I blocked him a long time ago, still he's been trolling my posts for months. Forum appears unmoderated since flagging his posts has not helped

It got hot, I brought it in Monday for repairs. Got hot Tuesday, I called, told ok. Went to max temp Wednesday morning, I pulled off road and called. Told gauge broke, keep driving. I kept driving, engine blew 15 miles later

I completely understand, I too have lots of pictures of mine. As far as how other Boxsters drive, I saw/felt the same thing. When I first drove the car that I bought, I could tell right away the difference between it and all the others. There simply was no comparison. You sound like you are going to have a Boxster for awhile. With that said, I would not think about the cost vs resale because lets face it, you won't get your money back. But you are going to get many miles of driving pleasure:D If you truly like the car that you now have, I would invest in a rebuilt engine. That way you have some sort of warranty and you are driving it from square one. You still have an older frame but if it is in excellent shape, it will last. For the cost of the engine, you have an almost new car for a lot less than new. Even if you only keep it 5 years, the cost of the engine spread over those 5 years is not a bad deal IMHO for what should be dependable ride.

As far as the warning signs go, you trusted a "professional" and got burned. I can easily see how that happened. I am certainly not going to criticize you. Find a good indie Porsche mechanic but keep after your former mechanic for damages. He should share in the cost. I would also seriously consider MConte05's generous offer. There are probably others in your area that would also be willing to help you out. You will save some cash but more importantly, you will learn some valuable skills and confidence to do some of your own repairs in the future. You can go to Harbor Freight and pick up some reasonably priced tools as they are always having a sale. Use can use MConte's tools for the swap as he has generously offered. Again, just my .02. I feel for you, but in the long run, I think you are going to end up with an even better car!

$7k with a fresh IMS sounds like a fair price if you are unable to do the work yourself.

The main lesson here applies to every car: Rapidly rising temp gauge, pull the car over and shut down the motor. Gauge pinned at 250F, motor is now dead and life just got more expensive. :(

IMS was not listed as a part, I do not know I that is being replaced, I would assume not but you are correct I would have that replaced before install so add that to the 7k

Surely they would include IMS in that price though, right? As often as those fail, no shop would quote a engine install without it, right?

I'm sure if you green light the project at the very least they would wave the labor on an IMS, if not they may be just a tad greedy. Just so you know my failure was not IMS so as others have said thinking each one is going to explode is far from truthful, I'd barter for one anyhow though if it were me.

I am sure they will only include it if they list it in the estimate as "included". A motor replacement certainly would not automatically include any possible upgrades. That would be a motor "refresh and replacement". Read the fine print and make sure you know what is/is not included. Now is a great time to have the IMS done because the motor will be out and save $1000 in labor costs.

Test drove the 2003 on ebay. Didn't like it, it was slower, at highway speeds. Seems Porsche
Changed the shift points because 4th now comes in at ~100 instead of ~92mph like my 98. 3rd just isn't as fast on the 03 as it was on my 98

So now I'm really in a jam. Can't get a newer Base boxster because even though it's faster on paper it's slower in real life

986, been away from the forum for a week. Been reading this entire thread to get caught up
on your situation. It bummed me out to read what happened to your car. I can tell reading your
posts you're a good dude and this situation just sucks. You also sound like a genuine lover of
the Boxster. I hope you either get your engine replaced or pick up a new Box soon. You
deserve alot better than the hand you've been dealt. I know this is absolutely no consolation
whatsoever to you, but each one of these stories that get posted regarding a Boxster (mostly
the engine) having suffered a failure provides alot of insight and experience to others who may
end up suffering the same fate, or your experience shared here may prevent another owner
from suffering that similar fate. This is a good community (this forum) and the knowledge I
have gained from these cats has been invaluable to me. As has been the lessons learned in
YOUR story as well. I'm hoping for the best for you and that you can be behind the wheel of
another Box soon and that once again you will be smiling as a result of it !

Realize too that there is the IMS bearing retrofit and the IMS upgrade, two different solutions, the latter being the more complete, and more expensive, solution to the IMS issue. The retrofit is simply a replacement of the IMS bearing with the more robust LN Engineering one. The upgrade is exactly what it says, an upgrade of the IMS bearing to a "triple-bearing" style one. That requires disassembly of the engine and sending them IMS out to have the work done by someone like Jake Raby. Obviously you're talking a lot more money there, but the engine's not in the car yet, so it makes more sense to have one of those things done then before the engine ever makes it into the car.

