Faceman742

Hello everyone,

I have a 2000 Boxster S as of right now and a 2003 Miata in storage across the country ( aka at the parents place ). I was posted out to the west coast and I could not take the Miata. Both of which I am now looking to sell.

Anyway I have always loved Porsche's, especially the 911 in all of its forms. However, when I decided to buy one I could not find a decent one around me, and I didn't have a lot of time to look as I was doing stuff in the Military. I found a nice well kept Boxster S and pulled the trigger. I love the car and I maintain it very well, I opted to have a LN IMS installed, when I did the clutch a year or so ago.

I REALLY REALLY want a 911 now, but my dream ones the 964 and 993 are so much $ right now that I cannot and will not be able to buy a decent one. So I started looking at older 911 SC's and holy crap I should have bought one 5 ears ago

So now I am looking at 996's. Wow. Dirt Cheap compared to the others, and I know all the reasons why, IMS, non air cooled, Cylinder line issues, coolant issues etc.

I'm thinking of buying one in the near future, dropping in a LN IMS, and putting some $ into the car. I have a daily Driver, and the Boxster is parked underground in a secure lot.

Budget is at the most $40,000 CDN. I have noticed some turbos around the 50K mark which blows my mind when I think about it.

So what should I do here? Wait for a crappy 964 or 993 to some how appear, or find a decent SC, or buy a 996. I like the body style of the 996 and the inside is basically my Boxster.

I am pretty handy with cars, but I have no place to work except the parking stall which according to the condo people is a big no no. I have an Indy Mechanic who does all the work on the Boxster and he's great so I know he can help with the IMS fit, and getting the car up to speed.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Andrew

tokika

Talk you out of it? You've come to the wrong bar.

docmirror

A. Welcome to rennlist.

B. Thank you for your service to our country.

C. Boxster plus Miata? BBBBAAAAAAAhhahhhahhahhahahhahhahaaa! (you stepped into that one)

D. Yeah, if you want to hear about buying something other than a 996, maybe you want to go to the Ram truck forum, or the Skoda forum or something.

Go drive a few. They are a real value now, and if you get a good one, I think you'll be happy with the driving. DIY maint is ok if you have another car to drive while you're waiting for parts or info. I have been shopping for about 4 years, I finally grabbed one up. Having a lot of fun with it so far.

Turbojamie

You can buy a turbo 996 in Ontario for 40k easily and a well maintained one in excellent shape.

I paid 28k for my C4s in Ontario granted it had 100k on it 117k now I love mine you won't find me a previous c6 owner talking anyone out of a 911.

rotorite

<a href="https://imgflip.com/i/usqvs"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/usqvs.jpg" title="made at imgflip.com"/></a>

<p>Sorry, had to :P
I got a 996 for around that price, but if I had to do it again I would have saved more and gotten a turbo.

Faceman742

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yes I have heard all of the Miata/Boxster Jokes, the miata was my entry into the world of Auto X and Track days.

There are a few nice ones in Ontario right now. Two 4S models and some others. I think the turbo might be to much of a car for me to deal with, and I don't know how much more of a pain in the butt they are to maintain. Turbos have always been out of my budget so I have not really even explored that option.

The title was a bit of a joke. I don't expect anyone to say anything bad about the cars

Also, I served in the Canadian Military. However, I did work with the US Military from time to time.

Atrox

Turbos are cheaper to maintain. You're man card will be returned to you once you get rid of those and buy a 996.

ejdoherty911

If you can try and find a 2002-2004 C4S. There are some real bargains out there right now and I think the 4S may hold value a bit more. If you're going to replace the IMSB then maybe a car with the original bearing is slightly more desirable, when you remove it you will know exactly what you're working with.

FRUNKenstein

Coolant issues?
996 is a great car. You get 90% of the turbo experience at 50% of the cost. I understand from other posts here that importing a 996 into Canada is no big deal, so you may want to broaden your search to US cars. Both this forum and the 996tt forum have active Craigslist finds threads, so check those regularly for some good deals.

Faceman742

Coolant issues. I thought I read somewhere that there were some issues with the coolant tank, or caps. I can't recall offhand.

I am looking all over the place for a car. However my $ is at 75% or less then the US $. So buying a car from the states costs at least 25% more then the asking price. Also, I will pay a tax when I import it. 9% or more % of what the book value is, not what I paid for it. The car will need day time running lights, and child restraint system installed ( so a car seat can go in). My Boxster is an American car but I did not import it.

I have spent the last few days looking over Flat 6 innovations. I have done all the prevent work to the Boxster, maybe I should just keep it instead of buying an unknown 996 and doing the work all over again.

These cars scare the hell out of me sometimes haha.

pfbz

Early coolant caps leaked and coolant overflow reservoir tanks sometimes split or leaked, both are relatively easy and inexpensive DIY fixes. There are also water pump issues, mostly that if the water pump fails, it can leave pieces of the impeller blade sitting in the passages and partially block coolant flow, causing other issues. Again water pump replacement is a relatively easy DIY project, recommended as preventative maintenance at xx,000 mile intervals (30K-50K depending on who you ask).

Turbo's had a nasty habit of blowing off their glued-on coolant pipes, especially during track days. A not-so-easy and not-so-cheap fix (typically requires dropping the engine) and makes IMS bearing replacement look cheap.

Reading the Flat6 website before buying a 996 is like reading about salmonella Thanksgiving morning... Very low odds but likely going to ruin the experience anyway.

Many of the folks on this forum are not overly concerned with the IMS bearing... Yes, it's a risk. Change the oil frequently, use good quality oil, swap the IMS bearing whenever the transmission is down for other work, and if your particularly paranoid, install a guardian detection system to give you early warning of an IMS failure. Plenty of 100K mile 996's still running track days and driving daily on the original bearing.

pfbz

ummm no.

Go ask your dealer or indy how many hours to do a spark plug change on a turbo. Or to pin/weld the coolant pipes. Or to repair the rear spoiler transmission. Or repair a leaky front differential. All of which are pretty common Turbo issues...

The Mezger engine is a great engine and avoids the IMS bearing issue as well as other M96 engine problems, but 'cheap to maintain', especially if you bring it to a shop, is not the Turbo's strong point.

Atrox

All of those are still cheaper to fix than ims, pinning the hoses isn't necessary unless you are tracking it. Coils/plugs and spoiler can all be fixed without involving an Indy. Ims isn't for the the average diyer

Turbojamie

OP what's your location? There is a mint turbo for under 40k for sale in my town in Ontario.

AWDGuy

$40k budget?

I'd definitely stay away from NA 996 and go with a turbo. absolutely, 100%. lol

or, if youre insane (or stupid) like me, go with NA 996 and build the motor to address all the known failing points.

about the same price as a turbo.