NooB Lookin at Boxsters..Looking Beyond the IMS

[travlincub321]

I poosted this in the New to Boxster Forum, but looking for more responses...

So, I am looking to add to my collection of vehicles and Its time to fullfill another dream car and get a Porsche. After mulling over options, I am looking twords a Boxster...

I am trying to determine my options and what are the best years to shoot for... One key thing I would love is to find a Purple one.. Or Silver... Or something with out the Baby poo yellow interior.

I have read alot about the infamous IMS issue and it looks like the failure rate is 1-3% on 97-99 models and that would be fine with me. I'd rather put it in the back of my mind and say my prayers, as money will be a little tight after purchase... Am i correct in this thinking? I generally only buy cars with over 100K on them and ONLY buy cars with a thorough PPI, however unsure if this is smart or not on a Porsche.

I am used to Mercedes and european cars, so I am aware of added costs during maintence and such, but how hard is a general service on a boxster? What is an average cost for a 5K service (my intervel).... How about brakes? I've read boxsters eat them....

Besides the IMS issue, what else do i need to be wary of? I have read Boxsters are very reliable and from Consumer Reports to other groups on line, alot of people have few complaints with there Boxsters. I am more interested in a manual transmission unit than the tiptronic, but, if i got an awesome deal on a tip tronic, would I be betting on failure? What about other stuff??? I don't want lots of doo dads and gizmos.. The less crap the better (I drive an almost plain 2001 E320 wagon save for the Real Leather and the base package, it doesn't even have butt warmers)

If 97-99 is a good range, My *IDEAL* Boxster would have just the sport package on it .. I need cruise control at the very least. Mercedes has an interweb program that lets you look up build sheets and so forth.. Does Porsche do this??

Thanks in advance and I apppricate all the help you can provide...

PS: I will have no regrets, even with the IMS.. The IMS is a dead horse thats been beaten alot and seems to have popped up in full force after 2000... Crossing my fingers, legs and toes and saying my prayers will keep it rolling. That and making sure I can drive it like a Porsche should be!

TO Add: My Short list is a Z3, 350Z, SLK320 and of course the Boxster.. The boxster is my favorite by far

[travlincub321]

Also:

An S model is a little more car than I want and keep in mind I am looking at 10K unless some one does owner financing (I don't deal with banks and credit for personal reasons)

[RawleyD]

Just from what I've read on these forums in the past 3 months:

-most members will encourage a PPI
-most members say to buy as new a Boxster as you can afford
-it seems 2k$ maintenance per year is the average (unless you are a wrencher and plan to do lots of work yourself)
-many members here with cars over 100k (mine included)
-it is recommended to do 5k oil changes (which can cost 200$+~ at some stealerships)
-just as many things can go wrong that isn't IMS related (just like any sports car)

My budget was <10k$ as well. I searched for months, 250miles around, before I found what I wanted (2000, S model, I wanted as much car as I could get). Car has a rebuilt tranny, new oil change, new air/oil separator (important), and a few other fixes.. just what I was looking for and haven't had a regret yet!

Bear in mind, I just got the car inspected, and have only put about 1k miles on it so far.

Good luck with your search!

[2003S]

Probably because you are in the unfortunate position of being about the 5th person this weeks to make a similar post, and the forum is going through a bit of a "recharge"...

Make use of the "Search", many of your questions have been answered before, also there are a number of good resources on the forum & the interwebs in support of these cars.

Mike Focke's is an excellent one:
https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/buyingorsellinga1997-2004boxster

Also the forum's sticky thread:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/14685-thinking-buying-boxster-must-read.html

Keep in mind, there is a saying around the community that "There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche" -- if you're planning on buying a 10K Boxster, without planning a few thousand a year in maintenance, you'll have to be fairly lucky to have a running car in a few years. There are many things that can go wrong (search IMS, RMS, water pump, AOS, CV boots, ...)

It's not that they are crappy cars, but the average 986 is over 10 years old, and many sit for long periods of time without being used. They aren't Camry's in terms of maintenance.

It's your choice on dealing with the IMS Bearing -- The general consensus is there is a small chance of it happening, but enough to make many of us nervous. The potential downside is grenading the engine, making your 10K worth maybe 2K as a roller; budgeting 3K more and getting it replaced is a decent insurance policy, but still no guarantee...

