November, 1999 - The search begins

I began looking for a new sports car in late 1999. After considering some other makes and models I began to focus on a 2000 Boxster.

December, 1999 - Time to narrow down the choices

After discussions with my wife we went down to one of the local Porsche dealers so she could see exactly what I was talking about. She's put up with my sports car dalliances in the past and fortunately for me she agreed that I should get a Boxster. The next weekend we went looking to narrow down color choices and options. After another test drive I decided that I would get a Boxster S. The bad news was that it seemed like all of the local dealers had very long waiting lists - bummer. After much research I was able to locate a local dealer that had an April build available.

At about this same time I found Porsche Pete's Boxster Board. This resource helped a lot. It also served to add a lot of alternative choices (confusion) to what I was selecting. I heartily recommend the Boxster Board as a valuable resource to anyone researching the purchase of a Boxster.

January, 2000 - Waiter status is achieved

As the new year rolled in I was able to secure an April build. This was on January 4th. The initial order consisted of a Zenith Blue / Savannah Beige / Black  Boxster S. Other options included full leather interior, power seats, heated seats, lumbar supports, traction control, auto dimming mirrors and painted wheel caps. Knowing I had plenty of time before the order needed to be finalized I started the process of deciding on final options. Then, a week or so later I got a call. The dealer said that I could have a February build, but only if I could decide on the options in the next 2 hours! After much soul searching I changed the order to a Black Metallic exterior and a Natural Brown Leather interior.

The complete configuration for my Boxster S is available here.

February, 2000 - More changes

I had initially decided to forgo a hardtop. This decision was made as I had previously had a convertible with a hardtop. While I enjoyed it during the winter it required space to store it. This was a luxury that is currently not available. However, in late February I had a change of heart (and a new garage being planned) so I added this to the order. That was the good news. The bad news was that I still did not have a build date.

The following week was the 2nd Marin Boxsterfest. I was able to take a ride in Docta Boxsta's SYS with an 030 suspension. The next day I added that option to my build order as well.

February 28th, 2000 - The production date narrows

The dealer informed me that the car had been delayed due to the Brown Natural Leather interior. All cars specified with Natural Leather had been delayed to be March builds. As of now I have a production date the week of March 13th. I was also informed that the dealer would follow up and see if they could better estimate a delivery date. They hoped that since PAG had delayed a February build that it could be expedited - although I don't hold out much hope for that possibility.

March 3rd, 2000 - Parts & other things continue to arrive

The Sto' Away hardtop hoist arrived. It gets added to the growing list of parts & accessories that have already been received in anticipation of someday actually receiving the Boxster! I have also received notification that my personalized plates have also arrived.

March 24th, 2000 - I now have a production number

My dealer is supposed to check on the boat schedules. Hopefully, this will tell me if there is even a chance of still making it to TBHL III in Las Vegas at the end of April.

March 30th, 2000 - Finally, an estimated completion date of 4/19.

Just got a copy of the latest pro-forma from my dealer. It shows an estimated completion date of 4/19/2000. Ironically, the other car on that section of the pro-forma is also Met BLK/NBL/BLK. Small world. I asked the dealer to give me a call when it comes in so I can see what mine will look like!

April 11th, 2000 - Still on schedule.

My car is still on schedule for a 4/19 completion. Also, my Valentine 1 Radar Detector arrived. I plan to make use of it on my way to TBHL III.

April 16th, 2000 - We're getting really close now.

Got an e-mail from the dealer today. My car has finally made it to PRDPNT. Should only be another 6 weeks or so at the most.

April 19th, 2000 - Production complete.

Received a Pro Forma confirming that my car went CHKPT8 on 4/19. Where's the boat?

May 3rd, 2000 - ONVESL!

It appears that my car actually made the May 6th boat. Should only be another 3-4 weeks before it arrives at the dealer.

May 12th, 2000 - Charleston!

My car was actually on the April 27th boat. What a surprise. The car finished PDI on the 18th. It was placed on the truck to the west coast on May 19th.

May 19th, 2000 - New wheels.

I ordered a set of 18" Fikse FM10 wheels from Wheel Enhancement along with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. The wheels are 8x18 in front and 9.5x18 in the rear. The tires are stock sizes of 225/40-18 and 265/35-18.

The trucking company agreed to give me a call when they are in the vicinity of the dealer so I can be there to see it unloaded from the truck. I plan to take my camera as well as a video camera.

May 22nd, 2000 - The delivery truck broke down!

How fitting. The truck delivering my car broke down in Albuquerque, NM. This resulted in a 1½ day delay due to an $11.00 part. Bummer.

May 23rd, 2000 - Tomorrow's the day.

I'm scheduled to see my car come off the truck at the dealer on Wednesday at 9:00 AM. I also placed an order for a new 2-piece Speed Lingerie bra and mirror covers as part of a group order.

May 24th, 2000 - May car is delivered to the dealer.

I went and watched my car being delivered to the dealer today. If you ever have the opportunity to do this, by all means, take it.

May 25th, 2000 - My waiter status ends.

I went back to the dealer and actually took possession of my car. A whole new journey now begins.

May 28th, 2000 - I got my first door ding.

