02 Boxster or 01 Boxster S

[southernstar]

Kris, do you also get the invoices for the work that was done, or just the stamps in the warranty book? If not, I'd be somewhat worried - i.e., the previoius owner has the car in at the Porsche dealership at 38.000 miles for (?????) and then sells it (or trades it) 1000 miles later..... Like you, I wouldn't have much faith in the warranty (check the company out on the net and read the fine print, but I can't believe that it would cover pre-exisitng problems at the time of purchase).

I really do think that a PPI is important in these cars as it is not difficult to get up into the thousands in repairs. Is it a dual-row IMS bearing (did you check the engine serial number)? If not, it is not exceptioinally rare even for low-mileage versions to have IMS bearing failures. Have you tried other mechanics for the PPI - it doesn't have to be a Porsche dealer. At minimum, I would want someone to get it on a lift, check for leaks from the coolant expansion tank, check for leaks from the water pump (when dried, you'll see white powder), check for oil leaks, check to see what shape the suspension components are in and at that point, if all looks good, have the spark plugs removed and have a compression test done (and maybe a drip down test). If all still looks good, I would pay for an oil change. Once the filter is removed, have it cut in half and inspect for particles (should be nil, or virtually nil, if the last change was 1200 miles ago). If that is good, you will sleep much better.

Brad