Porsche 986

JamBur

I'm over 6ft, and on the hefty side, I'm nearly 40..... I just saw an ad for an early Porsche boxster. I think mid life crisis is kicking in.

http://www.adverts.ie/15095017

Any thoughts? Anyone know the specific car. I'd like to ask questions on the Porsche Ireland forum, but it costs 70 quid for membership:)

Henry Ford III

Not the easiest car to buy a parts and repairs aren't that cheap.

Look for a fsh backed up with a folder of receipts, and ring the garage(s) to verify them too.

Zubeneschamali

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Not the easiest car to buy a parts and repairs aren't that cheap.

Look for a fsh backed up with a folder of receipts, and ring the garage(s) to verify them too.

Do garages really keep service records for 20 years, assuming garages from 20 years ago are still in business?

JamBur

Fair points, but it's an itch I'd love to scratch, and at this price point it seems fairly low risk. I'd love to make contact with someone in the Porsche forum, as I'm sure they'd have a fair idea of the provenance of most Irish Porsche. 70 quid for membership is bad though.

ewj1978

Knowing where that car is I'd avoid it.

aaakev

Make sure the IMS bearing has been done and make sure you confirm it 100% because thats a costly repair that will take thw good out of it!

He looks like a dealer trying not to look like a dealer too. Thats never good

Bigus

JamBur wrote: »

Fair points, 70 quid for membership is bad though.

I think you have already answered your own question above , if you think 70 quid is a showstopper.

gctest50

mr2 and put a v6 into it ? nice project to tip away at

or a K civic engine and you'd have a nice upgrade path

bound to be better than some beetle engine some albosch has made a balls of adding on a jack shaft and a few cylinders

bazz26

JamBur wrote: »

Fair points, but it's an itch I'd love to scratch, and at this price point it seems fairly low risk. I'd love to make contact with someone in the Porsche forum, as I'm sure they'd have a fair idea of the provenance of most Irish Porsche. 70 quid for membership is bad though.

If you think €70 to join an owners forum is bad then maybe Porsche ownership is not for yourself.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

bazz26

Without knowing what you get for €70 it's hard to say but it sounds more like an owner's club with other benefits rather than just an internet forum like boards. Maybe it's part that way to weed out the serious members/owners from those with just an impulse or childhood fantasy? I'm sure there are other Porsche forums out there that are free.

JamBur

bazz26 wrote: »

Without knowing what you get for €70 it's hard to say but it sounds more like an owner's club with other benefits rather than just an internet forum like boards. Maybe it's part that way to weed out the serious members/owners from those with just an impulse or childhood fantasy? I'm sure there are other Porsche forums out there that are free.

That's my understanding. Club membership is required by some insurers to qualify for classic insurance. This is really just wondering out loud. Forum access would be great to pick people's minds, but it's not worth it when I'm just pondering about a car. A lot of my previous purchases would never have happened if I had to stump up 70 at the pondering stage:)

JamBur

aaakev wrote: »

Make sure the IMS bearing has been done and make sure you confirm it 100% because thats a costly repair that will take thw good out of it!

He looks like a dealer trying not to look like a dealer too. Thats never good

You're 100% right. Owner says he bought car from the dealership where pictures were taken. He works there as well. That raises more questions then it answers for me

bazz26

Have a look at the Mazda MX-5, will probably give most of the thrills of the Boxster outside of performance, but with lower running costs.

aaakev

bazz26 wrote: »

Have a look at the Mazda MX-5, will probably give most of the thrills of the Boxster outside of performance, but with lower running costs.

Mx5 is a seriously fun car to drive, more so than the boxster id say.

Even the 1.6 is good fun on a twisty road!

kdevitt

JamBur wrote: »

Fair points, but it's an itch I'd love to scratch, and at this price point it seems fairly low risk. I'd love to make contact with someone in the Porsche forum, as I'm sure they'd have a fair idea of the provenance of most Irish Porsche. 70 quid for membership is bad though.

Its €70 for Porsche club membership, the forum is free.

The 2.5 Boxster has a pretty reliable engine - more info on IMS bearings here.

http://www.revolution-porsche.co.uk/news/ims-bearing-failure-symptoms-and-how-to-spot-them

MojoMaker

Doesn't look like a well-kept Boxster to me at all. It's not even that cheap for a tatty example.

Have a look at the environment in which the car is parked and photographed also. Not much effort put in there to my mind.

I'd go elsewhere, there are some tasty 986s out there with lots of loving history.

Tropheus

That could be a money pit. I'd be suspicious of the price. You could spend that again just to sort problems. Being mid engined, they are not that easy to work on.