Where are all the blown up boxsters ?

[SeanZ4]

...and for 15k you should be able to get a fairly nice Boxster with a good history. I had all the same concerns a few years ago when I bought my '00S. I did as much homework as I could and bought one anyway. I did get mine from a P-Dealer. I probably paid a little more than I would have from an individual, but it came with 4 pages of maint. work they had done on it and a year wtty. (which I used)

Not sure on finding a roller but here would be a good place to start.

http://www.oklahomaforeign.com/

good luck!
sean

[Mark_T]

Why don't you talk to Jake? He probably sees more rollers than just about anyone. Would save you the shipping if he already had the car there.

I think your budget might be a bit shy for that project, and talking with Jake would also give you a realistic estimate of the total cost of a project like that.

I'd find a nice '99 with at least 70K on it and drive it till it pukes (if it ever does) and then get the 3.4 swap done. That's kinda my plan actually.

[jcoit]

After reading tons of post and anything else I can find on the net about these cars, I am starting to think along the lines of some who say,"you dont hear from all the happy boxster owners who's cars are 100K plus with no issues". But luck doesnt run in my blood, if anyone is going to buy one that will blow in 1000 miles it will be me.

I guess what I am looking for is some input from those that have taken on the challenge of starting from blown up to Raby improved. Costs involved and was the extended time worth the end result? My preferred end result would be an improved and reliable engine in a low milage chassis. That to me would justify the added cost if not simply for the piece of mind and performance desires I have.

[papasmurf]

putting a raby rebuilt/upgraded engine in a rolling chassis is probably going to exceed your 15k budget. Some people say you can pick up a boxster with a blown engine for 3-4k but I have not seen them myself and I would rather part mine out than sell it like that. You can find 97-99 models pretty frequently in the 80-120k mile range from 7k on up. I would possibly take my chances with one of these and save the extra money for what happens down the road. The raby engines I am sure are very, very good but the warranty I think is only 1 year or two at the most. I am sure you would probably not have any problems with a set up from him but I would not expect it to be like buying a new car with a 4yr 60k mile warranty or something like that.

[mikefocke]

Rolling car $5k
Raby 'cpo' $8k
Installation $2k

At the end you have a 10 year old car with a tested engine that has perhaps 5 of the major failure causes addressed but not the other 16 or so. And little or no warranty...though I'll bet Jake would try and work out something to try and help you. But since the engine isn't one of his total rebuilds, he isn't warrantying it like one, or pricing it like one.

There can be other failures that take down the car. You haven't done anything to the clutch in this scenario and the trans and suspension are old.

The more assurance/warranty you want, the more you pay. The more risk you assume yourself, the less you pay initially. And sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

[Boxster101]

[QUOTE=jcoit]After reading tons of post and anything else I can find on the net about these cars, I am starting to think along the lines of some who say,"you dont hear from all the happy boxster owners who's cars are 100K plus with no issues". But luck doesnt run in my blood, if anyone is going to buy one that will blow in 1000 miles it will be me.

I totally agree. I don't think the number nor the percentage of Boxsters with blown engines is nearly as great as those who make money from rebuilds would have us believe.

[jmatta]

I would purchase the nicest Boxster you can find in the $12k range and have the LN IMS update done and drive it.

[Jake Raby]

[QUOTE=Boxster101]

Originally Posted by jcoit

After reading tons of post and anything else I can find on the net about these cars, I am starting to think along the lines of some who say,"you dont hear from all the happy boxster owners who's cars are 100K plus with no issues". But luck doesnt run in my blood, if anyone is going to buy one that will blow in 1000 miles it will be me.

I totally agree. I don't think the number nor the percentage of Boxsters with blown engines is nearly as great as those who make money from rebuilds would have us believe.

Keep that attitude.. If you ever end up a statistic, you'll understand that a certain reality exists. That happened to at least 3 people that I know this year, to include one of our most vocal critics..

I simply state what we experience as a reality, we do see a higher concentration of failed engines, because that is our specialty and we see them from all over the country.

Not taking some sort of a preventive measure, even if its just a change in driving style, simply isn't wise.

FWIW- We'd much rather carry out preventive measures, instruct classes, provide resource materials and develop the engines instead of creating updated engines.. We provided more updated engines in 2010 than I wanted, and 2011 already has a jump start thats twice as heavy as we entered into 2010 with..

BTW- We are closed this week, but that didn't mean that the problems took the week off.. When I logged into the phone system today we had three failure calls since Thursday.

