DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Car above is mine.
bought 4 years ago from a specialist, PCT, for just under £20K about the cheapest Gen2 at the time at a dealer.

I've spent a lot on it and have used a specialist for servicing to get the Stamp in the book, service not too bad, use Zuffenhaus.
Have done a lot of DIY on it to keep running costs down, but Porsche Tax features everywhere , even DIY.

I have 2 things more to do to it and we are off on a big Scottish Tour, our third.
As a car to tour and do distance in it is really good, and mornings out to local spots as above, really good.

Depreciation will be intense though when selling, esp P/X, you never get something for nothing here.

My experience and advice is to buy a Boxster with all the known issues DONE, proved by receipts, then it will reward, and really use it.

Mine will be going soon I think for a TT, I won't have another.

I’ve got a ratty 986 2.7 sat on my drive right now, as a loan car.
I really like it (slightly surprised). Certainly seems very good value if something decent can be had for 6 or 7 K..
Yes, fast enough for normal road use.
Mind you, I’m not paying the bills...

Have owned a 2002 986S for over 10 years and really enjoy using it.

Sure there are some horror stories out there - as with any car really - however the main thing to look for is one that has done some decent mileage and evidence not just of regular servicing but ongoing maintenance.

In my view it is unrealistic to search out one that has been perfectly maintained - those are being held onto by owners who enjoy the car or will be sold at a significant premium - much like an air-cooled.

The 986 is quite sensitive to body/hood colour choices, this is also especially true of the interiors - the light grey does seem to show it's life more than the darker colours.

Pre-facelift 986 will have a vinyl rear window but a complete later 986 roof with a heated glass window simply bolts into place, is an easy and usually sub £300 upgrade.

Rusty disk inners tend to be found when the car isn't used regularly enough. Exhaust fittings and the like? Yep they rust and can be a pain to remove but are they really any worse than another car of this age?

Aside from time brakes and fittings aren't that expensive to address if needed. Interestingly a few folk over at boxa.net reckon the 987 and later cars suffer from cost downs in terms fittings and underbody finish - no personal experience of this though.

As 911hillclimber and rhd racer both suggest buyers need to check for water or evidence of it in the cabin carpet - the most likely failure as a result of this is an ECU under the passenger seat (UK cars) - am pretty sure it's for the central locking and other alarm type stuff. There are OE and aftermarket fixes for this.

For me the biggest thing to check out is the suspension - worn bushes and tired links will ruin the ride and handling, if those components are up to scratch then a proper geometry will transform the car's real world performance.

With a 986 (and 996 for that matter) you can delete the centre console which improves knee room (well it did for me) and radically alters the interior so it's more like an earlier car - doing this does to my mind make sense of the dash design.

General view of engine choices seems to be 2.5 & 2.7 for revvy driving and 3.2 for torque. 5 speed box in 2.5 and 2.7 seems to be a nicer unit than the 6 speed in the 3.2 - the 6 speed can be a bit grumpy from 1>2 when cold and if really tired that shift can become quite obstructive - steer clear of these.

They're easy to live with day to day, can be toured, tracked and pretty much anything else you want to do with a two seater - including it seems being able to park, lock and leave with maximum likelihood it'll still be there when you get back exactly as it was when you left it.

My own car is extensively modified under the skin - bigger engine, proper coil-overs and a host of other tweaks that increase focus without ruining it as an everyday car. Jumping from my 986 to my 3.6SC shows just how much of the Porsche DNA was still in place for the 986.

Nice write up. Thank you. Any comments on manual v tiptonic gearboxes?

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neilbardsley wrote:Nice write up. Thank you. Any comments on manual v tiptonic gearboxes?

You're welcome.

No personal driving experience of the Tip gearbox although two of the quickest real world road 986s I know are autos - one 2.5 and the other a 2.7. Both are properly looked after but far from cosseted. Of course this progress down the road is about the drivers but it serves to show that Tips are not inherently slow cars compared to their manual counterparts.

As a matter of course I'd budget for a fluid and filter change on any 986 Tip I was looking at - not difficult but really needs the car in the air. You can easily buy a kit with everything you need.

Tip comes with both shifter and buttons - there is a mod which uses Mercedes steering wheel paddles that people really like.

