Which Boxster S would be a better purchase in the long run?

[jb92563]

I think the 2000 will have dual row IMS bearings which the 2003 definately does not, which could save you an engine.

The 2000 is a good price and if it has records to indicate it was regularly maintained and has had the clutch and other 60K maintenance done its a good buy. Also its been driven regularly and Boxsters seem to suffer if they have not had a good workout regularly.

The 2003 on the other hand does have nice low miles but I would expect a new clutch in the next 20K miles and do the IMS bearing replacement while your in there at a cost of about 4K at the dealer.

At 40k miles its a tough call whether it could still experience engine issues and that would make me a little nervous. If you read the forum threads about cars with issues you will notice that the less frequently driven cars can suffer from initial new car issues and engine failures for quite a few miles. In a sense they have not had their bugs worked out yet to tell whether they will be a money pit or totally reliable.

If it were me knowing what I know now after ~2 years into my 2001 S with 65K miles, I'd keep the 6K savings for all the mods and little maintenance things and go with the dual row bearing car knowing that there will be some predictable maintenance ahead but after that it will be as good as new and no unexpected surprises ahead.