Porsche Boxster S (986)

I recall hearing the fix to engines nuking themselves was to just swap in a 911 engine, which bolts into place, doesn't have the reliability problems, and makes more power.

>Under $20k

All day long

Look at a Corvette Z06 or a S2000. E46 M3s are nice too, they've been the benchmark for a FR Sports Car for the last 10 years.

Price out a 911 engine, lol.

A sc'd s2000 would probably be faster, cheaper, and more reliable to be honest

I'll check em out. Imo the Boxster S is a league above the S2000, but the vette is tempting. E46 M3 is pretty cool too.

IMS issues are most prominent in cars with under 80k miles. If its survived this long, chances are that this wont be an issue. But if OP wants to play it safe, he should just look for one with a fixed IMS bearing.

I could also just save up and go for an M97 equipped motor, from the 987

Bump

I had one.

You can take it to a 1 hr oil change place like any other car. Or do it yourself if you have access to a lift, or at least, ramps. And no, maintenance intervals are not short, they are pretty long for a late-90s early-00s car. It's only expensive because the oil reservoir is huge.

Tires are a bit expensive due to the size and profile, but you get good life out of the tires because the car is light and the alignment is easy on the tires.

Pros: Lot's of fun. The handling is direct and intuitive. The feedback is so precise you can feel exactly when the tire sidewalls roll over and exactly when the tires are at their limit. It's as close as you can get to "strapping on an engine" as you can get in a relatively modern car.

Cons: IMS issue. Plastic rear window (up to 2002).

I'm gonna research and see how difficult it is to do the ims bearing myself. Thanks for the info

The IMS bearing can be replaced pretty easily when doing a clutch job and it's not e very expensive part. Shouldn't add much.

Cool. I read that the "dual row" ims bearing is the one to replace it with. The original "single row" bearing has an 8% failure rate according to this PDF I found. The dual row one has less than 1% failure rate

IMS problems didn't really start to mid year 01 i think, or at least that is what I have read as i'm strongly considering getting one for my daughter.

>with a fixed IMS bearing
Of course it's been fixed friend, here's the paper.

seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/5892532229.html

What do you guys think about this one? The guy selling it is a family friend/neighbor, seems like a good guy

Get a Cayman instead, unless you really prefer the option of a convertible on the Boxster over the practical storage-space of the Cayman.

No talk of IMS bearing means the issue has been neglected and you'll be the goat.

You're probably right. Honestly though I don't have an issue doing this myself. I have access to a lift + tools

Cayman is another option.

>The most common deficiency with the M96 engine and its revisions through 2008 is the failure of the ball-bearing found in the intermediate shaft. The intermediate shaft found in the M96 and later M97 engine was revised three times. The earliest design incorporated a dual-row ball-bearing used through model year 1999 and in some 2000 and 2001 models. Starting in model year 2000, Porsche began phasing out the dual row bearing and went to a smaller single row,
with significantly less load capacity. From model year 2002 -2006, all engines used this smaller, lower capacity bearing. Starting with the 2006 model year, the design was again revised to use a much larger single row bearing with the same load capacity of the early dual-row ball-bearings. This bearing increased in diameter, which increased the bearing and ball speed, further improving the bearing. However, starting with the 2006 model year, Porsche in its third revision
of the intermediate shaft bearing, changed over to a design that is not serviceable, leaving later model years with no recourse for addressing this issue with preventative maintenance, which failures still frequent. In all revisions, a sealed ball-bearing was used, rather than allowing for engine oil to lubricate and cool the ball-bearing. There is no recommended service interval for these bearings nor provisions for their replacement from the factory. However, with model year
1997 through 2005 engines, the intermediate shaft bearing thankfully is serviceable and with preventative maintenance, costly repairs can be prevented.

so basically Porsche is retarded is what I'm getting from this

>so basically Porsche is retarded is what I'm getting from this
Yes, but the Boxster/Cayman is a great car, which is why they're so retarded regarding it; they accidentally made a platform that would be better than the 911, if they just gave it a better engine.

Wheeler Dealers has an episode where they got the exact same model, a Boxster S, around the same year, for $1500 because german shit just explodes after 80k. Guy selling it knew it was worthless and nobody even on a porsche forum was biting.

Your 20k figure could get you:
An excellent S2000
2 crappy S2000s
6 miatas
literally anything else

germany sucks

I have the Boxster. Porsche, there is no alternative...

i own one

its good

transmission is a nightmare when its cold, brake pedal is heavy and some heating insulation rots on these and 996's and you have weird black pieces of foam flying out of your AC vents.

IMS isn't really a worry if you change it out with each clutchjob.

besides that its been a lot more reliable than the Z4

I like it a lot though, it's a lot more refined than any other roadster i've owned. (Owned a Z4 and a Miata) There's a lot less rattles and squeaks, even with the hardtop.

looks good

it's a little weird though.

Its a 2003 with no OBC (You can tell by the font on the mileage) which is uncommon, yet it has Cruise

It's a 2003 though, which means its essentially got the highest output engine possible excluding the last edition. And it also has rear speakers, which is something my boxster lacks and makes the stereo sound like complete shit.

this

caymans are the best porsche you can buy RN in terms of handling and bang for buck. Caymans don't suffer from ims issues, atleast the S versions.

A lot of owners replaced it in the 00s already.

>Caymans don't suffer from ims issues, atleast the S versions.
Wrong. All water cooled non turbo flat six engines made by Porsche have the potential for ims failure. The single bearing from 2002ish to 2006 being the most prone to failure

did you replace the IMS already?

It's less than 1% chance though

911 engines in 996 and 997 still had IMS issues. they're easy to replace with aftermarket ones though.