Maybeboxster

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to purchase an 05 boxster 5 speed from a private party. The car has 115k miles on it but from driving it, it seems like it is in good condition. Wealthy family purchased it from a BMW dealership and put less than 2k miles on it in four months. New tires and breaks and cosmetically a 7/10. I'd pick it up for 7.5k which is a great deal but I'm worried about the reliability of the car. Anyone know when the IMS bearing tends to go out or if there are any other major conerns?

Side note: I see this year boxster has two different steering wheels. This one has the rounded, not triangular one. Is this an upgraded one? I can't find any information on it.

Thank you!

wizee

$7500 USD is super cheap for a 987, even for one with high mileage. If it's mechanically sound and doesn't have any accident history, I'd say it's worth at least $12k USD, probably more like $13k. If anything, I'd be a bit suspicious why it's being sold so cheap. For reference, at least in Canada, a comparable high mileage 987 would list for around $20k CAD and sell for around $18k CAD. I bought my own 987 Boxster for $20k CAD after 3+ months of searching. It had some cosmetic blemishes when I bought it (I'd rate it a 6/10, I had to spend some money to bring it up to my standards). It was the cheapest 987 in the country then, and would still be today (excluding damaged cars being sold as is).

I have a 2006 myself (which has the larger more durable IMS bearing). I believe most 2005 models have the problematic small IMS bearing, but some late ones have the larger upgraded (but non-replaceable) version. IMS bearing failures are seemingly random and unpredictable, so I'd suggest biting the $2k bullet to have it changed before it might fail. Less than 10% of the problematic small bearings fail, but I'd rather not be part of that 10% if I were in your position.

I'd suggest a PPI by an independent mechanic, though I'd be a hypocrite as I bought mine on the spot without a PPI. My own experience with reliability has been fantastic - zero problems in the past two years of ownership.

Maybeboxster

Thank you! They purchased it from an authorized bmw dealer and put 2k miles on it so I'd assume it has already been inspected. They were offered 6k trade in which is why they're entertaining my 7.5k. How can you check if it is a late 05 model?

wizee

Regarding inspection, I wouldn't assume anything. The best bet is a PPI, but at the very least give it a thorough spirited test drive, and a look underneath for any visible damage. If everything is in order, these cars should have superb handling and braking. You will feel the texture of the road through the steering wheel, and every little crack in the pavement. It's normal for these cars to feel sluggish under 3000 RPM, but the torque rises over 4000 RPM, and they should pull hard and wail beautifully from 4500-7000 RPM, particularly in the first two gears. It's a good idea to try a second 987 to get a feel for how they should drive.

You can get the build date from a VIN lookup, but I don't know the exact date the switch happened. I don't even know if there is a hard cutoff date - the rumours I've heard online suggest that for a few months they built some cars with the big IMS bearing, and some with the small bearing. The only definitive way to tell would be to examine the engine, but you need to separate the engine from the transmission to see it, so it's not an easy thing to check.

One other thing: is it a manual or a tiptronic? Manual transmission versions are worth significantly more than the tiptronic (for performance reasons). For that mileage, a tiptronic may be worth $11k USD while a manual would be worth around $13k USD.

Maybeboxster

It's a 5 speed. It drives amazingly but I'm just afraid the engine will grenade itself. I've never owned a porsche before and I don't want to start out with a bad one.

Also, any idea about the different steering wheels?

wizee

Have the IMS bearing changed if it's the small one, then don't worry. If it's the big bearing, don't worry, as failures are extremely rare. On the bigger engined S models, bore scoring can be an issue on some cars, but it doesn't seem very common on the 2.7L motors.

The most common minor issue on all water cooled Porsches is that the water pumps tend to fail after a while. If you catch it too late, the impeller can break apart and send bits of plastic throughout the coolant channels in the engine, which can difficult to clean out. Treat the water pump as a wear item to replace every 60k miles. My own car had the pump replaced before I bought it. Apart from that, they're very reliable cars. You can look up other minor niggles that may pop up online.

The steering wheel you mentioned is probably the optional "Sport Design" wheel: http://www.purserandluxfordcars.co.u...20-640x466.jpg

Jamie140

$7,500?

How could you go wrong?

That Boxster would be tons of fun.

ibdavid

Mine has 183,xxx miles and runs fantastic, in fact just had it out this weekend and it was sooo nice! As Jamie said, lot's of Pcar fun can be had with that car @ 7500.00. I would just hope they changed the oil very regularly.

Milehigh981

GTA_G20

Steering wheels with round air bags are upgraded usually with sports seats and sport Chrono but not always both. Standard 987.1 steering wheels are inverse triangle and that is on most base and S models .