Good luck to you, and if you do buy one, you'll love it!

[Frodo]

+1 on the Mike Focke reference. It's been around for awhile and I don't know if it gets updated, but it's got a lot of good info with no real expiration date. (Probably the sticky reference is good too, though I didn't discover it until after I got my Box, so I haven't much read it!)

Unless you're a beast on them, I've never found myself going through brakes all that quickly...not at all. If you plan on hitting the track I'm sure that can change very quickly. One thing that some people do go through quickly is tires, especially (duh) rear tires. Though tires don't last me quite as long with this car as with others I've owned, I really can't say I have had that problem either. I accelerate hard at times but am not doing burnouts; I'll even have the rears gently break loose at times when accelerating into a turn---keeps the reflexes sharp . At this point, I've got over 25K on the tires. Admittedly, the rears are really in need of replacement, but I've heard about people needing to do that with rears after not much over 10K.

I had some issues over the years---CV boots, one coil pack, one wheel bearing, water pump, alternator. Most of the work I've done myself, and I'm no mechanic. If you're interested in wrenching yourself, I'd recommend the Bentley Service manual and the 101 Projects for Your Porsche Boxster book. The former has a ton of detail and, and if you look around, you can probably get one in the neighborhood of around $50. The latter is inexpensive, has nice pics, and is a helpful addition, though it has occasional inaccuracies. There's also a DIY site by a really good guy named Pedro. It's very useful if you want to undertake any of the projects that happen to be discussed there. Check it out at: DIY Projects: Do-it-Yourself Repair and Maintenance for your Porsche

I haven't made my mind up on the IMSB. I'll probably need a clutch before too many more miles, so logically I should do it then. Probably will. But I'm quickly getting to the point where, even if the IMSB grenaded I'd feel happy to have gotten this car. It's been that much fun.

[tonycarreon]

not counting regular maintenance (oil changes, filters, belts, battery, etc) i've been averaging around $1000/yr. throw general maintenance in and it doubles.

i do as much myself as i can (oil changes, alternator, belt, etc) and leave the tough stuff to a shop (control arm, engine mount, etc)

the thing to keep in mind is that it's not a strict $/ year. things seem to come in waves. this year i've spent around $200 on maintenance, last year it was closer to $2000.

i'll echo some of what frodo said.

- get a couple of books (love my 101 projects book) and learn some DIY. at first i didn't think i could do much but really the car is simple to do your own regular maintenance on (oil change, spark plugs, filters, belt, etc) and you'll save a crap-ton of money over going to a dealership/indy shop.

- tires are a big wear item. most of the time you'll be lucky to get 15k miles on them. though the fronts tend to last 2x as long as the rears. depending on how much you drive you'll want to budget around $500/year for tires.

- $200/year on oil change if you DIY (depending on sales you find and # of times), double that if you go to a shop / indy.

- at the mileage range you're looking at (i don't see a problem with that), you'll want to have a PPI (though i didn't and consider myself lucky) and be ready to negotiate for the parts that will need to be replaced. if you want to "gamble" and drive it as-is, find something with a good service history. at that milage range i'd really be looking at the coolant tank, AOS and water pump mileage interval which would cost around $2500 at an indy. maybe it's been done recently in which case - CAKE!

bought my car in '09 @ 66k miles. since then i've put 40k on it and it's not my daily driver.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by travlincub321

Also:

An S model is a little more car than I want and keep in mind I am looking at 10K unless some one does owner financing (I don't deal with banks and credit for personal reasons)

DID YOU JUST SAY FINANCING???!!!!

Kidding. You sound like a serious poster! Welcome!

Welcome. Great car. S model has many upgrades. Brakes are great. You don't always have to put your foot on it, and the extra power is worth every cent. I thought the base model was underpowered personally.

Didn't see your area but hundreds in the LA / SD / So Cal area.

[jim_hoyland]

I would agree with all of the above. I spent three years when looking for the right car. The following criteria were applied:
1. Is this a low milage vehicle ? The '98 Boxster I bought in 2009 had 38K miles, not bad.