[jcoit]

Thanks for responding Jake. As I said in my post if its going to blow up on anyone it will be me. Ive been lurking on your pages as well and trying to figure a decent plan that will end with me owning a boxster I have confidence in. I have no doubt even normally powered I will love the car. Power is not the issue reliability and piece of mind is. I would gladly extend my budget 3-5 grand and wait patiently 6-12 months to get that.

All that said it has already been suggested I contact you to discuss a starting point for such a project. So theres the next step..what do you have available or where do I need to look to find a suitable start on this project?

BTW I spent several hours searching the country for 13,000 dollar boxsters. Not a single one screamed out to me "you can buy me with confidence" LOL

[mikefocke]

And your budget can't afford absolute surety. (Mine won't either.)

Lets just for discussions sake say there are 21 modes of failure you have to prevent against to have the utmost assurance that the as-Porsche-designed engine faults are avoided. Lets say there are 50 different parts involved. 50 different processes to install them. And all the parts and processes are 99.99 percent perfect...failure proof. That still leaves some failures. And we haven't factored in the unimproved parts like the suspension, brakes, ECU, transmission, clutch, security, Radio, HVAC, etc.

I guess what I'm getting to in this ramble is you can't get to absolute certainty of no failures ... stuff happens even with the best design and intentions. And oh does it cost to try to get as near to problem-free as is currently possible.

So you try to get to a degree of uncertainty and risk can YOU live with. And doesn't your perception of that risk change over time...remember all those smug Toyota owners who were suddenly scared to drive their cars...think their concern for their car's reliability went from zero to off the chart.

Also remember how much you know about Boxsters thanks to forums like these. Other makes have similar problem areas that you don't know about. We just care more about our cars so we learn more about them and talk more about them.

Jake is being straight up. He sees failures, hears daily cries of woe and people's shock at what a fix to do it right will cost because he doesn't do it half-way. But not all Boxster engines fail...not by a long shot.

Some of those people in shock paid too much relative to what they could afford and relative to the risk entailed in owning such a car. Some are just not accepting of risk.

You want no financial risk in a Porsche, stay under warranty..with all the expense that entails. (Of course get in an accident and your car's value plummets and that isn't covered by insurance or the manufacturer's warranty.) Can't afford that approach, you buy a cheaper to purchase car and stay under that warranty. Can't afford that you buy the cheapest used car that you perceive to be a probable high reliability car. But of course in any of those approaches you could be wrong.

Been there, done that many times over the probably 30+ cars I've bought. Been wrong in the new cars I've bought about as often as I've been wrong with the used ones. One bad against 2 good for Porsches...both the good ones being Boxsters. I accept that there is some reward to accepting risk because everyone isn't equipped to accept risk the same way and some overvalue perceived safety and thus overpay for it. Both my Boxsters were 5+ years old and had been owned by 2 prior owners before me. On my second I declined an extended warranty. I saved about $2k doing that I now know. Could have worked out differently but I played the odds.

As one who has been saving and investing since 1967, my advice would be don't use all your credit on a car. Don't even use all your spare cash. Don't put your serious money in depreciating assets. Because stuff happens.

Boy do I enjoy my Boxster...and it will be 66 on Saturday and the snow will be gone. Think I'll go for a pointless romp through winding country roads.

[danyl55]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Keep that attitude.. If you ever end up a statistic, you'll understand that a certain reality exists. That happened to at least 3 people that I know this year, to include one of our most vocal critics..

I simply state what we experience as a reality, we do see a higher concentration of failed engines, because that is our specialty and we see them from all over the country.

Not taking some sort of a preventive measure, even if its just a change in driving style, simply isn't wise.

FWIW- We'd much rather carry out preventive measures, instruct classes, provide resource materials and develop the engines instead of creating updated engines.. We provided more updated engines in 2010 than I wanted, and 2011 already has a jump start thats twice as heavy as we entered into 2010 with..

BTW- We are closed this week, but that didn't mean that the problems took the week off.. When I logged into the phone system today we had three failure calls since Thursday.

failed engines? it only happens to Boxsters? they were built to drive! drive the damn things! I do--120k on a 97 and runs great--I had a chevy blow up once--haha

[baxster]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Not taking some sort of a preventive measure, even if its just a change in driving style, simply isn't wise.

What kind of a diving style is needed to be considered "preventive measures"?
I've read that tracked boxes seem to have less LMS failures. So I'm hoping the answer is something like "don't lug the engine".

[mts]

[QUOTE=Boxster101]

Originally Posted by jcoit

After reading tons of post and anything else I can find on the net about these cars, I am starting to think along the lines of some who say,"you dont hear from all the happy boxster owners who's cars are 100K plus with no issues". But luck doesnt run in my blood, if anyone is going to buy one that will blow in 1000 miles it will be me.

