Shortlived Boxster engines survey

[flame011409]

Add me to the list. 2005 with 31,000 miles and just out of warantee. Porsche came through though and put a new engine in it. I had $850 out of pocket to diassemble the dead engine to make sure it was in fact, dead. Which it was. New engine purrs and pulls harder than the original.

Death was caused by intermediate shaft failure.

[Quickurt]

Exactly why my Porsche mechanic buddy told me if I didn't buy a certified Box from my local dealer, he'd come to Jax and kick my ass!! Mine is covered until 4/2012 and/or another 69k miles.

[Kyle32]

Originally Posted by CJMeredith

I now find myself regularly peering into the coolant reservoir of the new one...

how does one get to the coolant reservoir on a Boxster?

Originally Posted by ghha

I can let fellow sufferers have a copy of the letter, if needed. Can't guarantee you will get same result as each case is treated individually - that's why letter is free!

does someone have the letter?

Originally Posted by Bobiam

I broke down and bought an extended warranty. 3 yrs coverage for$1600 or $1800 (I forget!), but it will let me sleep at night......

where did you buy the insurance from? Your Porsche dealer? So, they still sell warranties for let's say a 2002 Boxster? What does the warranty cover?

That would be something to consider.
At the same time, this should give us the worst scenario odds of an engine failure, assuming that Porsche doesn't lose money on those plans.

[Bobiam]

Quote:

"I broke down and bought an extended warranty. 3 yrs coverage for$1600 or $1800 (I forget!), but it will let me sleep at night......
"

Originally Posted by Bobiam

"where did you buy the insurance from? Your Porsche dealer? So, they still sell warranties for let's say a 2002 Boxster? What does the warranty cover?

That would be something to consider.
At the same time, this should give us the worst scenario odds of an engine failure, assuming that Porsche doesn't lose money on those plans."
.................................................. .................................................. ......
My warranty is with Consumer Direct Warranty Services. Found them on a google search through agent AAAutoWarranty.com, WHO I RECOMMEND THAT YOU STAY AWAY FROM. THEY BADLY MISREPRESENTED THE PRODUCT. Warranty good...Agent bad.

Coverage is 3 yrs, unlimited miles, covers engine, trans, drive train, cooling system, fuel system, electrical, related gaskets except head gaskets. The important thing is it covers most everything that's lubricated, and that includes the major causes of massive engine failures. Transferable with a $75 fee to the new owner. Maintence is critical to have warranty pay related claims and you cannot do your own oil changes and the like. I just paid $100 for an oil change than it would have cost me to do it!!! Oh, well!

Bob

FYI:
There are three companies involve in the whole process; Consumer Direct Warranty Services (who is in charge of the warranty), Great Atlantic Warranty (who is the seller) and Mepco (who is in charge of the billing) I'm pretty sure they do this because they want to forward each other the responsibility of your complaint until you give up.

[Capt Sensible]

Well, you can add me to the list. My '04 2.7 purchased 18months ago with 13k miles died 6 months in amid a welter of unpleasant metallic clicking noises with just less than 20k on the clock. Porsche GB met most of the cost of a new - actually Porsche re-conditioned (not what I was told originally by the dealer) unit, which seems to be OK so far. Has a 2 year unconditional warranty, so time to sell on is ......

[rivermanphillips]

It seems like I have a unusual 1998 Boxster. It has 220,000 miles and going strong. , One clutch, oil seperator replaced and regular maintaince. Driven on highway mostly.IT SCARES ME TO READ OF EARLY FAILURES.

[speedyellow]

4 banger w/ forced induction from Audi on a 2011 Boxster. Would this be a cheaper and more reliable replacement on a blown engine, what do you think?

[Paul]

Originally Posted by rivermanphillips

It seems like I have a unusual 1998 Boxster. It has 220,000 miles and going strong. , One clutch, oil seperator replaced and regular maintaince. Driven on highway mostly.IT SCARES ME TO READ OF EARLY FAILURES.

I'm sure you never floor it, or red line it, or have any fun at all, or change the oil after a year or so......

[Sikedsyko]

This is a very scary thread for someone looking to buy an older boxster. anyone have any conclusions about the 2000 model boxster and it's failure rate?

[rick3000]

Originally Posted by Sikedsyko

This is a very scary thread for someone looking to buy an older boxster. anyone have any conclusions about the 2000 model boxster and it's failure rate?

No one has a definitive conclusion or percentage of failures for any year.
But I will remind you that for every post here about an engine failure there are probably a few thousand Boxster owners that never had a problem and therefore never sought a solution on the internet, and posted here about how few problems they have.

There have been over 200,000 Boxsters sold and this entire forum maybe mentions about 100 individual engine failures. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it doesn't happen that often (knock on wood).

[Sikedsyko]

Originally Posted by rick3000

There have been over 200,000 Boxsters sold and this entire forum maybe mentions about 100 individual engine failures. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it doesn't happen that often (knock on wood).

My problem is I'm one of those people that when I try to go out on a limb and do something I probably shouldn't ie. buy a Porsche, Murphy's law kicks in and I get screwed.

[gschotland]

Originally Posted by Sikedsyko

My problem is I'm one of those people that when I try to go out on a limb and do something I probably shouldn't ie. buy a Porsche, Murphy's law kicks in and I get screwed.

