Need new motor for 2002 Boxster S - $19,000 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mikedivincent · 10-23-2008, 04:42 PM

Everyone,

My 2002 Boxster S lost its intermediate shaft today at 85K miles.

The dealer says I need a new motor at a cost of $19,000 !!!!!!!!

Their answer was "yea, this happens"

Does this sound right, has anyone gotten Porsche to take any responsibility for this?

I cant see spending $19K on a car that might not be worth $19K in book value.

HELP????????

mts · 10-23-2008, 04:55 PM

Try these guys:

http://flat6innovations.com/

Lucky · 10-23-2008, 05:45 PM

The PO of my car got Porsche to pay 75% of the replacement cost for an engine in 2005 at 69K miles. He had religiously serviced the car at the same dealer from day one and they went to bat for him. If you can't get any concessions out of Porsche, go find an independent repair shop -- they can get crate motors for about $8k - $9k and will charge about $2k for the swap. Much cheaper than your "stealer".

Good luck.

kabel · 10-23-2008, 06:57 PM

Sorry for your loss, not saying it's right, but Yes it does happen. That cost sounds about right. What exactly was the failure?

+1 what mts mentioned, talk to Jake at http://flat6innovations.com/

blue2000s · 10-23-2008, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikedivincent

Everyone,

My 2002 Boxster S lost its intermediate shaft today at 85K miles.

The dealer says I need a new motor at a cost of $19,000 !!!!!!!!

Their answer was "yea, this happens"

Does this sound right, has anyone gotten Porsche to take any responsibility for this?

I cant see spending $19K on a car that might not be worth $19K in book value.

HELP????????

Out of curiosity, what were you doing with the car when the IMS went?

roadracer311 · 10-23-2008, 08:06 PM

Wow, the 3.2l rebuilt motor from flat6 is $13,000. It sounds like they've done a ton of research and some nice upgrades but still, $13,000 before installation...

seningen · 10-23-2008, 08:34 PM

I was quoted 9kish for a 3.2L and ~$500 in shipping,

Can't imagine it would cost another 9k to install it

In my case -- I am rebuilding -- the claim was it cracked a cylinder liner.

When we tore it apart ourselves, found that the engine was darn near
perfect -- and the water pump shaft had broken off.

Will end up costing probably $3k in parts and maybe $2k in labor.

But since I have it all apart, I plan to replace anything and everything,
so my bill will be ~8k or so.

m

23109VC · 10-24-2008, 08:07 AM

why not use this as an opportunity to "upgrade" and put in a larger motor?

I have 73k miles on my 2000 base - and I PRAY this does not happen to me - I like the car just fine with only 217hp..... but IF it blew up, and I had to either buy a ne engine or part it out - I think I would eat the extra cost and swap in a 3.4L and make it a screamer!

I was under the impression that the cost to replace with what you have, vs the cost to swap in a larger motor is not that much more... or am I wrong - is it thousands and thousands more?

this stuff scares the crap out of me. I'd get an extended warranty to take some of the fear away, but they want about $5000 for an extended on my car - and at that price, it's almost just worth rolling the dice....

i wonder if there is an insurance policy you can get that would cover ONLY the motor failure issue and nothign else? maybe something you coudl buy through your auto insurance for catastrophic mechanical failures? one would think that there would be some way to insure against this w/out paying the outrageious fees from the auto/exteneded warranty people...

ChrisZang · 10-24-2008, 08:44 AM

$19k sounds excessive. I believe the total bill for my new engine (incl. labor) was below $15k
A new 3.2L engine is $8.6k plus a $2.2k (refundable) core charge

mikedivincent · 10-24-2008, 08:47 AM

I was just driving between lights - in traffic, not driving hard at all.

idjiot · 10-24-2008, 08:54 AM

I think it may have been the same crankshaft on my car that broke - this was at about the 40,000 mile mark. Luckily, at that time I was covered by extended warranty. This also happened to be about 2 months into ownership for me - purchased used - 2001 Boxster.

The bill was about $13,000 for me so $19,000 probably isn't so out there.

I fear it happening again of course but hopefully luck will be in my favor the rest of the way.

Best of luck.

sparkycrash · 10-24-2008, 09:09 AM

My warranty is almost up on my 2005 S and am considering Extended Warranty. Sounds like yours stepped up to the plate when the dreaded IMS failure hit you. Which one do you have??

Thanks

Jaxonalden · 10-24-2008, 09:12 AM

Has there ever been a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Boxster owners? I would say there is more than enough evidence of impending product failures because of lapses in OEM manufacturing.

Aron in Toronto · 10-24-2008, 09:58 AM

That estimate seems pretty high, and perhaps the dealer may give you some discount.
As you said the estimate seem higher than the value of the car. you can find examples for even less and sell off your car to recoup some money.

Here is a clean one owner 01 S with lots of extras & 70k mi for $17.500 from a long time PCA member. And its been on the market for a while.
No affiliation withe the seller.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=423802

Or you can find a used 3.2 motor for around $5000 and have that installed. Others may be more familiar with the labor cost of the swap.

It is unfortunate that this is a relatively common and expensive problem in an otherwise great sports car.

ChrisZang · 10-24-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparkycrash

My warranty is almost up on my 2005 S and am considering Extended Warranty. Sounds like yours stepped up to the plate when the dreaded IMS failure hit you. Which one do you have??

Thanks

Warranty Direct paid most of it

blue2000s · 10-24-2008, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikedivincent

I was just driving between lights - in traffic, not driving hard at all.

This sounds like the IMS failure occurs more often in this kind of situation than when the car is being driven hard.

If you're serious about keeping the car for a long time, you might want to think seriously about the engines from flat6innovations. They appear to have done alot to address the inherent weaknesses of these engines. It is $13k with your core, so it's not a bargain, but it's a more robust solution than just buying another engine.

tboyer · 10-24-2008, 01:39 PM

I can only guess what it feels like to blow an engine, hope I never experience it, however....

IMO, unless you're planning a 3.4 swap, 13K - 19K is too much money to invest in a used 986 02S

I'd strip the car and part it out on craig and ebay using the proceeds on a Porsche CPO used, or a newer factory covered 987.

9eighty6 · 10-24-2008, 02:20 PM

Sorry to hear about your engine ... best of luck

blinkwatt · 10-24-2008, 03:03 PM

Sorry to hear about this. If it makes you feel any better head over to the 996 section on Rennlist and see how many people have blown engines on there.

mikedivincent · 10-25-2008, 05:43 PM

Folks,

Porsche (thanks to the excellent work by the service crew from Stevens Creek Porsche in San Jose Ca) has stepped up and will cover 50% of the motor.

The boxster should be revived in a few days.