03' boxster 5 spd, plain jane worth it ?, That many possible problems..!! Options

[flmont]

I was looking at a clean 03' plain jane boxster has 40 K miles on it,..as I start to read up on that era car,..I was surprised it had so many possible issue's I knew of the IMS,and oil separator, but what's with the D chunking of cylinders, possible cracks in the heads ,..Etc Etc I realize not every car would have these issues but Damn I am surprised that Porsche's quality control could be that bad,Or they hired some rookie engineer's,..But , is it worth the 14 K the dealer is asking !! Thanks Frank (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[arne]

14k is top dollar for a car like that, compared to the ones here in Oregon. They seem to trade for 10k around here.

[thelogo]

Its a gamble plain and simple

Why would you buy a car that you know has a higher potential
For catastrophic failure


And will be expensive to repair and maintain



Why dont you your just jump completely off the clif
And get a 03 ,911 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

And see how it holds up

[EdwardBlume]

I had a non-S 5 speed for awhile. It was fun, but needed more power.

[jmitro]

just like everything on the internet, those issues have been widely debated and unnecessarily exaggerated.

You could probably get the car for $12k an have a really nice car for 1/4 of the new MSRP

[My 914]

I had a non-S 5 speed for awhile. It was fun, but needed more power.

I agree. I drove a non S one once and was not impressed.

[Porscheguy912]

I just purchased a 2001 Boxster S for $11,000 with newly replaced IMS bearing. I would recommend only an "S" with updated IMS. EBay has many for sale.

[csdilligaf]

While building my 914 I wanted something to drive and enjoy so I hunted for a Cayman S watching Craiglist like a hawke. A 2007 Cayman S with 93K miles popped up for $18.5K and I grabbed it. I could not be more impressed. It is a little under powered meaning as I shift through the gears I can have it floored and be waiting for the rev's to climb for the next shift. But I simply love the car over all and assume the Boxster S to give the same smile. Wait for the right deal and be ready to jump on it.

[IronHillRestorations]

I read an article a few weeks ago that said to find a nice clean S that needed a clutch or was nearing a clutch replacement and factor that with an IMS replacement to swing a deal. Providing you can do the work yourself, you might get into one without too much pain

[DRPHIL914]

some may say that's too much but remember its not 140k miles its 40 k miles and that makes a huge difference! if you put 5k miles a year on it that's worth an extra 15 years of driving vs buying a high miles car- yes you would do the IMS and with a dealer yo might negotiate a lower price as that is top dollar- I had a 2000S I had for 3 years- bought for $12,500 drove for 3 years put 28k miles on it and sold it outright for same price as I paid for it!!!!! because I didn't want to do the IMS and clutch and tune etc that was due at 90k miles- but great car!
6 months ago after looking again for a few years for another one, I picked up a 97 base 2.5 L car with only 35 k miles- I paid a very low price for the car- mint on the inside, top like brand new because the owner used the hard top or no top at all - its really clean with a few dings but mechanically previous original owner had the vac lines belts etc all done before listing it for sale - I just put new tires on it - fun car but its a bit under powered - I will upgrade the brakes and shocks- oh, and the IMS in early cars is a dual row, less than 1% failure rate- much better than the 04-05 cars larger bearing. but if it goes you can always do a LS conversion! for half the price of a new Porsche motor-
lots of cars out there so you don't have to rush- the O/A thing is no big deal , did mine on the S myself-
also look at the option list - my S had a base price of $49k, and $12K worth of options!! yet on resale and second hand you can get all that ess for free-
Good luck with your search- if the car is pristine clean car fax good maintenece history I would offer them $10k, see what the say- but for that mileage $12k will be a good deal. Clutch wont need it until 80 k miles so drive and enjoy!

[Mark Henry]

just like everything on the internet, those issues have been widely debated and unnecessarily exaggerated.

Tell that to the guy who's '04 C4S engine I pulled out two days ago (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Any '00-06 single row bearing I say get the IMS done now.

[Mark Henry]

but if it goes you can always do a LS conversion! for half the price of a new Porsche motor-

Well that statement is a little misleading.
Apples to apples
A full on 996 pro rebuild using nickies with install is going to run you around $30K, but to get Renagade to do you a full LS3 conversion is also going to cost you $30K.

