Scared to Death of these cars !

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by lowflyer60

So, just bought a '01 S this week, looking for info on the IMS problem. What do you look for when you inspect the oil filter?

Little silvery metal flakes and black plastic bits. The metal, no surprise, is from the balls and race disintegrating. The plastic is from the cage (which keeps the balls properly spaced).

I highly recommend replacing your stock oil drain plug with a magnetic one -- LN Engineering sells these. This is another way to capture metal bits ... at least the ferrous ones.

[Perfectlap]

^ and cut open the filter so that you can unroll it. The recent Excellence magazine article on the LN upgrade said that fragments the size of cracked pepper bits are cause for concern. They give the exact measurement of the bits.
Some people wait to change the IMS so that they can do the clutch at the same time. I personally don't think you should wait. Do it now. You may be prematurely changing your clutch but that is only a loss of less than $600 vs. the possible loss of a $10,000 for a new engine.

[willd]

Ok I'm probably alone on this,but what's an IMS?

I read a few posts on it, how important it is etc, but.....what does it do?

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by willd

Ok I'm probably alone on this,but what's an IMS?

I read a few posts on it, how important it is etc, but.....what does it do?

Do a search. Jake Raby has covered this in great detail.

[extanker]

Originally Posted by willd

Ok I'm probably alone on this,but what's an IMS?

I read a few posts on it, how important it is etc, but.....what does it do?

its a shaft inside the motor....if the bearing it rides on fails it can destroy the motor

[john90290]

I purchased a nectar 2002 single owner metior gray with 90k and have 97k on it now with not a problem. If it blows up tomorrow? What if you have a heart attack? What if that weak blood vessel in you brain pops next week...the point is you never know. We don't have a warranty and we all have design flaws.

This car is like you, maintain it the best you can,everything in moderation and the remainder is up to the fickle finger of fate. If you spent your entire life wondering if you are going to be the 1 of every 2 males that gets cancer, what fun would life be?

Yes, your boxster will get something, just like you will, but it's the life in your years not the years in your life....or better said, the life in you mileage, not he mileage you've logged.

[Frank M]

A Porsche is not the cheapest car to own nor the most expensive.
It just depends on the owner's view point of enjoyment.
Some will deprive them self and others will over splurge for the fun factor. (two extremes)
Like already posted, its a personal decision.

Corvettes are fun too and less expensive overall than a Porsche. Then again a Chevy Cobalt is an even better financial decision.

[jcb986]

Here is what my son spent twice having an oxygen sensor replaced on a Honda Civic. Cost plus part was $287 at the dealer. I think they all have high prices...

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Mr Snappy

I guess I should say howdy! I just found this forum.

Little background, I was a Corvette guy but sold it about 18 months ago....seemed like the thing to do at the time, definately miss her

Anyways, I decided I wanted a new toy and was amazed at the prices that used boxsters were going for. I had almost pulled the trigger and then decided to do some more research on these cars....I have to tell you, i'm not so sure now.

Yes, I know that people are much more likely to type a post about a problem then a post about no problems with their cars, but i don't know...

After reading the thread about "how much have you spent on repairs this year", I am amazed! To be honest, in the 6 years I owned my Vette, with the exception of a bad rear-end that was replaced under warranty, I never put a dime into any repairs. Mods? Yeah, lots of bucks, but that was fun stuff at my discretion.

I don't race or autoX. I just want a nice cruiser for weekends and love the Boxster...always wanted a Porsche.

Are yearly parts and maintenance really in the range of $1500 per year? Is this typical? I'm looking at 2003-2007 model year with as low miles as possible, so don't expect a factory fresh experience, but I don't want a money pit either.

Can you talk me off the ledge, or is this just par for the course?

So you bought a Corvette new ("rear-end replace under warranty") and drove it for 6 years on weekends ("I just want a nice cruiser for weekends") and didn't need any repairs over the few thousand miles you put on it over those 300 weekends (6 yrs x 52 weekends a yr) and want to know if the Boxster will be reliable for similar circumstances? The answer is yes, you would be fine with a new Boxster since you'll only put a few thousand miles on it during weekend driving.

