OT: my buddy is looking at a boxster, Any things to look for on a '97 and '99? value? Options

[Mark Henry]

My good bud is looking at a couple of boxsters, both are low miles the '97 asking is $16K and the '99 is $19k (99 has 33000 kms, less than 20K miles).

I kind of remember reading of a engine and wiring issue on some early cars also how hard/spendy are these cars to maintain. He does like to tinker/fix cars himself but he's got a bad ticker and I wouldn't want to see him flat line.

He owns a Miata so he already has a matching purse (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[ConeDodger]

The cylinder liner issue would have shown up by now in most cases. It was a small number of the production that got the cylinder liner problem and enough have shown up to make it likely that most have reared their ugly head.

RMS leaks were also a problem. Look for signs of oil leak or an engine that is too clean. Because of the configuration, these engines seldom see light. pop the bonnet and look. It should be dusty if the seller didn't order a clean up of the RMS mess...

The plastic rear window WILL need replacement about every 5 years. In USD that means about $6-7 Hundred. There have been glass alternatives, but last I heard they were pulling away at the edges a short while after install. And no, you cannot put the later top on the earlier car. I know one guy who has not had problems but he keeps his top up all the time. Probably not the solution you would choose.

Some of the parts are incredibly cheap. The wheel bearings are reportedly the same as the 914! The rear control arm is aluminum and cost about $100 when I discovered some ham-handed fool had used it as a jacking point. So, if you are willing to work on them yourself they can be reasonable to maintain.

Watch for defered maintainance! These cars were relatively cheap to get in to in the first place but dealer maintainance will always be very expensive so some owners just let it slide. Insist on records...

The base model can seem very anemic power wise after a very short time. I strongly recommend the S model but understand the attractive price of the base model can make it hard to resist.