If you're making such a big financial stretch just to buy the car, then you probably shouldn't buy. Spend a lot of time reading this forum. This site is also very helpful if you're in the market: http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages

Take time to educate yourself and go in with your eyes wide open. I did and my ownership experience has been great. I can't think of any car I'd rather have for the $; the Boxster's a phenomenal value. The IMS bearing failure issue made me nervous too, so when my car was ready for a clutch I got the bearing retrofit at the same time. I agree the problem is totally over-hyped, but now I sleep a lot better.

If you have some basic mechanical skills and are willing to learn, you'll be amazed at how much you can do yourself - and how much of a dent that will make in your maintenance costs. Being able to work on the car and solve problems gives me a lot of satisfaction, enhancing my ownership experience. If you've got to run to a dealer or mechanic every time you have a little problem or require maintenance, it's going to get pricey. I leave only the hard jobs for the pros.

[gregwils]

Originally Posted by rick3000

No one has a definitive conclusion or percentage of failures for any year.
But I will remind you that for every post here about an engine failure there are probably a few thousand Boxster owners that never had a problem and therefore never sought a solution on the internet, and posted here about how few problems they have.

There have been over 200,000 Boxsters sold and this entire forum maybe mentions about 100 individual engine failures. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it doesn't happen that often (knock on wood).

I don't disagree that this thread makes it seem like every other person has had an IMS failure. On the other hand, I don't think you can ratio based on forum posts. I have been on lots of other forums (other makes) and it is very unusual to see this volume of engine failures. It's probably safe to agree that IMS failures are a real problem for Porsche. There was a great article in Excellence on the M96 engine listing it's strengths and weaknesses.

I would suggest to current and potential owners of M96 engine (2000+) who are concerned to just install the upgraded bearing from Raby on LN, then you're risk of an catastrophic engine failure probably isn't much greater than a Honda or Toyota. RMS can still be a problem.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by gschotland

If you're making such a big financial stretch just to buy the car, then you probably shouldn't buy. Spend a lot of time reading this forum. This site is also very helpful if you're in the market: http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages

Take time to educate yourself and go in with your eyes wide open. I did and my ownership experience has been great. I can't think of any car I'd rather have for the $; the Boxster's a phenomenal value. The IMS bearing failure issue made me nervous too, so when my car was ready for a clutch I got the bearing retrofit at the same time. I agree the problem is totally over-hyped, but now I sleep a lot better.

If you have some basic mechanical skills and are willing to learn, you'll be amazed at how much you can do yourself - and how much of a dent that will make in your maintenance costs. Being able to work on the car and solve problems gives me a lot of satisfaction, enhancing my ownership experience. If you've got to run to a dealer or mechanic every time you have a little problem or require maintenance, it's going to get pricey. I leave only the hard jobs for the pros.

Great advice. I spent alot of time on here and Rennsport's site, just lurking reading and studying and decided to take another friend's advice and use the cash I was going to use to buy an 03 or 04 S and used it down (55%) to buy an 06 S with certification from Porsche. It was more expensive than an extended warranty, but I have a much newer and nicer car, IMO, and no worries of an aftermarket warranty actually coming thru if really needed. I may end up being wrong (if it could only be the first time! ), but I think 987s are having fewer issues, also.

[Jake Raby]

Lots of people can afford to buy a Boxster and even a 911 these days... But many of those can't afford to properly maintain or repair it.

Always think about that...

[mikefocke]

may be a bit more involved with their cars than the average brand owners. So they tend to be connected to each other and the way we do that these days is on the net.

You also see lots of postings about other problems. How many times has the ignition switch come up? Or rear tire wear? RMS? But it is the last 18 months when the IMS failures suddenly became identified and we started talking about them. It helped to have an article in Excellence. And a rebuilder willing to talk in some of the forums.

I bought my car third hand, paid less than 40% of the original cost, its 8 years old and 56k miles. Why does Porsche owe me anything?

Stuff happens. Deal with it. If you can solve the problem with money, on the scale of things it isn't such a big problem, is it? It is only a car, not a family member.

And if you bought it not knowing stuff happens to any brand of car...well then just shame on you. It isn't like info on possible failures isn't publicly available for the price of a search.

Only thing wrong about my Boxster is there is a half inch of ice on the roads and I have summer tires.

[hatch1517]

We own performance cars thats part of the fun (And you get nothin for nothing).I have had my 97 for two years drive it every day the only cost is fuel/service front engine mont and what i have chosen to spend.I would have to say from my experiance a reliable car.
One problem i see here some of these cars are doing only 5000 miles per year average.I have a motorcycle it has seal problems and brake failier every year after winter storage guess what the vtx1800 is a reliable bike so they say.

[baileymc]

Well I don't know too much about Porsche's but I'm learning as I go. My Boxster is a 1998 have a few issues but still not a big deal as you can see in thr threads I posted. I bought it last Sept used and it is a great car, I guess nothing it perfect but someday I'll buy a newer one that's for sure!!

[wake&moto]

What extended warranties, if any, will pay to fix the said problems addressed in this thread?

Are there any available 2nd hand from Porsche USA through a dealership?