Looking to buy a Boxster - anything I should know?

[darknight]

Originally Posted by hamburglar

If the 98 is at 92k miles and hasn't had the engine replaced or any problems with the IMS or RMS, is it safe to say if it hasn't had a problem by now that it is unlikely to have those problems?

It is difficult to say for sure how likely it will be that you will have a problem with either the IMS or RMS. I replaced both, for the piece of mind, along with a new clutch about a month ago, and used the ceramic replacement from LN Engineering.

If it were my car, and I was concerned about it, then I would budget for the upgrade, enjoy the Boxter, and not worry about it.

Regardless of the odds, it will be good piece-of-mind.

[southernstar]

hamburglar, you can't say you will never have issues with the IMS bearing and RMS. Some of the early 2.5 Boxsters (97, 98) had problems with block porosity that typically showed up quite early on, if at all. That car will have a double-row IMS bearing (but check the engine serial numbers, because if the engine has been replaced it may be a later engine with single-row bearing), which substantially reduces the risk of IMS bearing failure ( well less than 1% versus 8-10%). However, there is no set mileage at which it can occur. I have a dual row with only 57,000 miles, but still plan on replacing the bearing when I end up having to do the clutch.