in the ar*e of doing it.

That the problem with thieves these day, no work ethic.

That’s amateur level insurance fraud, I’ve just insured my Boxster as a Honda Jazz. Don’t tell anyone though😉

9 hours ago, jnwright71 said:

I’ve been looking for a new (to me) 981 or 718 (Boxster or a Cayman) for 4 months.  Lots for sale but nothing is moving.  I’m watching circa 15 cars I like but can’t justify paying £5-£10k above true value and that’s what most are asking.

However, new listings are showing up everyday and the prices are still ludicrous (£35k for basic 2013/2014 Boxsters with 40-50k miles),  These sellers will be in for a very long wait  

The market will continue to drop, and probably heavily, with the end of summer and the current cost of living pressures.

Tough market if you are selling, but a good time to buy if you are prepared to be patient.

I think at the moment it’s the buyers who are being hit by higher interest rates on the loans they need to buy the cars, but most sellers don’t need to sell, so can sit and wait hopefully. Eventually some of the sellers will get squeezed by higher rates when their fixed rate mortgages come up for renewal and have to drop their price to shift it. As more have to do this, asking prices will adjust.