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KSguy · 12-26-2015, 07:02 PM

Greetings. I just bought this 2000 S last month. My boss drove it nearly daily for nine years. His friend was needing to unload a 996TT quickly, so he jumped on that and put the Boxster out to pasture, talked about selling it.

I've always liked this car, but frankly, never knew anything about Porsches until we started discussing me purchasing this from him. Well, he knew I wanted it and he liked the idea of being able to keep an eye on it, so he made me an offer that I considered almost unrejectable. We more or less agreed on a deal. Then, the day he was to bring it to me (about 10 days after getting his 996TT and not driving the Boxster) lo and behold, the Boxster would not start. Crank, no start. "I've had this car nine years, this has never happened. . . ." He offers to have it towed to an indy shop and then, depending on what was wrong, we would decide how to proceed, OR he offers to have it towed to my house, major discount, and it's just my problem moving forward. I, being incredibly naive and foolhardy, say "just tow it to my house, it can't be that big of a deal, I wanted it to have something to mess around with anyway, blah blah."

So, I buy the car. Wife glares out the window as an immovable Porsche is being dropped off the flatbed. "You are not a mechanic" she rightly reminds me. While awaiting its arrival, I doing some research (after purchase is obviously the best time to research a car) and get a lump in my throat. IMS explosions, plasticky disposable engines, etc. I secretly am already questioning my judgment before this thing is on pavement. But my boss drove it almost daily--how can a car that is as unreliable as the internet is telling me be driven nearly daily?

So I set about finding out why its not running without my wife realizing I have no idea what I'm doing. Order the Bentley manual. Troubleshoot. Put in new fuel filter figuring that won't do the trick but knowing it won't hurt--and it was about the only locally available part--I've quickly figured the local Porsche dealership wants nothing to do with me. Order fuel pump and fuel pump relay. Drop in new fuel pump. Fires right up about 10 days after purchase!!

So, now I've got a running, driving Boxster that is a blast to drive. And my two year old son wants to just stand in garage and look at it, which makes it hard for my wife to stay mad! But it also leaks a bit of oil and has lots of deferred maintenance. While my boss is a great guy and certainly does not abuse his cars, he is also someone who just turns the key and goes. He owned the car from 35,000 to 110,000 miles. He had it serviced (oil change periodically and once the AOS had to be swapped) at local independent shops. He really did not know about the access panels to the engine until I told him. He also had never heard about the IMS issues until I told him - obviously not a forum guy. So, I know I've got plenty of upkeep to catch up on--fluids, filters, brake pads and rotors, struts, etc., etc.

But before any of that, my main concern is that there is an oil leak (boss told me it dripped a tiny bit of oil--it's not a lot, but more than i imagined). Indy shop told my boss it was likely RMS. Opening the access panel to take a look, yep, oil all over the place. I haven't had a chance to even begin to clean it up to determine where the oil is coming from. Based on my internet scouring, there are certainly plenty of potential candidates for leaks. I'll just hope its nothing major.

So, trying to figure out where to even begin. Got to get the leaks in order before worrying about much else. I assume this will include pulling the tranny and inspecting the RMS and IMS. Assuming this thing still has the original IMS bearing, I guess I'll put replacing that near the top of my list. I'm here for any and all input I can get from people more knowledgeable than myself, which is all of you. Let me know--where do I begin?

Thanks much.

12-26-2015, 07:02 PM	#1
KSguy Registered User Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kansas Posts: 6	New to me 2000 S Greetings. I just bought this 2000 S last month. My boss drove it nearly daily for nine years. His friend was needing to unload a 996TT quickly, so he jumped on that and put the Boxster out to pasture, talked about selling it. I've always liked this car, but frankly, never knew anything about Porsches until we started discussing me purchasing this from him. Well, he knew I wanted it and he liked the idea of being able to keep an eye on it, so he made me an offer that I considered almost unrejectable. We more or less agreed on a deal. Then, the day he was to bring it to me (about 10 days after getting his 996TT and not driving the Boxster) lo and behold, the Boxster would not start. Crank, no start. "I've had this car nine years, this has never happened. . . ." He offers to have it towed to an indy shop and then, depending on what was wrong, we would decide how to proceed, OR he offers to have it towed to my house, major discount, and it's just my problem moving forward. I, being incredibly naive and foolhardy, say "just tow it to my house, it can't be that big of a deal, I wanted it to have something to mess around with anyway, blah blah." So, I buy the car. Wife glares out the window as an immovable Porsche is being dropped off the flatbed. "You are not a mechanic" she rightly reminds me. While awaiting its arrival, I doing some research (after purchase is obviously the best time to research a car) and get a lump in my throat. IMS explosions, plasticky disposable engines, etc. I secretly am already questioning my judgment before this thing is on pavement. But my boss drove it almost daily--how can a car that is as unreliable as the internet is telling me be driven nearly daily? So I set about finding out why its not running without my wife realizing I have no idea what I'm doing. Order the Bentley manual. Troubleshoot. Put in new fuel filter figuring that won't do the trick but knowing it won't hurt--and it was about the only locally available part--I've quickly figured the local Porsche dealership wants nothing to do with me. Order fuel pump and fuel pump relay. Drop in new fuel pump. Fires right up about 10 days after purchase!! So, now I've got a running, driving Boxster that is a blast to drive. And my two year old son wants to just stand in garage and look at it, which makes it hard for my wife to stay mad! But it also leaks a bit of oil and has lots of deferred maintenance. While my boss is a great guy and certainly does not abuse his cars, he is also someone who just turns the key and goes. He owned the car from 35,000 to 110,000 miles. He had it serviced (oil change periodically and once the AOS had to be swapped) at local independent shops. He really did not know about the access panels to the engine until I told him. He also had never heard about the IMS issues until I told him - obviously not a forum guy. So, I know I've got plenty of upkeep to catch up on--fluids, filters, brake pads and rotors, struts, etc., etc. But before any of that, my main concern is that there is an oil leak (boss told me it dripped a tiny bit of oil--it's not a lot, but more than i imagined). Indy shop told my boss it was likely RMS. Opening the access panel to take a look, yep, oil all over the place. I haven't had a chance to even begin to clean it up to determine where the oil is coming from. Based on my internet scouring, there are certainly plenty of potential candidates for leaks. I'll just hope its nothing major. So, trying to figure out where to even begin. Got to get the leaks in order before worrying about much else. I assume this will include pulling the tranny and inspecting the RMS and IMS. Assuming this thing still has the original IMS bearing, I guess I'll put replacing that near the top of my list. I'm here for any and all input I can get from people more knowledgeable than myself, which is all of you. Let me know--where do I begin? Thanks much.