Advice for a newbie please!

[Jon61]

Just to fill in the gap, the design of wheels posted by @JamesF in his original picture is called '911 Turbo II', which was an option (and an expensive one, I suspect!) for the 987.2. (There were quite a few official 19" options for the 987, including those on Pinewood's car which are '911 Turbo' ie without the 'II'.)

[frozen]

17 hours ago, JamesF said:

Fantastic thank you (knew I’d come to the right place!).

This is it, would welcome any thoughts/comments:

https://www.woodleighmotorsales.co.uk/used/porsche/boxster/27-convertible/grassmoor/derbyshire/19271352/

might be nothing - but I don't like the hood cover panel when the hood is open - seems like a sizeable gap there in the dealer pictures. Look at others with hood open and you'll see what I mean. Well worth checking it's hood is working properly and that cover panel closes fully as it might need some work to fix if that picture is it fully closed.

best of luck with it - looks nice

[Araf]

1 minute ago, frozen said:

might be nothing - but I don't like the hood cover panel when the hood is open - seems like a sizeable gap there in the dealer pictures. Look at others with hood open and you'll see what I mean. Well worth checking it's hood is working properly and that cover panel closes fully as it might need some work to fix if that picture is it fully closed.

best of luck with it - looks nice

I had that on #4 (987.1 too).  When I summoned up the courage to tackle the problem - expecting to have to shim microswitches and relieve hinge joints, I found that a piece of plastic hadn't been clipped back in place after a service, and so the hood wasn't sitting as low as it should.  Popped it back and the roof worked as it should.  5 minute job.

[JamesF]

21 minutes ago, Jon61 said:

Just to fill in the gap, the design of wheels posted by @JamesF in his original picture is called '911 Turbo II', which was an option (and an expensive one, I suspect!) for the 987.2. (There were quite a few official 19" options for the 987, including those on Pinewood's car which are '911 Turbo' ie without the 'II'.)

That’s really useful, thank you. If this is the case, a quick google shows that these are indeed expensive (circa £5500!) which given the asking price of the car suggests to me they are more likely replicas. The dealer is advertising the car as having “19” Porsche Alloys”.

If replicas, how can I determine the quality? The condition of and care for the car in every other aspect would suggest that the previous owner wouldn’t just slap any old rubbish on, but then again who knows??

I really like the car, just don’t want the wheels to give it a ‘pimped’ look and can’t really afford to be changing them. If they are Porsche products then that makes me feel better!

[sa utah]

There’s a set of replicas on eBay now for 300 quid.    If it was me I’d buy the car and get the correct set of wheels for the car and then sell the wrong ones.  Costs should be minimal I’d say.  
 

looking at the picture the cars not lowered.   

[Philc]

I recently bought a 987.2 with the same style 19s, mine are replicas with budget tyres.

They're not terrible, but since swapping to the correct 17" boxster III alloys there is a marked difference in ride quality and tramlining, and reduced tyre noise but that could be down to the tyre brands.

[jimmy p]

They look like replicas to me. They were never fitted to the 987.1. The dealer is near me, they were actually a fiat dealership years ago but have been selling a few boxsters now for the last few years

[Scubaregs]

Devils advocate, you seem concerned about the cost of tyres between wheel sizes, plus the cost of changing wheels if not OEM, but you are buying a 13 year old Porsche. 

Do you have a maintenance budget set aside?

[JamesF]

38 minutes ago, jimmy p said:

They look like replicas to me. They were never fitted to the 987.1. The dealer is near me, they were actually a fiat dealership years ago but have been selling a few boxsters now for the last few years

Yeah that’s right. They’re still a Fiat garage but apparently the chap that runs it (and his father before him) are heavily into Porsches, in fact the chap I saw was telling me the current owner raced them and could be found on a google search. I don’t  know his name.
 

38 minutes ago, Scubaregs said:

Devils advocate, you seem concerned about the cost of tyres between wheel sizes, plus the cost of changing wheels if not OEM, but you are buying a 13 year old Porsche. 

Do you have a maintenance budget set aside?

Ha, fair point and I thought it might come across like that. As a newbie to all this I’m really just trying to get a feel for initial costs and ongoing costs - I had to google “OEM”, that’s what stage I’m at!!