Also, just keep in mind, that's only one failure point addressed, and there are still several others that exist on these engines, so while it takes care of a big problem, there are still many other things to check and possibly address on a used engine (things like chain guides, water pump, cylinder sleeve slipping/cracking, air/oil separator, etc.). Since you're dealing with a Porsche specialist, I expect they'll know what to look for and spot any of these issues on any block they look for.

Called mechanic that started all this. He completely denies any wrong doing but is willing to call insurance and see if this is covered

I use to be a licensed insurance agent in Missouri, and there are policies that would cover something like this. It's usually called errors and omissions or professional liability, like if u called to pay insurance or something and they forgot to enter it and policy cancelled and u get in wreck, errors and omissions would cover. Basically covers whenever a professional says the wrong thing or makes a mistake at work

...so he's denying any wrongdoing until he can be sure that someone can cover him, then he'll admit to everything? It's too bad you don't have a recording of that phone call.

"Can't get a newer Base boxster because even though it's faster on paper it's slower in real life"



Those are fighting words kid:) Best of luck with whatever you decide. If I were you, I'd likely sell the car outright without the motor and get newer S model. The gearing and additional power may be a better fit for your driving style.

Lol!! From 60-90 it is my opinion that a 2.5 manual is faster than a 2.7 manual..... again, that's my opinion, from my personal experiences. Mayb I had a "fast" 2.5 and I test drove a "slow" 2.7, not every engine is created equal

I still owe a few grand on mine, so it's not quite so simple


But I believe you are right. Based on the 99 and 03 I drove, my options are either new engine, very well maintained 2.5 manual, or S. this changes the equation a bit.

I think I next I need to see what type of auto loan I could qualify for. Called place I bought boxster from and said I'm good but didn't say how high. Think I'll call current lender, explain situation, see if they'll give me another loan and roll currently loan with new loan. If enough maybe S is a possibility?

If I don't qualify then engine swap might be the only option for now

Would you really want to be that upside down in car that is still depreciating and may also experience mechanical distress? Maybe it's better to take some time to build up some play money before jumping into a different 986.

i.... use to be a real estate investor, buying and flipping and renting and short sales and all that, and you learn very quickly not to tie all your money up in a single project, that even if you have money, it's much better to borrow what's needed, that way you can have a dozen projects going on at once, rather than one project

my cellphone payment is higher than my 986 payment

so i have the money, i just don't like tying it all up in one project, which is why the engine swap idea is killing me right now

"My god, that scares the JesusRapingAngels out of me. I would pull over".


Hmm, what chapter of the Bible is this a quote from ?

thanks, thanks for the vote of confidence :) I try to be a good dude, few years ago... i guess you could say, i started believing in karma? Sorta? I mean, I wasn't a bad guy before, but... some things happened, and i'm like, oh wow, there is... something, else, going on, that i... that we, don't understand, and dont believe, but... yeah, it's... real. Ok. Well, then. Um, I better... be good :) So, ever since then, I've tried to.... be good, just, i mean, sometimes, i do things that other people might not think is good, like the guy you have to fire because he damaged a customer's property, you don't want to and he might think you're "evil" but yeah, he damaged someone's property, so you have to. That's where I am, sorta. But I won't even "borrow" a pen from work, stealing is stealing. I know, sounds silly, just... yeah, it's how i am now, and things have worked out rather well, even when it seems like it's not :) everything happens for a reason...

I'm still on the fence, but i've narrowed it down to S or engine. Due to some.... accidents, by credit bureau, my credit is not where it should be, and I just recently found that out. I'm mailing letters out: How to Dispute Credit Report Errors

also if anyone's looking to build their credit, this site is great https://www.creditkarma.com/ and they don't charge fees, instead the make $ by advertising credit offers, etc to you

I don't own it or work for it or anything, but it's been very handy recently, wish I would have found it earlier, I would be buying an S today

flipping
 

Yeah that worked out real well for a lot of people in 2008.