Longtime 911 owner ready for water cooled transition

[Sunroof]

I am jumping over here from the 911 BBS, being a 911 owner for over 40 years. I am planning on selling my 1973.5T 911 since the prices have gone quite high. My air cooled buddies call me nuts as we can be a bit fanatic at times, but as I am close to retirement and I want to avoid the "garage queen, only drive on Sundays", classic car mind set and enjoy some daily dependable and exciting driving, which the Boxster and Cayman provide. I am well aware of the bearing issues among other things with these cars and am pleased Wayne finally published a 101 Projects book to make the home mechanics maintenance and repair work more palatable. Trust me , the same book for the 911 saves big $$$$$ on repair at a shop. That was a motivator! I came to this board though for some education on these cars as I am not sure which years were the worst and what year they finally eliminated the problem (2007? 2008?). I am aware that even the 99's can be good cars if the mileage is high and maintenance kept up which indicates a bearing failure may just not occur. I want to avoid though the worst years or those models that have greater odds of bearing failure. I will work with a budget of about 25K and see where that gets me. Any suggestions on model years?

Thanks
Bob

[mikefocke]

There are no reliable statistics on failure rates of the bearings. As someone who has followed this issue for over 10 years on 6 forums a day, my bet is the first and third generation IMS failure rates are below 1%. Second generation was admitted to by Porsche as 10% so 2000-2005.5ish cars are the most at risk.

Major design refreshes were done at 2005 and 2009 (when the IMSless engine was introduced).

I came from '60s Alfas and a '70 914. I found the Boxster (99 and 01S) delightful and reliable and cheap for me to maintain. Others have had differing experiences.

The ideal car would be one which needs a clutch and is priced accordingly. While in there, do the IMS and you probably have the best bang for the buck.

It is always a tradeoff between cost and age, mileage, condition, service history, willingness to allow a pre-purchase inspection, location, season, etc. Drive several. Find a seller with motivation and reason to sell that makes sense. Choose the water-cooled Porsche mechanic before you choose the car

[wnsgc]

Hi Bob,

I'm in the process of doing the same thing - sort of... The price of my 85 Targa has shot up substantially (from the price I paid), and I was planning to sell it for a Boxster. Instead, I decided to keep my 85 911 and buy a Boxster anyway...

I'm in the process of purchasing a 2000 Boxster (base model), with 63k miles on it and a factory hardtop. The PPI is scheduled for next week and if all goes well, I'll have the same shop perform the IMS upgrade, RMS and new clutch. It's an extra $3k when all done, but it gives me piece of mind. As an FYI, the 2000 model year can have either a single or double row bearing in it. This shop will replace the current IMS with a double-row bearing, courtesy of LM Engineering's Phase 2 IMS. The double row bearings have a 1% failure rate while the single row have an 8% failure rate. It's an insurance policy, but one worth taking, which is why I'm having the PPI done too.

I'm looking forward to nice heat and AC in a Porsche... Good luck in your search.

[SCUDERIA928]

Make sure you guys get a CARFAX or anything similar. Better yet get the VIN number and go to the PORSCHE dealer, he is capable of pulling up the precedence of the car and services done. First things I would change are: IMS, AOS, all fluids and coolant reservoir, and of course all fluids.
Make sure that the owners have documentations and can refer you to their mechanic. Good luck!

[Sunroof]

Thank you for your responses. Its interesting that you can go several routes here given the good years versus the not so good years based on the seal issues. Boxster prices are all over the place and here in Atlanta, GA, which is the second largest Porsche market next to California, Boxsters are everywhere! Given that you can get into an early model for well under 10K and put down 3K+ for a new clutch and updated bearing unit, that's not a bad price for a great sports car (providing everything else is working fine).

[stealthn]

Went from owning a 79 SC for 10 years to a 2006 Cayman S. Love the Cayman but I do miss the 911 but I did everything to it I wanted. My next one will be a GT3

[rfuerst911sc]

Sunroof have you driven a Boxster or Caymen ? You can see from my signature the Porsche cars I have owned in the past. I enjoyed each and everyone for what it was. I ended up getting my 02 S from Jake Raby up in Cleveland Georgia. If you are not aware of who he is he is the guru on these watercooled engines. I loved my S so much I now have Jake building me a 3.6 short stroke motor that will really transform the car. I find these mid engine cars very well balanced, comfortable and can be driven very fast with little effort. No you don't get the same raw feel of an earlier air cooled car but as I have gotten older that is less and less important. My S has been as reliable as a stove. Nothing has broke on the car other than a shifter cable, not bad for a 13 year old car. Jake had done some headwork on this car and installed a IMS Solution before I purchased it. It is so nice to hit the key and have a modern engine spring to life. Great working AC and heat plus heated seats are wonderful. Fall driving with the top down and the heated seats warming your butt is hard to beat . Good luck with your purchase and hope to see you at some local PCA events.

[rfuerst911sc]

Also bookmark this forum, it is a Pelican sister forum with lots of activity and good info.


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