dgcate

My g/f is looking at a 2001 Boxter w/ only 56k miles and an asking price of only $11,900!

"Back in the day"....11 grand wouldn't buy a 10 year old Porsche with an engine even in it!

Can these cars really be bought for this kind of money? Is it the reliablity, the numbers built? What's making these cars so cheap?

"I haven't a clue as to what you're getting. We'll learn together".. is my reply when she asks "What 'da ya think?"

What's the deal w/ these cheap Porsches?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks

ps...she's looking for something to just drive on the weekends. I know she'll be unhappy with maintence issues. Performance isn't an issue.

Thanks

kcpaz

M96... enough said.

Diehard914

Look halfway down this page and read about the post on IMS failure prevention. I have loved the Boxster since the protocar was shown in the auto show before release pre '97. Now that I can afford a used one I am scared to death to drop the money and then loose the engine months later. This is not a late in life failure, most of these cars fail when other cars are still considered young. Consequently it has not done much for resale. Porsche has also done a lousy job of standing behind their product, warranty or not, no engine in this nice a car should fail after 50-60K or anywhere under 100K miles. It is also an obvious failure that could be easily separated from abuse or poor maintenance. Not all cars fail so you could load a bullet in the chamber, spin the cylinder and give the trigger a pull, it might not happen to you.

Current owner of 2 914's, 911SC, and a 928S4 and I hate that I can't have failth in a Boxster.
Diehard

kcpaz

$11K for a Boxster, and do you want to guess what it's worth if the engine fails?... Bottom line is, the M96 is the root cause of any excuse that anybody can come up with for the low values of the Boxster, and the values will continue to drop until the M96 becomes significantly more affordable to rebuild... assuming that will even happen. Do you think they would be anything less than $25K right now if Porsche had use the GT1 based engine in the Boxsters?


I absolutely LOVE Boxsters and Caymans for their chassis... but HATE their engines. I have my solution figured out... it will be interesting to see what others come up with...

lizSter

I had a 2001 Boxster for 1.5 years, put about 20k miles on it and had zero issues. Normal maintenance, drove it fast and occasionally hard.

It's a great fun car, my wife loved it. Unfortunately, a percentage have the IMS issue that causes everyone that doesn't have the problem to wonder if their turn is next. I sold mine with 75k miles for $12,500 in Summer of 2010 to make room for my 993 (which my wife doesn't like - but I do).

I'd buy another Boxster but will get a Cayman S next.

kcpaz

If the IMS bearing was the only problem, it wouldn't be that big if a deal. Most engines have one quirk or another. The M96 however has more than a few failure modes that require expensive repairs. D-chucked cylinders, dropped sleeves, heads that are prone to crack, rods that bend or break, AOS systems that fail and cause big issues....

Yeah, there are plenty of people who own the cars and never have any problems, but the "fear" that people have about engine failures is not based on myth and there IS a disproportionate amount of engine failures compared to most modern engines. There are fixes and rebuilds that can be done... but its not cheap and you could very easily spend over half the value of the car on a rebuilt engine.. and sometimes more than the value of the car depending on how many fixes you include.

lizSter

yep, plenty (too many) of people that have had problems and plenty that have none. Fortunately I had none and loved the car.

Though I agree, the M96 has issues. Life is a crap shoot sometimes. Buy a more dependable build, pay more.

For $11k, you can have a great little car that has some built in risk. If the engine fails, that does suck but it was fun while it lasted. Hopefully you will have enjoyed it for a good long spell before anything evil occurs.

No one should buy a Porsche without having a few extra $s available for fixes. Or be willing to sell the smoldering hull for parts.

Bottom line, get a PPI, buy the car, do good maintenance, and hopefully the gods will smile on you. Or invest her $11k in something boring and wish that you were cruising with the top down come Spring.

Just my opinion, YMMV

Charlie C

Just to set the record straight, the M96 is also in the 911 until the recent engine redesign.

kcpaz

Yeah, but this is the Boxster forum, not the 996 forum. And let's be honest, the 911 is THE PORSCHE flagship... and because of that, it seems to get a pass on the heavy depreciation that the Boxster suffers from. Even still, have you seen what's happening to the early 996 prices? Some for less than $17k.

eric523

The internet really is bad place for the M96...
The problems are real, but the numbers are less than 5% of all motors. I race my stock 135k mile motor and it takes every minute of it. Replaced the IMS bearing at 133k and it was in great condition

Byprodriver

I agree with most of this, but the key is you can buy the funnest car ever made for half what it's worth & worst case senario is you may have to pay the other half!

kcpaz

I know there are other racers who have stories just like Eric's, but then there are people who's engines fail at less than 50K mi. so how do you explain that as a manufacture? I don't believe anybody's estimates when it comes to actual percentages because the truth is, there is no way to know. Imagine how many were replaced early on by dealers under warranty, and how many go unreported because the owners of the cars don't regularly post on forums.

I don't really think the issue is the number of failures (although there are many)so much as the kind of failures. It's the nature of the failures, and fact that people expect more when they buy a product from a company like Porsche. Hopefully they got it right with the 9A1 engine.

BPG_Austin

Byprodriver, great perspective. I'm considering a high mileage early Boxster at the moment. If/when it comes time to sink money into it, its time for kcpaz's unique solution. Hopefully he'll have kits or individual parts for sale at some point. But, I'm not a purist by any means and enjoy the creative cars.

BPG_Austin

BTW, I think this thread is the most action the boxster forum has seen in quite a while. Awesome!

kcpaz

It's happening, no doubt about it.

I know there are people who are loyal to the brand no matter what, and nothing will change their mind. Porsche has a lot to their credit and success, but I don't think history will be kind to the M96 engine.