Paul O

6’4” here. I found the 987 much roomier than the 986. Can’t recall about the recline, but I expect you can if you keep the seat further forward as there does seem to be a bit more room in there.

The 997 is roomier still as you can move the seat further back and tilt as much as you like.

Looking at those pictures, it’s had services in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022.

None have gone over the recommended mileage (20k), and it appears to have been done every two years, in-line with schedule but exception of 2011 and 2019. It seems to have had minor, major, in the right frequency too.

It’s had two services since 2019 at Porsche specialists and so personally I wouldn’t be overly concerned with that history if it was my ideal spec and priced accordingly. If it has any recent receipts as well, then that’s a bonus.

You could call the last service guys and get their opinion, if they can remember the car. They may (or may not) tell you.

As the car hasn’t been long in current ownership though and it’s a private sale I’d definitely have an inspection (and borescope if it’s an S model) to make sure the engine is sound.

Edit: I don’t know why my font on this post is so big! 

18 hours ago, skoosh1970 said:

Cheers for the replies and pics all....started painting the block walls with white masonry paint yesterday.  Going to paint the newly plastered ceiling black I think. Started researching interlocking pvc floor tiles which I'm going to defo use once I've decided on colour and design. Had also planned on buying the Boxster profile decal from Zen graphics for the wall plus framed photos of all my old steeds.  Got plenty of wooden shelf stacks for storage .

Will keep up this thread updated as I progress.

Si 

 

My tiles were from Dynotile - definately worth considering. I particularly liked that the locking mechanism on these has no visible join, so they look just like normal tiles, rather than having the jagged edges.

Ecotile, you can see the locking design / jagged edges of colour if you use different colours for your tiles:

Dynotile you can't

4 hours ago, AdyG said:

Looks fantastic and I love the Porsche lettering. If ever you recall where it came from please do share 🙂

4 hours ago, T911UK said:

Pretty sure it was from us! Unfortunately we no longer do them as the supplier was so unreliable

The PORSCHE sign in my garage is made from red plastic and came from Ebay, pretty sure he listed 2 sizes

It was indeed! I've just looked back through my invoices and it was you guys. Such a shame about your supplier as these are so hard to come by and the quality is excellent. I'm really pleased with mine! 

1 hour ago, McDonald said:

Does it go straight onto breeze blocks & brick or do you apply a sealant first?

I'm asking because I painted two garage floors before learning (on this forum) that you're supposed to apply sealant to the floor before painting.

I think people do recommend this yes.

Persoanlly I didn’t bother and just used new wall paint (might have been plaster paint or masonary I can’t remember), then layered on the dulux. I think I ended up doing four or five coats on the breeze to get it looking half decent. It was pretty time consuming but got there in the end.

On 1/29/2023 at 8:15 PM, skoosh1970 said:

Evening all,  moved house on Friday and pleased to say I now have a garage for the Box. 

5m x 2.5m which is pretty tight,  didn't realise she was as big as she is until I got her tucked away. 

So,  i'm looking for ideas and tips to maximise the space... Floor tiles,  shelves etc... 

Let's see what you've done. 

Si 

Hi Si,

My old house was similar size (standard UK garage size at 2.4x4.9m). Like you I thought it felt massive until I actually put a car in it. 

I painted mine all white and parked the car up against one side. I found it had plenty of room for my Cayman. I was going to have it all plastered to really finish it off, but I didn't want to lose any of the width, so just painted it instead.

When I changed to the bigger 911, there was still room behind it to store the hard top - and in the picture below some tyres too! I had a small cabinet on the wall and painted a red stripe around the edge, just to break up the colours.

Red cabinet on the wall was from Ikea kitchens, to store my AutoGlym products. I wanted high gloss and no door handles and this fit the bill perfectly. I put a few canvases on the wall of my old cars (canvas in case they dropped off so that they didn't damage the car), and I had a mini petrol pump at the back.  

Please excuse all the cr*p on the floor! I painted the floor with a grey garage floor point and I thought it looked quite nice overall.

I can't find a picture of the floor finished though. Here is the colour which I had in the old garage (this is a pic of the new garage but to give you an idea):

I had planned to put down Dynotile on the floor, but didn't get around to it. I've since done that in my new garage though and I think they look great! 