Even DIY using Renagade kit (full kit almost $7K) will run you at least $12-15K depending on the engine.
If you are super talented, can fab everything, use a LS1 5.3 (used) you might be able to come out sub $10K...just maybe.

Building a 996 engine right now and also researching the conversions, so I know I'm not too far off on this.

[billh1963]

but if it goes you can always do a LS conversion! for half the price of a new Porsche motor-

Well that statement is a little misleading.
Apples to apples
A full on 996 pro rebuild using nickies with install is going to run you around $30K, but to get Renagade to do you a full LS3 conversion is also going to cost you $30K.

Even DIY using Renagade kit (full kit almost $7K) will run you at least $12-15K depending on the engine.
If you are super talented, can fab everything, use a LS1 5.3 (used) you might be able to come out sub $10K...just maybe.

Building a 996 engine right now and also researching the conversions, so I know I'm not too far off on this.

Did you attend Raby's M96 class? I did and it was excellent....pretty much a prerequisite if you want to rebuild a 996.

[jmitro]

Tell that to the guy who's '04 C4S engine I pulled out two days ago (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

you just proved my point. the failures are all over the internet, but how many people with non-failures are out there enjoying their M96 engine with no problems?

sucks for the 1/1000 that have a catastrophic failure, but let's be real....how many catastrophic M96 failures are out there?

[Ferg]

Tell that to the guy who's '04 C4S engine I pulled out two days ago (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

you just proved my point. the failures are all over the internet, but how many people with non-failures are out there enjoying their M96 engine with no problems?

sucks for the 1/1000 that have a catastrophic failure, but let's be real....how many catastrophic M96 failures are out there?

More than 1/1000, sure tons of owners got lucky and during the ownership period had no issues, but how comfortable are you dropping 15-25k on a sports car knowing that is has a flaw that could maybe possibly cost you 20k if not addressed.

[Mark Henry]

Tell that to the guy who's '04 C4S engine I pulled out two days ago (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

you just proved my point. the failures are all over the internet, but how many people with non-failures are out there enjoying their M96 engine with no problems?

sucks for the 1/1000 that have a catastrophic failure, but let's be real....how many catastrophic M96 failures are out there?

Enough...
I also have a '99 C2 in here 130K km (80K miles) thrust bearing shot, damaged crank, cylinders #5 and 6 scratched and over .006" out of round.
I can also see from a previous repair that it has an almost new replacement head on one side.
But hey...the IMS bearing looked good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Racer]

I ran a 2000 base model 5spd with some fancy sport package (18" wheels, interior upgrades etc. plastic rear window) . The car was a hoot. I was looking for a "modern" 914 with AC and heat and this was it. It understeered a bit much and didn't want to rotate as much as the older cars but was a good "weekend" car for me. However, I could never shake the feeling that the engine was just waiting to fail on me. Had it about 1 year.

From what I've read on the interweb, not all IMS fixes are a be all end all cure. Then again, not every car's engine blows up catastrophically.

If you can live with the risk, you might like the reward!

[Spoke]

After reading this thread and not knowing what IMS is, I read up on the IMS used in Porsche engines. What a dumb piece of engineering to put sealed ball bearings inside the engine. I don't think I'd want to come anywhere close to owning one of the MY cars affected.

[boxsterfan]

At least the interior on the 03 and earlier look good. Personally, I don't really care for any of the interiors of the Porsches after that year.

As my screen name implies, I had a 2002 2.7L Boxster 5-speed. It was a fun car. Certainly, not a straight-line racer but could hold it's own from 3rd gear up with a 2003 Bullit Mustang that my friend drove. It was a great car to cruise long distances in for me (Phoenix to LA at the time). My back was younger then too.

However, today I would get the 6-speed S with 252 HP and one that has had all the big issues remedied. In some ways, a car with more mileage may be in better shape.

[arne]

I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that the IMS issue is more common on low mileage cars, cars that sit a lot. Cars that are driven regularly don't seem to be as prone to this, from what I've seen.