I totally agree. I don't think the number nor the percentage of Boxsters with blown engines is nearly as great as those who make money from rebuilds would have us believe.

But it really sucks when yours is the one to go. 50% of the Porsches I have owned (100% of the Boxsters) have experienced an engine failure.....statististically speaking that makes me....

[jbs986]

Originally Posted by mts

But it really sucks when yours is the one to go. 50% of the Porsches I have owned (100% of the Boxsters) have experienced an engine failure.....statististically speaking that makes me....

+ 1, It is a lot cheeper to upgrade IMS,RMS & water pump then to replace a motor.

[jcoit]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I am continuing my trek better educated. Kudos to the forum for being the best resource I have come across to date in making an educated step back into sports cars. Its been three kids and 20 long years since I had two sports cars and three high performance road racing motorcycles in my garage. I havent forgot the cost or long hours spent in the garage maintaining my hobbies early in life.

Mike Focke. The first resource I utilized was your pages. Thanks for taking the time to put that together. I definitely finished that study with a smarter consumer feeling. At the very least I was well aware of the development of the boxster and where my likes and desires fit in the model years. Just reading that section of your page saved me 10-15 grand. Thank you sir.

In regards to your financial advise I guess I should clarify my stance. I am in knee jerk phase at the moment. I have been overwhelmed with sad stories about massive engine failures. Everything from I just paid 18000 and 300 miles from the dealership a big puff of smoke came out and there I was needing a 12000 motor replacement, to "But it really sucks when yours is the one to go. 50% of the Porsches I have owned (100% of the Boxsters) have experienced an engine failure.....statististically speaking that makes me.... Bottom line if one only read that far no one in their right mind would buy one of these cars. Fortunately I read on.

I realize that pre purchase I have some amount of control in how reliable my boxster will be. I am simply looking into different options that may solve some core issues and get me closer to the perfect fit. All that said I am well aware that there is no cure all to any situation. That amount of risk I am more than willing to take to own and drive one of these cars. I have set a very conservative purchase budget that allows for regular costs and worst case scenarios yet allows me to own the car I want with the features I want. In other words i cant buy an 05 or 06 s and have a parachute but I sure can buy 00-02 and have a parachute. My final investigation is along the lines of this thread...maybe a 98 with a new raby motor is even a better idea than an 02s Your pages led me to this sensibility and willingness to consider many options before purchase, thank you again.

I look forward to the day mid summer when I can say ok here she is, and thank the many folks who helped me along in making a wise purchase.

[IndyGreg]

Originally Posted by jbs986

+ 1, It is a lot cheeper to upgrade IMS,RMS & water pump then to replace a motor.

What is the approximate cost to do the IMS, RMS & water pump upgade?

[thstone]

Met a guy yesterday with 208,000 miles on his 1998 Boxster. No engine problems whatsoever.

Anectdotal evidence is just that. We can all find as many examples as we want to backup our position.

As for me, I am going with the best data that there is and that is Consumer Reports reliability history which says that Boxster engines are very reliable.

[baxster]

Quote:


"Not taking some sort of a preventive measure, even if its just a change in driving style, simply isn't wise."

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

What kind of a diving style is considered "preventive" to help prevent a LMS failure?
I've read that tracked Boxsters seem to have less LMS failures. So I'm hoping the answer is something like "don't lug the engine".

[baxster]

Originally Posted by baxster

Quote:


"Not taking some sort of a preventive measure, even if its just a change in driving style, simply isn't wise."

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

What kind of a diving style is considered "preventive" to help prevent a LMS failure?
I've read that tracked Boxsters seem to have less LMS failures. So I'm hoping the answer is something like "don't lug the engine".

Jake Raby doesn't need to answer. Anyone input would be helpful.

I like to drive on the aggressive side so if the consensus is to drive on the conservative side to help decrease the chance of a LMS failure, I might have to look for a different car to buy.

I would consider a LMS upgrade when I felt the clutch needs to be replaced, But I would like to squeeze out as many miles until then.

BTW, I don't have a Box yet, but I'm getting primed for one.

[spennybenny]

Originally Posted by baxster

Jake Raby doesn't need to answer. Anyone input would be helpful.

I like to drive on the aggressive side so if the consensus is to drive on the conservative side to help decrease the chance of a LMS failure, I might have to look for a different car to buy.

I would consider a LMS upgrade when I felt the clutch needs to be replaced, But I would like to squeeze out as many miles until then.

BTW, I don't have a Box yet, but I'm getting primed for one.

Wondering this as well, the owner says it is better not to lug it around, but he also thinks the 997 carrera 19" rims are stock on a 97 as well lol