How reliable are Porsche Boxster engines?

I'm looking at buying a 2001 Porsche Boxster S. But, I have read about numerous engine problems and I can't really find any good information on this issue. What is the failure rate for the 2001 model and what is the replacement cost? Also, the car I am looking at has 66,000 miles on it. If the engine had a defect would it have failed already? Thanks.|||As others mentioned, intermediate shaft bearing failures have occurred with some Boxster (and 996) engines. LN Engineering makes a retrofit IMS bearing upgrade kit, and lots of information about the issue can be found on their website: http://lnengineering.com/ims.html





Rear main seal leaks are also a problem. Most frequently (or so I've read) the RMS leaks just a bit and, if caught early, can be replaced with an upgraded Porsche part. (In some cases the RMS has failed big time, where the entire inventory of engine oil dumps out in a short period of time. If that happens while you're driving, at you don't catch the oil pressure idiot light in time...new engine.) To access the RMS and replace the seal is maybe a $1000 job on its own. For a car with 66K miles on it, my guess is that either the RMS has already been refit with the upgraded part, or else the RMS won't leak.





Check with the owner to review service history. It's a good sign if the service history shows that all scheduled maintenance was performed on schedule. Also, see if you can take the car (before purchase) to a Porsche specialist for a thorough once-over, readout of engine computer data and codes, etc. If you're really keen on the car, the few hundred $ for this could be money well spent for peace of mind.|||Very unreliable. In addition to the IMS failures, some of the engines have repeated RMS leak issues...the repair (for tiptronic transmissions) is in the 1,700 range and 2,200 with retrofit IMS. It's been reported that engines in the 70-80k miles range are suffering cracked heads.

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|||The one really scary issue on Boxster (and Cayman) is failure of the intermediate shaft bearing, which leads to New Engine Time, at a price somewhere in five figures.





There exist, I am told, retrofittable shaft components which are sturdier than the factory versions, although you're still looking at a couple of thousand to install.|||You have to remember that reliability is relative to how it is driven.


If one was to drive a Boxster as they would drive a Honda, it would last forever.


But of course no one does.


You buy a Porsche in order to be able to drive it like only a Porsche can.


And when you do that, you have to expect less reliability.


So this is really about drivers, not car problems.|||Take it to an independent mechanic and have him look over the car. $200 spent now could save you thousands later.