The Boxster has two main design issues that are concerning, the RMS and the IMS engine meltdown problem. Obviously, the RMS issue is the most frequent lyissue mentioned.

It has other weak points that seem to come up frequently, including the ignition switch and an propensity to eat brake pads, rotors and tires.

Older Boxes had issues with the tops, plastic windows and cables.

If I recall correctly, the Box comes in the middle of the pack on the three year JD Powers survey.

Beyond that, we have no data.

Not a cheap car to fix, but there are not many of those anymore. A great car to drive, period.

Good luck.

:)

HI, OTFLMAO :)

The truth is that boxster owners are real men not shy confessing their shortcomings and this is the place for ADD patients also, so please keep reading and posting, you'll feel much better after a few years of 986 medicine. :cheers:

OH OK Me Love My BOX, me go wash it now :D

Had a camshaft tensioners failure at 66000km. An $5k repair job at the dealer! Still love the car though :)

52k miles, 3 owners
 

Driven 3 years 10k on my watch.
one O2 sensor replaced with generic equivalent at muffler shop for $50 labor (I didn't have access to as lift)
one intake leak, resolved by independent mechanic moving parts around which cured leak.
3 trips to dealer to resolve airbag/seatbelt warning light. One I paid for, 2 dealer/PNA paid for.

Repair needed once every 9 months. No disabling failures.

Total cost in unscheduled maintenance for 3 years less than $20/month.

Enjoyment....priceless.

If you can afford the depreciation, you can afford the repairs.

The only thing I would really be worried about is IMS failure - low probability, disasterous results. If I spring a small RMS leak, I probably will not even do anything about it.

It does seem like most of the issues are more toward the "minor/stupid/annoyance" classification. But the IMS failure issue, the lack of public acknowledgement, standardized processes for financial relief, and porsche's subtle admission of the failure is certainly not something I like.

One thing I feel would be great is to have somebody take some pretty detailed measurements of the high cost segment of porsche box issues and survey a whole bunch of owners. Everything we hear is anecdotal and it would be great to document what really "is" with hard facts and establish a baseline for problems/costs.

i picked up my low milage '99 6 months ago and managed to hit RMS leak, shift linkage failure, clutch replacement, and MAF sensor failure. i think i had every issue discussed in this forum but the IMS failure in that 6 months. shift linkage failure kinda pissed me off since i was stuck in downtown DC rush hour with broken Porsche waiting for a tow truck. a bit embarrasing... but thankfully, most of these were covered under extended warrenty.

after all this, i still love the car. i knew i wasn't getting a bullet proof Honda when i made decision to purchase one. the way car looks and how it performs out weighs the problems for me.

HI, I just wonder are we FOOLS for buying these cars ,check this out , not too impressive :eek: what are we paying for :o

To read this better, copy and paste on desktop and then zoom the highlighted area.

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...mriser0002.jpg

Franco, funny you put that up - I was just looking at it a few days ago. To me, those charts are meaningless. I could not find the basis for these ratings. For these to be meaningful measurements, the rationale behind these ratings needs to be clearly explained and defined for each reliability metric.

They also seem to fluctuate wildly over time and time related variability is not correctly explained (clearly to the reader). I recall looking at a very old issue of this and seeing my box year's rating to be substantially higher. I feel it is very difficult to interpret some of these results :(.

Furthermore, (I beleive those ratings are based on frequency of occ.) there are many more factors to consider than mere frequency. For example, cost and cost normalized for MSRP should also be included to further understanding of true reliability problems. After all, isn't everyone's bottom-line here long run expected cost of repairs?

My car is now in the shop with possible serious engine damage/issues. It will be looked at tomorrow before I know for sure. I guess I pissed off the car gods or didn't knock on wood after I posted this...oh well what can you do. :matchup:

gmboxster
 

At the risk of sounding stupid, what is the IMS failure you guys keep mentioning.

I have recently bought my first Boxster and decided to have a full service carried out by my local Porsche Centre in Devon UK. I duly delivered the car and left it for the work to be carried out. About one hour later I received a call from the centre to tell me that the engineer had tested the car and found a vibration !! and having removed the oil filter had found metal particles in the oil. They asked if they could investigate further and would require the sump to be taken off and inspected, as I was obviously worried I agreed to have this done. I then some 3 hours later had another call telling me that the intermediate shaft bearing was failing and it would cost £7000.00 + VAT $14000 to be repaired. I could not beleive this as the car has only covered 28000 miles in its life and is in perfect condition. The car drove well and did not show any signs of any engine damage to this point. To cut a long story short I spend about 2 hours on the net and found what I think is probably the best Porsche specialists in England who will not only repair the engine for £3600.00 but will uprate and modify the intermediate shaft to prevent this happening again. The porsche centre would only repair as the original which would have probably failed again. My car is a 1998 986 which was bought from a personal freind and has been serviced and very well looked after all its life, that said why has this engine failed at such a low mileage surely this being a Porsche it should have lasted much longer than this, I can only say that my lifetime dream of owning a Porsche has very sadly been very disapointing and what I feel is a complete disaster, I wish I had bought a BMW as I have never had one let me down. Porsche as far as I am concerned are a rip off and I will never use a service centre again as long as I own the car. To crown it all the Porsche centre had charged me £919.00 for the privalige of telling me that my engine is knackered and they never even carried out any of the service. Porsche needs to have a customer service department that lends a sympathetic ear to it's customers and explains why their engineering failed at a very low mileage, I have no doubt however that Porsche are only interested in making money instead of listening to its owners.

Quote:

"We both had wives on board so car was at maximum weight."

Posted by Allen K. Littlefield.

Wow, dude. Better hope your wives don't read that post.

I had no major issues with my Boxster S, Just sold it at 45K miles, I can only hope my 996 3.6 will be as reliable

re: RMS
 

Hi,

I'm new here... I'm looking to get into a 03 or later Boxster S in the low $30K price range. I don't have one yet, hopefully have some money by the spring.

Does RMS in Porschese translate to 'Rear Main Seal'?

My Rear Main Seal on my 2002 Jetta 1.8T 5 speed is leaking.... not enough to actually drip on the garage floor, but it is wet..... A mechanic I had look at it while it was in for the waterpump, timing belt said to keep an eye on it.....

This IMS thing is a little worrysome....

P