New guy, looking to buy first Porsche!

[chiliphil1]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I have been lurking and reading for a while but I decided to join up. I am looking at getting myself a boxster! I am looking for an 04+ but will most likely end up with a 99-03 due to price.

I am here to ask the question that I believe plenty of others have asked, so I apologize in advance for the repeat but would like an answer to my specific circumstance if possible.

I am wanting to get myself a sporty car that will bring the fun back to driving, something that I can get out an just truly be happy with owning. I would like something that is fuel efficient enough to be a daily driver, something that I can obtain without having to mortgage my home, and finally something that will make me happy due to excellent build quality, materials, and reliability. I can say that the 2 seat roadster seems like a great choice, but I surely don't want a miata, the corvette does not satisfy my "good fuel economy" requirement so I feel that the boxster is an excellent choice and definately "the one" for me.

I am usually very good about diving into learning everything that I can about anything that I am going to buy or partake in, so here I am, I also read everything on the sticky about wanting to buy a Porsche, but I find myself still wanting to ask you guys myself. I hope that you won't mind giving me a minute of your time.

Ok, on to the meat of the questions. I am looking to buy a boxster (obviously) from some money that I will be getting out of a settlement. I have read about the IMS issue and honestly it scares the crap out of me, however I know how forums and online sources can blow things out of proportion, I used to have a Yamaha motorcycle and according to the internet it was "notorious" for second gear going out and it wasn't a matter of if, it was when. I got that motorcycle and was very scared of the gear going out but I rode it daily and really gave it HE** but never had an issue at all, a friend of mine bought the same bike and again he was scared but never had an issue, and we're talking about 30k on a bike which is generally considered a lot. With that said, I am still nervous because a $2k trans overhaul on a bike is an entierly different beast than a $12k engine in a Porsche.

I will be honest with you guys, I am not a wealthy person, I am a motorcycle mechanic and make an OK living, but I am not wealthy. The biggest concern I have is something failing and not being able to pay for it and ending up with a beautiful yard ornament. I can handle most maintenance myself including oil changes, tune ups, etc..

My driving would be mostly to and from work about 40 miles a day, but I will absolutely have good distance joy rides in the car. My plan will be to drive occasionally through the summer with the top down, and I will drive it on rainy days, but the bulk of the driving the car will see will be winter time as my other means of transport is a motorcycle. I also want to add that I am a stickler for maintenance, I over do it on purpose because I believe that is the best way to prevent an issue.

I have thought that once I buy the car I can take it to a shop ASAP to have a new clutch, RMS, and IMS retrofit done, hopefully in the sub $2k range.

My basic questions are these, 1. Should I be as scared of the IMS issue as I am? 2. Should I plan on going to get the IMS and RMS replaced upon purchase or is it really THAT big of an issue? 3. Being that I am not a wealthy person should I just forget about buying this car? I know that things break on any and every car that has ever been made, but I am quickly seeing that cost is a lot higher on these cars. 4. When I go to buy the car other than the typical things to look for is there any way to tell if the IMS has gone or is about to?

I thank you all very much for any input on this post, I am torn and that's why I am asking all of this, I know that this is the car for me but I don't know if I am the right owner for this car, again I understand that the internet makes things look a lot worse than they are, and if I believed all the horror stories about things then there is no way that I would have purchased a Harley-Davidson! Being a mechanic I know how it really is between myth and reality but I am not as familiar with Porsche as you guys, so I respect any input you can give me, again thank you.