boxster maintenance costs

[Guest]

Hi,

My first post so apologies if I' m on the wrong board.

I am on the verge of purchasing a 2.5l boxster 98 plate and have been
hearing scare stories that the reliability of porsche cars over 5yrs is not
good and that maintenance costs are typically around 5k per annum.

Could any boxster owners out there let me know...
a) if this is true
b) what the reliability of there boxster has been and the age
c) the average maintenance cost per annum over the life of their boxster
d) is there anything I should keep a particular eye out for when purchasing
the car
e) are the parts really expensive versus say a merc/bmw?

This is my first ever performance car and so any help you guys can give me
would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for your help. []

M

 

[mikecolquhoun]

First of all you need to have a fully stamped up service book together with previous OPC bills. That will tell you what has been done. You should not touch anything without the book and bills.

There has been much talk about rear seals, the benchmark for this job appears to be £1k.

As far as I am aware, Porsche reliability is known to be excellent although when they do go wrong then a hefty bill can be expected. The 5k bills tend to come with the 911s.

If you stuff away 500 a year for servicing, a similar amount for tyres over 2-3 years depending on usage and driving style and build a reserve of 1k then you shoudl be just fine.

Get to know a good independent and maybe get them along to check out the car if you aren' t sure ... Why not have a chat in person? You may gain some insight and they may gain a customer.

And yes, Beamers and Mercs, can come up with some remarkable bills as well .... same rules apply.

Driving a Porsche is never going to be a cheapo thing to do .... but then again I don' t think a Boxster is a risky purchase if you choose wisely.

 

[Helen Goff]

welcome to the Forum and you have posted this in the correct place.

i second everything that has just been said and would also add that compared to a BMW and JAG if you take depretiation (spelling[])into account you can' t go wrong with a Porsche.

 

[NicD]

Mike,

a very good summary, I will use in the October Posrche Post

I would say that for the moment, the big bills would be for the earlier 911' s. The Boxster and 996 could be into largish money for engine and gearbox repairs in their second and third decades of use.

Personally, I would opt for the Porsche extended warranty. This doesnt cover all situations but would provide a good safety net for a fixed cost each year.

 

[Guest]

One of my colleagues at work has a 4 yr old Boxster, and pays about 500 a year for servicing. She commutes in it every day as well as using it at weekends etc. In two years, she has had no issues (except the wheel nuts going rusty). It has done around 40K miles I think.
Whilst any car has the potential to go wrong, in general Porsche do quite well, as shown in the JD Power surveys.

Another guy at work has an M3, and getting that fixed is not so cheap either.

Standard consumable parts, e.g. brake discs (metal, not ceremic), pads, shock absorbers, etc. are not that bad IMO. Tyres are no worse than comparable cars.
The only way to get a really frightening bill is for the gearbox to fall apart, a timing chain to break, or a con-rod to break. These things are not likely though, and would be expensive in any car.

Porsches are of course intended to be used, so you' ll have to go some to really kill it.
You can use the extended warranty which can cover you for 7 yrs/100K miles I think.

 

[JCB..]

55,000 miles with zero mechanical faults or breakdowns.

12K service intervals that cost between £300-£500.

They eat rear tyres.

JCB..

 

[daro911]

Hi Manny

Your scare stories all sound about right to me except for one small point .... I heard them refs TVR' s never Porsche especially Boxsters ... Good Luck and welcome to the club