That's assuming you're not trolling, which I believe you are, seeing how you posted this, then posted saying "I'll think about it" and left the forum.

But it's still funny you wrote "love the Boxster...always wanted a Porsche" Me too, never wanted a Corvette though, strange how that works out

I would gladly own a 10 year old Boxster and set aside $200/mo for repairs than drive a 10 year old Corvette and not need to set aside money for repairs.

There's also that whole Corvette owner stigma. When I image a corvette owner... well, let's just say it's not someone I'd desire to be like. But my vision of a Porsche owner is the kind of person I would like to be like so here I am, a Porsche owner

to each their own, if you want 0-60 get a corvette, if you want everything else get a Porsche

[thstone]

My Boxster is no more expensive to maintain and repair than either of my BMW's... but both German makes are definitely more expensive than the Miata!

[986_c6]

Hey OP, just look at my forum name, and you will know which two cars I think are the best in the world!

Bought 02 base new, and pure enjoyment 75K miles later!!!!!

[fatmike]

this thread is a year old?

[986_c6]

Originally Posted by fatmike

this thread is a year old?

funny i responded to this and didn't even notice the age of the thread.

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

YMMV and it all depends on the car, how it was maintained, ,etc..

I bought a 2000 with 75k miles on it.. from my dad..the car had all it's records since new, was always well maintained, and driven responsibly... despite knowingi the history, I still did a PPI which it passed with flying colors.

I've had it about two years and drive it on weekends... i put ONLY about 5000 miles on it in two years of ownership!

in ONLY those 5k miles I've had to replace the following:

I put new tires/brakes..but that was routine maintenance.

in terms of unexpected repairs I had a leaky windshield washer tank, two vacuum leaks, a bad MAF, and a bad water pump. total out of pocket by me to fix all this stuff was about 1700.

my window regulator is now broken..the window goes up and down but it makes a terrible crunching noise..so it's only a matter of tiem untit it stops working. $200ish dollar part. I also have a crackion my rear plastic window.. another $350-400 to get fixed at an upholstery shop.

to me.. that's a LOT of stuff to go bad on a car with only 75-79k miles that ONLY had 5k put on it in almost two years of driving! Compared to some of the horror stories on here, I've had it not too bad.. but compared to other cars I've owned, I think more stuff than normal has worn out..

I have owned quite a few other cars, some better some worse. I had a 1990 Miata tat I owned when younger, thoroughly abused... and it NEVER broke. NEVER. it just ran and ran.. i ran it almost 50k miles. I had a Honda Prelude that I redlined every time I drove it.. and put almost 60k miles on it and it NEVER broke.. nothing. I had a 1999 Volvo S70 T5 turbo that I bought used with 30ki miles and sold it to my bro in law at about 140k... he still has it...it now has almost 160k on it. it maybe cost $1700 in repairs over the LIFE of the car... fr unexpected stuff... and it's still on the OEM water pump, engine, tranny, turbo...

I'm NOT impressed with teh reliability of Porsche stuff. compared to other cars, I think they have a far worse track record for parts going bad and unfortunately, ALL the parts are expensive...

I AM impressed with how muc fun it is to drive. it is THE most fun car I have ever owned.

you pay to play.

if you want a fun roaodster with more peace of mind get a newer one with a warranty or buy an S2000. they are pretty nice, used ones are less than a Boxser, and they likely will have far better reliability...

good luck.

I would agree. Parts that don't last for the price, but I would disagree, I actually bought the Boxster because an S2000 is about twice the price. I do agree that the S2000 would be much more reliable. I replaced the passenger seat belt on mine to get rid of the air bag light, new tires on front and a 4 wheel alignment at the cost of the PO, new brakes yesterday. The rotors were worn below the stamped thickness, I'm about 8 months in. The only real non standard repair was the seat belt for me. It the car starts crapping out like some people's. I'll switch to the S2000 or even a Honda Civic. A car should be fun to drive but it should also be reliable. I wonder what Ferdinand would think of the parts failures and high maintenance...when I did my brake job yesterday I noticed both front wheel bearings felt "rough". After I spun them a few turns by hand they got smooth. But, geeze! I have cars that have 100k-300k on them with smoother wheel bearings. This one has 68k on it. It makes you wonder sometimes..."high performance" is no excused, its just a bearing like every other. The Japanese cars seem to do a heck of a lot better than this for a whole lot less. I'm just venting...this is the most fun car I have ever owned with its handling and looks. But the most reliable and minimal cost to maintain car I have ever owned was a Honda Civic hands down.

