Yes i'm a clueless newb!
 

Hi all,

i'm on a budget of about £5000 and was very surprised to find a 99 2.5 with 79k for sale at £5500. Then i looked into it and quickly discovered that Boxster engines blow up!

Do they blow up even after doing 79k miles over a period of 14 years or does this make for a safe bet?

Will a PPI give any advanced notification or probability of the occurrence of the common faults?

I can just about afford the beauty but cannot afford some of the prices I have seen for the main major issues.

I guess what i'm looking for is to be talked out of (or into!) it by people with experience so I can settle for an MR2, get on with my life and forget I ever heard the glorious sound of the engine!

Any advice, short n' simple or long n' complex will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Well, this will explain to you on what it takes to own a boxster:

http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/42803-how-much-have-you-done-your-first-year-ownership.html

Based on the reading and research I've done you're not safe at 79k. Can you afford an IMS upgrade and clutch in the near future? Not sure how much that would be sterling. I bought a 2004 S with 58k miles and a clean PPI. A week later sent it to a Porsche indie for the IMS upgrade. Clutch was about 3/4 worn so doing that too. One can mitigate the risk with IMS guardian, frequent oil changes and keeping revs up. I plan to keep mine a long time and take it to the track so did the upgrade. If you are handy you can do most of the maintenance jobs yourself- oil, filters, plugs etc. Generally though Porsches aren't cheap to run and deferring maintenance is risky. That said the 986 is a blast to drive. Good luck whatever you decide!

Do they blow up even after doing 79k miles over a period of 14 years or does this make for a safe bet?Yes, the engine could blow up. The probability is low but greater than zero.

Will a PPI give any advanced notification or probability of the occurrence of the common faults? A good PPI can tell you the current status of most, but not all, of the critical components.

On the good side, if the engine lasted 79,000 miles it will probably last quite a bit longer. But there are no guarentees.

Plan on spending $2,000 per year on repairs and maintanence.

There are no cheap Porsche's (regardless of the purchase price).

All the above posters make sense. Read as much as you can about ims bearing and the consequences of it failing. I was born in the Uk andl left when I was 19 so I am somewhat familiar how u feel. If I lived in the UK still I would likely own an mx5 miata
but prior to buying my 2001 Box base I owned a Miata but it is not the same. Miata cheap to maintain, better gas mileage etc However the Box is way more car, more power but also more pounds/$$$$ to maintain.

I have IMS Guardian installed . I spend about one thousand pounds a year on maintenance. Do your research on anything Boxster/ims etc. Get a prepurchase inspection done prior to buying a Box. Look at more than one to get a comparison.
Good luck with your search. Enjoy. Let us know what u decide:):)

Read this:

https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages

Great cars but be aware that parts are expensive. I have had my 2003 2.7 for 2 years and have been really lucky, only had to pay for servicing and rear tyres so far. Unless you count the rear speaker upgrade, Pioneer double din satnav, OBC, cruise control etc.

Get it inspected by a specialist (not main dealer) - this may save you a fortune. Buy as newer
model as you can afford.

I don't know if you already have an MR2 or you'd buy one instead of a Box. I owned an 01 MR2 Spyder before buying my first Porsche - an 01 Boxster S. I loved my MR2 but it was a matter of hours before I totally forgot about it. Two entirely different cars. The Box beats the MR2 in every category except maybe longevity.

Read up on the IMS issue but don't freak out about it. There are ways to resolve it. Do lots of research on prices as well. Maintenance records are golden.

Boxster engines do fail in ways that destroy the engine. IMSB failures are one of those modes. While nobody seems to know the exact IMSB failure rate, a best guess is about 5%.

You can protect your car a couple of ways. The simplest is the change the oil regularly (~ every 3000 to 5000 miles or once a year whichever happens first) and driving the car as a Porsche should be driven. At every oil change check the oil filter for metal debris that might signal something going wrong in the engine. Installing a magnetic drain plug might also collect any metal fragments circulating in the oil.

The next cheapest insurance is to install the IMS Guardian. It looks for the presence of metal debris in the oil and signals you in the passenger compartment when this happens. It provide an earlier warning than just inspecting the oil filter at changes.

The more expensive way to go is to install the IMS Retrofit. This is a ceramic bearing replacement for the stock IMSB. It last longer than the stock bearings. Many Boxster owners have installed the Retrofit when they changed the clutch.

Hope this helps.

This forum rocks!!!!
 

These guys know all.They really are telling what you need to know. Another thought is to buy it drive it , however do get a ppi and understand a ppi go only go so far it is not foolproof. I never regret the money i did and will spend because it is NOT a vette,370 nismo, honda, z4 . miata etc... ITS A PORSCHE Wait untill you own it a while and get addicted to that ROAR. Like i say BUY IT DRIVE IT BREAK IT FIX IT...p.s. might want to try a S 2002 s 110,289 miles no ims and drive the piss out of it !!

A PPI is a good suggestion, however it will not be able to tell you the condition of the IMS. Don't think that a clean PPI means you're home free on the IMS. It just means the rest of the car is in good condition.

My 2002 S had a clean PPI, but I since have changed the clutch, flywheel, and ims. Also have replaced a wheel bearing, water pump, thermostat, and front engine mount. Finally a new set of tires-I've had my car less than a year and have spent a total of 7,000 dollars in repairs and maintainance thus far. But I now feel I fall into the comfortable 2,000 per year category.

Dean,
Lots of good advise in this thread. I told my wife when we bought our '01 about a year ago it would take me a year to get it all sorted out & I got a pretty clean car. It's been a year & about $4400 in parts not counting incidentals (nuts, bolts, etc. & tools) but I have no regrets. But I expect the $2k a year to be about right even for a daily driver. Take your time & find the right car, it will be worth the extra effort.