Should I? $0 budget Boxster.

I don't have time to do a proper post to open this thread. I just started a week off from work yesterday and spent the whole day on the road to pick up another 986 Boxster. I already had two weeks of stuff to do in my week off. The last thing I needed was yet another Boxster and possible Challenge car. ...but here it is.

How could I *not* get it?

Here's some of semi-random statements just to dump what's currently going through my mind.

Car Summary: 2000 Boxster base model, well equipped and cared for by a father then his son since it was ordered from the factory. Sold for $1,000 "Must be picked up this weekend" -last weekend. Comes with lots of extras, some installed, some new parts still in the box - $1,000 of recoup should not be difficult to arrange. The seller is moving across the country this week and didn't have time to fix a new problem or deal with typical car buyers. Currently smokes on start-up and misfires, convertible top is stuck up, and driver's window does not drop correctly. Nicest 20 year old paint I have ever seen. It is truly amazing to look at in full sunlight.

Smokes: Most likely the AOS has given out. For budget, a new one will bust the $0 budget. Possibly work new parts as a FMV trade or find ways to fix using stuff with $0 FMV. I'm pretty sure that a used AOS has $0 actual value, but I'm the idiot who has two used (still good?) ones in a box.

I could easily fix everything wrong with this car and under the rules, be under $2,000 in budget. That would *not* be a challenge. I have other Boxsters that I can bring to the Challenge. If this one goes, I want to do it as $0.

Rick, my buddy who picked it up from Dallas for me has a lot of Porsches. As I was picking it up from his house, he said, "I think you have more Boxsters than me now. How many does this make?"

"I don't even know.... Let's count."

Eight. I have eight 986 Boxsters at home right now. I think it was a couple years ago on the 986 Forum that I posted "Four is too many." Oops.

No room in the driveway at the moment.

Ok... It's time to get to work completing some home and garden projects to keep the harmony. More on the car later.

Here's the for sale listing: Classified ad on 986Forum.com

I'm thinking you have too many.  Keep the extra parts and I'll buy it for $0 and promise to bring it to the Challenge at that budget.

How do you find these deals?!

I am blown away that you keep falling over 986s for worn out honda civic money while I don't think I've ever seen one for under 8 or 9k, much less manual.

So they're really THAT good to drive?

Your wife must be amazing.

Time to start selling the ones you're finished with.  Have any young adults in your family circle that you'd like to infect with the car bug?  A cheap Porsche may be the gateway drug!

Yes you should. 

you should definitely bring it to the challenge, but also, if you need to unload a boxster, let us know

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

I'm with Robbie. Let us know. I don't have a convertible and for some reason I haven't yet run off my sweet wife with my inane automotive purchases. 

Until then, I'm just going to soak up some porsche knowhow through your threads. 

Can you find me the same deal? Lol

Wanna do some charity work and send me those litronics? Lol

That is cleannnn. Do you still find them or are they starting to follow you home?

A strange attractor for Boxsters....you could have a worse talent! Following along....

Hasbro (Forum Supporter) said:

Your wife must be amazing.

Thanks for the comment Barry, I read it to her and scored a few +points. ...and she is.

In reply to Everyone... I do have too many and am planning to sell my two '99s near the end of May. I'll post more on them later. They both have some flaws, but are reliable drivers. I had no intention of buying the last few Boxsters when I did, but I like to browse car classifieds on a slow day at work. With this particular model, I've learned and gathered enough parts that I feel safe making an offer on a cheap one. Buy considering the value if it ends up a parts car. Most of the sub-$4,000 Boxsters out there will likely be a very expensive car by the time it's sorted, unless you have a stock of parts and do your own work. That aside, This car is my BEST DEAL EVER.

All I did to the car today was drive it off the trailer and park it. No misfires and the smoke was pretty light. I will replace the AOS (Air Oil Separator) before I drive it any more. I'm probably going to replace it with a new URO brand AOS that I bought a long time ago before I found out they were junk. It's been on my shelf for years. I may undo the repair later with a more budget friendly repair, or find money in the budget to get a proper Porsche brand AOS. I still need to evaluate the car see if the $0 idea is valid. I plan to keep this one and don't want to take any short cuts that will compromise it later. For the Challenge though, I don't mind downgrading a few things temporarily to make it happen.

I'm pretty amazed at your Boxster count. I have never been able to build a "2nd" of any car, I just lose interest. I tried doing another e30 (I love my e30) but found myself just thinking "this is boring, I've already done all this once." Heck, I can't even bring myself to build the "same type of car" more than once or twice, so I have a GT car, an 80s sedan, a late-model hatchback, and a couple very different SUVs. So I currently have 3 project cars, none of which share any parts at all, none of which share wheel bolt patterns, some of which don't even use the same bolt threads or sizes in general. Hmm...maybe you are smarter than me lol....

