mueber

Hi Folks,

I am completely new to this forum, and I hope you can help me out.

I found several Boxsters for sale. One is from a reputable Porsche dealer in Fort Wayne. Two are at a disreputable used car lot in a nearby town, and the other is at a used car dealer in Indy, a firm I do not know much about.

How would you approach buying a Boxster given the IMS bearing issues? The Porsche salesman said he didn't know anything about it, but his service department manager does. The used car dealers, "It's new to me, but our Boxster runs great." Have any of you been successful in getting a better deal on a 1998-2001 Boxster buy pointing out the bearing issue?

My first thought is to ask the Porsche dealership to install a replacement bearing at their expense, and see what they say. The used car dealerships could be out of business tomorrow, so supposing I can't get them to price below the Kelly Blue Book Value, would you risk buying one from a used car lot?

Thanks,
Mark

Robert Adams

Hi I'm Bob i am also new so I'm not a Porsche expert. I just purchased a 2000 Boxster S. I purchased mine from an elderly gentleman that could no longer get in and out of the car. He is a member of the Porsche owners club. He had all the documentation from new. He also raced Porsche cars in the 50s. Find the Porsche owners club in your Area. You can join even if you don't own one. They have breakfast meetings and social events. You may find someone who is willing to provide advice and guidance. I would budget money to pay a independent Porsche shop to do pre purchase inspection and you could also just plan on installing a clutch kit and IMS kit which will set you back about 3k. The former owner of my Boxster did the clutch and IMS bearing just before I bought it and had documentation for the work. Hope this helps.
Bob

mueber

Hi Bob,

Sound advice. Thank you very much.

Mark

vu.q.le

KBB is notorious for not being accurate.
IMS issue is way overrated. I'm more worried of low mileage Porsches especially when they are under 40k miles.

Spend $350 to get the Durametric tool to find out how often the car has been redline.

For piece of mind, spend $1200 to upgrade IMS.

No dealer will do it for free.

I have no fear of buying a porsche without the IMS upgrade. It all depends.

Don't let the IMS scare you

Motobob

Why don't you look for a Boxster from a current Porsche owner or PCA member who has owned and knows the car they are selling. I would not buy a Boxster off some use car lot. Previously from Fort Wayne In. :-) Go IU. Bob

2001 Boxster S

Dino V

Find one with good maintenance history and routine maintenance performed.

optistar

the florida dealer I traded it to has it listed on ebay for 14900
he put a new top on it too.
was a great car for me..
good luck

brjak

Just bought a 97 boxster last year. I was more concerned with regular maintenance and proper records, over the IMS issue.

Privateer

I just bought a 2001 Boxter S with 39000 miles on It although I researched the car I was blissfully unaware of the IMS problems until I read about the horror stories on the forums .
Now most of those stories could be exaggerated but I am just a little worried about the IMS issue especially since my car has low miles , so for peace of mind April 1st It goes in for a retrofit .

I new I should have bought that M3