Not to beat a dead Porsche horse, but reliability...

[rondocap]

From a lot of research for my own personal needs - I've come to the conclusion that at least for me, the 2006 and 2007 Boxsters are the best. 2005, unless you plan to do the IMS upgrade, are to be avoided as they seem to have the highest cases for failure. I have rarely if ever seen a 2006+ that had a failure.

Case in point: My 986 I had bought for around $13k, and in great condition at 54k miles. But very quickly the plastic window started to deteriorate, and I felt that I wanted to also do the IMS. These two items alone, along with some minor maintenance, and I was approaching the $4k mark quickly. A newer Boxster will eliminate at least the IMS and plastic window issue right off the bat, and they are now in the high teens and lower $20k's for a decent example.

Anyway, it's a matter of paying now or paying later: A cheaper Boxster may need some items a newer one will not.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by rondocap

From a lot of research for my own personal needs - I've come to the conclusion that at least for me, the 2006 and 2007 Boxsters are the best. 2005, unless you plan to do the IMS upgrade, are to be avoided as they seem to have the highest cases for failure. I have rarely if ever seen a 2006+ that had a failure.

To other potential buyers reading the above, the IMS "reliability" imho should not be the primary consideration when it comes to picking a pre-09 Boxster. If you are going to decide based on the IMS (arguable, since other engine issues are more prevalent), then you should look for IMS "serviceability" instead. 2006 -2008 Boxsters only get two kinds of IMS bearings, the free one from the factory that has proven to be decent over the first 100K miles, and the $7-10K IMS bearing you'll be paying for to split the engine open in order to do the bearing swap once the factory unit is well past the sell by date... on account of the fact that sealed bearings are not lifetime parts. With a pre-2005 car, you don't have to pull the engine, thus the factory IMS bearing can be swapped in a day, when you replace the clutch. Personally speaking, I'd reather replace that bearing at a regular interval than to spend my nights crossing my fingers.