Boxster 987 - gearbox question

[vahe]

Hello,

I'm new, just registered here due to becoming (hopefully) a happy owner of a 2006 987 (2.7)

Have a specific concern though, would appreciate help!

Buying from a private seller. No reason to suspect the car hasn't been driven and looked after well.

Saying that, the gearbox seems to be a little bit wobbly to me when in neutral - basically it is not as 'steady' as I typically saw in other cars (I've driven bmw's mainly). Also the gears change ok but there is a slight feeling that a wrong gear could be selected. Is this normal? Is that just me having no experience of Boxsters?

The clutch is not very light, but again I am comparing it with non-sports cars. Is that normal too?

Thank you!

 

[cheshire911]

As you are new to this marque, the best advice I can suggest is that you have the car put through a professional Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) chosen by you and report back. Share your concerns and ask them to check out gearbox and clutch and anything else they need to look for.

A good professional PPI will cost around £300-£400 but is absolutely well worth it. It should include a download of the ECU data to tell you how the car has been treated and to validate the mileage.

Ypu are buying privately, so you have no comeback whatsoever in terms of warranty etc. So you should satisfy yourself that what you are buying is what it is and have it professionally checked out. These cars can rack up a bill of £2000 in the blink of an eye. If there is a gearbox issue and if it requires a strip and rebuild, you can reckon on around £4000, and that's assuming you don't replace the clutch whilst you're in there - another £800 or so.

If you want suggestions for who to carry out the PPI, post up where the car is located and I'm sure someone in this forum can make some good recommendations.

Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware!)

 

[isysman]

:agree:

If you have concerns get it checked out. It will give you peace of mind. It might sound expensive having the PPI but when you put that against the cost of having to replace the gearbox then it's cheap.

The Boxster is a great car and I haven't seen a lot of gearbox scare stories.

 

[danyeates]

I've been looking into this and it looks like the gear shifter itself is a weak point as it's made of plastic with plastic bushes which causes slop and vague feeling. You can upgrade it to an aftermarket shifter, or a GT3 one, which is supposed to be better/more precise.

I'm going to do mine to see if it makes an improvement.

Clutches get heavy when they're worn. Most places seem to be £600-700 + VAT to change, so not too bad.