mikefocke

As one who had a car slide into his (while mine was stopped at a light), I thank goodness for the bumperettes which saved serious body damage. As it was, $3k worth of bumper and bumper structure and muffler work but no damage at all to sheet metal or lights. I did taken the opportunity to get the bumperettes painted by Eric. Suggest you reconsider....or pay later.

OTOH, I'm running on a set of used tires, that were on a set of wheels I bought. They were take offs sold by a dealer who took them in trade and so I knew the reason they were available. Didn't need mounting, balancing, etc. Been flawless for 8k miles. The difference between my used tire purchase and yours is I had all 4 matching in design and tread depth as well as knowing the reason for the availability. You don't have those going for you in the 2 options you propose. Drive safely, the $ you save may cost you your life (or someone elses).

You are aware of the danger of mixing tires which give different traction on the front and rear? You wouldn't be allowed to do this in Germany, for example. I once had to replace 2 tires on a rental there just so the tire depth would match after one blew out. The general rule is to try to keep the same design and tread depth on all 4 wheels as that is what the anti-lock brakes are designed for and how the suspension works best. Normal driving, it probably isn't a problem. But put in some weather and a suddent emergency and tires are the last thing I want to have saved $ on. I depend on that contact patch to save my ... from my dumb mistakes and the mistakes of others not to mention nature and the highway crews doings.

We use about a dozen Brands and types of tires.... And everyone has their opinions and biases. It is hard to get good comparison information about tires. And people who have opinions (like me) are frequently comparing old, used tires like yours with new tires newly balanced and possibly with a new allignment. And self justifying the wisdom of their purchase...it is human nature. I'll bet most of your problem is worn tires and allignment. And any tire you buy will be better. Never even slid in the rain in the Boxster unles I meant to .... and I don't drive 3 MPH and I know how to control a slide. I've had 3 brands on Boxsters. All were used when I got them, 2 because of car purchases and one because I bought some wheels and they were on them. So I have experience in driving worn tires and comparing them to worn tires. 1. Pirelli Russo and Asymetrico were on my first Boxster. Good tires. Good grip. Quiet. 2. Yokohama AVS ES100 were on my second Boxster. Fabulous grip wet and dry. Noisy to the point where I couldn't wait to get rid of them. 3. Michelin Pilot Sport Ribs were on the set of wheels I bought, no idea how many miles on them when I bought them. I've driven 8k miles on them and they have another 8k left on the rear. More on the front. Very good grip wet and dry. Quiet. Expensive. Another tire I've heard good things about recently is a Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. Very agressive tread. Cheaper than the Michelin. I'll confess to a bias for Michelin tires, probably bought (or influenced the buying of) 25 sets for family cars over the last 35 years. 5 family cars have them now. Also note I live in the DC area and don't drive the Boxster in the snow so I only have summer tires. Your needs could vary. go to www.tirerack.com which is a great place to research reviews and prices. Many buy through them and use their recommended mounting shops to ship them to and have them mounted.

Thank you. What is truly unusual is that the 0.280.218.055 part number from Bosch is reported to be the Bosch part number for both the 125.00 and the 125.00 Porsche parts. Can this be? Can anyone confirm the 125.01 Bosch part number? If anyone cares, I've posted my 8 page instructions on how to clean or replace a MAF ... kind of a "for dummies "version since I had never been inside the engine compartment before I did mine. Pictures, links, quotes from the repair manual, etc. http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/mikespor...boxsterwebpages

Anyone replaced their MAF and have one lying around from a e-gas (2000-2004) car that could look at the part number on the MAF itself. If it is Porsche part # 996.606.125.00, what is the Bosch part number on it? I'm trying to complete a table for some MAF replacement documentation that is 98% finished. This is liable to be on a post-2001 car or one that was repaired as I have rev 0 on my 2001 and this part is rev 1, I know the facts on rev 2.

If you will send me your email address by email, I'll send you a MAF cleaning and replacement writeup I'm working on right now if you promise to critique it and return comments to me so I can improve it. It will be in 7 page .doc form with color pictures and part numbers even for tools and cleaners. I having my son do mine tomorrow to test the write up but I believe it acurate now and it does show how to get at the MAF and where it is in the engine compartment. mike.focke at gmail.com

Both I had them on my '99 via paste ons from www.multivexmirror.com for $40 each. They covered the entire surface and were arched to cover the blind spot. When I got my '01, I was struck by how dangerous that blind spot was and got a pair of Porsche ones similar to the pictures here for a reasonable price used. You have the same blind spot both sides so I like them on both sides.

