are there any lawyers on this forum?

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by thstone

With about 225,000 Boxsters/Cayman's sold, my guess is that the IMS failure rate is somewhere around ~2%.

This is based on about 2,000 L&N IMS replacements sold to date (all assumed to be out of warranty repairs) and probably an equal number of warranty engine replacements for IMS failure.

Of course, not all L&N IMS replacements were failures, some were preventative replacements while replacing the clutch, but I am making an assumption that for every preventiative IMS replacement there is someone who simply replaced their IMS failed engine with a stock donor engine without any IMS upgrade.

...

Just my own back of the envelope estimates and assumtions. Would welcome to hear from anyone with some other ideas or numbers.

Can really be supported because the assumptions are just that. No one but Porsche knows how many engine swaps and for what cause there have been. Enough so the IMS was redesigned twice and, if it was working perfectly, they wouldn't have. But to pluck some figure for engine replacements out of the air is to me a SWAG.

My own guess is the number that will fail over the car's lifetime is higher than your 2% but that is just because the car is so nice people try to extend the life of the car beyond what is normal. Another factor to consider is the treatment these cars now get as people buy them for less than $10k and may or may not maintain them as the original owner/aficionados did. That should increase the failure rate for whatever reasons they fail (and there are at least 21 known reasons that have been identified so far). Not to mention that so many are stored for long periods which is hard on lubricated parts.

But all cars fail...I'm going to take mine out for a spin in 15 minutes. I have my choice of 4 cars, it will get chosen.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

I'm not sure that your conclusions can really be supported because the assumptions are just that.

@Mike - You are absolutely correct. I had to make several assumptions to come up with my estimate of ~2% and those assumtions could be incorrect. I wish that we all had more info to confirm the correct failure rate.

And this in no way is meant to downplay or minimize the heartfelt agony or financial impact that having an unplanned IMS failure can be. Its huge and I recognize that.

[litteng]

as i mentioned above i am in way qualified to adjudicate the law, but it seems to me that the compared to even Porsches' other produces, the 986/996/987/997 have suffered a very high number of failures at very low mileages, and the number of multiple and continuing failures with no absolute discernible trend during and after warranty is indicative of a product that is not fit for service.

aircooled porsche engines have a very good reputation for life and service... thats why they have been such a sought after sportscar.

the rub here is that because not evreyone drives their 987 (et all) 12-20,000 per year, in many cases the warranty has already time expired and the vehicle may have less than 25,000 mi. i as the second or third owner have a very low mileage vehicle with the desire to enjoy it for a long time, ...not so fast Tonto, do not pass go do not collect $200... you need a new engine, much worse that a game of monopoly

i think that the history of ongoing failures and the lack of being able to predict them should be seriously considered as part of the claim against the manufacturer... the 5th or 6th owner buying a used one at 10 yrs of age and 100,000mi should not be expecting anew engine, but some pro rated assistance would be appropriate.