Expertise Required: I intend to buy a 2000/2001 3.2S

[Guest]

Hi. [insert usual first post I'm about to buy.... here] [] I've decided on a pre March 2001 Boxster S for about £12.5k. Never owned a Porsche before, but believe it to be a good (if slightly pricey) compromise between enjoyment and bomb proof reliability for a 5000k/year daily drive. I have worked on cars and bikes for years so have a fair appreciation of car buying basics but would appreciate a bit of help (from the experts!) on some of the Boxster specific questions I haven't been able to answer elsewhere, either digging on the web or round the forum FAQ's. I have already seen a handful of cars, good and bad, and now want to home-in on something! 1. I read somewhere all Boxsters have Porsche Driver Stability Control. Is this true? What is it exactly? And what is the purpose or benefits of the PSM option? 2. What is the difference between the CD22 and the CD32 stereo options? 3. Not wanting to be overly vain I am torn between 17" or 18" wheels/tyres. What are the costs involved? I read about £120/pair for the 17" and £150/pair for the 18" - is this accurate? Has anyone owned both and therefore know if the different size tyres have different lifespans? 4. I read somewhere (again) that all the information from the on-board computer can be displayed anyway on the dash somehow and thus understood it to be a pretty useless option. Is this true? 5. How do I know if I'm looking at a M030 sports chassis? Is it on the VIL sticker? Like I said. Help much appreciated, thanks in advance. Win

 

[spyderman]

ORIGINAL: win

[FONT=arial"][FONT=arial"]1. I read somewhere all Boxsters have Porsche Driver Stability Control. Is this true?[FONT=arial"]

[FONT=arial"]
Driver Stability Control - sounds like sports seats to me.
[FONT=arial"]
[FONT=arial"]

[FONT=arial"]And what is the purpose or benefits of the PSM option?

PSM stands for Porsche Stability Management - or traction control in non-Porsche speak.

[FONT=arial"]2. What is the difference between the CD22 and the CD32 stereo options?[FONT=arial"]

Sorry, don't know.

[FONT=arial"]3. Not wanting to be overly vain I am torn between 17" or 18" wheels/tyres. What are the costs involved? I read about £120/pair for the 17" and £150/pair for the 18" - is this accurate? Has anyone owned both and therefore know if the different size tyres have different lifespans?[FONT=arial"]

[FONT=arial"]£150 for a pair of tyres for a Boxster? You might get half of one for that.
I happen to think that 18" Carrera wheels are the best choice for a modern Porsche - probably because that's what's on mine.
[FONT=arial"]

[FONT=arial"]4. I read somewhere (again) that all the information from the on-board computer can be displayed anyway on the dash somehow and thus understood it to be a pretty useless option. Is this true?[FONT=arial"]

You can retrofit the stalk for the OBC (on board computer) to give you some functionality, but it won't be like PCM. See this thread for more in this procedure.
[FONT=arial"]

[FONT=arial"]5. How do I know if I'm looking at a M030 sports chassis?[FONT=arial"]

Sorry - no idea.

 

[944s2]

Was M030 not the 944?

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: win

Hi. [insert usual first post I'm about to buy.... here] [] I've decided on a pre March 2001 Boxster S for about £12.5k. Never owned a Porsche before, but believe it to be a good (if slightly pricey) compromise between enjoyment and bomb proof reliability for a 5000k/year daily drive. I have worked on cars and bikes for years so have a fair appreciation of car buying basics but would appreciate a bit of help (from the experts!) on some of the Boxster specific questions I haven't been able to answer elsewhere, either digging on the web or round the forum FAQ's. I have already seen a handful of cars, good and bad, and now want to home-in on something! 1. I read somewhere all Boxsters have Porsche Driver Stability Control. Is this true? What is it exactly? And what is the purpose or benefits of the PSM option? 2. What is the difference between the CD22 and the CD32 stereo options? 3. Not wanting to be overly vain I am torn between 17" or 18" wheels/tyres. What are the costs involved? I read about £120/pair for the 17" and £150/pair for the 18" - is this accurate? Has anyone owned both and therefore know if the different size tyres have different lifespans? 4. I read somewhere (again) that all the information from the on-board computer can be displayed anyway on the dash somehow and thus understood it to be a pretty useless option. Is this true? 5. How do I know if I'm looking at a M030 sports chassis? Is it on the VIL sticker? Like I said. Help much appreciated, thanks in advance. Win

1 No whatever it is? PSM is the early computer assisted 'nanny' suspension
2 CD22 radio-cassette CD32 radio - CD if I remember correctly
3 You can get 17's all round for around £450 18's usually a fair bit more.
4 On board computer requires fitting the stalk and that the car has the external temp sensor.
5. 030 is normally* on the VIL but just try driving it around a corner almost no roll = 030

* I say normally my car doesn't have a country code but it does have 030

 

[Guest]

Would like PSM - expecially as the missus will want a go!

CD32 probably more useful.18's if I decide I can afford.Can do without OBC but it would be nice.An 030 if I can find one. If you think of anything else please add! Cheers. Win

 

[spyderman]

ORIGINAL: win...

