Buying advice please

[dave webb]

Hi all,
I've been looking for a Boxster 987 Gen II and came across this one, not sure how to post links (perhaps someone can advise), it's at the independent sports car specialist - Peter Nash in Warsah Hampshire. It's a 2010 2.9 987 manual with 27k miles (blue). It drove very well during a test but I have a couple of queries that I wonder if anyone here can help with.

1) When turning, very occasionally on full-ish lock there was a short fairly quiet squeal, that I'm assuming is the power steering? Is this normal, the sales person said it was common.
2) The 2nd and 3rd services were about 27 months apart, should this be worry to me? I thought the maximum interval was 24 months?

If anyone knows this car, could you send a PM with any info you may have please.
Thanks
Kind regards,
Dave

 

[Motorhead]

Dave,

As you say, the squeal you heard on lock was probably due to the PAS pump. I wouldn't say that it's a common fault and if you're considering purchase I'd insist on the problem being investigated more thoroughly. It may only be a worn poly-belt but it could be something more serious (and expensive to rectify).

It's a very low mileage car so I wouldn't worry that the 3rd service was 3 months late.

If you're serious about purchasing the car it's worthwhile getting a pre-purchase inspection done by a reputable Porsche specialist. Apart from a visual inspection of the car they'll be able to carry out a full diagnostic check to confirm everything is as it should be.

Good luck.!

Jeff

 

[dave webb]

Thanks Jeff,
A professional inspection sounds like good advice to me and particularly to check what's causing the possible PAS squeal as I suspect if I mentioned it to the sales person again they'd probably just say it would be covered by any pre-sale checks and therefore nothing to worry about.
Can anyone recommend such a specialist, someone local to where the car's located , Hampshire south coast, will try and set something up asap. How do dealers normally react to detailed scrutiny of their cars?
Kind regards,
Dave

 

[Metz2000]

Morning Dave.
Lovely car, although I may be biased.
I had an inspection done by Peter Morgan on my 911 in London, it was very useful. I think he covers quite a large area. I didn't have one done on my boxster but I do think it would be worth having it done if you have any reservations. It does specifically say on the garages website that any issues will be addressed so they should be open to an inspection. I would think a lot of the garages know the inspectors.
Chris

 

[Digi944]

My advice to anyone with getting someone to inspect a car is if the dealer doesn't like it then walk. A good dealer will have no issues and would actually prefer a presales check from an independent party as it also protects them from you coming back with a fault or damage that wasn't there.

 

[dave webb]

That's very useful advice, much appreciated all. I have a good feeling about this car. Hoping to get a car and join in some of the events scheduled throughout the summer from the Southern Region. I'm also hoping my wife will enjoy driving a Boxster as it's a fair bit smaller than the F Type we had which she really didn't like. We had a few close calls in that car that are best forgotten, a manual Boxster will hopefully do much more to her liking as I really want her to enjoy driving it to.
Cheers,
Dave

 

[dave webb]

An update - I finally put a deposit down on the above car after getting some checks done on a couple of areas I wasn't sure about and am very much looking forward to picking it up later this morning. Sun is shining so it's going to be a very good day... Managed to extend the offered warranty to a year so that's reassuring, hopefully I won't need it, probably paid a little too much for the car but it's exactly the right colour, very low mileage and fantastic condition and the dealership is almost on my doorstep so very happy all round.
Thanks for all comments and suggestions received.
Dave

 

[Boxstercol]

Congrats!

Any update or are you still driving it?!

 

[Tracy_Wilkins]

Congratulations Dave
It looks like a superb car and now you have the weather for it too.
Don't forget to register it on the Boxster database. You will then receive emails from me regarding events etc.

