2001 986 for $5,500 good or bad?

[stelan]

I did not read the entire thing but why are people assuming this is a roller, that small oil leak can be a number of things and not the IMS bearing (it could be but it could be not) a high mileage boxster is almost a good thing since it was not an IMS lemon and it is somehow proven. I don't see this being a bad deal at all unless is certain that the IMS is going south, In my opinion of course

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by stelan

I did not read the entire thing but why are people assuming this is a roller, that small oil leak can be a number of things and not the IMS bearing (it could be but it could be not) a high mileage boxster is almost a good thing since it was not an IMS lemon and it is somehow proven. I don't see this being a bad deal at all unless is certain that the IMS is going south, In my opinion of course

IMS gets all the attention and debates, but there are many more likely causes for a high mileage engine to have issues that are rarely mentioned. Unless the car was enthusiast owned with at least one oil change per year the buyer has no way of knowing what's brewing. A leak down and compression test is an absolute must with any moderate to high mileage engine. One of our resident professional engine experts said that people not changing their water pumps every 4 or 5 years is what keeps a whole part of his business going... in other words an engine is far more likely to go down from a cracked head than a self-detonating IMS.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by stelan

I did not read the entire thing but why are people assuming this is a roller, that small oil leak can be a number of things and not the IMS bearing (it could be but it could be not) a high mileage boxster is almost a good thing since it was not an IMS lemon and it is somehow proven. I don't see this being a bad deal at all unless is certain that the IMS is going south, In my opinion of course

The concept was comparing this to a roller. Estimates say a roller is worth around $3500 - so if he takes the plunge on this and the risk - his risk is minimal as he should be able to turn around and sell it as a roller for around $3500. So whether it's IMS or any other issue - he's not investing a lot of cake.

In theory of course. Once the repairs start - it could end up being a very expensive proposition. But the theory is alright, provided the market stays where it is for rollers.

[Perfectlap]

^ Good point. You could easily spend the delta on booze and women in a single night.

Only downside is once you start driving a mid-engine Porsche roadster it's going to be mighty hard to go back to your wife....oops I mean your daily driver.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Giller

The concept was comparing this to a roller. Estimates say a roller is worth around $3500 - so if he takes the plunge on this and the risk - his risk is minimal as he should be able to turn around and sell it as a roller for around $3500.

This is a good point and a good theory - but it rarely works out this way. In reality, almost all new Porsche owners want to treat their new (to them) car well. So rather than drive it "as is" until the engine blows and sell it as a roller, it is far more likely that the buyer will sink double what he paid for the car into catching up the maintenance, repairs, and upgrades ..... and THEN the engine will will take a dump leaving him upside down in a big way.

Anyone willing to take a bet on a 180,000 mile M96 engine is a gambler and gamblers think that their luck will always come through so they never quit when ahead.

[seningen]

Look around -- similar cars with 1/2 the mileage are only a few K more.

I'm confident -- given 6 months you can find a $7500, 90K mile car well taken care of
and lots of records.

The price for maintenance on the car will be the same for both -- just the 180K is going to likely need a whole lot more.

What I suspect will happen -- is you buy the 180K mile car -- put some money into it -- then fall in love and keep putting good money after bad ....

You'll do the same with the lower mileage car -- but more than likely in 5 years -- you'll have spent more on the 180K car and it will be worthless -- and the lower mileage car will be still worth something and only have 120K miles on it.

Just my 0.02c -- and I've owned MANY Boxsters (more than 6....)

Mike


Mike