914 or Boxster

[rfuerst911sc]

My 2 cents. You can see from my signature line the cars I have owned in the past. The 914 I converted to a GT clone with a Weber carb'd 3.0 and 911 suspension. Car was fun to drive, handled great I liked it. I traded it for the Boxster S and it was probably the best car deal I have made. I was at an age ( 56 ) where I was looking for a performance car but with more comfort. The S was the perfect car for me. The 3.2 puts down good power/torque/mpg and is very easy to live with as a daily driver. This is the first convertible I have owned and the top is very easy to use. Un-latch one latch, push a button and it's up or down in a few seconds. The car is tight and handles like it is on rails. Fantastic heat and AC. Very good storage space with two trunks. Fantastic brakes ! Heated seats are great in the fall and spring. Now I'm having Jake Raby build me a 3.6 litre short stroke motor she should be done in December. That will pick up the performance to make this a real fun car to drive. Bottom line is there is no right or wrong answer to your question. Drive some good examples of both and make a decision. Good luck with your decision.

[billh1963]

Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

It's a true sports car (WAY more so than the 914), is tight, has decent power (especially compared to the 914)

What is your definition of a sports car? I think you may be overreaching on that one

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by targa911S

There is something about all those smells, sounds and smiles that are our/my heritage as a Porsche owner. I will take the smells and smiles over the heated seats any day.

Having owned 356s for 45 years (and air cooled VWs before that) I understand completely. Sports cars are supposed to be leaky, noisy, smelly, uncomfortable and completely impractical. The fact that you are considering an MG TC should tell you something. It appears you are looking for a traditional sports car. I don't think you'd be happy with anything with an OBD port.

[targa911S]

Man I was just reading about Boxster IMS failure and replacement/prevention. That's some scary expensive stuff. Certainly beyond the DIY skills I have. You are right I grew up with bare bones no A/C or cup holders kind of sports cars. My 65 Mini Cooper S was like driving a metal garbage can with a motor. I have had 3 or 4 914's and there is not much I cannot do mechanically on one. The new age cars are pricey to fix and not very DIY friendly. I don't need heated seats, or heat for that matter as this is a toy car to be driven occasionally in the good weather around here. It won't see 1000 a year. I too am a VW guy. I have had 6 or more old beetles and worked at a VW repair shop in the 60's and 70's. Actually an air cooled VW isn't out of the question for a toy car as well. Super DIY friendly and I still have all my tools from back in the day..yeah I'm an "essence" sports car guy..

[Shaun @ Tru6]

The thing to do is test drive both David. Or at least a Boxster and Boxster S to see what they are all about. Plentiful so easy to go see one for a test drive, either from CL or the dealership/local lot.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Man I was just reading about Boxster IMS failure and replacement/prevention. That's some scary expensive stuff. Certainly beyond the DIY .

Not only do Boxsters before 2009 have an IMS but so do many 911's of the same vintage.
The 911's do not seem to get mentioned as much in terms of IMS. Correct me if I am wrong in this regard.

As an aside I was at the car wash yesterday and talked to an owner of a 2010 Cayman.
I said to him because his was a 2010 then he did not have an IMS. He said "what is an IMS?" LOL

I don't think any Porsche sporty car is for year round driving around here(due snow and ice, cold temps etc) but an older Boxster say a '99 has the stronger IMS(double bearing) and if you can get it cheap it would be good but parts need to be replaced.

I see the occasional 914 for sale in Canada but most of them have rusted to death.
I have yet to see a rusty Boxster......

[targa911S]

true...

[billybek]

Great thread!

Being a VW guy in my early driving days, I always wanted a 914. Badly!
I started looking for one when I had money burning a hole in my pocket and ended up with the SC.

There was a pretty nice teener in the neighborhood that wasn't getting a lot of use and it's owner was having some reliability issues with it (he thought vapor locking).
It was put up for sale this summer while I was on holidays and one of his neighbors snapped it up reportedly for a good price.

Too bad or fortunate for me, I am not sure. I need another car like a hole in the head right now but I am sure I could have fit the little teener in my garage somehow....

[targa911S]

ah vapor lock....my 1.7 914 did that a lot. i used to put a bag of ice one the top of the air box and away we would go....

[J P Stein]

I'm also considering a Boxster. My concern was the IMS also so I got on the Boxster forum asking when Porsche "got rid of the crapola motor". I assume they were unimpressed with my phraseology and I never did get an answer. Now the OT forum supplies the info, unbidden.....what a good deal. 2009 makes a good starting point for searching.
Thanks!

At this point, A J car is looking gud.

[targa911S]

J car?

[targa911S]

Ok I have read that as few as 1% of the Boxster/996 motors fail because of IMS failure. So if you are looking at a high mile car, that has had the work done, is it an upgrade that will not fail again or is it something that will fail again after so many miles / hours? Is one that has not had the work done a ticking bomb? Do both the manual and tiptronic have the same issue?

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Ok I have read that as few as 1% of the Boxster/996 motors fail because of IMS failure. So if you are looking at a high mile car, that has had the work done, is it an upgrade that will not fail again or is it something that will fail again after so many miles / hours? Is one that has not had the work done a ticking bomb? Do both the manual and tiptronic have the same issue?

