Hi
I am new here. Last few days i have been searching some buyers guide for 987 boxster, but basically find nothing complete.
Car in question:

-2006 model
-92000km
-2 owners
-full service history from autocarrera (last big service 86000km including sparkplugs and new michelin pilot tyres)
-silver
-alcantara/leather seats, bose audio, auto a/c, 18" boxter s alloys, porsche sport exhaust system.

It is really fine condition, i have been in the dealer maybe 4 times just to look it.. and also testdrive was fun. Only fault was that maybe front tyres are little bit out of weighting because steering wheel was little bit vibrating when driving 100kmh. Another thing, maybe exhaust manifold or not.. when car is idling inside dealers hall i can hear little leaking noise from left. It is like exhaust manifold is broken, the sound is not loud.. but you can hear it when you listen.
Hmm.. and the brakes, front discs have little edge and basically are semi-worn. How much set of discs and pads would be?
There was no any problems about braking performance tough.

I am maybe too much concerned about how expensive car it is to own. Insurance itself is over 1000€ / year /of course it is only driven in summer.
Is there still problems with oil leaks, and IMS bearing?
There was coolant level in the bottom line when engine was cold, should i walk away? My previous cars has been basically BMW and never had any expensive engine related problems, but now i have seen some IMS / rod bolt etc. stuff related to M96 engine and i am not so rich guy, so i am afraid engine failure and garaging car because low of money to buy new engine..

Sorry my english..

Antti / Finland

 

Hello Antti! First thing I would recommend is to have an independent car shop that is expert at Porsche do a PPI (pre-purchase inspection). In the US it might cost $300 or so but they can quickly identify the list of issues that might exist on the car, as well as give you ideas what it would cost to fix them. Is the car at a Porsche dealer? Sounds like probably not, but if it is and it is what's called CPO (certified pre-owned) here, it's probably in good shape and should have some kind of Porsche warranty too.

IMS bearings are still a problem through the 2008 model year (until the 9A1 motor which has no intermediate shaft) but less likely a problem than in the 986 cars. If you're worried you can upgrade the bearing to the LN Engineering ceramic part. For the 2006 motor it can be done without splitting the engine case apart. It is an expensive job because of the labor so you might have the clutch replaced, RMS replaced, etc.

When I did my IMS in my 996, I paid about $1800 for labor and the LNE bearing, but it was worth the peace of mind. Of course, in my case I then had some other kind of catastrophic engine failure likely due to oil starvation. However, that was on a race track on R-compound (stickier) tires, and very unlikely to occur for most people.

Good luck with your search!

 

Hi and thanks for your reply

Car is currently for sale in mercedes-benz dealer. Nearest porsche dealer/service is located 230km from here and i think it will be difficult to get there for inspection. Car has been sold by porsche dealer and some kind of check has been made may 2011. It has been driven 6000km after that.
I am very tempted to buy that car, but i am worried for that complex engine.

 

Today heading to test slk350 r171 & Z4 3.0i.. i will tell more later.
Still really really interested about boxster. Isnt that enough if i listen that ims / engine is not rattling and schedule oil change to porsche dealer as soon as possible to use dealers warranty if there is something wrong?

 

A dealer doesn't have to inspect the car, are there any Porsche independent mechanic shops nearby?

Those other cars you're planning to test will not compare to a Porsche. Most likely you will have no problems with the 987 but if you don't know about Porsches and the Mercedes dealer doesn't either, I would recommend having it looked at by someone who does know about Porsches. Maybe you can find some local Porsche Club members to help you look at it, if nothing else? Find their website and see if there is a forum or emails.

 

Also, if the Mercedes dealer offers a warranty, make sure it covers EVERYTHING and you could get it checked out afterwards by the Porsche dealer (if no local independents). Sometimes the warranty doesn't cover everything or has a limit on the amount of cost they will cover, so be sure you understand the details.

 

The steering feel might be due to imbalanced tires but it might be helped along by bad alignment.

Now bad alignment might be just that -- alignment goes out over time/miles -- but it might be due to accident damage that was not repaired properly.

The noise you describe may be as you guess, exhaust related -- I'm not at the car and can't of course offer any opinion based on hearing the noise -- but it might be an internal engine noise which can be a sign of something seriously amiss.

Being you are so far away from a dealer you either need some shop close by that can eliminate serious and poorly repaired accident damage as the source of what you feel through the steering wheel and confirm the noise is indeed comiing from an exhaust leak -- that is not due to sub-par repair/service work -- and can be rather easily and inexpensively fixed or you need to walk away from the car.

Given your isolation and distance from a Porsche dealer I'd suggest you need to find an example that your thorough inspection//check out turns up nothing negative.

If you can't give up on this car at least give it a thorough test drive. 15 miles as a passenger and 15 miles over the same route as a driver. Try to experience the car in a variety of scenarios. You want to verify the engine, and in fact the entire car, behaves ok in stop/go driving, cruising, hard acceleration and does this for some miles and after remaining at operating temperature for some time.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

A good guide to buying a used Boxster is: Porsche Boxster & Cayman: Ultimate Buyer's Guide by Peter Morgan. If you can't find a copy, you are welcome to mine.



+1 to what Macster said about the alignment. Have them check the wheel and front end alignment. If the problem still exists, it could be that one wheel hit something and it is now bent. The tires would have to be removed to look for it.

 

It seems that the car has some problems to fix. BMW is also one of the great cars for me. I got mine from a dealership I had in Houston. As soon as I got there, there was somebody out to help me immediately. It was the ideal amount of time to look before I got the help I needed. That is why I really liked the BMW car dealership I found in Houston that gave me the ideal time to look first. I used a fantastic website to help find that car dealership. Take a look here.

 

Uh, is this spam?

 

Yes... Pure, raw stinky spam.