Discohead Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 http://www.runaboutcars.co.uk/used-cars/porsche-boxster-3-2-986-s-convertible-2dr-maidenhead-201706056149099 Thinking of buying and was wondering if anyone knew the car. Thanks for your time :-) Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrkevuk Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Im no expert but it’s only had 6 services . It should have a service every year so about 18. Has it been off the rd for years or did the owners just not believe in servicing a car ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the baron Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 It's the right number of services for the mileage, just not the yrs, either previous owners just decided to service at the book mileage regardless of how long that was between services or its been off the rd. Car looks good, always buy on condition, what history file does it come with, if not has been done suspension wise it could need overhauling, thats £3k and it goes on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 MOT history shows 2 year gap, but apart from that it looks pretty good. I'd say it's worth a punt, given the clean MOT history, it does seem to have at least had a look over Each year to get it through the MOT. State of discs will be a useful indicator of maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discohead Posted October 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Thanks everyone for taking the time out to reply, really helpful. I am going to go take a look at the car tomorrow morning. Is there anything that I should look for that is relatively easy to see/check? I have basic mechanical skills so will do obvious like checking for blue smoke, mayo in oil, but am certainly not an engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Easy things to check are damp carpets, tears or holes in the rear clamshell foam, brake condition especially inside face, knocks and rattles from suspension, get the car really hot then park it up switch off and see if the pressure forces coolant out by offside rear wheel, window regulators, roof operation and whether it sits correctly, clutch operation and whether it's stiff, window drop when you open car and lift door handle and when you unclasp roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 It's always tempting to drive fast on a test drive, but try and find a stretch of road with speed bumps and drive over slowly with blowers and radio off and the roof down. Any clonks or strange noises indicate worn suspension joints which can get expensive if you get a garage to do the work. Check the air con works, common for front condensers to fail. Not too expensive to DIY, but a bit of a hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefocke Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Some parts deteriorate with age, not by mileage. Check obvious things like tire manufacture date, top and window seals, frunk and trunk seals, clamshell seals. door seals. That still leaves things like AOS, oil and anti-freeze tanks, and hoses. Check by feel the tires for signs of unusual wear. Any way to tell how it was stored? Is the seller willing to have an independent mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection at the buyer's expense? Willing to have the oil filter removed and analyzed for ferrus material at buyer's expense? Heck I even had a leakdown test and compression test done. The inspection told me what I could expect to spend on for the next few years. I bought two just by understanding the sellers motivation and verifying that their story bore some reasonable relation to their situation. Wonderful cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwdg Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Cheap car, low spec. No good options which you may prefer or desire. If it costs you +3k to bring up to scratch you may be better off buying a 6-7k example off someone here with PSM, Bose, Heated Seats, Sport Seats etc. Plus a decent regular annual service history and issues identified and resolved. They do come up. Drive it, enjoy it and think about it.There are loads currently available but that is a very good price for a 3.2 S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discohead Posted October 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Went to see car. Was a little rough inside and service history pretty vague. However, car drove really well (after running out of petrol hahaha), engine sounded really sweet. No strange suspension sounds etc etc. Only issue was a very high and firm clutch. Went back and thought I may go with it if I can get a bit off to cover clutch. Then he told me clutch was totally fine and they are all like that with no negotiating. So I walked. Went to see a 2.7 later in the day at a place in Liphook. More expensive at £5,995 and not a S model. Couple of little niggles. Just not sure I would be happy without it being an S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Clutch is quite heavy on these cars compared to most, even new ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discohead Posted October 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 4 minutes ago, PaulQ said: Clutch is quite heavy on these cars compared to most, even new ones Easily 50% more effort than 2.7 I drove later in the day. Also bite point was much higher. Haven't driven another s though, are they normally that much different? Happy to go back cap in hand if I was wrong. A good deal is a good deal :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 18 minutes ago, Discohead said: Easily 50% more effort than 2.7 I drove later in the day. Also bite point was much higher. Haven't driven another s though, are they normally that much different? Happy to go back cap in hand if I was wrong. A good deal is a good deal :-) Never driven an S, so couldn't really tell you. Apparantly they do get heavier as they wear. Mine bites pretty much at the top of the pedal though, and is fairly new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el 3.2S Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 The clutch on my S is very heavy. I am pretty sure the seller thought it was on its way out, maybe partly why I purchased the car for such a low price? Now, three years on, nothing has changed. Same clutch and same effort required. I got used to it very quickly. Absolutely no sign of any slipping. Car has done 85000miles. I have never driven any other Boxsters, so nothing to compare to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwdg Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 Very happy with the 2.7 after a week. Very usable and sounds great. Would love a 3.2 but couldn’t justify the +2k difference in price for a decent car. The 3.2’s should be more expensive, if not walk. I’m no expert, but 4-5k for a reasonable 2.5 - 2.7, and 6-7k for a 3.2 would be my start point. Question every detail on any car under that figure. I found the Boxster clutch very nice and light compared with Civic and Mondeo. Both with new clutches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 So there you have it. One says quite heavy, the other very heavy, and the other light ! The beauty of the interweb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billzeebub Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 From the photos all looks right with the car you originally posted about. It is a great colour, has the right wheels and no ones de-ambered it which is a good indicator too...geddit?! Seems a tad light on servicing. I would ideally want to see 3 or 4 more stamps. If it has lots of receipts of other work done and has been owned by an enthusiast/professional it should be okay. Maybe someone's owned it whose done their own maintenance at some point? The right age 3.2 for the reduced IMS risk anyway. Definitely one I would want to have a drive of and a good gander through the service history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 My first 986 was on 58k and the clutch was pretty heavy. No slipping at all. Indy told me it could do with replacing. 2 years later by the 550 with 105k and almost immediately put a new clutch in and straight away notice the difference. A lot lighter and easier to modulate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discohead Posted October 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 History wasn't good. Apparently it was owned by a stewardess. Given the garages where the MOTs were done and the very low mileage I doubt it was serviced for years. Suspect it is just the low mileage that has saved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billzeebub Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 13 minutes ago, Discohead said: History wasn't good. Apparently it was owned by a stewardess. Given the garages where the MOTs were done and the very low mileage I doubt it was serviced for years. Suspect it is just the low mileage that has saved it. Shame, as it looks in good nick. I've known a few stewardess's in my time and can safely say I wouldn't have bought a car off any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the baron Posted October 15, 2017 Report Share Posted October 15, 2017 “Chicken or beef” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discohead Posted October 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2017 Tempted to take on as a project car. There is something honest about it and gut feel says it could be a good one with a bit of TLC....at right price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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