On the 986 forum the ims situation is beaten to death. The highest fail rates are around 2001- earlier not so much and a few years later they are beefed up. However the latter are more expensive to replace because you have to split the case.

There are improved ims bearings(ceramic bearings) as replacements and can be done in the earlier Boxsters when the clutch is replaced. I believe there is no difference between fail rates between tipronic or manual.

It all depends on the $$$ but if I was going to spend $10k on a Boxster or a Miata then the Boxster would be the more fun route and the Miata the cheaper route by far.

Surprisingly enough there are not many cheap Boxsters in this part of the world. Likely more in California.

[jhynesrockmtn]

One of the things to keep in mind if that the newer more complex Porsches really don't like to sit. I know no cars like to sit but the mechanic who did the PPI on my 996 told me the cars he sees with the biggest IMS/RMS and various other issues like cracked coolant tanks, water pumps that go bad prematurely, etc. are low mileage garage queens. Given your use, less than 1,000 miles per year, 914 or another older car seems like your answer. You may need to search the west coast for a decent less rusty example and travel to finish the deal but it will be worth it. I bought a relatively rust free 73 914 with a later 2 liter motor swapped in at some point. It needs some updating but at $8,500 purchase price (I think I overpaid a bit), I'll have $10,000 to $12,000 plus my time and elbow grease in it and end up with a very nice driver with new paint, fresh mechanicals and easy to maintain.

[Brillo]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Man I was just reading about Boxster IMS failure and replacement/prevention. That's some scary expensive stuff. Certainly beyond the DIY skills I have. You are right I grew up with bare bones no A/C or cup holders kind of sports cars. My 65 Mini Cooper S was like driving a metal garbage can with a motor. I have had 3 or 4 914's and there is not much I cannot do mechanically on one. The new age cars are pricey to fix and not very DIY friendly. I don't need heated seats, or heat for that matter as this is a toy car to be driven occasionally in the good weather around here. It won't see 1000 a year. I too am a VW guy. I have had 6 or more old beetles and worked at a VW repair shop in the 60's and 70's. Actually an air cooled VW isn't out of the question for a toy car as well. Super DIY friendly and I still have all my tools from back in the day..yeah I'm an "essence" sports car guy..

Based on this, sounds like a 914 is the choice. Good luck with your decision.

[patz]

I would love to get an IMS exploded Boxster and drop a v8 in it. Never again on a 914. BTDT.

[Mark Henry]

I'm aircooled through and through so it's a 914 for me. I've driven my buddies Boxster S enough to know I don't want one. It's a nice car, it just doesn't do anything for me. If I want comfort I'll drive my winter SUV.

That said I've never driven stock cars for long, my 1967 bug has a 180hp 2.6L FI, nickies engine with a Porsche 901 (911) trans. My '67 bus has a 110hp Gene Berg engine.
I'm still working on the 914 engine, it had a stock 1.8 that was immediately replaced with a performance FI engine, Now it is getting a 3.0/6 twinplug, RSR mahle pistons, WEB hot street cam, webers, etc
I love loud and stinky as long as it goes like stink.

None of this is cheap but with a couple of trades and doing all the machine work myself I built the 914/6 engine for around 10K. It's a conversion but once done, in local dollars, it's likely a close to $40K car.
I paid $5K for the car back in 2001, it was close to mint condition, even then the insurance appraiser wouldn't appraise it for less than $11K . Much better investment than my bug with the big engine.

[targa911S]

I guess IMS failure could be compared to chain tensioner failure on the early cars. Some did, some didn't. You just never knew when it was coming and had about the same disastrous results. Thankfully, oil fed tensioners solved that problem. If IMS failure is so common why wasn't Porsche issued a re-call or at least developed a retro-fit fix?

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by targa911S

I guess IMS failure could be compared to chain tensioner failure on the early cars. Some did, some didn't. You just never knew when it was coming and had about the same disastrous results. Thankfully, oil fed tensioners solved that problem. If IMS failure is so common why wasn't Porsche issued a re-call or at least developed a retro-fit fix?

Speaking of oil fed yes there is one ims solution for the Boxster that entails that but it is quite expensive.

During the time I owned my 2001 Boxster base there was coverage/compensation from Porsche of certain years of ims failure. However mine did not suffer ims failure as such but got a CEL with camshaft deviation and a whole bunch of green crud in the oil filter(likely chain guide rails disintegrating). Anyways I got fed up with it as I was looking at a $5-6k can. bill to fix the problem, new clutch while in there, rear main seal and ims.

I did get the ims guardian installed which gave a prewarning of impending ims failure(aviation type technology). If I had it to do over again I would have just taken the ailing Boxster to the Porsche dealership and got it fixed. However it is not a winter car and what is done is done ie. now sold. My Boxster had great heated seats and air conditioning.

I might take the plunge again in another year or two into a Boxster or Cayman. The Miata is not as solid but is a fun car on a budget. If I got a Miata I would be lusting after a Porsche again so I should do it right the next time.

914? Never been in one but so different. Hardly ever see them anymore up here. How much do you want to be challenged?!?

Guy.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by targa911S

J car?

Henry J?.