IMS Failure - Need Advice

[johnsimion]

Originally Posted by jacabean

Is it me or does it seem like a lot of 550 cars blow up ? If these motors suck that bad why do I see so many high mileage cars for sale . lots with 125K or more . i recently saw a 97 boxster for sale with 175k on it and i doubt it had its IMS replaced. It is a fact that they all have the potential to blow but explain all the high mileage cars that are still running? If my car makes it 100k without blowing I will be fine with that even if it blows at 101K because at that point they are not worth **************** anyway !

Nobody ever said the motors suck. There are two inescapable facts here, one is that some of these motors last forever, and the other is that some of these motors blow up unexpectedly and at an early age. From these two facts, there are two kinds of people:

(1) people who look at the odds of the engine grenading, and think it will never happen to them, and if it does, they love the car so much they'll just buy a new engine and screw the cost, and

(2) people who look at the odds and see a significant risk that the engine in their $50K car could grenade at any time, and don't love the car so much that they feel like they should have a risk of having to pay another five figures to keep it running.

It's an emotional issue and I'm trying my best not to be emotional. I don't think either group is "wrong." There are too many factors that control what group you are in: your personality type, how much you like the car, what you believe about the likelihood of the engine blowing up, how much $$$ you have available and your willingness to spend it on repairs, etc. Personally I am a pessimistic, cheapskate worrywart with no extra cash, it pisses me off that there is even a remote possibility that the engine might grenade the day I'm off my warranty, I have had nothing but rotten experiences with the local dealer, and to top matters off, where I drive there is so much traffic I'm not even enjoying the car all that much. So that tells you where I stand, but other people are in different situations and I can respect the fact that they have different attitudes.