Hi,
I'm new to the forum, and club, after joining at Goodwood last week. I met a few of you at the stand and it looks like a fun community to be a part of. Anyhow, I thought I'd give a run-down to my first ever Porsche. Hopefully there won't be too much to do in the future now but if there is, I'll use this as a chronicle.
In April, I decided I fancied a convertible. Not the best timing of course as we'd already had some sunny days by then and indeed several cars I called up about had sold. I narrowed my selection down to the usual culprits but every time I considered anything other than a Porsche, nothing really "did it" for me. I even went to test drive a BMW Z4M and although it was crazy fast, it was just not what I wanted at all.
So I started looking at 987 Boxsters and went quite a way to test drive a 2.7. Sounded amazing but that example wasn't a very good one in the end. Then, I spotted a 987 Boxster S at a reasonable price from a nationwide garage. I won't go into too much detail but in the end, the garage seemed so awful that I decided to look for another car.
I spotted a 986 Boxster S on another Porsche forum but by the time I could get there, I was fourth in line to see it. It was well priced and I was a little gutted not to be the buyer. It got me thinking about the necessity to spend all the money on a 987 when, really, a 986 S would suit me just fine. A few days later, I spotted another 986 Boxster S but it was 200 miles away.
The car had the IMS and RMS upgrades, plus a new clutch and coil packs amongst other items. This was performed by Revolution in York so I knew it was all repair work carried out to a high standard. However, when I arrived at the seller's house, the car still required TLC on closer inspection. Nothing looked too bad but I think you can tell a lot from tyres etc and those types of items were't great. I was very close to leaving the car there and heading back up to Manchester, however I expressed my concerns and one way or another, I drove back in the car. I'd haggled some leeway into my budget for the car and it's good I did because I've spent a fair bit on it
The journey home was a little nerve-wracking. I didn't know how good or bad the car was so I took it easy and was amazed at the mileage it gave me on the journey...
As soon as I could, I got the car on to the ramps at a friend's garage for a closer inspection.
On closer inspection, the repairs needed were:
4x Coffin arms (track rod ends)
1x front shock absorber so I purchased two to even it out
My friend is a very highly qualified mechanic and he fitted the parts I purchased, leaving these old knackered bits behind:
For the sake of the service history, I took it to a Porsche Main Dealer and had the following done:
- Service
- Drive belt changed
- Brake fluid replaced
The car was now driving MUCH more like a Porsche but still needed the tyres sorting and the wheels refurbing:
I ordered four new tyres and booked the car in for the refurbishment of the wheels. Whilst waiting for that, on one sunny afternoon, I decided to clean out the front radiators. I'd seen they can get clogged with leaves etc and this was a job I could tackle on my own:
The car went back together in a very easy, Germanic way and finally, a few days later, my tyres were delivered. I actually only needed two rear tyres but I decided to buy four new ones just so they were all the same age and matched up correctly. The car was booked in for the refurb and now was starting to look much nicer...
The wheels were powder coated a much brighter silver at my request so they "popped" more...
...I also had the bodyshop spray my Boxster S badge to match the wheels...
Next stop was the audio shop where I wanted a more functional head unit that wouldn't deviate too much from the original look. None of my "mods" or fixes will take away from the original look of the car. However, the BOSE amp needed some extra work so it'll be back there this week for the job to be finished...
So that's most of the things completed now, if not all of it and it made it to Goodwood and back with no issues whatsoever
The above photos were all off my phone but here are some from my main camera:
I'll look forward to some adventures in this car, and also to meeting some of you hopefully
I'm new to the forum, and club, after joining at Goodwood last week. I met a few of you at the stand and it looks like a fun community to be a part of. Anyhow, I thought I'd give a run-down to my first ever Porsche. Hopefully there won't be too much to do in the future now but if there is, I'll use this as a chronicle.
In April, I decided I fancied a convertible. Not the best timing of course as we'd already had some sunny days by then and indeed several cars I called up about had sold. I narrowed my selection down to the usual culprits but every time I considered anything other than a Porsche, nothing really "did it" for me. I even went to test drive a BMW Z4M and although it was crazy fast, it was just not what I wanted at all.
So I started looking at 987 Boxsters and went quite a way to test drive a 2.7. Sounded amazing but that example wasn't a very good one in the end. Then, I spotted a 987 Boxster S at a reasonable price from a nationwide garage. I won't go into too much detail but in the end, the garage seemed so awful that I decided to look for another car.
I spotted a 986 Boxster S on another Porsche forum but by the time I could get there, I was fourth in line to see it. It was well priced and I was a little gutted not to be the buyer. It got me thinking about the necessity to spend all the money on a 987 when, really, a 986 S would suit me just fine. A few days later, I spotted another 986 Boxster S but it was 200 miles away.
The car had the IMS and RMS upgrades, plus a new clutch and coil packs amongst other items. This was performed by Revolution in York so I knew it was all repair work carried out to a high standard. However, when I arrived at the seller's house, the car still required TLC on closer inspection. Nothing looked too bad but I think you can tell a lot from tyres etc and those types of items were't great. I was very close to leaving the car there and heading back up to Manchester, however I expressed my concerns and one way or another, I drove back in the car. I'd haggled some leeway into my budget for the car and it's good I did because I've spent a fair bit on it
The journey home was a little nerve-wracking. I didn't know how good or bad the car was so I took it easy and was amazed at the mileage it gave me on the journey...
As soon as I could, I got the car on to the ramps at a friend's garage for a closer inspection.
On closer inspection, the repairs needed were:
4x Coffin arms (track rod ends)
1x front shock absorber so I purchased two to even it out
My friend is a very highly qualified mechanic and he fitted the parts I purchased, leaving these old knackered bits behind:
For the sake of the service history, I took it to a Porsche Main Dealer and had the following done:
- Service
- Drive belt changed
- Brake fluid replaced
The car was now driving MUCH more like a Porsche but still needed the tyres sorting and the wheels refurbing:
I ordered four new tyres and booked the car in for the refurbishment of the wheels. Whilst waiting for that, on one sunny afternoon, I decided to clean out the front radiators. I'd seen they can get clogged with leaves etc and this was a job I could tackle on my own:
The car went back together in a very easy, Germanic way and finally, a few days later, my tyres were delivered. I actually only needed two rear tyres but I decided to buy four new ones just so they were all the same age and matched up correctly. The car was booked in for the refurb and now was starting to look much nicer...
The wheels were powder coated a much brighter silver at my request so they "popped" more...
...I also had the bodyshop spray my Boxster S badge to match the wheels...
Next stop was the audio shop where I wanted a more functional head unit that wouldn't deviate too much from the original look. None of my "mods" or fixes will take away from the original look of the car. However, the BOSE amp needed some extra work so it'll be back there this week for the job to be finished...
So that's most of the things completed now, if not all of it and it made it to Goodwood and back with no issues whatsoever
The above photos were all off my phone but here are some from my main camera:
I'll look forward to some adventures in this car, and also to meeting some of you hopefully
