2002 Boxster S Reliability

[sikest]

Okay guys I hate to do this but I am going to ask the question.....

As the owner of a new to me 2002 Boxster S I have been reading as much as I can about the car, learning where everything is located and getting an idea of what maintenance it will need for the next year. I seem to come across many comments on Boxster RMS failures but more concerning are all the posts on Intermediate shaft failures. I am an ex-Fiat/Ferrari mechanic so I bought the car figuring that if I can keep 70-80s era Fiats on the road my Boxster S should be a breeze. I am obsessive about maintenance on my vehicles but do use them as intended.

My 944 Turbo provided years of spirited and reliable driving and had 150K on the clock when I sold her. The maintenance was certainly more expensive than a Honda but nothing outrageous especially since most of it was performed in my garage. I read somewhere that an estimated 10% of all IMS bearings fail by 90K miles usually causing catastrophic engine failure. That seems like an alarming failure rate.

So you sage Boxster owners, steer me straight. What are the opinions of you long term owners?

Tony

[blue2000s]

Okay guys I hate to do this but I am going to ask the question.....

As the owner of a new to me 2002 Boxster S I have been reading as much as I can about the car, learning where everything is located and getting an idea of what maintenance it will need for the next year. I seem to come across many comments on Boxster RMS failures but more concerning are all the posts on Intermediate shaft failures. I am an ex-Fiat/Ferrari mechanic so I bought the car figuring that if I can keep 70-80s era Fiats on the road my Boxster S should be a breeze. I am obsessive about maintenance on my vehicles but do use them as intended.

My 944 Turbo provided years of spirited and reliable driving and had 150K on the clock when I sold her. The maintenance was certainly more expensive than a Honda but nothing outrageous especially since most of it was performed in my garage. I read somewhere that an estimated 10% of all IMS bearings fail by 90K miles usually causing catastrophic engine failure. That seems like an alarming failure rate.

So you sage Boxster owners, steer me straight. What are the opinions of you long term owners?

Tony

There's no scientifically collected data on the failure rate of the IMS in the Boxster/Carrera engine. The forums are definitely not the right place to collect it. It definitely does happen and is expensive when it does, but no one but maybe Porsche knows the IMS failure rate.