Though somewhat curious as to how you keep interest having a bunch of cars that do the same thing, overall. I justify driving my various projects by saying "well, it's snowy out, I'll take the 4x4" or "well, I need to go 200 miles so I'll take the Porsche since it's a nice highway car." I think if I just had all the same cars I'd have one that was my favorite of the lot and never want to drive all the others lol....Do you do specific things with the different Boxsters, or are most of them just parts cars?

also amazed...my '88 924S was $1k and has $500 Boxster seats in it. You got a whole Boxster for $1000 :D

irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:

Though somewhat curious as to how you keep interest having a bunch of cars that do the same thing, overall. I justify driving my various projects by saying "well, it's snowy out, I'll take the 4x4" or "well, I need to go 200 miles so I'll take the Porsche since it's a nice highway car." I think if I just had all the same cars I'd have one that was my favorite of the lot and never want to drive all the others lol....Do you do specific things with the different Boxsters, or are most of them just parts cars?

I do have a preference for what to use each car for. I generally don't take the '04 Special Edition (1) out unless I'm going somewhere out of town - an hour drive or more. The two '99s (2,3) were daily drivers - one for my daughter and one for me. The red '97 (4) has taken over as my daily now and my daughter mostly drives a Cayenne. The white '01 (5) is my wife's car. The '01 Challenge Boxster (6) was just for the 2019 Challenge ...so far. The 2000 S (7) has become a parts car, but is still pretty complete other than no engine. Now this 2000 Basalt Black Metallic base model makes 8. In bad weather, or snow I drive the Dung Beetle.

I honestly didn't plan to ever buy another 986. This makes my total, including two bought as parts cars, 13 Boxsters. I think I have ten cars 'on the road' now and just keeping up the daily maintenance makes it hard to focus on a project. It all becomes less fun and more of a demand. I wanted to be working on my '81 Scirocco this month, but now that is deferred again. #First World Problems. I am looking forward to selling the two '99s, just sold my project motorcycle, two jet skis are going for sale this weekend, and then there's the hearse - the hearse project is now just a mobile storage bin that I can drive around town.

When I picked up this car from Rick, he said that he was jealous, but as we walked around his '84 Porsche 928 total restoration project, he confided in me that he knows he already has enough project cars to last the rest of his life. I can relate.

And now, I'm getting back to work on the 'final redesign' of the built-in shelves in the living room.

Yes, can you please start a buying service? I want a Boxster project at some point, but don't want to pay the normal pricing. I would be happy to give you double the price for your troubles 

dherr (Forum Supporter) said:

Yes, can you please start a buying service? I want a Boxster project at some point, but don't want to pay the normal pricing. I would be happy to give you double the price for your troubles 

This or maybe give us a buying guide.  Like what things to run from and what things to use as bargining chips.

Stampie (FS) said:

... This or maybe give us a buying guide.  Like what things to run from and what things to use as bargining chips.

Next week when I am finally back at work and have some free time (I know that sounds backwards, but such is life) I'll write up a Bargain Boxster Buyers guide.

E36 M3! I was doing good. The living room is coming along nicely. I sold a Jet Ski yesterday. The lawn looks good. I was listing the second Jet Ski on FB and when the Marketplace opened, there was a Boxster parts car for $600. "Need it gone this weekend. "  ...E36 M3.

I think I can do a quick strip and scrap and by the time anyone (my wife) notices it in the yard, I'll be hauling away the stripped husk. Maybe I won't even take it off the trailer.

Well, I'd hate to stop at 13. 14 is a better number.

Hmmm, read what you did. I left to check local ads on CL and FB. No such deals to be had. $3k just for an engine? $5k for a parts car? Now I am back here to say that you are one lucky SOB I'm sure it's all about timing when such deals pops up. 
 

that being said, didn't you mention something about which Boxster years to avoid?

Sunday... A visit with granddaughters and pick up the $600 parts car.

This evening I may start doing a little work on the $0 budget project.

This thread only gets better.

In reply to AAZCD (Forum Supporter) :

The way you're going I think if you found some nice farm ground & planted a few of these you'd have a fresh new crop of Boxsters next spring!

Here's the parts car. No engine, transmission, or seats, but lots of good stuff left to pick through. It should be pretty irrelevant to the rest of this build though unless I want to self-trade a downgraded part such as a headlight for budget purposes. It was a very nice car once.

Looking for comps on eBay, I managed to find three used Air Oil Separators for sale all at $35 or less. I couldn't find any that had actually sold. I'm going to go ahead and give a used one a try. Once it's installed, I'll test the crank case vacuum with a manometer to make sure that it is breathing right.

Three AOSs on hand:

To access the engine I need to open the convertible top. When I push the button to open it, the electric motor runs, but the top stays closed. A few years ago I made a video about how to get a stuck top open. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOLhAR8bLio I tried that method again, but the bolts were really in tight, so I found an alternative: Pop the clips off that hold the clamshell arms in place, then remove the lifting arms from the back:

I will eventually do the correct repair to the top, but for the Challenge, manual operation or no top at all will be fine.

To conclude the evening's activity, I gazed upon the glory of the 996 throttle body and intake that has already been installed on the car: