97 boxster pricing

[husker boxster]

Yep, I meant passenger door.

[jcb986]

Detailing a car to look pristine is one thing. Mechanical is another. If that's the original engine and it's a 97'..well you guys know the rest of the story.

[RandallNeighbour]

jcb, I was thinking the same thing. 80k is right around the time a Porsche motor starts showing IMS issues.

[schoir]

Who put the 6-speed in there, and where did it come from? :chicken:

Regards, Maurice.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by schoir

Who put the 6-speed in there, and where did it come from? :chicken:

Regards, Maurice.

Hey, Maurice, I think I'm more confused than you are...I don't see anything about a 6-speed, or a pic showing a 6-speed shifter...

[DamageINC123]

The seller should have spent more money on the house so he can get the cars off the street!!

[pothole]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

jcb, I was thinking the same thing. 80k is right around the time a Porsche motor starts showing IMS issues.

Interesting, my understanding is that it was often much earlier than that. Certainly when I was looking to buy there were lots of cars that had had new engines around the 40-50k mile mark, sometimes earlier, and also cars on 100k with the original engine. I spoke to one of the outfits that rebuilds M96 lumps here in the UK and was told that if the IMS bearing had made it 70k, that was probably a good sign. Apparently one of the major issues (the following will not be their precise words, only from memory) is that the bearing is very tightly sealed / packed and can dry out leading to failure. Bearings that have made it to decent miles usually have opened out just enough to stay lubricated.

So many different opinions on this, and obviously these things can die on you at pretty much any mileage, but personally I'd rather have an early 2.5 on 70k than, say, one on 30k to 40k. I certainly wouldn't have any more confidence in the lower mile car regards the engine grenading. Too many examples of low mile engines going pop for that.

For me, the sweetspot for buying an early 2.5 would probably be around 60k with a new clutch and RMS...Any fewer miles than that and I would actually be more nervous about it, not less.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by pothole

Interesting, my understanding is that it was often much earlier than that...

So many different opinions on this, and obviously these things can die on you at pretty much any mileage, but personally I'd rather have an early 2.5 on 70k than, say, one on 30k to 40k. I certainly wouldn't have any more confidence in the lower mile car regards the engine grenading. Too many examples of low mile engines going pop for that.

For me, the sweetspot for buying an early 2.5 would probably be around 60k with a new clutch and RMS...Any fewer miles than that and I would actually be more nervous about it, not less.

agreed. i know if i were to go out today and look for a used boxster/M96, low mileage would not be a selling point for me. over 60k-65k miles would be my choice. i think once they get to around 80 most problems have probably revealed themselves ( but there's always those quirky ones that wait )...but what do i know?

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

jcb, I was thinking the same thing. 80k is right around the time a Porsche motor starts showing IMS issues.

IMS wasn't a problem on the 97' 2.5L. The 98-99' had cracking sleeve issues. The 97's has some issue like a porous block or something,I don't remember anymore.

IMS issues mainly started when Porsche redesigned it for 00'+,mainly the 3.2L on the 986S and 3.4L on the 996 have the issue. People say it's a major problem on the 2.5L & 2.7L,it's not,go on the Rennlist 996 NA section,you'll see how much of a problem it really is. (proportionality speaking)

(not that people have said the 2.5L and 2.7L don't have IMS failures....just that out of all the shops I've talked to,all the post on all these boards on the net.....the 2.5L and 2.7L hardly have IMS failures).

[davemon]

Without repeating some of the earlier comments.

1) Missing the center glass between the seats.
2) IIRC those calipers should be black on the '97 Base boxster.
3) The front bumper is crooked. The lines around the front trunk are slightly off but the line where the passenger side turn lamp meets the fender really catches my eye.
4) If I were to buy this car, I would really like to know what the tire treads look like.


Not bashing the car. It could be a fine automobile, but if I were to buy it, I would like the details around 2-4 and would note I'd have to buy the center glass.

[Aron in Toronto]

Originally Posted by davemon

Without repeating some of the earlier comments.

1) Missing the center glass between the seats.
2) IIRC those calipers should be black on the '97 Base boxster.
3) The front bumper is crooked. The lines around the front trunk are slightly off but the line where the passenger side turn lamp meets the fender really catches my eye.
4) If I were to buy this car, I would really like to know what the tire treads look like.


Not bashing the car. It could be a fine automobile, but if I were to buy it, I would like the details around 2-4 and would note I'd have to buy the center glass.

Looks like front bumper has been replaced or resprayed and pass side headlight looks like it has been replaced too. But overall it looks pretty good to me.

[davemon]

Originally Posted by Aron in Toronto

Looks like front bumper has been replaced or resprayed and pass side headlight looks like it has been replaced too. But overall it looks pretty good to me.

