Potential Buyer Question
 

First of all this is a great form. I currently have two BMW's as daily drivers but have loved the Boxster since it came out. Ready to buy a weekend car with a quick question.

I have researched and fill I am up to speed with the IMS issue. What surprises me is so far I have only found one used vehicle that has had an IMS solution done to it and it sold quick. I thought with some of the concerns I would find more for sale that have had the protection done. Those of you that have bought used was that a priority to you or are you doing it yourself or just not that concerned?

Thanks

I, like a lot of buyers was not aware of the possible problem till after purchase. Most people won't even know what an IMS is

A lot of owners are not awer of the IMS issue as well.
The retro fit of the bearing cost between 2 and 3K. Usually done along with a new clutch. A lot of us (including myself) have done it as a DIY, and saved the cost of the labor. (1-1.5K)
You can always calculate the cost of the retrofit into the total cost of the car.

I acquired the Box mid last year and I had no idea about the IMS issue.
Got the LN IMS on their sale day ($480) and did it with the help of a friend who has a lift. Peace of mind was the motivation. Turned out the original bearing was good. (01 Base)

The IMS is a concern but wouldn't put me off buying the car, it's only a very small percentage of cars have an IMS failure.


Would consider it bad luck if it happened to me.

Britus,

One thing you have to learn about these forums is that mostly people who have problems with their vehicles, post. That leaves the other 90% + as happy car owners, with no problems. Porsche, like any other car, are fairly reliable. You have owners here with 100K+ miles on their vehicles, and as a large percentage, have probably not changed out their IMS. Of course, you could be one of the unlucky ones, and it could happen to you (but I wouldn't constantly live in fear just because of that small 'maybe' that it could happen - and I sure wouldn't spent any money for something that ain't broke, yet).

I joined this forum in 2006 (just several months prior to me buying my 2007 Boxster S). After the car was delivered, I read this forum daily AND it scared the hell out of me. Folks were talking about IMS and RMS failures; others were talking about water pump failures; and so on. I was afraid to take my car very far outside of the city limits for fear it would blow up and leave me stranded. Since the car is my daily driver, I almost traded it in for a more 'dependable' Japanese vehicle. Well, 6-years and 64,000miles later, I still have my car, and have not had any repair problems with it (well, actually, I had a rattle in my door and the cupholder broke). This car is dependable. But, before buying (any used vehicle), have an inspection done at the local dealership. And, after you buy the car, just peform you regular maintenance services. Enjoy.

Hi com3dorm3, what can you tell us about the"ln IMS sale days". $480 is a good price. Does LN have a sale event on a regular basis?

I have only seen it once. It was a 25% off one-day sale at the end of November 2012.

I had a similar experience when I bought my Boxster. None of them had the IMS fix. I think most people that do the IMS fix tend to hang on to their car.

Mind you this is not just a Boxster issue Britus. Carreras have been plagued with this issue as well. There'a poll on another forum of 997 Carrera owners and there are something like 30 failures out of 500 poll responders. So even if a person with an issue is much more likely to come onto a forum to complain, those who were already on the forum should outnumber the people coming to rant by a good measure.

Over 200,000 Boxster's sold. Under 10,000 replacement IMS bearings sold. You can do the math.

Not buying a Boxster because of potential issues is like not getting married because-potentially-you could divorce. That's silly.

Sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

I'm going to say that most of these older Boxsters had their clutches replaced at the dealer. Which means most of those did not upgrade the IMSB. Maybe they put a new factory bearing in or Porsche's own 'upgraded' m97 bearing. But the service department probably didn't give them a tutorial about the issue or even mentioned it at all. They don't want to scare the owner with a low probability event. So they sell their cars without even knowing what an IMSB is.

But ignorance is no guarantee of a happy outcome. My theory is that many of these single row bearing Boxsters are on their 2nd or 3rd owners now and the mileage is starting to come onto the car at an accelerated rate. Where they were once garage queens or weekend cars only , many of these single bearing cars are now driven every day. That's going to shake out the bad apples at a signficantly higher rate going forward. Even just in this forum I'm noticing a lot more traffic than in years past as pre-owned Boxsters dip well below the $20K mark which I'm sure prompt 1st owners to unload the cars rather than watching them collect dust any longer. Ditto for the 996Carreras and some 997s. Unfortunately some of these new owners are in for a big surprise that could have been prevented.

I did a lot of research before buying my Boxster as well, and I read about the IMS problem. I also read about how reliable this cars are. I never touched the IMS, and luckily I haven't had a single problem with that or anything else on the car (knock on wood). I love my Boxster and you will too! Don't let the IMS steer you away from buying one.