I must have read too much GRM and my curiosity finally got the better of me. Why not buy a 23 year old Porsche? I will be updating this thread with as I DIY my way through baselining it and ownership. Feel free to ask any questions along the way, I hope to be able to repay this community for all it has offered over the years.
1999 Porsche Boxster or 986, 5-speed manual. I found the posting on CL under Boxter and called the owner right before the add was about to expire. He didn't have much action in the listing's past month (Jan) and was asking $9,000. Original owner with maintenance records- not GRM maintained, but as things broke they were fixed, oil changes as required, inspected annually at private garage. 144K miles- I would rather buy a car that has been driven than sat unused. Garage kept, sunny day driven, washed and waxed consistently, etc. Most importantly, when buying a used car I have to be able to buy the sellers and these were good people.
I liked the year, 1999 has a throttle cable, dual row IMS bearing (still original) and different gearing than later models. Yes, it has the less powerful 2.5L engine: 200hp, 180 lb-ft (weighs around 2800lbs) and that is perfectly fine by me. Clutch at 112k, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s with 1k on them.
I will post my review comparing it to the Miatas I have owned, but needless to say I was impressed. It took a little bit to reach an agreement on price- of course I wanted to see it under 7K which wasn't happening and that may have been wishful thinking- though not completely unrealistic. We reached a compromise and now I own my first Porsche- rolling the dice! What is the worst that can happen?
Thanks! The first maintenance item I took care of was cleaning out the leaves and debris from the front radiators and AC condensers. Overall a fairly simple DIY job. Everything came apart and went back together pretty easily. The rads and condensers were in good shape, despite the previous owner having never done this. Dry TX weather and driving conditions kept everything from decaying. 
It took me a while reading through various forums to come up with exactly what manual transaxle fluid is correct for my 1999. Initially I ordered 3L of Porsche part#000-043-305-49 after verifying with both an online vendor and parts department at a dealership it was the correct fluid. However, many rabbit holes later led me to discover I was mistaken- the correct Porsche OEM fluid is only available in 20L containers now, part# 000-043-305-00. Sunset Porsche parts online will ship individual 1L bottles of this under their part #000-043-305-00SP. I've noticed the consolidation of knowledge is a little more precise in Miata forums, but it could just be I don't know exactly where to look yet. Trans fluid and Oil change were next on deck.
But I have been side tracked trying to fix an issue with the power top that failed on me for the past week. More in depth thread about it posted to another forum.
https://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/80023-99-boxster-roof-off-tracks-need-help.html#post633475
Duke
MegaDork
4/14/21 10:47 a.m.
Nice purchase!
Last year I was starting to consider selling the Manic Miata on to someone a little younger and more manic than I and replacing it with a Boxster of that vintage. Then COVID pricing hit the used / hobby car market and that was suddenly not a "sell the Miata and add a grand or two" proposition any more.
Good luck with it and enjoy!
Thanks! Ok this next story is entertaining now, but at the time was frustrating. I went to change the engine air filter on it while it is out of commission for the top issue that is beyond me. As I removed the old filter from the housing it sounded like I had just won at a slot machine! What the?! Apparently a critter had been storing sunflower seeds in the intake tube up against the air filter! Once removed the filter, they cascaded into the filter housing. Without a vacuum to suck them out of the crevice I was left taking them out by hand scratching up my forearms in the process.
The first part number you listed is the fluid I put into my '01. 1 liter bottles are available at FCP Euro (they've one up in price though, like 40% more). Shifts just as good as it did before.
200hp is going to feel like a lot more with a clean filter!
mxandcx5 said:
It took me a while reading through various forums to come up with exactly what manual transaxle fluid is correct for my 1999. Initially I ordered 3L of Porsche part#000-043-305-49 after verifying with both an online vendor and parts department at a dealership it was the correct fluid. However, many rabbit holes later led me to discover I was mistaken- the correct Porsche OEM fluid is only available in 20L containers now, part# 000-043-305-00. Sunset Porsche parts online will ship individual 1L bottles of this under their part #000-043-305-00SP. I've noticed the consolidation of knowledge is a little more precise in Miata forums, but it could just be I don't know exactly where to look yet. Trans fluid and Oil change were next on deck.