This was my plan for the new garage:

This was the end result:

And with the Porsche also in place, realising the dream of the original picture:

The Porsche lettering is made of metal and I found this online somewhere.

Hope that helps!




 

On 8/11/2021 at 3:59 PM, Medic-one said:

Today I went for a little 40 min drive, put the spoiler up manually when we left, and then after the drive I pulled up at the shops, got a few bits and went home, and at home I noticed the spoiler had gone down by itself...   The shop is only 5 minutes away from home, and along a 30 mp/h road, however I can't remember if it was still up or not when I got out of the shop and in the car. 


 

Did you tonk it above 75mph on the run out? I think if you left it up, but then get back in the car and DIDNT put it back into manual mode, it will stay up as you left it UNLESS you get to 75mph at which point the automatic usage will trigger and the spoiler will drop when you get below 30mph again.

The other annoying thing I'm finding is that I can't find the same tyre available for both front and rear (all non "N" rated, as N doesnt appear available at all for 18" wheels now). So I can't even get a consistent set across front and back. 😣

Just a quick update, I've had no luck in finding Mitchelin N rated tyres from the usual suppliers, so I called my local Porsche centre. They have done some searching and have found that Mitchelin are no longer producing N rated tyres for the 18" wheel size. 

So... we won't be getting Mitchelin's on our Boxsters any more if you have 18" and want N tyres. To be honest, I'm struggling to find any non-N tyres by Mitchelin at the minute too.

Porsche are getting me a quote for Conti's and Bridgestones, but waiting on the tyre supplier to come back to them. Any recommendations one or the other?

I just wondered if anyone has decided that their 987 is the car for them, and no intentions of ever selling it? If so, is it your daily too or just a fun toy?

Or is your ownership just for a period of time before changing to something else?

Personally, I'm undecided, having only owned mine for a few months so still in the honeymoon phase of ownership. That said, I consider the 987.1 to be the best version of the Boxster, and I now have one with my ideal spec. So mine has the potential for a candidate being a long term but unsure as yet.

How about you?

Hi all,

I'm looking for some Mitchellin N rated rear tyres for my Boxster (18" wheels - 265/40/18) but I can't seem to find any on the main sites. There are a couple of sites selling a bridgestone tyre but thats it! I'd like to keep with Mitchelin. Is this another weird effect of the pandemic, or am I just been unlucky?

If I can't find any I'll just get the non-N Pilot Sport tyres, but would have preferred the Porsche approved ones for consistency.

Thanks!

Paul.

On 6/10/2021 at 9:44 AM, BOB.T said:

No idea which option was ticked but mine have the Porsche logo embossed on the headrests 😎

They ticked the option to have the Porsche logo embossed on the headrests. 😁

Stuart is right, those are the standard alcantara/leatherette seats which came as standard (no cost).

Most people specced partial leather (which is leather seats) for about £700. The next option was full leather which gave leather dash as well as the (same) leather seats. Beyond that you moved up to sports seats which are a different shape. All for extra cash of course.

The ones in the picture are heated though, which is quite unusual for alcantara items.

The seat shape is the same as the standard leather seats I believe, so it's more down to if you like the appearance or not really.

On 5/21/2021 at 3:37 PM, Sammysmiths said:

I have a garage attached to the house. Its not damp, but also its not air conditioned. 

My Boxster will be a weekend and fun car and occasional commuter car. So, for periods it will just be sat in the garage, with the UK weather just the other side of the garage door. The garage roof is new and watertight. 

So, do i keep the car with the roof up, or roof down?

If its roof up, shall i crack the windows to allow airflow through the cabin?

The car will be a bit of a squeeze in there so i may end up pushing the car in to avoid knocking the wing mirrors and clanging the door against the brick wall if i had to get in/out.

Also, handbrake will probably be off and a wheel chocked. 

If you garage is a standard new build it should be 2.4m wide. A Boxster will fit in easily if up against one wall with a bit of practice. I was able to get out fairly comfortable. 👍

On 5/24/2021 at 11:49 AM, JonSta said:

My cousin had a 356 speedster. He left it for a while over winter with one window down slightly to circulate the air. Rats or mice got in. Ended up getting the whole car retrimmed. Red leather. Nice. Lucky he has lots of money. Sold it before I got to drive it. Git. Never did find how the little bleeders got in the garage.

