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Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour
jcb, I was thinking the same thing. 80k is right around the time a Porsche motor starts showing IMS issues.
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Interesting, my understanding is that it was often much earlier than that. Certainly when I was looking to buy there were lots of cars that had had new engines around the 40-50k mile mark, sometimes earlier, and also cars on 100k with the original engine. I spoke to one of the outfits that rebuilds M96 lumps here in the UK and was told that if the IMS bearing had made it 70k, that was probably a good sign. Apparently one of the major issues (the following will not be their precise words, only from memory) is that the bearing is very tightly sealed / packed and can dry out leading to failure. Bearings that have made it to decent miles usually have opened out just enough to stay lubricated.
So many different opinions on this, and obviously these things can die on you at pretty much any mileage, but personally I'd rather have an early 2.5 on 70k than, say, one on 30k to 40k. I certainly wouldn't have any more confidence in the lower mile car regards the engine grenading. Too many examples of low mile engines going pop for that.
For me, the sweetspot for buying an early 2.5 would probably be around 60k with a new clutch and RMS...Any fewer miles than that and I would actually be more nervous about it, not less.