Well, it happened. IMS failure

[devonlmelton]

My excellent condition 2003 Boxster has metal shavings all over the oil filter. 85k 2.7, i haven't bore scoped yet but I'm sure it's toast. Engine still cranks but no start. Multiple engine codes thrown. Car is in really good shape, everything works top in great shape. Paint shiny and interior shows minimal wear. There were no check engine lights on, car was running good. I have owned it for 3 years and put about 4,000 mi on it, but I've changed the oil three times in that time. I always looked at the oil filter like the forums said. Never had any pesky check engine lights except for an airbag code which I figured out. I have a foxwell scanner. I bought the car for for $5,500, which I thought wasn't bad. At the time the only thing wrong with it was it needed new tires and the convertible top wasn't working because of broken plastic gears which I replaced with brass ones. I love the car and really enjoy driving it so I'm probably going to go ahead and put a new engine in. I'm fairly mechanically inclined so it doesn't overwhelm me but I am wondering if I should spend the extra money to go ahead and try to get an S engine or just get a replacement used 2.7? What do you guys think I know I'm not going to ever recoup my money out of it but yada yada I might as well fix it. Thank you