Went to The PCA Diablo Region "Wash & Shine" with Magic Mountain Dan to check out all of the cars. On the way there we encountered a 911 whose driver, Tony,  said he was with PCNA out of Reno. The 3 of us drove in and parked. Apparently Tony, who parked on my passenger side, dinged my car when he opened his door. Damn. Only 3 days old. On the bright side it is very small and should be easy to get fixed.

June 4th, 2000 - I passed 600 miles.

A major milestone has been passed towards the break-in period. There is a bit of discussion as to whether break-in should be 600 miles or 1000 miles. The ROW break-in is 1000 KM, which is roughly 600 miles. I'll keep the revs down under 5000 for the next 200 miles or so. Sort of a compromise.

June 10th, 2000 - I passed 1000 miles.

This was done during the first BABBLERS group drive down to Laguna Seca Raceway.

June 14th, 2000 - My first stone chip.

I picked up my first stone chip in the windshield. I heard it happen and noticed where it was when I washed the car on the 17th.

June 17th, 2000 - Installed Speed Lingerie

I washed and waxed the car with P21S Total Auto Wash and P21S Carnuba Wax. I was astounded to see how many small nicks there were in the front paint after only 3 weeks. The Speed Lingerie is very likely to pay for itself for this reason alone.

July 14th, 2000 - First casualty with wheels

Pulled into a driveway today a was a little short on the turn. That coupled with the speed caused me to slightly ding the right-rear wheel. When it pinched it also tore the tire along the edge bead above the rim. The tire is still OK as far as I can tell. I'll take the wheel into the repair shop next week. It should be $45 to fix the wheel as it didn't bend it. It'll be an additional $25 to dismount, remount and balance the tire on the wheel. All-in-all not too bad.

July 31st, 2000 - Got the wheel repaired

Upon returning from a cruise to Alaska (where I didn't see any Boxsters) I took the car up to Rite-Way Wire & Wheel Specialists in Walnut Creek, CA. They expertly took care of my mishap in only 20 minutes, leaving no trace of what occurred. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing such services. Click here for a before & after picture or here for a full story.

August 2nd, 2000 - Had the Porsche Zoom car seat installed

I took the car in to Rector Motors in Burlingame to have to Porsche Zoom car seat installed. Now my grandson can ride in the car if he so desires.

August 12th, 2000 - Decided to do Drivers Ed

After some thought I decided to take a drivers education course. I looked into the Thunderhill Street School but it was booked for the near future. I also checked out TracQuest who had an event scheduled on the 19th at Buttonwillow Raceway.

August 15th, 2000 - Decided to buy a helmet

After thinking about it for a few days I decided to purchase my own helmet instead of using a loaner at the track. I checked out Helmet City in Oakland. After going and trying on various brands I decided on a Bell M2.

August 19th, 2000 - Track day

What a blast! This is something I will definitely do again. To see a recap just click here.

September 30th, 2000 - Aloha Group Purchase

Ordered a Becker 6-disc CD Changer as part of the Aloha group purchase from Continental Imports. Total price for the changer, bracket, and miscellaneous hardware came to roughly $360. Not a bad deal when the changer alone normally goes for $350.

October 12th, 2000 - Signed up for my next DE

I sent in my check for the TracQuest event on December 16th at Buttonwillow.

October 21st, 2000 - CD Changer Installation Party

We had 11 BABBLERS show up for a CD Changer hack party at the parking lot by my office. There we a total of 6 changers installed. Jay ran into a little trouble and had to obtain a replacement cable. Other than that, everything went quite smoothly.

December 16th, 2000 - TracQuest at Buttonwillow.

Traveled down to Buttonwillow with Dan Feinberg and Tom Deckowski for a day of fun and learning. Had lots of Boxsters on the track.

December 21st, 2000 - Signed up for Laguna Seca!

Sent my check in for a 2 day session at Laguna Seca.

 October 31, 2001 - Wow! It's been almost a year since I've updated this page.

I did run Laguna Seca and had a blast. What a fantastic track. I also helped put together the West Coast BoxsterFest as well as many other Babblers events. That's where most of my time has been going in fact. In fact, most events can be found by going to those pages. Also, be sure to check out the message board if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area as we sponsor events on a pretty regular basis!

ps - After my daily driver died, around July of 2001, the Boxster turned into my commute car. It has proven itself to be reliable as well as fun. I put new tires on in October. My Michelin Pilot Sport's wore out with 17,000 miles and 7 track days. I replaced them with Bridgestone S03 Pole Positions. After 1200 miles these are OK.

March 31, 2002 - Just not enough time to keep this updated!

Trials and tribulations. The Porsche Zoom car seat wore a small spot in the side bolster of the passenger seat. It was repaired under warranty. Unless you know where to look it's unlikely anyone could find it easily. While cleaning my rear window I found out that it had a couple of cracks in it. I'll take it into the dealer to see about getting it fixed. The rear main seal and intermediate seals were replaced at about 15K miles.

Preparations are underway to attend TBHL V in Las Vegas after skipping it last year. I plan to do at least one day of a PCA sponsored DE while there. I'm interested to see how the S03's do on the track with 6K miles on them. I had a minor audio upgrade done by Monney Car Audio. The speakers were upgraded but I decided to hold off on the big $$$ upgrades. At least for now. Visit the 'hacks' pages to see how it all went.

January 6, 2006 - I did a DIY repair on my broken windstop and saved $100