Hi Jeepdad,
I think I've seen the car you just bought. (Silver w/blue top) I stopped to give it a look when they first got it on the lot. Personally I think you made a pretty sweet deal.
I'm assuming you bought it local so I'll PM you my contact info if you'd like to meet up or any hand on advice.

Thanks for this! And your advice in the preceding post as well.

I have two '99 Boxsters, and a 2000 Jeep Wrangler. So far the Boxsters have been more reliable.
My daily driver is the Tiptronic Boxster with 130,000 miles on it. Everything works on it perfectly and it runs it's butt off every day in all kinds of weather. $8,000 total invested in it so far. The other is a a 5-speed with 98,000 miles and is literally like new.
All three vehicles have needed normal wear parts replaced, but that should be expected in a 15 year old vehicle.
My Indy Porsche mechanic has been in business for over 20 years, and says he has only seen 3 engine failures in M96's. One from an IMS, one from ignoring a coolant leak and being allowed to severely overheat. (can't remember the 3rd).
If I ever want to replace the IMS (with the updated improved one) and RMS my quotes have been: $1300 with the manual and $1600 with the Tiptronic.
The Jeep has stranded me 3times in the past 6 months, required nearly $3000 in repairs/maintenance, and is now sitting in my garage with a blown head gasket and cracked head (which I've read are extremely common on them, unless you get the 2003-2006 with revised head, but those are well known to have oil pump failures).
So I say drive and enjoy!

My Indy shop must work on more cars then. He had 3 dead M96s in a back room he showed me. I had to have mine replaced. The timing chain jumped timing and killed the piston and rod on number 2. Not a cheap repair, the engine was replaced altogether. I will add to the IMS and slipped sleeve issue to have camshaft deviation checked. My repair was expensive. Very expensive. However it could've been avoided had I known to check camshaft deviation.

I bought mine in the same manner as yours. On a whim at a Subaru/Kia dealer, having done very minimal research. Even having to replace the engine, I love my car. It's fun to drive, as was pointed out earlier, people are staving, or homeless, and we all drive Porsches. We are a lucky group.

Forgot to say what was wrong with the M96s. 2 failed IMS's, one slipped sleeve, and one that had over heated so badly that the seats dropped out of the heads.

I had remorse too. But every time I get to drive it all I can think is , "WOOOO-HOOO". :)

Enjoy your car. IMS bearing failures make great press. Few report their IMS bearing is still doing fine. and +1 on the WOO HOO!

Jeepdad, where you located in MidMo? I'm in Jefferson City. Been driving and wrenching on my 2001 Boxster for the last couple of years. Always happy to give advice and lend tools!

I had remorse bad at first.
The first month was hell and I kept her in a storage locker for almost 7 months...then I brought her home and started driving her more often.

And there's the key: these cars love to be driven and will reward the driver with endless grins. :)

sorry ... post removed.

And for those 3 deal M96s, how many were dual rows and how many were running out on the road that you never hear of?

I bought a 1997 a few months back with 43K miles and a tiptronic. I too had read the horror stories on the forums. I figured for peace of mind even though the car was low mileage the car was 17 years old I would have my local Indy mechanic drop the engine and go through everything and do the IMS at the same time. I had him install the EPS IMS fix. You can watch a video about it here: EPS IMS Oil Lubrication on Vimeo
I also had him change the plugs and tubes, belt, water pump, every rubber coolant hose, fuel and air filters, Air/oil separator tank, the Idle control valve (was throwing a CE code), and front engine mount. The parts and labor together came to about $2100. My IMS bearing was still good but the water pump was starting to wobble so it was good that I changed it. I paid $11k for the car and it had new tires and a new top on it. Knowing that Pretty much every possible issue has been addressed has given me the peace of mind to know I have a dependable driver and I am not worried about pushing the car to the limits it was designed for and am expecting many, many more miles out of the car. If you are worried about it find a good reasonable Porsche mechanic and get the work done. The car will still be worth what you put into it and you cad drive it and enjoy it with peace of mind. This is my 23rd Porsche and my favorite one so far. BTW, since you have a manual trans I would check out the clutch, pressure plate and Throw out bearing while you are in there. Have fun. Join your local PCA Regional club. You will meet some great people and they are loaded with experience and knowledge.