Things that affect price include the location, time of year, mileage, condition, services record, tire condition, top condition, color, transmission, options, warranty, etc. But the big things like year and mileage you can factor into a search to see what others are asking. I do this by going to www.cars.com. Look for a used porsche using advanced search for all distances from your zip code for the year you are looking at. Sort on the second column to separate the S from the base. Throw out the highest few and the lowest few. See how the middle asking prices cluster. Deduct 5% from asking to get to selling price in the spring. Now you have some idea. But if all the factors I listed above are the best as opposed to the worst, then the price you should pay could vary by $5-8k. Now that doesn't help much does it. Because a 2002 will vary from $36k to $28k after throwing out the highest 5 and the lowest 5. The trick is to buy the best example you can afford from a motivated seller, someone who can't wait for the right price and is willing to accept your offer. Tips on Buying a Boxster

I was in the same situation. I had looked in the local classifieds for the last 35 years but only at Porsches. I had bought 2 Mazda 626s, still have an '86 in the family. Excellent, reliable. But I really couldn't fit in the Miata..at least the earlier versions...too tall. I thought I wanted a 928, that is the car I was lusting after. Several extensive drives told me I didn't want a car designed in the '70s even if it still is a beautiful car. One 20 minute ride in a Boxster and I bought it. I was, at the time, not too worried about finances, and my experience over 2 years and 2 Boxsters has been that my unscheduled maintenance costs have averaged $7 per month. I bought a '99 base with around 24k miles and, when it got totaled, a '01 S with 42k miles. Neither was under Porsche warranty and I declined to buy an extended warranty on the second car even though it was available for $3k. At the same time, I'm aware that expensive things could go wrong and that even routine maintenance is more expensive ($60 in parts for an oil change). I live in the Washington DC area so I do get bad weather in the winter and I drive a CRV for those times. Otherwise, it is my daily driver. I commuted to work, to the grocery store (20 bags in the rear trunk and I have the front trunk still empty). I take trips that go non-stop around 250 miles. To help you in your decision, I would offer this link which will tell you about my ideas on buying a Boxster, model year differences, what to look for, etc.

Yes

To see ehat they are selling for, I go to www.cars.com just because it has a good search, sort and display capability. I look for 99 Porsche Boxster cars with mileage between 40k and 60k. I see lots from $18 to 28k. I discount 5% in the spring to get to selling price. Your Tip could be a negative (not to me, I'm on my second). Your condition could be a plus. It is all in finding the right person who just has to have your car. http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/sellingaboxster

My guess is to meet US DOT bumper crash results requirements. Is anyone going to care if you remove them? No but your insurance company could deny a claim unless you could put them back after you are hit. Speaking as one who took a $3-4K hit from the rear, the bumperettes saved my sheet metal and lights. That is right, the initial quote to fix with absolutely no sheet metal or lights damage was $3k and they found more after they opened the whole thing up. By then her insurance was paying so I have no idea what the final bill was. Just that it would have been lots more had I not had the bumperettes. Also protects your muffler tips.

It fits. All 986 hardtops fit all models. All require spinlocks to be installed in the car. The top with ears will mount the early roof transport system only and likewise the later only the later RTS.

The engine control computer lost all memory of what is normal and what it should do. It learns over the next 100 miles. So let it idle for a while, let it warm up, then see if it is at all driveable and drive it for a while. Things should improve. It'll be lumpy and crankey for a while, then slowly get better.

One bar is NOT a quart.... The bars are about 1/5th of a quart ... consider that the 2 marks off to the left of the bars indicate max and min and the difference is 1.25 litres per my owner's manual page 76 and there are about 6 bars between those 2 marks. Since 1.25 litres = 1.32 quarts and dividing by 6 you get .22 quarts per bar. And, you should be down 1 bar from the top as the max line is between the top and second bar so there is no harm if the top bar in unlit. A fluctuation between on and off is probably attributable to the difference in the time you have allowed the oil to settle and how warm the engine oil was when you took the readings.

My '01 S guage registers full by the time I climb back in.

There was an ad for the ones I described on ebay yesterday. Different name but definitely the same ones as I recall the ad very well. The taper and the end and the roll over is what makes these special. That and the quality of the emblem.

'99 long gone. My records show I paid $84 delivered but compared to Porsche parts, they were cheap and compared to other aftermarket sills I saw, they were far and above the classiest I had seen. Picture the black ones on the S only in stainless (beautiful on an AS car) and with a 1A" colored crest that looks in quality like the ones you see on the hood.

944nut@comcast.net can send you a door sill set with markings of your choice and it will be the correct size and bend. excellent quality. I got stainless with Porsche crest for my 99.. My black '01S door sills (plastic?) are 28" at their inside edge.

At the right price, yes. I'd feel better if it had 4k a year and yearly changes. But have a good mechanic do a thorough Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) focusing on the internals of the engine (compression/leakdown). And in your negotiations over price, use the "I'm concerned that it doesn't have enough miles and oil changes which means every start was probably on dry bearings ... and that means more wear than if it was used every week. I just can't pay top dollar with that uncertainly .... so I'm only able to offer you ....???" and see what they say. I see 2000 S Boxsters going for $37k-22.5k

Odd as they say they have them now.

Drain a quart of oil from the sump. Look at it. Normal? Abnormal? Put oil back in from the top into the tank. Report back and describe the condition of the oil. Clean look like oil? look like milk?.

I've read elsewhere that aftermarket OBC readers can't access all the Porsche specific codes and thus are less useful than the ones the dealers posess. This is the subject of some legal activity since all the manufacturers are hiding the model specific codes. Lock-in. I have a 9135 but haven't had failures that could be detected (and not complaining).

Sounds like you aren't going with the full Litronics kit from Porsche but an aftermarket kit that replaces just the bulbs and doesn't give the leveling, light dispersion and look of the P-car parts. There have been reports of lens burnout from these kits. I'd ask around a lot before I'd go that route.