+1 We're a fraternity with mutual interests and bonded together via these great cars.

Hm, i don't know what cheap water pump exactly means. A water pump is not a rocket design peace of engineering. You have a chassis, a bearing, a seal, an impeller and a drive shaft. In general these parts have to be manufactured and pressed together with some precision and it will work. In Germany they start at around 120 Euro (135 USD) and go up to 350 Euro (395 USD) for after market water pumps for the 986.

If you use a well known after market brand, why shouldn't that work?

And where exactly is the difference in the double the price water pump? Longlivety? Precision? And is that worth double the price? I mean these pumps are no rocket design. And if you ask me i don't see what part of it can be more in price difference than 10 Euros in purchase price of bearings or other elements. Same to precision. So do i buy the brand name with a 200-300% price upgrade? At least i don't understand.

My other car needed a new water pump. OEM from MB was 350 Euros (approx. 395 USD). Bought a SKF brand for 90 Euros (approx. 101 USD). Yes, if i took a very close look you see slight quality differences in the aluminium cast. The OEM is perfect. The SKF is 99,95%. But does that matter? And everything else looked the same and also the axle and everthing else feels solid.

Can't tell how long it will last, we will see. Also the OEM lastet only 100 TKm (62K miles).

Just my 2 cents
Markus

A $150 water pump is not likely to break apart unless it is used well beyond it's expected service life. So is one stamped "Porsche". I have an original water pump that broke up and put debris all through the cooling system. The only symptom was that the car gradually overheated.
I would have rather had the previous owner install a $100 pump at the appropriate time.
Buy a Boxster and not sure how old the water pump is? Replace it.

Totally understand your point.

But the general thinking is that the person who installs a $100 water pump would likely never do so preventatively.

I guess the thing I don't get is how many folks have claimed to have had to R/R their water pumps as 40-60K miles, yet swear one should pay a premium to replace with a pump like the pump that just failed.

Sorry, can't help myself.

Does anybody ever pull the engine cover off, remove the belt, grab the pulley to check it for play before just replacing it based on the mileage/calendar? Usually pump bearings get noisy and/or develop a bit of play. Then the seal starts to weep before it grenades. I understand that the plastic impeller condition can't be seen without pulling it.

I am good with proactively maintaining a vehicle. X/O an expensive OEM pump with OEM antifreeze that is equally pricey just cuz seems unwarranted IMHO?

I mean no disrespect to dissenting opinions and I have apologized to the Porsche deity in advance of this posting.

IMHO waiting 'till you have a wobble or weep is kind of like waiting until you see chunks of steel in your oil filter before you change the IMS bearing. You are fixing a problem after it has likely damaged your engine.
If you don't like the price of parts from Porsche, there is plenty of aftermarket support for our cars. Just do a little research and know what you are buying if you go to an outside supplier.
For example, Know that if you go with another brand of coolant, you need to flush all of the unicorn-derived fluid out of the system first. Avoid coolants that aren't Phosphate and Silicate free. I don't need a "lifetime" fluid, because I'm dumping it in the river every few years.

disclaimer: This is my unejukated advice. I get bored reading more than a page or two into the manuals. Do your own research. ;)

For those who are interested, I just bought a Porsche brand pump from Sunset for $237.

Hm, my point is that Porsche doesn't produce water pumps and other parts themselves. They get them from suppliers. Maybe the supplier has a special contract with Porsche and has to guarantee a specific quality control, but the product itself is the same. So if you know the supplier, why pay an upgraded price on the same product in a Porsche labeled box?

Didn't say you should pay the cheapest product, but why not buy a good quality product from a well known after market supplier that also supplies Porsche and save a lot of money?

Just my 2 cents
Markus

Because the delta between the price of the "Porsche Approved" and aftermarket is negligible given the crucial importance of the component and the number of miles that will be achieved. You may be correct, it may be the case of paying a premium for no reason but how do you know with absolute certainty? Is risking the engine worth a hundred USD? This is not a component one should be trying to save 1% of their total vehicle maintenance spending. Buy cheaper tires, brake pads, spark plugs, etc. if you want but water cooled means water cooled.