New owner introduction

[ColinRWC]

Hello, I'm the new owner of an '01 Boxster S: lapis blue, metropol top, gray leather interior, and the 18" high gloss wheels. I'm a long time Porsche fan but this is my first experience owning the marque. The "outgoing" car is a Mustang Cobra convertible.

So far, I enjoy the car. The handling, features and build quality far exceed those of my Ford. I enjoy the shape of the car, it reminds me (of course) of the old 550 Sypder.

A few frustrating things about the Box I didn't notice on short test drives:

1. The sun visors don't swivel to the side!

2. The stock seats are narrow and uncomfortable, and mine don't offer lumbar support. My back gets sore after 20 minutes or so. What are my options for upgrading these, either to aftermarket items or take offs from other Porsche models? Or can they be modified to gain some width?

3. The radio doesn't turn off with the key! Is there a procedure I'm missing to configure the radio to go off instantly with the key?

4. The interior trim is flaking in a couple of places (center console, driver's armrest). Would this be covered by the standard factory warranty?

5. How worried should I be about RMS failure? The warranty is up in January, and living in CA I don't seem to have many options for extending it (I didn't buy the car from a Porsche dealer). Replacing the engine on my own nickel would definitely poison Porsche for me forever.

Greetings and best wishes,

Colin

[Highlander]

:welcome:

Welcome Colin. The Boxster is an incredibly fun car. Congratulations!

#1. Yup, wot a pain.

#2. I have the stock seats and find them very comfortable. Must be a body type thing. GT3 seats are an alternative but are very expensive.

#3. The radio should turn off ~5s after the key is removed. It will stay on as long as the key is in the ignition. If this bugs you, once you turn the car off, pull the key out of the ignition, then put it back in. The radio will go off (after ~5s) and stay off until you turn the ignition back on. This is a feature of the car, not a problem.

#4. The original coating on these items reacts badly to sunscreen. Whether this will be replaced under warranty will depend on your dealer. I got my door armrest replaced without question the have not had the issue recur.

#5. RMS problems are purely cosmetic - a few small drop of oil on the floor is the worst of the problem. There is not even enough oil leaks out to worry about having to top it off.

Graeme

[magcuda]

most banks and credit unions offer extended warranties while the car is still under factory warranty.

[porscheneer]

How good are those warr? I hear it takes an act of congress for them to cover anything at their expense. I spoke to the Porshe dealer and the service manager told me the only Warr they except over the counter are the ones they sell.

If by some miracle the extended warr does cover somethin will you trust some " Good Ole Boy " with a bare min ASE certification on the wall with your Porsche

[ColinRWC]

You're right, the radio DOES turn off after 5s or so when I remove the key! I had read the manual which said something about 60 minutes, so I was punching the "off" button before it had a chance to turn itself off. D'oh!

My experience with 3rd party extended warranties hasn't been good, and they can be somewhat hard to come by in California for "exotic" cars. I think the laws are different with regard to who is allowed to underwrite them in CA.

[porscheneer]

The 60 min feature is if you take the key out and want the radio you hit the on button and you can use the radio for sixty min before the auto shut off

[adsach]

Re: Lumbar support

I have heard of guys shoving a mouse pad under the seat cushions.

For really long drives, I straighten/recline the seatback about an inch once every hour or two. According to track driving schools, most drivers choose too much recline for optimum comfort and control.