Tip gearbox also uses a form or fuzzy logic/learning - if the gearbox ECU is reset it will "learn" your driving style and modify the shift patterns to some extent. Folk that press on in a Tip 986 rarely complain about slow shifts.

5Speed manual - no problems as far as I am aware and the gearbox itself is a lot stronger than you might think - not sure if there's a difference between 2.5 5spd and 2.7 5spd boxes. Those that have them crow that they're nicer than the 6spd. Fine.

6Speed manual - can be baulky from cold from 1st to 2nd. Gearbox oil change will often address that (mine's now changed every 50k miles). If the shift into second is constantly obstructive - especially when warm - then walk away. Second gear is a known failure and is expensive to fix - the alternative is a low mileage 6spd box from a scrapped car.

Choosing between the two options is I think a matter of choice:

If I were to be city commuting I'd go with the Tip and still get a load of enjoyment when I've got access to a drivers' roads.

Otherwise the manuals are all good - sure the 6spd has a reputation but mine's fine at 150k miles with much city commuting plus track days and similar swift, engaged use. Currently the engine in mine is pushing 325+ bhp and is likely to be north of 350/360 when finished - there are no immediate plans to modify/repair or replace the gearbox.

They're really versatile little cars.....







Happy to help with any other questions if I can.

I believe the 2.5 / 2.7 gearboxes to be the same. I have both, and compete with a blend of them because the 2004 2.7s have larger gearbox output shafts and driveshafts. Won’t make a jot of difference on the road, but quite important for me doing standing starts on slicks!

The ratios are obviously a bit longer in the 5 speed boxes, but match the engine well. My car is over 150kg lighter than standard (even with a 40kg FIA circuit cage fitted), but I have never found it to bog down or wish I had different ratios. I change my oil a lot more frequently than that, but it does get hammered and has an LSD. They are very good boxes, mine is on elastic and I can get out of the car in about an hour and a half!

I have not driven a Tip, so think the write up above is excellent and balanced. The Tip boxes are quite a bit larger and heavier, so make some of the expected maintenance therefore more difficult (AOS for example). Manual boxes are everywhere and cheap, so you would never worry about replacing and it being expensive. I have 3 under my bench, and none are worth more than £200.

I totally agree with the above on the suspension front. Galvanic corrosion can make a total nightmare to replace, and some come apart nicely, others are a nightmare. Mine was the latter and I broke a rear subframe hammering a bolt out , but, the subframe bolts in and I had one on the shelf. And that’s the point, they are so plentiful that parts are cheap and really easy to get hold of. They are simple to work on, certainly no more complicated than an early car.

The exhaust stud thing is a nightmare, and I borrowed a jig and did all mine properly, but I would not expect this on a car for sale, unless you are very lucky. As long as the car has been maintained by a specialist instead of a monkey you have every chance of it not ever being a problem. There is also lots of online stuff available to walk you through repairs if needed, and the very early cars have very few electrics to bother you either (no PSM, traction).

They really are very capable and enjoyable cars. Mine has been amazingly reliable, and whilst all the work I have done to develop the car has ironed out problems as I go, it has been turn-key reliable for 5 years of the hardest driving possible.

HTH
Wayne

Refreshingly good thread this has become.
Real world experiences and not regurgitated Google stuff.

Mine has never let me down, came close in France last year (clutch switch made engine start very hit-n-miss) messy to change, but all done.
Constant maintenance I suspect is expected and I've been through a fair bit of that and will be there again today/tomorrow (coolant leak)

The 6 speed manual box in mine is a gem, but 5th and 6th are almost the same, I drive mine in 6th far too much due to the engine's flexibility which makes it very easy to drive (lazy).

When cold, the bulk to 2nd from first is barely noticeable, the whole drive train is very good, and the howl close to the red line is...good!

33/34 mpg is real on touring roads at legal speeds and the car runs really well at French motorway speed.

A lot to commend them, all shapes and sizes, I just expected far more from a premium brand.
The Z4 I had before the Boxster was much better built, but drove hard and slow, auto in that was good.

Can't help thinking for me/wife a TT is going to be better.
My daughter has an S Line Quattro DSG so easy for a test drive etc. Wife will want a manual.