Pelican still sells the OEM stuff in 1L bottles: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/00004330549.htm?pn=000-043-305-49-OEM
That's what I used.
mxandcx5 said:
Thanks! Ok this next story is entertaining now, but at the time was frustrating. I went to change the engine air filter on it while it is out of commission for the top issue that is beyond me. As I removed the old filter from the housing it sounded like I had just won at a slot machine! What the?! Apparently a critter had been storing sunflower seeds in the intake tube up against the air filter! Once removed the filter, they cascaded into the filter housing. Without a vacuum to suck them out of the crevice I was left taking them out by hand scratching up my forearms in the process.
Oh, Man! That is epic! When I saw the picture I thought it was the cabin air filter and someone had accidentally spilled a bag down the defroster vents.
I keep looking at Caymans and Boxsters. It would be my 2-3 days a week commute car (75mi round trip) so I'm looking for a 2009-2014 with low miles. Unfortunately they are holding onto their value a little more than I'm willing to spend right now. I thought that the shutdown would have driven prices down but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I just posted on your top thread in the 986 Forum (as 78F350). It looks like you are working your way through the issues and have a good process. Congrats on what will be a very fun car. Seeds in the intake is probably one of those things Northerners do to store their car for winter. Before eating them I'd probably rinse them first, but they still look good to me.
dps214
HalfDork
4/14/21 1:24 p.m.
CAinCA said:
I keep looking at Caymans and Boxsters. It would be my 2-3 days a week commute car (75mi round trip) so I'm looking for a 2009-2014 with low miles. Unfortunately they are holding onto their value a little more than I'm willing to spend right now. I thought that the shutdown would have driven prices down but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Don't be afraid of medium-high mileage examples, especially if you're just going to be piling miles onto it as well.
Tk8398
HalfDork
4/14/21 2:55 p.m.
I want to get one of these sometime this year too, probably in the $4-7k price range which seems possible in my area. No particular reason other than it seems like a potentially good idea and I'd rather try it and see what happens than wish I had in 10 years.
In reply to Tk8398 :
For sure, I assessed that values were near the bottom and could start creeping up over the next few years. I wanted to be under 7K, but in the end could justify coming up just a little bit- def think it is a possible to find nice examples in that range.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:
mxandcx5 said:
It took me a while reading through various forums to come up with exactly what manual transaxle fluid is correct for my 1999. Initially I ordered 3L of Porsche part#000-043-305-49 after verifying with both an online vendor and parts department at a dealership it was the correct fluid. However, many rabbit holes later led me to discover I was mistaken- the correct Porsche OEM fluid is only available in 20L containers now, part# 000-043-305-00. Sunset Porsche parts online will ship individual 1L bottles of this under their part #000-043-305-00SP. I've noticed the consolidation of knowledge is a little more precise in Miata forums, but it could just be I don't know exactly where to look yet. Trans fluid and Oil change were next on deck.
Pelican still sells the OEM stuff in 1L bottles: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/00004330549.htm?pn=000-043-305-49-OEM
That's what I used.
Yep, you and spandak are correct. Apparently the 97-99 models take a different fluid as there are difference in trans and it took some tracking down. Pelican is where I had ordered the -49 from as they have it categorized for all 986 models.
The trans fluid topic is a weird one with these cars. Plenty of people put in OEM and like it and plenty more put in...whatever and seem to like it too. I decided to play it is safe but I think its odd how deep the rabbit hole can go.
In reply to dps214 :
I'm not looking for something with super low miles. 50k-75k would be fine. Since it would be my every-other-daily I want something I'm not going to worry about either. I tend to buy cars and hold onto them for years so I'd rather hold out for what I want than buy and upgrade but with the market as it is I might just have to.
Nice find for the money.
What color is that? First pic I thought it was black, then it looks blue in another. Reminds me of mine that was Ocean Blue Metallic.
In reply to NoviceClass :
Correct Ocean Blue Metallic! I really like it. In the sunlight it looks more blue.
mxandcx5 said:
In reply to NoviceClass :
Correct Ocean Blue Metallic! I really like it. In the sunlight it looks more blue.
Nice! That color was an upcharge of about $800 over the standard colors. Mine had a contrasting Savanna Beige interior.
Going to be following this thread, see your experience with it. Couple of upgrades I did on mine was pulling the rear bumperettes, sanding and painting/clearcoating them body color looks really nice. Also found a pair of all red 986 Speedster tail lights which looked like a million bucks on the car.
Mine at dusk vs afternoon:
Anyone know if it was a factory option to not have the "Boxster" script on the trunk? Mine doesnt have it and neither does this one. Ive always wondered but never seen a reference to it being an option.
