Hello!
This is my first post, so go easy!
I recently made an impulse decision to buy a 2005 Porsche Boxster 2.7 (987-1) after test driving it and falling in love! Bought it on the spot resting assured that it seemed immaculate, it only had 55k on the clock and had a full 10 year Porsche service history.
Naively; It wasn't until I'd taken delivery of the car, moved my plates over to it and so on that I started researching a bit more. And then I came across the IMS issue. The 'cot death' of the baby Porsche is probably the most accurate description I've seen.
So in 2015... is this issue still rife amongst Boxster owners?
I've read that 20% of M96/M97 engines will see IMS failure - I've also read that 5% will and for that matter I've read 1% too. Trying to gather genuine statistics on what models, years, mileages and ages 987 Boxsters have had IMS failure is impossible. If you search for the issue, you'll find those owners who jumped online and reported the issue they had (scary), but the other owners that never signed up for a forum and have never had an issue, well there are no posts from them are there.
Likewise the search engine listings are littered with copy-pasted information on the IMS issue - Text originating from the company profiting from the issue - LN Engineering. Don't get me wrong I'm sure their product is great and I'm not insinuating they are misleading people in any way... But when any company markets a product, they will always identify a need. And what need is stronger than this? When the overwhelming majority of search engine results bring you back to marketing material - You should always take it with a pinch of salt.
I've been in contact with numerous specialists (UK) that offer the LN Engineering Retrofit bearing and none of them offered an ounce of peace of mind. Every company I called gave me Retrofit prices without me even asking.
Of everybody I spoke to, who were the most helpful? Well... Porsche actually. I spoke to a lady with 17 years of experience with Porsche Cardiff, in Wales - She said in all of her time with Porsche she personally has known of only two incidences of Porsches with IMS failure. She stated that admittedly she would not necessarily of known of every incidence but when the issue was 'rife' they expected more issues than they ever saw. She invited me to bring my Boxster down to Porsche Cardiff whenever suited me, so they can put it on a ramp and have one of their technicians give it a full inspection. Not a huge amount can be done to check the IMS, but she said it'd give me a chance to talk to the technician and pick his brain, get some peace of mind/advice as well as having the rest of the car looked at too free of charge.
Taking a sceptics view on that - Of course they will treat me right, give me some time and send me on my way - If they know there is a 1/5/20% chance of failure, the chances are they'll never see me again. And who knows if I've been fed porkies about there only being two incidences of failures in her experience. So another pinch of salt required here. That said, I really appreciate the gesture as I was half expecting a scripted legal response from them.
So back to my question; In 2015, is the IMS issue still taking out cars left right and centre?
The annoying thing is no matter how much you read up, the uncertainty still exists. But let's be realistic here.
How many of you 987-1 owners specifically have had issues? Or no issues? What preventative measures do you live and drive by? I'd love to collate some up to date data on this, if you have time hit reply and fill in the following points with your information.
IMS Failure - NO
Retrofit IMS - NO (that I know of....)
Model - 987-1
Engine - 2.7
Bought - Last month, Feb 2015
Model Year - 2005
Current Mileage - 55,500
Original Mileage - 55,500
Still owned by you - YES Blank for copy-pasting;
IMS Failure -
Retrofit IMS -
Model -
Engine -
Bought -
Model Year -
Current Mileage -
Original Mileage -
Still owned by you -
I hope you can appreciate I'm new to this brand, this model, this issue and this forum. I know there are a million threads on this already but I'm hoping for a more positive up to date perspective here. If you have any questions or advice for me in regards to me taking my car down to Porsche on Tuesday, please feel free to get in touch.
Thanks for reading,
Mark
PS. Here's a shot of my Boxster... Photos make threads better!