Mice can get pretty much anywhere, through the smallest of openings I think.

As for Windows, I'd definitely say closed. Spiders! 🕷️🙈

The current one, no. But previous ones, yes. In my 986 I did about 10k a year I think, and did similar in my 987 Cayman.

They are perfectly fine for using as a daily, providing you find them comfortable enough.

I don't use my current one as a daily, but that's because I no longer have a commute. Advantage being it makes all of the journeys in it really fun 😎

I've sold one of my cars to WBAC today. Really easy, took about 20 minutes.

Knocked off roughly £100 for a couple of stone chips, which I expected. Easy transaction and they paid more than part ex (by £4.5k!), which was only £500-1k less than retail from a main dealer. I doubt I could have got a better price selling privately.

Prices have been going up because the market is desperate for good quality used cars at the minute. Second time I've sold to them, and a great service from WBAC.

The Final Update 😵

And so here it is, the Cayenne has now been sold, after just under five and a half years of fabulous ownership. I've absolutely loved owning this car and it has been my favourite ever car purchase. The seats were by far the most comfortable that I've ever sat in and the driving position is perfect for a tall bloke such as myself.

It has taken us all over the country on holidays and shopping trips, it has carried everything in its carnivorous boot, from moving house boxes, to tip runs, to garden centres trips and everything in between.

A phenomenal car which has been incredibly reliable and for what it is (a prestige SUV with true 4x4 capabilities), it has been a cheap car to run too!

COMPLETE COST OF OWNERSHIP FOR 65 MONTHS AND 51,000 MILES:

The car was due a service when I bought it which started things off:

• 2016 – Minor service, wiper blades and brake fluid: £254
• 2016 – Number plates for my personal registration: £20
• 2016 – Valet to get rid of the smoke smell (can’t remember the cost, lets say £80)
• 2016 – New key fob (it only came with one and I wanted two): £239
• 2016 – Alternator refurb and refit: £216
• 2016 – 4x budget tyres (Top-notch stuff isn’t really required for our use): £350
• 2016 – Annual / Oil Change service: £118
• 2016/17 – MOT: £88
• 2017 – Window Regulator and new rear glass micro switch: £330
• 2017 – Major service including spark plugs and brake fluid, plus a new rear wiper blade and front side light bulb: £394
• 2018 – MOT: £44
• 2018 – Replacement of driver side Window regulator: £258
• 2018 – Oil Change service: £120
• 2019 – MOT: £44
• 2019 – New front headlight bulb from Porsche: £18
• 2019 – Front Tyres: £195 (Black Circles)
• 2019 – Tracking for tyres (they were wearing unevenly: £30
• 2019 – Rear Tyres (Black Circles) £188.50
• 2019 – New wiper blades and fixing of the fuel flap switch (which broke so I couldn’t open it). £90
• 2019 – Minor Service £174
• 2020 – New front brake pads and sensor £208
• 2020 – MOT – £45ish
• 2020 – Gear Leaver plastic bush replacement (Safety Recall): £0
• 2020 – Repaint of front and rear bumpers to repair scrapes: £270
• 2020 – new LCD screen and buzzer (parts only) £61.13 and £42 + £19 duty and fees
• 2020 – Oil change service plus air filter, fitting new sidelight bulb and fitting LCD screen and buzzer £258
• 2020 – Changing the light bulb fiasco: £0
• 2021 – MOT £45

• TOTAL RUNNING COSTS FOR 5 YEARS OWNERSHIP: £4198 (£64.58 per month)
• DEPRECIATION (Purchased at £7k, sold for £4350): £2650 (£40.77 per month).
• TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (not including tax, petrol or insurance):  £6848 (£105.35 per month).

