LikeMinds

Well I actually logged on to Renntech because I'm having a problem with a window regulator on my 2000 996 C2 Cabriolet on which I am the second owner. I'm also the orginal owner of a 99 Boxster. But I happened on to this thread and just had to post. I'm ALWAYs having some problems with my cars. Read on below if you want to know my personal favorites. That said, these two cars are without a doubt the very BEST cars I have ever owned in terms of driving AND MAINTENANCE. I have 146,000 miles on the Boxster. It sill has the ORIGINAL clutch! It still runs STRONG! And while I have done quite a bit of maintenance on it over the years... new water pump, new coolant reservoir, new serpentine rollers, new starter... these are what I consider normal wear and tear things. I have done NO major maintenance on the engine. And I have to say that the car has been pretty parsimonious on tires and brakes. I would go through three sets of tires and rotors on my wifes Audi A6 for every ONE set I put on the Boxster. And my experience with my 911 is pretty similar. I now have 86,000 miles on it. It also has the original clutch. I did replace the RMS one time and I replaced the air mass meter recently. Other than that, ZERO engine maintenance. And I'm only on my second set of brakes! Now, I imagine most of you are thinking... "well, he babies his cars." Not true. In fact, I drive them hard and even worse, post divorce, I'm now relegated to parking them outside most of the time!!! But they continue to be rock solid. I just have to wash them more often. It's true that the IMS shaft failures tend to be catastrophic and therefore very dramatic and traumatic for their owners, but fearing to own a 986/996 and even worse slandering the car is simply not justified. The vast majority of 986/996s, probably 95% still on the road have their original engines intact and are still providing red line thrills for owners who appreciate them for the truly magnificent cars they are. I've had a slew of other cars and motorcycles... everything from a 57 supercharged Studebaker Golden Hawk, Norton 750cc Combat Commando, 65 356SC, 68 Hemi Roadrunner, 68 Mustang 302 Toploader, etc. the list goes on and on. Many of them I worked on myself, when it was still possible to work on cars w/o being a computer geek. And I will never drive anything again but a Porsche. In my opinion, for the money, they are simply the best automobiles in the world. And I have found them to be very reasonable in terms of maintenance and upkeep, Now do they have problems... Absolutely! Is the Porsche factory upfront about them. Not so much... For me, the most annoying and recalcitrant problems have been the ubiquitous airbag and check engine light problems in the Boxster which are both more or less Porsche factory design defects. I think most in this forum know both problems well. The wiring harness for the airbag/seatbelt safety system in early 986/996 cars was simply deficient. Porsche has come out with many TSBs and fixes but none of them is bulletproof as those with early 986s know. And the check engine light problem is really one of insufficient and innaccurate diagnostics. I along with many others have ended up replacing O2 sensors and air mass meters (because the PST reported them as the problem) when often as not the problem is really related to the oil separator system which Porsche dealers really don't like working on because the parts cost nothing but the effort involved in diagnosing and fixing the problem is nasty. So, I for one would like to sing the praises of the 986/996. Great cars... I'm a proud owner of mine and plan on keeping them for as long they'll have me. Now back to getting that **** regulator and passenger window working right... It's part of the glory right? Steve 2000 C2 Cabriolet 1999 Boxster 65 356SC (unfortunately deceased)

I get this noise too on my 99 Boxster and have also heard it on one other car. It has been happening intermittently for about a year. More as time and mileage progress. The noise is so loud and nasty sounding that when I have been in a public parking lot I have actually seen people cringe when they hear it. Very embarrassing and disconcerting. It's definitely starter related. I believe there is probably something out of wack between the starter gear and the flywheel. Maybe a chipped tooth or two on the starter gear, which rumor has is vinyl. I believe the shriek occurs when the starter turns over and the gear doesn't fully engage the flywheel. It spins for a second or less until it engages and the shriek stops. I hate it, but have kind of decided to live with it until it finally goes. You can minimize it somewhat by just blipping the ignition key to see if you hear the start of the sound and releasing it if you do. Usually that engages the gears and the next start is shriekless. Steve Kanzler in Sebastopol, CA