Originally Posted by FredinVa
Hello all,
I have a 2001 Boxster S (6 speed) that I bought on July 23 this year. It had no records, so I had a local specialist do a PPI and after I bought the car, I had them replace the IMS, RMS, and the flywheel. I replaced other items (brakes, fluids, sway bar links, etc). 576 miles after the IMS, RMS was done, the car died, and the shop said the engine is done (copper in the oil & filter and a really ugly screeching noise).
I am trying to decide between getting a used engine, getting a rebuilt engine or just selling the car as is.
The local Porsche dealers sell the bock and heads separate ($9K and $7K respectively) and said labor would be about $9K.
Flat 6 sells engines for $20K (but at least they are complete, and I can probably handle the remove & replace part).
Vertex Auto sells rebuilds for $11K, but I don’t know much about them (again, I would do the install).
Are there other options for rebuilds? The car is a decent car, but is more of a driver and has other needs besides the engine.
I am shying away from a used engine at the moment because after reading up on things, it seems like the IMS bearing is just the tip of the iceberg with the M96/97 engines. Bore scoring, main bearings, chain guides, tensioners, the chains themselves, porous cases. I don’t know how much sense it makes going the used route. It seems like once these engines approach 100K miles there are enough issues lurking that every turn of the key could be it’s last. Am I wrong in this conclusion? Is a used engine a reasonable path?
I saw a Post by Jake Raby where he said that his prices were based on his work being the best and if you loved your car, you would pay. That makes complete sense to me if you have a custom ordered car you want to keep forever (I ordered my 99' Corvette new and would absolutely put a new engine in it if it died). It seems like a more difficult decision on a used $4500 “stepping stone” Boxster. I hate to give up on the car, but I don’t see much point in being $30K+ deep in a “driver grade” 986.
I appreciate all of your thoughts and insights.
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