I'm going to be in the market for a 997 soon. It'll be a daily driver, and price will be in the mid 30's... so that seems to bring up mostly 06's with about 70k+ miles. What are the items that would start to need attention at this time? I assume clutch, brakes... suspension components? Any 997 specific items?

I've had high mileage 911's in the past (an air cooled, and a 996 Turbo), so I'm generally familiar, but not specifically with 997s. Any personal experience would be great!

thanks.

 

Add shocks, water pump and possibly the AOS to the list. I'm about to hit 80k miles on mine.

 

I recently turned 85K on my '06 and the only things I've done in my nearly three years of ownership outside of all the recommended maintenance items is replace my starter due to slow starts and my water pump as a preventative measure. My to-do list is to replace my hood struts because they don't hold up anymore. My clutch and suspension are fine.

 

No direct experience with the 997 but with my '02 Boxster nothing needed attention until around 80K miles at which time the AOS (the 1st one) needed replacing.

Then came a wheel bearing, followed by a couple of O2 sensors. Water pump at 172K miles, a 2nd AOS, fuel pump at 200K miles, coolant tank at 220K miles. VarioCam selenoid/actuator at around 240K miles.

Scattered in amongst the above were a few other items, like front and rear trunk gas struts, a couple of window regulators, a door lock control box, a door latch switch, CV boots on the axles, brake light switch, clutch interlock switch, 3 batteries, a handful of light bulbs.

Most recently I replaced a noisy converter -- rattles and an occasional P0430 error -- with a used one from a salvage yard and just a few weeks ago yet another AOS. This makes the 4th one that has been in the car.

Coils are original. One radiator/AC condenser is original the other side replaced years ago when I hit some road debris. Hoses are original. Clutch is original. Shocks and suspension is original. Replaced two links at the front sway bar when the dust covers split. 285K miles.

You can of course replace whatever you want whenever you want or you can just keep an eye on things and take care of what comes. Even if you proactively replace everything (water pump, t-stat, fuel pump, coolant tank, clutch, RMS, starter, alternator, all hoses, radiators, condensers, heater core, A/C evaporator, oil/water heat exchanger, AOS (if one fitted) and on and on and on.. and oh the wallet pain!) you *still* really need to keep an eye on everything as there is no guarantee even say a new water pump won't go out before it is time to replace it again.

If you feel that strongly to be proactive regarding replacing items I think it would be cheaper to just sell or trade in the car with its 70K miles and turn around and buy a more recent car with ideally a CPO warranty.

 

As always look for good service history. You have had high mileage air cooled and water cooled Porsches. Other than IMS and RMS concerns which may be different depending on what year you end up with seems to me you are way ahead of most in the "what should I worry about?" game. The electrics and 'nanny systems' lend an extra layer of complexity on later cars but come with the territory. You might pick a basic car vs a +optioned one to minimize suspension and other electrical concerns. Otherwise I would not expect much difference from your past experiences.

 

Great, thanks for the advice. So far, looks like the AOS is the oddball. I'm looking at the 06+, so hopefully no IMS concerns, and assume catastrophic "porosity" related failures would have revealed themselves by now (who knows...).

Honestly, I was spoiled by the 100k mileage plus '87, which was as reliable as a refrigerator. The 996 Turbo was mid mileage and had reasonable upkeep.

Macster, pretty impressive on your Boxster.