I bought this in March last year, so time to put up a thread.
"You only live once". That was the phrase we kept saying to each other whilst we tried to convince ourselves to buy this. Looking at the advert, it was nice and local, low miles, great condition and full of upgrades and extras. But, it's a Porsche! People like me just don't drive Porsche's. The guy who we bought it from said when he was expecting tradesmen at his house (which was being renovated), he used to park this car up the street, because if it was on his drive everyone thought he was loaded and the quotes he got reflected that. It does genuinely look like a £20K car. We picked up for less than a quarter of that. A serious amount of car for under £5K.
So, as it's a 1997 (May '97 in fact), it was one of the first Boxsters into the UK. Eighteen years old this year. Certainly has a timeless-ness about it, so people can't believe it's 18 years old when I mention it.
2.5 litre, 205bhp
Was on 83,000 when I bought it, now on 87,000 miles, full service history with every single receipt, however small the part, and every MOT certificate.
Kit: Air-con, climate control, electric windows & mirrors, electric roof up & down (can be done whilst on the move - another upgrade), on board computer with the usual outside temp, miles left in tank, average mpg etc (currently averaging 30mpg, and 35mpg on a run - not too shabby!), HID kit. The only thing it doesn't really have is cruise control.
The plate came with the car, and the previous owner had it for sale on Regtransfers .com for over £1000! I doubt it would sell for that, but it's something of value which further convinced us to buy this car. I've made it less cheesy (and less illegal) by spreading out the P60 and the RSC. Might end up selling it, and replacing it with something cheaper to keep the car 'ageless'. Not sure yet.
Thousands spent by a previous owner (all documented on a Boxster OC build thread) on upgrades. The main money spent was on a red soft-top, a hard roof, exhaust, red leather interior, clear front and rear light clusters (I hate the orange originals) wheels (£1300 Carrera's) and stereo. The stereo is the best I've seen. It's a Pioneer, but installed correctly so the 'Porsche' comes up on the screen on start up. It's touch screen, and has built in sat-nav, Parrot bluetooth facility and has USB and SD card connectivity. It even plays DVD's!
New plates on...
Rare, genuine Porsche illuminated gear knob...
I can't think of many better cars to have a blast over the nearby moors in....
It's important that there is a £2k slush fund for maintenance and repairs when buying one of these. I've spent upwards of £2.5k since I bought it:
New brake pipes all round
Both lambda sensors replaced
New clutch
Camshaft deviation guides replaced
Both rear tyres (265/30/19) replaced
Suspension coffin arms replaced
Still, nobody said owning a Porsche would be a form of budget motoring. I don't begrudge spending the money at all. I own a Porker.
It has had some paint correction done over the last week or so, as well as the roof being cleaned up. Must admit, it looks much better having had the work done.
Full decontaminate wash. Bilt Hamber clay bar. Paint corrected with 3M products to remove swirls and random scratches. Paint cleansed with Carlack twins. Paint sealed with Carlack. Waxed with Collinite 476s. All trims and rubbers sealed with Aerospace
Still love looking at it. Can't believe it's 18 years old mind.
"You only live once". That was the phrase we kept saying to each other whilst we tried to convince ourselves to buy this. Looking at the advert, it was nice and local, low miles, great condition and full of upgrades and extras. But, it's a Porsche! People like me just don't drive Porsche's. The guy who we bought it from said when he was expecting tradesmen at his house (which was being renovated), he used to park this car up the street, because if it was on his drive everyone thought he was loaded and the quotes he got reflected that. It does genuinely look like a £20K car. We picked up for less than a quarter of that. A serious amount of car for under £5K.
So, as it's a 1997 (May '97 in fact), it was one of the first Boxsters into the UK. Eighteen years old this year. Certainly has a timeless-ness about it, so people can't believe it's 18 years old when I mention it.
2.5 litre, 205bhp
Was on 83,000 when I bought it, now on 87,000 miles, full service history with every single receipt, however small the part, and every MOT certificate.
Kit: Air-con, climate control, electric windows & mirrors, electric roof up & down (can be done whilst on the move - another upgrade), on board computer with the usual outside temp, miles left in tank, average mpg etc (currently averaging 30mpg, and 35mpg on a run - not too shabby!), HID kit. The only thing it doesn't really have is cruise control.
The plate came with the car, and the previous owner had it for sale on Regtransfers .com for over £1000! I doubt it would sell for that, but it's something of value which further convinced us to buy this car. I've made it less cheesy (and less illegal) by spreading out the P60 and the RSC. Might end up selling it, and replacing it with something cheaper to keep the car 'ageless'. Not sure yet.
Thousands spent by a previous owner (all documented on a Boxster OC build thread) on upgrades. The main money spent was on a red soft-top, a hard roof, exhaust, red leather interior, clear front and rear light clusters (I hate the orange originals) wheels (£1300 Carrera's) and stereo. The stereo is the best I've seen. It's a Pioneer, but installed correctly so the 'Porsche' comes up on the screen on start up. It's touch screen, and has built in sat-nav, Parrot bluetooth facility and has USB and SD card connectivity. It even plays DVD's!
New plates on...
Rare, genuine Porsche illuminated gear knob...
I can't think of many better cars to have a blast over the nearby moors in....
It's important that there is a £2k slush fund for maintenance and repairs when buying one of these. I've spent upwards of £2.5k since I bought it:
New brake pipes all round
Both lambda sensors replaced
New clutch
Camshaft deviation guides replaced
Both rear tyres (265/30/19) replaced
Suspension coffin arms replaced
Still, nobody said owning a Porsche would be a form of budget motoring. I don't begrudge spending the money at all. I own a Porker.
It has had some paint correction done over the last week or so, as well as the roof being cleaned up. Must admit, it looks much better having had the work done.
Full decontaminate wash. Bilt Hamber clay bar. Paint corrected with 3M products to remove swirls and random scratches. Paint cleansed with Carlack twins. Paint sealed with Carlack. Waxed with Collinite 476s. All trims and rubbers sealed with Aerospace
Still love looking at it. Can't believe it's 18 years old mind.