2. Is the sale by the original owner ? Much easier to get the truth about your concerns. Most of the original owers are straight up. My seller was an original owner an sold because he bought a new Boxster

3. Are the service records available, how often was the oi changed ? My seller had all the records and gave me the shop's number that did the work. After talking to the shop owner, I had a good feel for the type of care the owner demanded

4. Not a make of break deal; but, I wanted a white car with tan interior. I got that along with my three main criteria.

The car now has 55K miles and no unexpected problems have arisen

Everyone has there own preferences when it comes to buying a Boxster, let your preferences guide you. Good Luck, the fun is indeed in the search

[seawind]

I am responding as my experience is still fresh, having purchased a Boxster three months ago.

1) Patience. The right Boxster will pick you, just like a cat or dog. Listen to them as you test drive, and drive enough but not to many to get confused. I took three months and traveled couple hundred miles on weekends; I am in the San Francisco bay area. Granted the first one you drive is so special you will want to take her home immediately though!

2) Stick to your price. My range was $12-15k. Got a much higher mileage one for $10.5k from a dealer, financed. 125,000 miles at the time. I promised to myself to stick to a low mileage vehicle, but learned again : it is Condition Not Mileage. Say again : condition over mileage. The car just jumped out at me. Drove it back to back against a S version that was 2 years newer and half the mileage and $7k more at a different dealer, then went back to drive the cheaper, higher mileage again (drive it more then once) and took her home. Also turns out these final two cars on my exhaustive journey were both at dealers next to each other, and only a couple miles from me. So, be ready when the right one is there.

3) PPI. This is a first step to developing a relation with a specialist. Pick a local shop that knows the car, and let them go through it. They will find unexpected items, and confirm what you may already know. I now go to mine to have him simply inspect the filter after I change the oil, and ask other questions. He knows he will get the bigger items (my critical item is the power steering leak I would never have found). The relationship is worth the cost of the PPI. Note: the dealer I purchased from had a 3 day return policy, enabling me to get the car, have the PPI and return it if I was not pleased.

4) Drive. Then Drive some more! I feel like a kid with my first car again!

[travlincub321]

Thanks!

The stickies here are awesome. One of the most well informed groups i've been on.

The PPI is a must.. Just like a mercedes... If there not inspected, forget it. I've already walked away from an SLK (which I liked, but not liked like the Porsche) who failed one. Same with a C Class benz... Unless it passes a full PPI and needs less than $1500 in repairs, I walk. Period

As far as these lower mileage cars: Its a personal thing I have now. I HATE cars with under 90K.. 100K or over is better... Why? It means I can feel how the car is holding up and see/feel if its been abused...

I honestly would rather buy a 200K Porsche with a full maintence binder thats been drivien in snow and ice, than a 60K Porsche that is showroom shape but no history.
The last 3 benz's I've bought where all that way. My 2000 E class was a one owner car, no real options and had a full history between the dealer and an Indy I used in So Cal. I gave $6.700 for it with 111K and bought through the indy
The second was an 04 Wagon, fully loaded... Always dealer maintained, nice shape. Actually sold it, because I don't like electrical crap on cars (ie nav, distronic cruise, etc) and glad I did (even though I searched for 6 weeks for it after my prior one was totaled)
The current Benz was an impulse trade. It was a 2 owner, cpo with full dealer service history. Needed new rear air sphere's but was a good deal through the dealership. I made money trading so it was a no brainer. But, i made sure the service dept. had done a very thorough PPI

I'd rather buy from an invidual or a high line dealer (ie; Lexus, Mini, Mercedes, etc), some one who will provide the level of comfort that there selling a damn cream puff

I appriacte the input and keep it coming. I drive my cars 1x2 times a week, just depending. My cars may get 8K a year, but the get driven often. 30K is easy for me to get on sports tires and going easy on everything else won't be an ssue

[travlincub321]

BTW- I am just starting to look, money will be ready by years end... If it takes a year to find the right porsche, i will waitt

[Trey T]

If you worry about IMS, you have to consider pouring in money to do the "IMS Solution" conversion or get the Insaro IMSB. I believe the ceramic everyone have been raving about is just as good as stock; it's just not your best solution for these engines.