Anyway, I’m comfortable I have the means for the upkeep but naturally want to give myself the best chance of a sound start.

If things go wrong I can always sell one of the kids.

[Scubaregs]

Trust me, the kids market is defunct.😉

In all seriousness though, what is your maintenance budget for the first year?

[JamesF]

I haven’t set one! What should it be?

[Menoporsche]

1k if lucky, 2k if not. 
 

3k if you buy the first car you see  

[JamesF]

Well, certainly right about the first car I saw, it would’ve been at least that!

What are you suggesting is the reason for the cost in the first year, an annual service (as someone recommended on here) or putting right things you find afterwards?

[jim o'hara]

12 hours ago, JamesF said:

Well, certainly right about the first car I saw, it would’ve been at least that!

What are you suggesting is the reason for the cost in the first year, an annual service (as someone recommended on here) or putting right things you find afterwards?

if you buy a 'well sorted' car, like maybe from someone on here, then your first year should not be £1k

however, if you do not buy a sorted car, then who knows what you could spend - although, please bear in mind there is a lot of scaremongering on forums like this - IF you are OCD, then you will spend loads, if you aren't, then the bills don't necessarily need to be high - see my post from a few weeks ago

jim

[DaveEFI]

20 hours ago, Philc said:

I recently bought a 987.2 with the same style 19s, mine are replicas with budget tyres.

They're not terrible, but since swapping to the correct 17" boxster III alloys there is a marked difference in ride quality and tramlining, and reduced tyre noise but that could be down to the tyre brands.

My last Boxster had 17" and new Michelin Pilots when I bought it. This 987.2 on 19"  has just had new Pilots, replacing Pilots. The wheel size is the main culprit for ride quality and noise. Even allowing for my current car having lower engine and exhaust noise than the previous one.

[Menoporsche]

12 hours ago, JamesF said:

What are you suggesting is the reason for the cost in the first year, an annual service (as someone recommended on here) or putting right things you find afterwards?

Things to put right.  In some cases, personal taste.

18 minutes ago, jim o'hara said:

if you buy a 'well sorted' car, like maybe from someone on here, then your first year should not be £1k

You'd like to think that but it's not so straightforward.

IF you are OCD, then you will spend loads, if you aren't, then the bills don't necessarily need to be high

Fully agree with this!

[JamesF]

15 hours ago, jimmy p said:

They look like replicas to me. They were never fitted to the 987.1. The dealer is near me, they were actually a fiat dealership years ago but have been selling a few boxsters now for the last few years

I’ve just had a call with the garage owner (and Porsche expert) who claims they ARE  genuine Porsche wheels but were an option on the Gen 2 987, not the Gen 1 that the car is. He has refurbed then himself, hence them looking new.

Im taking it for drive hopefully tomorrow so I’ll no doubt let you know if I need any more help in deciding!

Thanks all for your input, really appreciate it.

[brendon]

Bought my boxster almost 2 years ago now, 

First year I did a major service with belts plugs and brake fluid just for peace of mind so I new it was right, think that was about £500, that was all for the first year.

Second year, microswitch failed £60, new condensers just under £200, now needs pads and discs up front doing this myself so about £160 all in hopefully. 

And I'll have minor service later this year probs £200 

That's all touch wood 

[JamesF]

Glad to hear it. Some of the suggestions that huge costs were inevitable were a bit unsettling!

I appreciate there is always the chance (as there is with any car/house/spouse) but I didn’t see why it had to be so inevitable.

I’m doing my best to get a ‘sorted’ one, hence all my questions on here!

[Philc]

2 hours ago, JamesF said:

I’ve just had a call with the garage owner (and Porsche expert) who claims they ARE  genuine Porsche wheels but were an option on the Gen 2 987, not the Gen 1 that the car is. He has refurbed then himself, hence them looking new.

Im taking it for drive hopefully tomorrow so I’ll no doubt let you know if I need any more help in deciding!

Thanks all for your input, really appreciate it.

If I wanted to be sure I would ask them to remove one and show you the part number on the back of one of the spokes, not sure what it would be though? 997.xxx.xxx? ( Id never take a car salesman word for it, even if they claimed to be an expert).

