There’s a lot of obstacles for a young person getting in the car hobby that patience, friends and money will overcome. You might find a PPI from an independent shop worth the money if they will go over it with you. I did that twice on a 928 and a 987 and each case avoided cars with hidden issues and budget busters.

If you cannot access the car’s history be very careful. Is the lure of the $5000 asking price influencing more than it should? I wound up with a 2000 S and “bought the owner-not the car”. Water pump, battery, and fluid changes have been done by me. I had IMS, RMS and AOS done right at 60k by an Indy. In the Atlanta market I am at break even on what I have in the car.

Create a budget. Figure out what Boxster service work you will tackle and price the parts and supplies. Then plan for a few contingencies… they come with most older cars.

If this car was cared for and you only have the issues mentioned, I’d consider it. At least go drive a couple of other 986’s for sale so you have something to compare to the 2000.

Good luck and if you don’t buy this one, keep developing a network. You never know what might come your way.

 

A older Boxster is an expensive car to maintain even if you do lots of the work yourself. Wait till you are out of school. There is a time for a sports car and there is a time for practicality. My sports cars were after college and after the kids college days were done.

 

Wow, that's kind of sad, actually. I've owned some sort of sports or performance car since I was in my early 20s. Through my military service, two marriages, three kids, a couple of houses, and so on. If you shop smart, compromise where you must, and can swing a wrench, there's no reason to wait. Not doing what you love isn't living, it's surviving.

My wife said to me once: "The problem with sports cars is that you can't afford them when you're young enough to look cool driving them."

 

Couple thoughts….
A car of that mileage and price, you may want to consider if you want to spend half of the purchase price replacing the IMS. I have an 01 with the LN solution, so I’m not discouraging it, just saying that you are interested in the car because it’s $5,000 right? If you are going to buy it and get the IMS done and the other odds and ends you mention, you may want to just add a few more dollars and get a cleaner example from the start. If it were me, maybe just buy the car and drive the wheels off it. I don’t think I would spend the money on the IMS for that car.

all of that said, go for it! They are fun cars.