[FONT=arial"]And what is the purpose or benefits of the PSM option?

As I'm on leave today, I've done some more Googling on PSM and found this nice long article about how it works and its relation to racing. And here's a section from the Porsche Knowledge Base:

Porsche Stability Management (PSM) is an automatic control system offering valuable assistance in specific, critical driving scenarios and to accomplish this, PSM uses a range of sensors to monitor the direction, speed, yaw velocity (speed of rotation around the vertical axis) and lateral acceleration of the car. Based on this information, it can then calculate the actual direction of travel. If the car begins to oversteer or understeer, PSM applies selective braking on individual wheels to bring the car back into line. Whenever PSM is forced to intervene, an indicator light in the cockpit is illuminated.

Basically its a stability control system - a bit more than conventional traction control which might simply stop wheelspin under acceleration. Its related to throttle and braking, but not suspension. Control over suspension came in with PASM, Porsche Active Suspension Management, but that's a much more recent development.

 

[911sse]

Having driven Boxster S's on 18 wheels with and without the M030, to be honest I would do without it....

 

[Mark_Bennett]

PSM = Porsche Stability Management (the successor to traction control, with far more capability). It is an option. e.g Neither JCB or I have it!

CR22 is a Casette Radio, CDR22 is the CD version.

Car looks better on 18". Alledgely handles better on 17"

OBC has been covered above. Some functions can be displayed on the Air-Con display - but not practical whilst driving! You can upgrade as stated above.

M030 is the 10mm lower, and stiffer suspension. It is shown on the option code list in the front of the service book, and (if it's still there) on the sticker under the front boot lid. JCB's car is missing the country code as he says. Usually the info is correct however []

I have 17" wheels and M030 - I wouldn't have it any other way, but if I lived in London I might change my mind!

 

[Guest]

Thanks Mark.

Reading the passage spyderman found on PSM makes it sound like a very capable system. Much more than a basic ignition based traction control. Whether I'll ever actually need such a toy i doubt, as I don't intend to be fully exploring its limits on a daily basis.

I agree 18's look better but, again, I can't see an average punter getting the most of them. Just comes down to looks vs affordability I guess.

And yes, I've been recommended the M030 by a friend who has an S. I'm not going to be doing a lot of miles so a slightly sportier ride certainly isn't going to be a problem. Hopefully test drive this weekend and feel the difference!

Win

 

[Black80XSA]

M030 and 18s is hard - its not for everyone, especially if you have a passenger - stick to 17s if you have M030 suspension

Tyres - N rated tyres are about £570 a set for 17s, £650 for 18s.

Bombproof - far from it - get an inspection by a proper Porsche afficiando like Peter Morgan or a reputable Porsche specialist. RMS failures aren't a big issue at £500 a time, but an engine failure will relieve your wallet of £5k fo a used engine, £7k for a rebuilt one and £10k for a recon from Porsche.

Buy the best condition and provenance you can - its easy to be drawn by the car and the drive. You want at least specialist service history, N rated tyres all round and preferably a warranty that has sufficient claim value. Tesco will warranty a Boxster for reasonable money.

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: Black80XSA

M030 and 18s is hard - its not for everyone, especially if you have a passenger - stick to 17s if you have M030 suspension

Tyres - N rated tyres are about £570 a set for 17s, £650 for 18s.

Bombproof - far from it - get an inspection by a proper Porsche afficiando like Peter Morgan or a reputable Porsche specialist. RMS failures aren't a big issue at £500 a time, but an engine failure will relieve your wallet of £5k fo a used engine, £7k for a rebuilt one and £10k for a recon from Porsche.

Buy the best condition and provenance you can - its easy to be drawn by the car and the drive. You want at least specialist service history, N rated tyres all round and preferably a warranty that has sufficient claim value. Tesco will warranty a Boxster for reasonable money.

I don't know of any inspection that will highlight an impending slipped liner or intermediate shaft failure.

 

[Guest]

So to recap... provenance... provenance... provenance..

I getcha![]

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: win

So to recap... provenance... provenance... provenance..

I getcha![]

Maybe...

As not a lot more happens at services than oil and filter changes I wouldn't be that bothered (That's not to say that oils changes are not important).

It's a bit of an enigma that people are always given the advice to buy low mileage late cars that are visually "well looked after" when it appears that high mileage, often driven cars which will look "lived in" as a result, seem to suffer the least amount of problems.

 

[911sse]

Could not agree more.

Mine is being fettled as we speak but with items it really did not require.

eg - New Clutch

At 64k on the clock its not as sweat as it was with 30k three years ago. So, change it.
Coils? - All slightly cracked - change them
When you get the chance since the gearbox is out and the exhaust off, just change all those little bolts and brackets and heat shields that need it.

It all adds up, but it makes me smile more when I drive it.

 

[caws]

Having done the "right thing" and purchased a low mileage, full service history car and just had a new engine fitted because of the usual intermediate shaft failure, I am now of the view that cars can be driven too little. A friend of mine drove a TVR for some years with no problems. I asked him what the secret was and his view was that that a car driven regularily through its life was more reliable.

Any other views?