choosing my first boxter

[mikefocke]

Every car ever built has some design weaknesses.

You know so much about the Boxster because we love them and obsess over them because they are such great cars and fun to drive.

I've read/written on forums and blogged over the years about the IMS. I knew about the IMS when I bought a '01S.

My previous Boxster was a '99 2.5 and I actually liked driving it more because it had a smaller motor and it was more about the driver and not just a big engine I could seldom use all of. I could put my foot down harder and longer and still keep my license.

No car that cost the equivalent of what the Boxster cost new is going to have a $25 engine you can swap in in a couple of hours like a Model A. Everything is more complex. And IF you have big engine problems in a Boxster, it won't be cheap.

My 2 Boxsters were more economical year for year and mile for mile than my Honda and Acura of the same model years. And the Boxsters were bought used as third owner where the Honda and Acura were bought new.

IMHO the ideal car is a '04S whose clutch, brakes, IMS, RMS, water pump and AOS have just been done with quality parts by the best Porsche water-cooled specialist mechanic in town. But few sell those kind of cars, they are maintained by people who intend to keep them forever. The next best is one where the best mechanic in town went over the car for 2-3 hours (PPI) and told you and the seller exactly what it needed to put it in a state of highest probability of future reliability. And the PPI helped you pay a fair price, fair to you and the seller.

There is no guarantee.

[husker boxster]

Welcome Alan!

I'm assuming your 14K budget is Pounds not dollars, so that would be approx. $21K. That should get you into the 987 range (or 2004 and newer in Britain). The 987 had an IMS change roughly in 2006 that was a bigger IMS that barely failed. But it's a design that cannot be changed w/o tearing the engine apart. Any Boxster from 1999 - 2005 (in British yrs) would have an IMS that can be replaced by just removing the trans but leaving the engine in place.

I own 2 987s and I don't worry about IMS. I even DE one of them and some ppl say that's not good either. Who knows? I do know I enjoy both every day. Find one that's been well maintained and you'll be glad you did.