Scrap or Repair my 986

[Mr96er]

Great to have a range of views now.

I’d like to offer this on behalf of those who’ve been blessed with a budget boxster Experience: 

You can run a BOXSTER on a modest budget. 
 

It helps if you start with something reasonably well sorted and you may need help establishing this before buying. 
 

tyres, oil, brakes are Particular areas to pay attention to, as they are little things that can have big consequences.

Its quite possible that the more you research and plan, the “luckier“ you’ll be😉

Don’t completely ignore those saying £2k for the first year sorting stuff is required. But take it with a small pinch of salt. You can buy smart and have a sub £500 bill In your first year quite reasonably. (of course, you could spend more than that in a set of tyres, too! It’s not the only way to be safe though)

The devil always collects his dues! Nothing lasts forever and you will have to replace stuff. There’s no reason why you can’t buy smart though. Original used parts, oem quality alternatives. Considered usage (I wouldn’t daily a Porsche sports car on a low budget, but as a toy, it’s proved inexpensive for me) 

just my two pence worth, which is all I can afford to spare according to my running costs calculator 🤓

[Lennym1984]

Just to add a different perspective, I think this could easily have happened on newer tyres and with a fine engine mount and so - to the op - I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. 

I've had a few spins on track and it can happen very quickly

[bally4563]

8 hours ago, usman10316 said:

Unfortunately the saying  that, "there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche", although not 100% true - really does hold some value.

Porsches may be cheaper to buy now, but remember it still is a Porsche, which means repair costs are not cheap by any means. I had a 924 before, and even that wasn't cheap to repair and keep running per se - compared to the boxster, it was cheap, compared to a normal car it wasn't. 

Its sad to see the OP didn't fix some of the problems, I mean, driving on 10 year old tyres is just asking for trouble imo. I don't know why people want to skimp on tyres, its the only thing that is keeping you from the road! You cant buy a Porsche and run it for Toyota money. Sadly, due to the cheapness of these cars, they are becoming more neglected as average joe blogg will buy it, rag it for a few months/year before selling it on without doing any repair work/maintenance work on it - leaving it in a more potentially dangerous/expensive state than had the person done the work. 

100% agree with @Boxstercol and other members. Car is probably scrap - time to move to a cheaper and more affordable marquee. 

Like my well sorted 2.7 facelift🤔

[½cwt]

7 hours ago, Lennym1984 said:

Just to add a different perspective, I think this could easily have happened on newer tyres and with a fine engine mount and so - to the op - I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. 

I've had a few spins on track and it can happen very quickly

Likewise with you on track experience, but I have never spun on the public highway even when road rallying.  Besides if you go on track you know you're likely to be closer to the limit and (hopefully) you've checked and prep'd you car before you leave the paddock.  Plus there is run off /gravel or whatever to give you the lower cost of on 'off' which on the public highway would be terminal for the car which appears to have been the case on this occasion.

[Darkstar]

Update. 

My Boxster has been moved from the recovery company to CPS and I'm now waiting for a call from Lee with his prognosis. The preliminary response is it dose not look as bad as he expected. 

Regarding the tyres they are not 10 years old but 9 1/2 year old winters with OK tread. When I asked if I should bin them for PS4s I was advised to run them for the winter and replace in spring. 

Regarding spending money on her I have spent every penny I was recommended to. Even though she had been serviced 6 months before I bought her I booked her into CPS for a major plus gearbox oil and brake fluid. Everything that CPS recommended was done. 

She has no MOT advisories. The advisories I referred to were from its service and included the engine mounts which I asked to have done but I was told to leave till next service. 

[Mr96er]

11 hours ago, bally4563 said:

Like my well sorted 2.7 facelift🤔

🙄

[Nobbie]

1 hour ago, Darkstar said:

Update. 

My Boxster has been moved from the recovery company to CPS and I'm now waiting for a call from Lee with his prognosis. The preliminary response is it dose not look as bad as he expected. 

Regarding the tyres they are not 10 years old but 9 1/2 year old winters with OK tread. When I asked if I should bin them for PS4s I was advised to run them for the winter and replace in spring. 

Regarding spending money on her I have spent every penny I was recommended to. Even though she had been serviced 6 months before I bought her I booked her into CPS for a major plus gearbox oil and brake fluid. Everything that CPS recommended was done. 

She has no MOT advisories. The advisories I referred to were from its service and included the engine mounts which I asked to have done but I was told to leave till next service. 

That's encouraging news from Lee, my concern was it might turn out to be worse than initial looks indicate. Hopefully Lee can sort you out at a decent price.

