KPC_Boxster

Chris, thanks for the welcome. I'm not scared off by all the "my motor went kapowie" threads. It's the same way on my Audi forum. 100 people might buy the same part or do the same mod, but the 10 people that post about it are the ones that ran in to trouble. It's good to hear another person say that these cars like to be run. If I do end up with a 986 S, it will most likely be my daily driver for the next few years. I explained my situation in my first post, but to reiterate I'm moving down to Miami from Boston for the next few years while I finish my MD/DPM degree, and I won't really have a need for my quattro until I move back to Boston. I guess you could say that the term daily driver takes on a different meaning for a full time med student. I will most likely be on campus all day long and also be living very close to my clinical sites, which means any real appreciable mileage will only occur on the weekends. Assuming the car is in good running order, would it survive a road trip from Boston to Miami once or twice a year?

I doubt very much that I will end up doing forced induction or a motor swap on a 986 S. At most for engine mods I was thinking headers and high flow cats, second cat deletes and test pipes, cat-back exhaust, intake, and a chip from Revo or Giac. That's really about it. Because it's all motor, I know that just a chip and full exhaust won't do much. On the contrary, my A4 with a ECU chip flash, full exhaust and injectors can free up like 60+ awhp and 80 ftlbs or more depending on how aggressive we set the timing. Those are all wheel numbers, not crank numbers either. I've never really been in to the big thumping stereos either. Just good quality Bose speakers all around is plenty for me. Haha, I know a 25 year old without subs is pretty rare these days, but it's never been my thing... Always paid more attention to what is under the hood. I would like to do HID's, OEM Navigation, and apparently the garage door home-link isn't a standard option? I'd have to retro-fit that for sure...

^^ Thanks for all the info USAF! :thankyou: I should have clarified earlier that I'm definitely looking for a 986 S. So let me reply to a few of your points. About the plugs, in my Audi because of the turbo I like to run much colder copper series Bosch plugs, not iridium or platinum. This helps me keep my the temps down a little bit, but the trade off is that they only last about 5000-7500 before they start to foul. As a result I change them out every time I do my oil, filter, and washer. Speaking of oil, I only use Mobil 1 0w-40 full syn European formula in my Audi, so that isn't a stretch for me. I'm surprised to hear that the Boxster takes 9.5 quarts! That's wicked! As for the TB cleaning, I've yet to do it in my Audi, but I'm sure I could. Just a huge hoses and clamps and there it is. I'm aware that there is a procedure to put it in service mode. I actually replaced my OEM TB hose with a more rigid, silicone one because it was determined that under high boost pressure, sometimes that hose can collapse! As for the Bentley Manual, I've got one for my A4, but I also have a VAG-com diagnostic tool. It's basically what the shops use to read codes, but it also is great for logging data, which can then be used to help tune the car further after modifications to timing, fueling, turbo, etc. Is there a tool like that available to the public for Porsche as well? Check out the link I put in my first post about my A4, just so you can get an idea of where I'm coming from. I love to DIY, I'm huge on maintenance (almost to the point of overkill), and I like to mod. If I do go with a Boxster S, I'm still about a year away from making a purchase. Even so, when buying a high end sports car like this, I would expect to take a year and learn all I could about it before I bought one anyway. I hope to be really active here and I can't wait to get involved in the Porsche scene. Cheers!

Yes routine maintenance is not an issue. You will probably have to get the paper oil filter cartridge from a place that specializes in Porsche parts, but the work itself is no prob. Other things like that too are not yet available at the local auto part store, but I think we will see more availability locally as the number of used 986s grow. A Bentley manual will also guide you nicely through that kind of stuff. Lot of people more qualified to comment on reliability than me. But my opinion and my experience - highly reliable. My 986S is a dedicated track car. I beat the dickens out of it on the track, both motor wise and suspension (anyone who has ever driven Sebring, what I consider my home track, will know the abuse I talk about). My oil analysis comes back with amazingly consistent and limited wear. I have never had a serious problem - wear items, sure, but anything broken has been minimal and mostly attributable to it being on the track. I would lean toward an 03 and 04, the end of the model years for the 986 because they made some reliability enhances over the early years, but this is the kind of detail others on the board can offer more specifics. (BTW - lots of track days in easy reach of Miami all year round) Yeah, I very rarely buy parts for my Audi from the local autozone. For maintenance I get Audi OEM recommended parts from either the dealer or Audi VAG specific online stores like Eurocode and ECS. I'm specifically looking at the 2003 model year. I'm happy to know that they sound like pretty reliable cars. I was concerned when I got in to my Audi that reliability and maintenance would really hurt my wallet, but I was surprised to find that as long as I keep up with the maintenance, she seems to be in great shape even at 80k miles. What are the most common trouble spots to look out for while shopping for a 986?

^^ That is good to know. Oil changes and similar routine maintence are pretty simple DIY's then? Some people I have talked to say to bring to dealers, but I'm not a fan of stealerships. What is reliability like?

Thanks for the welcome, I'm happy to be here. I have been spending a lot of time using the search option. I tell people on my Audi forum to use the search feature all the time. Anyway, I was wondering if someone could help out with some of the questions in my last post. Maintenance, mileage, common issues, what to look out for, etc Thanks.

Hi everyone, My name is Kurt. I currently have an 03 Audi 1.8T quattro, but there is a good possibility I will be moving to a much warmer climate for the next few years and I am starting to seriously look at the 986 Boxster. I'm 25 years old and will be moving down to the Miami area to finish my medical degree. I belong to a very involved Audi forum at audizine.com so I knew that before posting here I should spend some time and look around through the posts to get my own information before I started asking questions. Here is where I'm at now... 1) What is the maintenance like on a boxster? I like to turn my own wrenches on my Audi and consider myself fairly adept at keeping her in top running order. I'm a firm believer that sticking to scheduled maintenance will keep the car running longer and in better shape. 2) How reliable are the 2003 cars and at what mileage do the typical problems start to show up? 3) I am big in to modding my Audi for both performance and appearance and if I do get a boxster, she will not stay stock for long. I know that a lot of Audi tuners also work on Porsche, but what is the modding scene like for these cars? I look forward to being a very active member of this community, and I hope to talk to a lot of you. Here is a link to my Audi page so you can get a feel for where I'm coming from. Story of my 03 A4 1.8T Cheers!