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Sean, these guys are teasing you a lot, but your issue hits me close to home, because I recently bought a 1999 with 15K miles and had the exact same thoughts. Ever since then I have been researching every source I can find, and this is what I think now:
1. There have been something like 200,000 Boxsters produced. I have found maybe 100 to 200 reports of engine failure, and many of these may be repeats. Check the NHTSA web site -- you'll find about 11 reports. Check the Better Business Bureau -- no reports of Boxster engine failure. Check Consumer Reports -- the Boxster is rated "Better Than Average" or "Much Better Than Average" for "Major Engine Problems" (recent "Best and Worst of 2009 Automobiles", was on the newsstands a couple of weeks ago).
2. My independent mechanic has been in business for years and is the only independent that I know of in the greater KC metro area. He said he is aware of "a couple" of engines blowing up. "A couple" isn't very many, considering how many are on the roads here.
3. If the problem is as bad as everyone says, why aren't there THOUSANDS, or TENS OF THOUSANDS, of reports? If the failure rate is 10% of 200,000 Boxsters, wouldn't we expect to see 20,000 reports? Not just in forums like these, but at the BBB and NHTSA? I found maybe 200 reports, tops. Did the other 19,800 people have an engine blow up and just bent over and took it in the shorts without even complaining? If so, their response is sure a lot milder than mine would be. And I gotta wonder, why does everyone here seem to like their car so much if it is really a time bomb.
4. Google "Porsche" and "still on the road" and you get statistics from 60% up to 96%. Considering how many Boxsters have been produced, if 20,000 of them had failures, I don't see how those statistics could hold up. Of course this could all be BS but still . . .
5. Having said that, I'd hazard a SWAG that the actual failure rate is maybe 1%. Note that 1% is still a lot of engines -- more than enough for Mr. Jake Raby to analyze and work on. It's also a much higher engine failure rate than, say, a Honda or Toyota. I'd wager the rate is totally unacceptable in the industry. But at 1%, that still gives the rest of us a 99% chance that there will be NO problems. Dunno about you, but if I get a 99% on a test, I feel pretty good.
6. I know, I know, lots of people posting here have had failures, and some people have even had multiple engine failures, and they will tell you the failure rate MUST be much worse because something bad happened to them. I certainly sympathize, but anecdotal evidence that doesn't contradict the overall statistics. And, for all we know, maybe these people are abusing their cars and not taking proper care of them. It's the internet, anybody can claim to drive like my granny and that they change the oil every 1000 miles.
7. Bottom line is, like me, you're stuck with the car now, whether you like it or not. You'd lose more money than a new Jake Raby engine if you tried to trade it in again. So, you may as well enjoy it. Enjoy it, but come up with a back up plan of what you will do if you are one of the unfortunate ones. My "plan" is to save like hell for a new Jake Raby engine and pray that I never need it. I think the odds favor me. Now, please excuse me while I pray . . .
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