Nobody on here, or I suspect even you know why you lost the back end on that roundabout, But some on here have a real fetish about tyres and if you're not running N rated rubber under three years old with 3mm plus tread then you are a irresponsible skinflint with no regard for other road users who shouldn't dare to own a Porsche😀 Before anyone bothers, yes I do know that they are the only four points of contact with the road, the Boxster is a sports car etc, but on any set of tyres there is an ultimate grip limit that drivers need to be aware of and tailor their driving too with regard to weather and road conditions. Even then, a diesel spillage will catch anyone out, no matter what tyres they have.

Hope this moment of adversity has acted as a bonding moment between you and Blue, so we get no more 'I've fallen out of love with my car' laments on here.

Onwards and upwards🙂

[usman10316]

11 minutes ago, Nobbie said:

Hope this moment of adversity has acted as a bonding moment between you and Blue, so we get no more 'I've fallen out of love with my car' laments on here.

Onwards and upwards🙂

Falling in and out of love for the Boxster is SOP - always happens. 

[Terryg]

"Its quite possible that the more you research and plan, the “luckier“ you’ll be"😉

@Mr96er you mean you PLANNED to buy all those cars???  I thought you knew some East London car dealers who kept getting you drunk...………………...

[Mr96er]

5 minutes ago, Terryg said:

"Its quite possible that the more you research and plan, the “luckier“ you’ll be"😉

@Mr96er you mean you PLANNED to buy all those cars???  I thought you knew some East London car dealers who kept getting you drunk...………………...

Is your wife from a East London? 🥴I don’t remember 🤷🏾‍♂️

[Terryg]

6 minutes ago, Mr96er said:

Is your wife from a East London? 🥴I don’t remember 🤷🏾‍♂️

One was, one wasn't. The same amount of logical thought went into the one that was as...……………………….. oh never mind.

[Mr96er]

1 minute ago, Terryg said:

One was, one wasn't. The same amount of logical thought went into the one that was as...……………………….. oh never mind.

🤣👍

[Terryg]

1 minute ago, Mr96er said:

🤣👍

Did you get a run in today?

[PaulQ]

20 hours ago, usman10316 said:

Unfortunately the saying  that, "there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche", although not 100% true - really does hold some value.

Porsches may be cheaper to buy now, but remember it still is a Porsche, which means repair costs are not cheap by any means. I had a 924 before, and even that wasn't cheap to repair and keep running per se - compared to the boxster, it was cheap, compared to a normal car it wasn't. 

Its sad to see the OP didn't fix some of the problems, I mean, driving on 10 year old tyres is just asking for trouble imo. I don't know why people want to skimp on tyres, its the only thing that is keeping you from the road! You cant buy a Porsche and run it for Toyota money. Sadly, due to the cheapness of these cars, they are becoming more neglected as average joe blogg will buy it, rag it for a few months/year before selling it on without doing any repair work/maintenance work on it - leaving it in a more potentially dangerous/expensive state than had the person done the work. 

100% agree with @Boxstercol and other members. Car is probably scrap - time to move to a cheaper and more affordable marquee. 

I think it's a bit rich posting the above considering you had Landsail tyres on your 924, and you were enquiring about buying part worn/cheaper tyres 6 months ago when you needed rears for the box..... 

[Southy]

We all know these cars can and will let go at slow speeds in the winter, my car a couple of weeks ago stepped out at a set of traffic lights where I was turning right, the road was damp, it was chilly and I was doing no more than 20mph, I'd just fed the power in quicker than normally and it went sideways, my car doesn't have traction control and I was gone in an instant, somehow I caught.

To those queuing to go the other way! it looked like 'some c*ck in a Porsche'

[usman10316]

52 minutes ago, PaulQ said:

I think it's a bit rich posting the above considering you had Landsail tyres on your 924, and you were enquiring about buying part worn/cheaper tyres 6 months ago when you needed rears for the box..... 

Enquiring is different from actually doing and buying. I enquire about 911's or Ferraris here and there, doesn't mean I'm going to buy one. 

Landsails aren't actually bad tyres on a 125bhp car either. But I wouldn't dream of having them on the boxster or Cayman. 

[CAZ]

7 minutes ago, Southy said:

We all know these cars can and will let go at slow speeds in the winter, my car a couple of weeks ago stepped out at a set of traffic lights where I was turning right, the road was damp, it was chilly and I was doing no more than 20mph, I'd just fed the power in quicker than normally and it went sideways, my car doesn't have traction control and I was gone in an instant, somehow I caught.

