Early 987 Boxster for bargain fun?
Discussion
Having recently had my Alpine written off I'm considering what to replace it with, another would be the automatic choice but I fancy a convertible. Whilst I ponder this I thought a £10k budget for an interim car might be fun, a quick sort on autotrader threw up a decent selection of early 987 Boxsters which I quite like the look of.
I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
Venisonpie said:
Having recently had my Alpine written off I'm considering what to replace it with, another would be the automatic choice but I fancy a convertible. Whilst I ponder this I thought a £10k budget for an interim car might be fun, a quick sort on autotrader threw up a decent selection of early 987 Boxsters which I quite like the look of.
I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
Hi,I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
I have had mine for just over a year now. 987 2.7 manual with the sport pack (six gears). Lovely thing, goes well enough but sometimes feels is a little lacking.
I would look for an ‘S’ if I had my time again but at the time it was a good deal £9.5k and had full service history etc.
I would budget 20% of what you pay to stick into it at its first service. Mine had a few bits that you would expect in a 15yo car. You might get lucky mind.
IMS and RMS are frequently talked about. Mine hasn’t had it done. The RMS is weeping v slightly but will do for a few years. IMS - it’s a gamble I suppose.
Nick Giles on the uk Boxster FB group does pre purchase inspections. Worth doing.
Cheers,
Tom
Venisonpie said:
Having recently had my Alpine written off I'm considering what to replace it with, another would be the automatic choice but I fancy a convertible. Whilst I ponder this I thought a £10k budget for an interim car might be fun, a quick sort on autotrader threw up a decent selection of early 987 Boxsters which I quite like the look of.
I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
Hi,I know to steer clear of 3.4 engines but otherwise is it potentially a good option? Would need to be manual of course.
I have had mine for just over a year now. 987 2.7 manual with the sport pack (six gears). Lovely thing, goes well enough but sometimes feels is a little lacking.
I would look for an ‘S’ if I had my time again but at the time it was a good deal £9.5k and had full service history etc.
I would budget 20% of what you pay to stick into it at its first service. Mine had a few bits that you would expect in a 15yo car. You might get lucky mind.
IMS and RMS are frequently talked about. Mine hasn’t had it done. The RMS is weeping v slightly but will do for a few years. IMS - it’s a gamble I suppose.
Nick Giles on the uk Boxster FB group does pre purchase inspections. Worth doing.
Cheers,
Tom
I think the choose wisely bit is the best advice. most of the design was shared with the 997 so while there a positive the negative is it can have similiar costs.
My local indy is circa £600 for a major service (Inc spark plugs). Air con x-over pipes are made of chocolate and need the front axle dropped to get to them. Condensers are in a vulnerable position and replacements at a specialist can be many hundreds of pounds. Brake pipes route behind the gear box and can be expensive to replace, gear cables are a weak point. As usual with this sort of car tyres and other consumables are expensive (eg many hundreds for brake discs/pads all round). Ride poorly on knackered suspension.
However great cars, make a good noise and go well on the right sort of winding road held in a low gear as the engine screams as you. Still look fantastic too to my eyes.
If you can get one that doesn't end up needing any of the expensive remedial work or you can do some yourself, and that isn't in immediate need of servicing or consumable replacement you can do it quite cheaply. I got 3 years out of mine before it really started to cost anything to maintain (still own it, has cost quite a bit in the last 2 years).
Happy hunting.
My local indy is circa £600 for a major service (Inc spark plugs). Air con x-over pipes are made of chocolate and need the front axle dropped to get to them. Condensers are in a vulnerable position and replacements at a specialist can be many hundreds of pounds. Brake pipes route behind the gear box and can be expensive to replace, gear cables are a weak point. As usual with this sort of car tyres and other consumables are expensive (eg many hundreds for brake discs/pads all round). Ride poorly on knackered suspension.
However great cars, make a good noise and go well on the right sort of winding road held in a low gear as the engine screams as you. Still look fantastic too to my eyes.
If you can get one that doesn't end up needing any of the expensive remedial work or you can do some yourself, and that isn't in immediate need of servicing or consumable replacement you can do it quite cheaply. I got 3 years out of mine before it really started to cost anything to maintain (still own it, has cost quite a bit in the last 2 years).
Happy hunting.
For the 3.2, you ideal want MY 2006 and only MY 2006. There is no MY 2007 3.2, it went to 3.4 for MY 2007.
Build date for MY 2006 will be roughly Aug / September 2005 onwards. So a UK regged car from about October 2005 onwards. Probably December reg date onwards to be 100% certain it's a MY 2006 car.
