Worth my time? 98' 986

[Perfectlap]

Finding a car with excellent paint and interior is not uncommon with these cars. So don't let that sway you too much. Seems like most high mileage cars I see were enthusiast owned or they weren't. A low to moderate mileage enthusiast owned car is the best. A non-enthusiast owned high mileage or extremely low mileage car is worst.

This car your considering now:
Was there any factory performed engine work?
If so that may be a plus as early Boxsters had some engine issues. But if they weren't the previous owner probably would have dealt with them at this point with that sort of mileage. Either way early Boxster engines not including the IMS (from what I understand to be the case) are the engines Porsche had to address most. Once you toss in IMS related issues, particularly for single row bearing IMS cars, then its not so clear cut. If your 2.5 was not part of the affected engines with cylinder wall or porosity issues then some argue that these are some of the strongest engines put into the Boxster. Knowing which camp your 2.5 falls into is kind of important if you intend to beat on the car at your local track and autocross. A PPI and oil analysis from Blackstone labs will shed light on how much the engine was looked after.

Other things to consider, was the car winter driven? That more often than not will speed up the the need for costly repairs. These are sports cars at the end of the day and subjecting them to beaten up roads and cold starts is not preferable over a car driven regularly in So Cal moderate year round weather.


If you are seriously considering buying a Boxster, are on a budget and you have a laptop/pc or Android smartphone you should buy "101 Projects for your Porsche Boxster" from Google Books, no Kindle version. It discusses all the known Boxster issues with estimates for each repair that are pretty spot on. A must own book for both a DIY'er and someone like me who likes keeping his Indy busy.