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Hi,
Contrary to some info here, there have been some very real Quality/Reliability issues with the Boxster.
In fact, had I known then what I now know, I may not have purchased mine at all.
I have owned several Lotus in my Life, and have one now, so I am no stranger to Design Flaws and lots of maintenance. Their performance more than makes up for it IMHO, and I like working on my Cars.
But, one of the primary reasons I chose the Boxster was the percieved reputation Porsche earned over the years for reliability (a reputation which I believe has waned considerably in recent years).
The M96/M97 Engines have several inherent flaws, the biggest being the RMS. This still plagues Boxsters 986/87 and 996/97s today. In an attempt to save on manufacturing costs, Porsche employs a relatively untried casting method for the Blocks which is supposed to eliminate the need for subsequent machining of the Block to Center-Bore and properly align the Crankshaft opening. The reject rate is fairly high and the RMS in many cases cannot be properly aligned on the Crank as a result. This leads to premature failure of the Seal with perhaps some consequential damage to the Engine. In most cases, since it's not the Seal but the Block which is to blame, the only long-term solution is to replace the engine (although there is a small % of engines which can be saved).
There is a guy (an attorney I believe who owns a 996) who is collecting data from owners which have experienced this failure in order to present Class-Action data to the Dept. of Commerce and the NHTSA in hopes of forcing a recall. To date, the data he has collected indicates an RMS Failure Rate between 20% and 25%.
This would be Bad enough for Kia, but it is simply Mind-Boggling for a Company with the reputation for Quality/Reliability Porsche has. Also, a change in the Intermediate Shaft from the Transmission (Manual Cars) has also resulted in quite a few failures. There are also numerous problems with the Coolant Recovery Tank and the Air/Oil Separators, which again should not be.
Now, Porsche has decided to take a Risk Management view of these problems, namely that's it's going to be cheaper to address them on a case-by-case basis rather than issuing a Recall. But, many owners are second-owners of cars out-of-warranty, and these owners typically must pay at least a partial cost (if not all) for the solutions, and, with no compensation for loss of Resale Value.
Now, all this said, if someone were to ask me if the Car is worth buying, from a Styling, Creature Comfort, Performance, point of view, I'd say "Absof*ckinlutely!".
But if they expressed concern over Reliability I'd have to tell them that there are many cars out there which have performance near-equal, equal to, or better than the Boxster, which don't seem to have as many of these issues, along with the Caveat that every car has some issues (including Daily Drivers, I have owned 39 cars in my life and every one had some issues - but, I personally find the seriousness of the issues with the Boxster to be a Black Stain on Porsche's Reputation). I'd tell them to thoroughly research all the various models out there and buy the one which best meets their criteria.
I've probably tarnished my Porschephile Badge for this post, but I gotta call it as I see it...
Happy Motoring!...Jim'99
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