Build date for MY 2006 will be roughly Aug / September 2005 onwards. So a UK regged car from about October 2005 onwards. Probably December reg date onwards to be 100% certain it's a MY 2006 car.
Venisonpie said:
Some very helpful posts, thank you.
Is a late 3.2 circa 2005/6 or later still?
I bought a 2005 Boxster S 3.2 last July (fairly low mileage and with a reasonable spec, from a specialist dealer in East Sussex) and I understand it doesn't suffer from the same issues as the 2007 gen 1 version 3.4S. A good version will probably be more than your current budget though.Is a late 3.2 circa 2005/6 or later still?
Yes there is a sweet spot on the 2005 cars up to a certain engine number (as per the diagram)they had the IMS that is relatively easy to swop out without dropping the engine, should you feel it necessary.
Failures are relatively rare and the 3.2s engine doesn’t suffer from bore score like the later 3.4
Buy the best you can afford that has good history/ provenance and you won’t go wrong.
If unsure get it inspected by Nick Giles. Very reasonably priced and travels nationwide.
https://nickgiles-car-inspection.co.uk/how-it-work...
Failures are relatively rare and the 3.2s engine doesn’t suffer from bore score like the later 3.4
Buy the best you can afford that has good history/ provenance and you won’t go wrong.
If unsure get it inspected by Nick Giles. Very reasonably priced and travels nationwide.
https://nickgiles-car-inspection.co.uk/how-it-work...
Yes there is a sweet spot on the 2005 cars up to a certain engine number (as per the diagram)they had the IMS that is relatively easy to swop out without dropping the engine, should you feel it necessary.
Failures are relatively rare and the 3.2s engine doesn’t suffer from bore score like the later 3.4
Buy the best you can afford that has good history/ provenance and you won’t go wrong.
If unsure get it inspected by Nick Giles. Very reasonably priced and travels nationwide.
https://nickgiles-car-inspection.co.uk/how-it-work...
Failures are relatively rare and the 3.2s engine doesn’t suffer from bore score like the later 3.4
Buy the best you can afford that has good history/ provenance and you won’t go wrong.
If unsure get it inspected by Nick Giles. Very reasonably priced and travels nationwide.
https://nickgiles-car-inspection.co.uk/how-it-work...
10k for a good 987S may be pushing it at the moment, i'm seeing good 986S models going for that and more at the moment. I quickly found when searching for a Boxster myself that good examples go fast and the rough ones tend to stayon the market a long time.
Good luck with your search, they are superb cars whichever way you go.
Good luck with your search, they are superb cars whichever way you go.
Look for enthusiast owned cars with plenty of invoices/receipts for maintenance work executed and a good service history.
Cars of this age are needing ongoing maintenance with things like crossover pipes, a/c condensers, clutches,various suspension components, brake pipe corrosion, a/c pipe corrosion, water pumps, exhaust bolt failure etc etc
They swallow money if you need to pay someone to do the work even using a well priced Indy - no guesses as to how I know!
That aside when all working well, amazing fun to drive and throughly engaging, still recommended.
Cars of this age are needing ongoing maintenance with things like crossover pipes, a/c condensers, clutches,various suspension components, brake pipe corrosion, a/c pipe corrosion, water pumps, exhaust bolt failure etc etc
They swallow money if you need to pay someone to do the work even using a well priced Indy - no guesses as to how I know!
That aside when all working well, amazing fun to drive and throughly engaging, still recommended.
I bought a 2006 3.2 S last year to do the NC500, it was the perfect bargain car for the trip. Originally I was thinking about buying a classic Mini Cooper but when I realised how cheap Boxsters are and how much more you get for your money it was a no brainier.
I can’t think of another car that could be had for the same money that would be this much fun to own, It’s been used almost daily over the last year and hasn’t put foot wrong.
I’m now thinking about selling it to upgrade to a 981 or 718
I can’t think of another car that could be had for the same money that would be this much fun to own, It’s been used almost daily over the last year and hasn’t put foot wrong.
I’m now thinking about selling it to upgrade to a 981 or 718
Further to my earlier post, I since had a small service (within the year of purchase) and swarf was found in the oil filter, suggesting the IMS was 'dodgy'. Went for the new IMS bearing (ring bearing, which is, I am told, bombproof!) but it wasn't covered by warranty as it hadn't actually failed! I guess I was one of the unlucky 5%.
Now it's done I am hoping for many miles of excellent motoring.
JM
Now it's done I am hoping for many miles of excellent motoring.
JM
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