Thinking of buying a Boxster ? - MUST READ !

[rick3000]

No one said that Porsche's don't have engine problems, which they shouldn't have. It is just debatable how often they actually happen. Of the 200,000+ Boxster's how many people have actually had a problem.
I have heard a lot of people talk about IMS and RMS but I have seen very few people post about having it actually happen to them. It does happen, but I think that the forums constantly mentioning it makes it seem as if it happens more often than it actually does.
Just my take on it!

[AddictionRacing]

It happened to me. Don't buy a boxster.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by AddictionRacing

It happened to me. Don't buy a boxster.

I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I would say your comment is unfair.
Every car, every manufacture has it's issues, it's good year models and not-so-good year models.
I did a lot of research and looking and searching before purchasing my Boxster.
No matter what price range I was in, I would not have bought any Boxster older than 2004, because of the plastic rear window and some more serious reliability issues. The IMS can happen on any of them, but I haven't heard about it as much on the 3.2. Ruled out a base.
I was going to pay cash for the newest one I could afford, but opted for doing a big down payment on a post 2005 with certification and financed the difference. I did this on the insistance of my oldest bestest buddy who is an 30 years experienced indy Porsche mechanic. As it was I waited nearly a year longer than I would have liked to keep the financing to a minimum, while being able to purchase a very new, low mile car with 89,000 miles and nearly 5 years of full factory warranty, precisely because I have owned expensive cars with expensive failure issues in the past. It's called high performance, which usually includes high risk on high strung, heavily stressed mechanical apparati which are also built as light as possible. If you note my avatar you will see I understand what I'm saying. Been there, done that, wrote the checks.
Buying a nine year old car with 66k miles on it, from any manufacture, that you have NO IDEA how many times it's been run to and above the redline, then taking it to a speed event yourself, where it failed, is a risk you should have understood before taking it.

[rick3000]

I have to agree with Quickurt that it is an unfair comment. I see your point of view but you're one of a select few Boxster's to have been unlucky enough to have an engine failure. Just because a few Boxster's have problems doesn't mean they all do and you shouldn't buy one.
I would also like to add that IMS is very rare on pre'-01 Boxster's. Which in my opinion makes pre-'01 Boxster's safer because you only have to worry about RMS which can be caught ahead of time and fixed. But there is nothing wrong with any year Boxster.

[ocdbilly]

I want to thank www.iwantaporsche.net. I purchased my '00 Boxster S last December. My wife noticed that there were a couple of oil drops in the garage. Based on what I had read from the above site, I took it in for service. Not happy to say that $6,000 later (RMS, clutch, 'o' rings, axles, 60,000 mile service, the list is long) I know it sounds expensive, but I chose to get everything wrong fixed. The Porsche service department said they couldn't think of anything else that could go wrong (fingers crossed). I believe $6, 000 is beter than $12,000 (new engine) on a car I paid $18,000 for.

Again, thank you to www.iwantaporsche.net for the tremendous insight.

Oh yeah, moral of the story being that if you don't like your Boxster or want to tell everyone that they are a problem and not worth the money, then go buy yourself a Mini.

[9eighty6]

I also don't think it's fair to say that boxsters in general are poor and not worth the cost. They are efficient, fun to drive and wonderful when maintained properly. Even if the engine does let go, you can put in a bigger one for about the same cost (ok, maybe slightly more). And in the end you will still have a wonderful handling car. Just do your homework and make sure that you have the ability to make an expensive repair if necessary!

Happy hunting to those looking!

[kabel]

I really, really, like my Boxster.

I'm the second owner, bought the car with 78k - car now has 102,214 miles on the odometer.

The Boxster is my daily driver & I drive my Boxster in a sensible but spirited fashion most of the time. I autocross it an average of once a month, which means it sees the rev limiter occasionally. I have only had to take care of normal ware items thus far (knock on wood) like having the oil changed ever 8-10k. And as far as I can determine, it has the original engine.

Things to know before buying a Boxster

1.Speaking of Carfax reports,they are total crap.Neither showed up on the Carfax. Get one though for title info.
2.Your PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) should include a 4-wheel, laser alignment.
3.Boxsters eat tires and brakes and brake discs.
4. Find a reputable Porsche mechanic before you take possession of your out of warranty Boxster.

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by ocdbilly

Again, thank you to www.iwantaporsche.net for the tremendous insight. Oh yeah, moral of the story being that if you don't like your Boxster or want to tell everyone that they are a problem and not worth the money, then go buy yourself a Mini.

You are most welcome.

BTW, I was purposefully trying to scare off potential buyers who didn't have the intestinal fortitude and room in the budget to buy an older Boxster.

However, I'd say the same thing about the Mini ... very high cost of ownership after the warranty expires and not very well built for the long-haul. The statement above would be far better with "Honda S2000" or "Toyota MR2 Spyder" in it. Both are nearly maintenance free compared to Boxsters.

I half-believe they did this with the Mini to keep it's English heritage intact.

[rick3000]

My sister has a 2002 Mini. The general consencious is that the 2002 was built cheap beacuse BMW didn't know if the car would be successful. But the new version and later years are built very well, because it is now one of the most desired cars. Which has done wonders for its resale value.

It's better than the honda or toyota

(Go to Mini's new car ranking site, "CarFun Footprint," The Mini is number 1 and the Boxster is number 2, which if you remove the Mini biass the Boxster is Number 1!)

[petee_c]

RandallNeighbor,

The costs u list for repairs on your boxster... do most of them include labour? at what hourly rate?

(Getting a PPI done on a Chicago area boxster S this week)

Thanks,
Peter

[YellowS2000]

Originally Posted by rick3000

No one said that Porsche's don't have engine problems, which they shouldn't have. It is just debatable how often they actually happen. Of the 200,000+ Boxster's how many people have actually had a problem.
I have heard a lot of people talk about IMS and RMS but I have seen very few people post about having it actually happen to them. It does happen, but I think that the forums constantly mentioning it makes it seem as if it happens more often than it actually does.
Just my take on it!

Got to agree, how many boxters do you see broken down by the side of the road or on eBay being sold as spares or repair due to engine failure.

Im aware it can happen but its still better that driving a 1million % reliable toyota corolla.

Peter

[Dino986]

I've owned mine for almost 3 months and I'm at just under $700. But I'm not complaining.