Why sell? I've had it for so long now and could easily keep it forever more. I had a good one and I kept it well maintained, but I have other cars on my to-do list that I really want to try - one of those being a Boxster 987 (which I now own). However,  this meant that in keeping the Cayenne, I had three cars, plus my wife’s car. I now work from home permanently, and the wife doesn't work that far away either. Four cars is just too many as they are all hardly getting used. Unused cars quickly become broken cars and I do not like to have broken cars in any shape or form and the level of maintainence required owning a mini fleet without justified purpose really pecks at my head. So, sensibly, but reluctantly, the Cayenne has said its farewell  today, being snapped up by a very nice gent who will be using it for similar family duties as I did. We'll be replacing my wife’s Puma as well, combining the two cars to form a Jaguar E Pace as the family car all being well, with the Boxster as my 'daily' and the Camaro as the weekend toy.

A friend of mine likes to say that when it comes to cars, depreciation means you can "Live like a millionaire from ten years ago". A brand new Cayenne will cost you more than £750 a month, with a £7,000 deposit. Big numbers! But I bought mine outright for the same price as just that deposit when it was 11 years old. Awesome!

The Cayenne still turns heads, even today at 16 years old, and to my biased eye it still looks great too - very different, very striking, and I hope the new owner gets as many reliable and fun miles out of it as I did.

2 hours ago, EXY said:

IIRC our own @Paul O sold his 997 convertible for the exact price quoted.

Also and again IIRC he was happy with the deal and service.

Have to admit, I can't remember if it was exact or not, but it wasn't far off if not. My neighbour also sold his 911 to them and got the price quoted. My auntie used them for one of her cars and they knocked off £1. 

So they aren't always bad, but you have to be honest about the condition of your car. If you don't declare those stone chips, and that scratch, and those tatty wheels on the quote, you can't be surprised when they knock the price down for all of those points. This is typically where people fall fowl of the system.

The quote for our Puma is about £1k off retail prices at the minute, which is only £500 less than what I'd hope to get private. I'd expect to get full quote price for that as there is zero damage or stone chips.

2 hours ago, iborguk said:

Each to their own. Been there , done that and wanted the job done properly after the deflector had started to unclip itself. They are a little more expensive to replace …😀
 

Thanks both, appreciated. I think i'll go for the new clips, just to be on the safe side as not a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things.  

Hi all,

I took my 987.1 out for its first real run in my ownership today with the roof down - noticed the wind deflector glass section is a bit rattly. Is this normal, or some kind of connection that I might need to fix/replace?

Thanks!

I bought a 987.1 primarily because of its design. To my eye, the 986 now looks like an 'old' car, and the 981 looks (and costs) like a 'new' car. The 987.2 somehow looks too fussy front and back, and the wheel designs don't seem to look right either. The 987.1 has a lovely, timeless shape about it but with a modern interior that I really like spending time in. Its not a fussy design, inside or out, its just... timeless. In my opinion of course.

Short update, MOT day today. All passed with no advisories. 👍 In the past 12 months, we only did 3,800 miles together - and I suspect most of that will have been in the first few months of 2020 before the first lockdown!

Happy new year! Doesn't time fly!! Here is an update as we've just nudged past the 150,000 mile mark on our 15 year old Cayenne V6, completing 5 years of ownership here in the Paul O household, later this month!

COMPLETE COST OF OWNERSHIP FOR FIVE YEARS

The car was due a service when I bought it which started things off:

• 2016 - Minor service, wiper blades and brake fluid: £254
• 2016 - Number plates for my personal registration: £20
• 2016 - Valet to get rid of the smoke smell (can't remember the cost, lets say £80)
• 2016 - New key fob (it only came with one and I wanted two): £239
• 2016 - Alternator refurb and refit: £216
• 2016 - 4x budget tyres (Top-notch stuff isn't really required for our use): £350
• 2016 - Annual / Oil Change service: £118
• 2016/17 - MOT: £88
• 2017 - Window Regulator and new rear glass micro switch: £330
• 2017 - Major service including spark plugs and brake fluid, plus a new rear wiper blade and front side light bulb: £394
• 2018 - MOT: £44
• 2018 - Replacement of driver side Window regulator: £258
• 2018 - Oil Change service: £120
• 2019 - MOT: £44
• 2019 - New front headlight bulb from Porsche: £18
• 2019 - Front Tyres: £195 (Black Circles)
• 2019 - Tracking for tyres (they were wearing unevenly: £30
• 2019 - Rear Tyres (Black Circles) £188.50
• 2019 - New wiper blades and fixing of the fuel flap switch (which broke so I couldn't open it). £90
• 2019 - Minor Service £174
• 2020 – New front brake pads and sensor £208
• 2020 – MOT - £45ish
• 2020 – Gear Leaver plastic bush replacement (Safety Recall): £0
• 2020 – Repaint of front and rear bumpers to repair scrapes: £270
• 2020 – new LCD screen and buzzer (parts only) £61.13 and £42 + £19 duty and fees
• 2020 – Oil change service plus air filter, fitting new sidelight bulb and fitting LCD screen and buzzer £258
• 2020 - Changing the light bulb fiasco: £0

