Rolling the dice on 2001 Porsche Boxster
I first drove a Porsche Boxster S in 2001, and it was then that my lust affair with Porsche’s mid- engine twoseat roadster began. I had read all about the Boxster’s uncanny balance, poetic moves and flat-six song, and driving turned out to be believing.
Porsche’s proposal for an “entry level” two- seat roadster, the Boxster Concept, broke cover at the 1993 Detroit auto show. Customer enthusiasm prompted Porsche to push ahead, and the production Boxster arrived for 1997 with a 2.5-litre flat- six engine making 201 horsepower. It was the first all- new Porsche model in 18 years.
The car was a critical hit and much- needed sales champ for the German sports- car maker. Its engine grew to 2.7- L and 217 hp in 2000, and that same year the hotter Boxster S broke cover, with a 3.2- L flat-six engine and 250 hp.
My decision to buy a firstgeneration Boxster S came on suddenly, right around the time my wife didn’t throw something when I said, “I think I need to buy a Boxster.”
The Porsche Boxster is generally strong and reliable, but there’s an elephant in the room when considering a first-generation model ( as well as the 996- generation Porsche 911) and it’s spelled IMS. Without getting too technical, the IMS ( intermediate shaft) bearing lives within the bowels of that sweet flat- six engine, and it is supported by a bearing with a historical failure rate of about eight per cent. No biggie, you say; just get it fixed. The problem is, when said bearing fails, the engine generally grenades, turning it into your next coffee-table project. And there’s no discernible warning.
So unless you want to play Boxster roulette, finding one with an IMS bearing retro-fit is a good idea. Or factor the $ 3,000+ job ( the clutch gets done, too) into your price of entry.
I searched for a couple of months, with a few criteria: not too high mileage but not too low, because Boxsters need to be driven. Sitting for long periods exacerbates the IMS bearing issue. And absolutely no grey interiors, as that hue makes the Boxster cabin look like the Rubbermaid aisle at Canadian Tire. Red or yellow exterior would be cool, but not silver or grey, if possible.
Then a post showed up on AutoTrader for a white 2001 Boxster S in Vancouver, $ 14,500 with 126K on the clock. White is rare, and even rarer still its burgundy/ brown interior. The car appeared pristine in the pictures, and the owner had re- cently done a bunch of work that allegedly included the IMS bearing. Bingo.
“Honey, this might be the one!” I exclaimed. I contacted the owner and set the wheels in motion. Vancouverite Andrew McCredie — fellow Driving colleague and Boxster enabler — checked it out on my behalf and suggested this wee white Porsche was worth a closer look.
Two days later my plane touched down in Vancouver. Visually, the white Boxster S was mint both inside and out, and on the rainy test drive it felt and sounded right — quite fabulous, actually. CarFax showed only one minor bumper scrape and the owner had service records going back to 2004. But no concrete evidence of the IMS fix. Uh-oh.
Time to reassess. I had come all the way to Vancouver, the car was gorgeous and the price good. Plus, my eyes were glazed over and my brain had turned to mush. I had a teenage crush, and there was no way I was getting on a plane back to Toronto without the Boxster key in my pocket. So I handed over the bank draft and we walked over to the local ICBC Autoplan office to procure a temporary permit. I had already set up my insurance, so it was a done deal.
In the interest of journalistic responsibility, I have to say this is not the way to buy a car. Check, double- check, bicker over the price and if you have any doubts, walk away. Problem was, I wasn’t buying a car. I was buying a Porsche. My right brain pummelled my left brain into submission.
Left Brain: What about the IMS bearing?
Right Brain: Shut up! It’s got a cool interior and I want it.
Left Brain: Hey genius, did you read the above paragraph about Boxster engines making fine coffee tables?
Right Brain: I wrote it, and if you don’t shut up I’m coming over there right now to punch your lights out.
And so it went. I didn’t have a chance.
The sun came out the next day, which I took as a sign; it had been raining in Vancouver for weeks. With my Boxster S to be dropped off at the rail transport depot later that afternoon — about $ 1,200 to Toronto — I lowered the top and headed up to Squamish. It was a glorious drive, following Route 99 as it wended its way along the postcard coastline. Littl e cl ouds perched like fluffy cotton balls atop the distant glistening peaks, the flat- six engine sang its siren song and I began to wonder if I’d reached peak- Boxster already. Was it going to get any better than this?
Then the check- engine light came on. Oh yeah, I just bought a 16- year- old Porsche.