[Philc]

3 hours ago, DaveEFI said:

My last Boxster had 17" and new Michelin Pilots when I bought it. This 987.2 on 19"  has just had new Pilots, replacing Pilots. The wheel size is the main culprit for ride quality and noise. Even allowing for my current car having lower engine and exhaust noise than the previous one.

I'm definitely staying on the 17s, bought them with old winters fitted, will be swapped to  Michelin PS2 when they're needed.

[Stellaman]

Just my 2 penneth worth as a newbie (and first post too!) James...

Having looked at a number of Boxters early last year, I was so nervous about buying a lemon I almost changed my mind completely and opted for a similar alternative but thankfully, after seeing a lot of cars, I stumbled on a dealer based locally to me who invited be down for a no pressure chat one Saturday morning. Me and the Mrs spent a couple of hours just discussing the pro's and cons of Boxster ownership before we opted to drive a couple and to be honest, we were hooked. All of the cars they sell are fully prepped and have brakes replaced all round, calipers and wheels refurbished, water pipes all done along with anything else that needs addressing plus a full service. I am aware that I spent more than I needed to on an 05 3.2S with sub 60k on the clock but was happy to do so knowing I'd bought piece of mind and a sorted car. They predominantly deal with Boxsters and Cayman although do sell other models when they come across a good one.

Well worth some time out of a weekend to travel a bit, it's a big purchase and no reason why distance should be an issue for your first car, happy to put you on to them but don't want to fall foul of any advertising rules on the forum.

I guess the message here is don't be afraid to spend a little extra if the known issues have been sorted, I would't hesitate to do it again.

Whether that helps at all or not I don't know but good luck hunting!

Paul

 

[John K]

8 minutes ago, Stellaman said:

I guess the message here is don't be afraid to spend a little extra if the known issues have been sorted, I would't hesitate to do it again.

Whether that helps at all or not I don't know but good luck hunting!

What Paul said (and welcome to @Stellaman) +1

Look, there are some cracking Boxsters out there so don't think the only option is a Lemon 

I'm not saying don't be careful, and it is obvious you are being careful and because of that you have a good chancing of scoring double top and getting a lovely example...

I got stupidly lucky with mine but I'd like to think it was down to a little bit of due diligence as well as luck

1, Find a good Indy

2, Go talk to them to tell them what you want

3, Ask them to put the feelers out

4, Be patient 

[jim o'hara]

37 minutes ago, Stellaman said:

Just my 2 penneth worth as a newbie (and first post too!) James...

Having looked at a number of Boxters early last year, I was so nervous about buying a lemon I almost changed my mind completely and opted for a similar alternative but thankfully, after seeing a lot of cars, I stumbled on a dealer based locally to me who invited be down for a no pressure chat one Saturday morning. Me and the Mrs spent a couple of hours just discussing the pro's and cons of Boxster ownership before we opted to drive a couple and to be honest, we were hooked. All of the cars they sell are fully prepped and have brakes replaced all round, calipers and wheels refurbished, water pipes all done along with anything else that needs addressing plus a full service. I am aware that I spent more than I needed to on an 05 3.2S with sub 60k on the clock but was happy to do so knowing I'd bought piece of mind and a sorted car. They predominantly deal with Boxsters and Cayman although do sell other models when they come across a good one.

Well worth some time out of a weekend to travel a bit, it's a big purchase and no reason why distance should be an issue for your first car, happy to put you on to them but don't want to fall foul of any advertising rules on the forum.

I guess the message here is don't be afraid to spend a little extra if the known issues have been sorted, I would't hesitate to do it again.

Whether that helps at all or not I don't know but good luck hunting!

Paul

 

good shout Paul

to put some perspective on this, as a well sorted car, how long have you had it now and more importantly how much have you spent

who was the dealer ?

[Stellaman]

10 minutes ago, jim o'hara said:

good shout Paul

to put some perspective on this, as a well sorted car, how long have you had it now and more importantly how much have you spent

who was the dealer ?

Thanks Jim

I bought the car last April for £14k, done just short of 6000 miles and not spent anything on it apart from a little bit of detailing and euro plates for a trip to France. Just been in for a winter check over and nothing 

3.2S Tiptronic, Atlas Grey with Sand Beige interior, Bose and a good spec all round, electric seats etc.

Dealer was Reason Porsche in Crowfield Suffolk