Regards
Tracy

 

[dave webb]

Thanks.... am very please with the car, not driven it too far yet as weekend plans prevented it but as you say the sun is shining over the next few days so will be out this evening for sure. When I picked up the car the sales person particularly mentioned keeping an eye on the battery or to avoid suffering the consequences of a flat battery and grief of trying to open the bonnet. He said a battery conditioner would be a good idea if the cars not used for a week or so. Anyone here have any experience or recommend an Optimate type battery conditioner? He mentioned you can plug this into the 'cigarette lighter' socket. Does this sound right? I'm assuming the cable would be run though a slightly open window or just gently closed door on the lead, lock the car and then switch on the battery conditioner. I'm bound to have many such questions over the next few weeks as I get used to the car. Is there any 'Idiots Guide' somewhere here that I can access? I'll put my car details into the system shortly as keen to get involved with the club activities.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Motorhead]

Dave,

I've been using a CTEK conditioner for years on my lightly used Cayman - it's an excellent way to keep the battery in top condition. Sometimes Lidl sells a very cheap battery conditioner which a number of members have reported works very well.

You can buy a CTEK cigarette lighter adaptor (the socket is live permanently on your Gen2) or, like me, you can just clamp the croc clips to the battery terminals and run the cable through the gap between the bonnet and the wiper panel.

Don't forget to check the electrolyte levels on occasions though.

Jeff

 

[Boxbrownie]

It could be that the dealer knows the battery is a bit suspect, if it has been sitting around and not charged fully or the engine run enough to charge it while in the dealers/former owners hands then the battery may be kaput, and has been needing a jump to get it going.
Any battery in good condition should hold plenty enough charge even after a few weeks of non use, just think of all those airport car parks!
I suspect that the battery is on its way out and the dealer knew this, no big deal though in the scheme of things eh?

 

[kitchens]

Having had several Porsches and 3 Boxster all have been on a permanent charger as the Boxster seems to shut down after a week or so .Have both types wired up a Ctek and the Lidl at £14 and they work identically so no need for an expensive charger ,the downside to the Lidl /Aldi are only on offer at certain times of the year.Touch wood never came out to a flat battery yet . Enjoy the car Boxsters are great

 

[dave webb]

So far so good, no problems starting or anything else come to that, and am very much liking my Boxster. Still, it's a heat wave presently and batteries will no doubt let you down when it's most inconvenient in the depths of winter. The receipts I have show a new battery was fitted 2 years ago but I have to say am a little confused about using a 'cigarette style' socket, it looks like my car has this and another auxiliary socket in the centre console. Do I need an adapter for this? Maybe I should just hook up directly to the battery as mentioned above to avoid any potential grief. I did a bit of reading into this subject earlier on sites like pistonheads but came away totally confused about what I could or shouldn't do. Guess it's all part of the experience, getting to know your car.... Guess a bit academic at the moment anyway as the cars not likely to be left sitting around much during the summer []
Regards,
Dave

 

[Mark_Mko]

Hi gents ,

I myself am looking to purchase a 987 , I've tried to post on here tonight and asking for help on what to look for and which engine size to buy/avoid , but there's either a fault with the forum or something wrong with my tablet as there's no provision to open a new post.

Id appreciate any advise from you guys which could save me a head ache and a whole lot of money, I'm mechanically experienced as I'm a technical specialist for a Mercedes Benz main dealer so please give me any indepth knowledge you may have.

Kind regards
Mark

 

[dave webb]

Hi Mark,
Having just gone through the buying process, I'd recommend a full inspection if funds permit (300-450), I didn't do this and maybe in time it will prove a mistake but at the moment all is well, sounds like you know generally what to look for, I personally wanted a late low mileage car with full service history, there are many references to the notorious IMS bearing failure for earlier 987s which is why I went for a later Gen II but depending on how much you want to spend this may or may not be an option. I also bought from a respected dealer recommend through a few friends I know so it seemed lower risk if anything went wrong. I have a years warranty that I hope I won't need to test!! My philosophy is always do as much research on a model as you can and spend as much on a car as you can afford, there is a huge amount of info out there on the net.
I've had my car 2 weeks and so far so good, I think I should have carried out a more thorough inspection if I'm honest and used my Porsche technician contacts to personally check out the car rather than just rely on general advice I received from them and on from this forum. At the end of the day, I bought a car that was the right colour, low mileage, full Porsche service and with a specification (compromised but I can live with) and service history that is reassuring. Boxsters are great cars to drive, hope you find one...
Regards,
Dave

 

[Mark_Mko]

Hi Dave

Sorry for the late reply , thanks for your input I'm going to take my time and look around first and hopefully manage to refrain from buying the first pretty car i see.

il let you know how I get on Dave

cherrs
mark