As long as it was reflected in the price, I could live with it. Would still be curious to know what happened and would really love to see the repair receipts, but you can't always have it all.

And good catch on the headlight, I got so distracted by the lines that I missed that altogether.

[davemon]

Bidding has ended on this item.
Item:1997 Porsche Boxster



Ended: Jul 19, 201005:34:43 PDT

Bid history: 12 bids


Current bid: US $8,399.00
Reserve pricenot met


Member Id: t***t( 97) US $8,399.00 Jul-17-10 12:04:56 PDT
Member Id: a***a( 142) US $8,299.00 Jul-17-10 14:57:03 PDT
Member Id: a***a( 142) US $7,700.00 Jul-17-10 14:56:15 PDT
Member Id: k***7( 23) US $6,200.00 Jul-16-10 07:44:05 PDT
Member Id: s***c( 84) US $5,000.00 Jul-13-10 15:51:59 PDT
Member Id: 5***o( 135) US $4,500.00 Jul-13-10 10:16:41 PDT
Member Id: e***d( 2 ) US $3,000.00 Jul-10-10 15:44:01 PDT
Member Id: t***o( 0 ) US $3,000.00 Jul-12-10 17:42:23 PDT
Member Id: t***o( 0 ) US $2,500.00 Jul-12-10 17:42:05 PDT
Member Id: t***o( 0 ) US $2,100.00 Jul-12-10 17:41:41 PDT
Member Id: t***o( 0 ) US $2,050.00 Jul-12-10 17:40:34 PDT
Member Id: c***a( 271) US $2,000.00 Jul-09-10 18:56:14 PDT

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by davemon

Without repeating some of the earlier comments.

1) Missing the center glass between the seats.
2) IIRC those calipers should be black on the '97 Base boxster.
3) The front bumper is crooked. The lines around the front trunk are slightly off but the line where the passenger side turn lamp meets the fender really catches my eye.
4) If I were to buy this car, I would really like to know what the tire treads look like.


Not bashing the car. It could be a fine automobile, but if I were to buy it, I would like the details around 2-4 and would note I'd have to buy the center glass.

davemon, just to note there, since it is a removeable piece it may very well be there and just be in the bag and tucked into the zippered storage space behind the seats, but good catch, one of those things you can sort of accidentally take for granted.

[RandallNeighbour]

I'm betting the center windscreen is nowhere to be found. Same goes with other bits of the interior like the ashtray, etc.

The buyers rarely get these things from cars bought at auction, and if they do, many times they take them off the car and sell them on eBay after the car has been sold to some unsuspecting schmuck.

I was an unsuspecting schmuck five years ago when I bought my car off ebay. My car had been raped before it was sold to me. Plus, it was a worn out car that had been given no attention for years. The only thing on the car that didn't need to be fixed or replaced was the motor... which had been swapped a couple of months prior by the PO (before the dealer bought it from the Miami auction).

[Aron in Toronto]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

IMS wasn't a problem on the 97' 2.5L. The 98-99' had cracking sleeve issues. The 97's has some issue like a porous block or something,I don't remember anymore.

IMS issues mainly started when Porsche redesigned it for 00'+,mainly the 3.2L on the 986S and 3.4L on the 996 have the issue. People say it's a major problem on the 2.5L & 2.7L,it's not,go on the Rennlist 996 NA section,you'll see how much of a problem it really is. (proportionality speaking)

(not that people have said the 2.5L and 2.7L don't have IMS failures....just that out of all the shops I've talked to,all the post on all these boards on the net.....the 2.5L and 2.7L hardly have IMS failures).

Just to add a bit more info (confusion) to the IMS issue. The early cars, pre-2000 IIRC had the double row IMS bearing that was switched to a single row bearing in the 2.7 and 3.2l engines then changed back to a double row around 2005. After reading many IMS failure stories on the net, it seems like the failure rate is highest on these single row IMS bearings in the years 2000-2004.
The 2.5 seem to be affected more with RMS leaks than IMS issues.
Some 97s also had issues with porous block castings that usually showed up early in their lives. In fact I have not read of a single porousity issue occurring in early motors since I’ve been following Boxsters starting around 2003.
And some later 2.5s had the slipped sleeve issue. This was in the 1998-99 range, but I’m not sure the exact manufacturing dates that were affected.

[jacabean]

as far as prices in my area , those cars are 10 to 14k all day long. I would not buy from a dealer , look for a first or second owner so you have some history with the car. Most dealers in my area buy these types of cars from the local dealer auctions. large dealership takes it in on trade sends it right to the auction , **************** bag second hand lot buys it and tries to make a profit and does not know a thing about the car. watch out for lines that say , v6 , rides like its on rails and sport model these guys are clowns and 90% of the time the cars are junk.

[pothole]

Nicely put Jacabean.