TOTAL RUNNING COSTS FOR 5 YEARS OWNERSHIP: £4153 (£69.22 per month)
DEPRECIATION (Purchased at £7k, I think it is now worth perhaps £3500 – a slight increase from previous years due to Covid-19 doing weird things to the car market): £3500 (£58.33 per month).

TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (not including tax, petrol or insurance):  £7653 (£127.55 per month).

Average MPG for reference, I'd say is around the 19-21mpg mark.

This year will be a big service for the Cayenne, but that won't be until towards the back end of the year. But the age (15) plus the milage (150k), plus the Major Service that it will be due next means quite a lot of service items will need refreshing in 2021! 

Question: How many IT specialists does it take to change a lightbulb?

So... the indicator stopped working on one of the front lights. This requires the usual Porsche thing of removing the light from the car, then replacing the bulb. There is a known flaw with the design of the lights whereby sometimes the indicators will lose connection and stop working, but the bulb is still fine. The solution is to pull the indicator bulb, clean the contacts with a bit of wirewool, gently expand the prongs to help tighten the connection, light bulb back in, light back in the car.

5 minutes work. Easy.

Easy? No. Because I'm an IT specialist.

At the weekend I removed the light, feeling very manly with big big piece of car sat on the makeshift table in the garage. Gave it a quick wipe clean, and then had a look at the intructions on how to remove the indicator bulb. "Twist" they say. I'm twisting, but nothing is twisting. On to YouTube, "Its a very easy procedure..." says the guy, who simultanously pulls out the indicator bulb, as if by magic. Still nothing. So, I call John at Porsche Euro. "Just twist it!", he says. Still nothing. 

So now, being the genuins that I am, I decide to pull out the other light and see if I can twist that one - to make sure I'm not being a complete feeble weedling. That indicator twists fine, feeling very manly now with two light housing units sat on my table of garage manliness.

There can't be many things in life that can demasculate you quite like failed attempts at the most rudamentary and basic car mechanicing. I try twisting the broken light again, nothing. Frustrated at this point I decide to give up and resign myself to the fact that John is going to have to be paid a visit for him to sort out my fekkin' lightbulb.

So I put the 'broken' light back in, and that goes in fine. Now to put the good light in... there is a reassuring 'click' from the top, but with it the realisation that the bottom is completely wonky. It won't go in. It won't come out. I try more pressure, and nothing. I try maximum wiggling, up, down, left, right. Nothing. Its stuck.

Half in. Half out. Stuck. So now I have one light that has no indicator, and one light that is only half in the car.

For

F**KS

SAKE!

Over the next few days I continue to try to rag the thing out of the car, even to the point where the wing was flexing, but nothing!! It was having none of it.

A reluctant call back to Porsche Euro, who I'm sure were struggling to contain their laughter at my imbicilic nature when it comes to me and my car abilities, and I was booked in for this morning.

And now its all fixed. I had done a great job of getting it stuck as it took John some serious ragging about to get it loose, but he won in a way that I wouldn't have dared in the space of maybe two or three minutes. After about half an hour or so both lights were fixed and back in.

Cost to me? Zero, with a merry christmas. He's a really nice guy is John.

Crisis over... and I can be 'proud' of my failed attempt at even fixing a bulb! A bulb!! 🙈

Some happy news that whilst I was there, my Uncle showed up wanting a new battery in his Panamera! I've not seen him since before lockdown so it was great to catchup whilst the two Johns sorted both of our cars!

Porsche Euro in Barnsley is the place and I'd highly recommended. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!