[johnsimion]

Replace the IMS so you don't have to worry about a 5-figure engine replacement. Aside from the IMS and a few other relatively minor things, these cars are pretty reliable. I wouldn't worry about the small stuff like water pumps or AOS, but the IMS is just too big to ignore. Of course, it may never blow up, but the chances are high enough that you need to ask yourself whether it's worth a couple of thousand up front to save you from $10,000 and a huge headache if it does blow.

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by johnsimion

Replace the IMS so you don't have to worry about a 5-figure engine replacement. Aside from the IMS and a few other relatively minor things, these cars are pretty reliable. I wouldn't worry about the small stuff like water pumps or AOS, but the IMS is just too big to ignore. Of course, it may never blow up, but the chances are high enough that you need to ask yourself whether it's worth a couple of thousand up front to save you from $10,000 and a huge headache if it does blow.

The PO replaced the engine in 2008 when the original engine had 37k on it. The car has 68k now and the engine has 31k on it. In speaking with Pelican and Jake Raby, the consensus was that a 2008 rebuild from Porsche (which this was) is supposed to have the oversized bearing on it and is not externally serviceable. I'll find out for sure when I put a new clutch in it some day. Jake was going off of the year it was rebuilt and Pelican was going off the serial number indicator.

[woodsman]

I tell people that German cars age faster than Japanese ones. This is hard to accept for those of us who have owned the Japanese ones first. I can't stop wondering why my 300km Toyota beater is still using original parts that I've had to replace on my 140 km Boxster. I guess the engineers have a different mandate and for Porsche's it includes the lightest weight possible and durability is somewhere further down the list. To date the Japanese still can't build luxury like the Germans. As for Porsche, I still can't explain what their doing better than the other automakers but it's why I'm in one. A 10 minute test drive changed my life! An IS350, 350Z,G35 and a ZO6 didn't!

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by woodsman

I tell people that German cars age faster than Japanese ones. This is hard to accept for those of us who have owned the Japanese ones first. I can't stop wondering why my 300km Toyota beater is still using original parts that I've had to replace on my 140 km Boxster. I guess the engineers have a different mandate and for Porsche's it includes the lightest weight possible and durability is somewhere further down the list. To date the Japanese still can't build luxury like the Germans. As for Porsche, I still can't explain what their doing better than the other automakers but it's why I'm in one. A 10 minute test drive changed my life! An IS350, 350Z,G35 and a ZO6 didn't!

I haven't owned or driven one of the Japanese "rockets" to know what it feels like. Nothing I have owned or driven has handle and felt like the boxster other than my 914. The mid mount engine does a lot in conjunction with the suspension to make an amazing controlled vehicle. which has nothing to do with a compromised engine design. Or inferior wheel bearings, or inferior IMS bearings. The Japanese have made cars last like they SHOULD last whether performance or economical. That's my point of view as an engineer.

[stephen wilson]

Even the Japanese aren't infallible. My pickup had a head gasket and steering arm recal, and S2000's tend to blow rear diff's. Granted, not as catastrophic as an IMS failure !

[recycledsixtie]

My previous car a '99 Miata was cheap to run but needed tlc in the form of plugging block heater in and constant recharging of the battery. The battery was located in the trunk and exposed to the cold. The C model had the battery in the engine compartment. Also the battery in my 99 was small.

Conversely the Boxster does not need a block heater and the battery is big enough to do the job. However it does not have Japanese durability of many of its parts. Anybody should have eyes wide open before buying a Boxster and be well aware of the costs of running one. The long term quality is not there but the fun factor will always be there. G.