To those queuing to go the other way! it looked like 'some c*ck in a Porsche'

Yep, coming out of AV8 cafe car park at the Cotswold Airport meet the other week I had a tail slide at under 20 mph on rears that have less than 4000 miles on them  - easily done and I’m dreading driving in icy weather - so much so i’ve just taken out total loss plus on the Fiesta ( as well as having it on the Box ) 

[mike597]

15 minutes ago, Southy said:

We all know these cars can and will let go at slow speeds in the winter, my car a couple of weeks ago stepped out at a set of traffic lights where I was turning right, the road was damp, it was chilly and I was doing no more than 20mph, I'd just fed the power in quicker than normally and it went sideways, my car doesn't have traction control and I was gone in an instant, somehow I caught.

To those queuing to go the other way! it looked like 'some c*ck in a Porsche'

Yup I've done it as well. Damp cold road, cold tyres, leaves, a bit too much power, low gear turning and accelerating. Easily done. 

[golfprorich]

So what we've established is that the accident was driver error, the OP was fully aware he had winter tyres on the car and what their limitations were and didn't drive accordingly. Had he done so then the accident wouldn't have happened?

I don't get the engine mount theory....if the mount detached from the chassis that'd mean four bolts would've sheared or three if the engine bolts failed. Can't see that happening. The rubber failing is a gradual process not an instant one 🧐

[PaulQ]

11 minutes ago, usman10316 said:

Landsails aren't actually bad tyres on a 125bhp car either. But I wouldn't dream of having them on the boxster or Cayman. 

The point I was trying to make which I thought would be obvious is that you told the op to move to a cheaper/more affordable marque. 

A 924 is still a Porsche, and yet you had cheap tyres on it.

Nothing wrong with that, but using lack of bhp as a justification for doing so seems pretty daft to me. 

You wouldn't fit lesser tyres on 2.5 box just because it has 50 bhp less then a 3.2 would you...... 

 

[bagss2]

IMO the biggest potential for LOFT in this sorry tale is having £8k in a £5k when events potentially present the opportunity to have £3k in a £3k car.

Good luck to the OP regardless, mind.

 

Cheers, Baggers.

[usman10316]

18 minutes ago, PaulQ said:

The point I was trying to make which I thought would be obvious is that you told the op to move to a cheaper/more affordable marque. 

A 924 is still a Porsche, and yet you had cheap tyres on it.

Nothing wrong with that, but using lack of bhp as a justification for doing so seems pretty daft to me. 

You wouldn't fit lesser tyres on 2.5 box just because it has 50 bhp less then a 3.2 would you...... 

 

OK - I didn't mean to offend with the last bit, you are right. My point was driving on tyres THAT old is a big no no - I'm sure you wouldn't contest that brand new landsail tyres are better than 10 year old tyres? The 924 was my very first car - so of course I was going through a nice learning curve as well (we are talking about 5-6 years ago!) - over the years I've learnt a lot more about maintenance, preventative maintenance, tyres etc. I wouldn't use them on any car anymore, on my 325I I have continentals, on the cayman its goodyear eagle f1's and the box sits on PS4's.

[K.I.T.T.]

4 hours ago, Darkstar said:

Regarding the tyres they are not 10 years old but 9 1/2 year old winters with OK tread. When I asked if I should bin them for PS4s I was advised to run them for the winter and replace in spring. 

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree with that. 9.5 vs 10 years is of no consequence.

https://www.michelinman.com/howLongTireLast.html

Quote

 

"Ten years is a maximum

If the tires haven't been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, as a precaution, Michelin recommends replacing them with new tires. Even if they appear to be in usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator. This applies to spare tires as well."

 

Whilst there are much potent cars out there, the cars we drive aren't exactly docile shopping trolleys and as such, need to be maintained appropriately.

 

When I acquired my current car, even though it had matched Continentals all round with 4mm of tread, they had been fitted four years before and in reality, likely had older DOT markings. Even with PSM, I had some interesting drifty-drifty moments on larger roundabouts in the damp. This was on the commute, certainly not whilst trying to "make progress".

Same tyres also held me back in Cheddar Gorge after some new suspension components and alignment. Just could not feed the power in. Fitted some new Goodyears* and it was night and day.

* <insert any decent tyre manufacturer>

[PaulQ]

Apparently winter tyres have a shorter lifespan then summers due to the compound used. Could well be b*ll*x though. 

[PaulQ]

7 hours ago, usman10316 said:

I'm sure you wouldn't contest that brand new landsail tyres are better than 10 year old tyres? 

I know that if you crash on either, then probably not a good idea to mention it on here