Have you looked into a 996TT?

 

My IMS bearing went last week on my 99 C2 with 86,500 miles on the original engine. It is at IMA Motorsports in VA to get the issue fixed.

 

Things like this is why I personally wouldn't want one without a warranty. My warranty ended last May and as I couldn't get what I wanted I replaced my boxster with something non-porsche. I do miss a porsche and will probably get another but it will have warranty.

 

First post and he brings up a two year old ims thread. Ban for life.

 

Might have touched a nerve!

First off with reference to the warranty comment- in the two years I had my porsche under warranty it was in the shop more than the 2 japanese vehicals I had in the 8 year period period before getting it. When the warranty period ended this was not a vehical I wanted to keep. Having said this I love driving a porsche......bar none it has been the best driving experience of any vehical to date. Driving experience superb but confidence re reliability less so.But, unless it was a 2009 or later I would not buy it and would not want it out of warranty. Simply personal preference. I mentioned to my lady friend today I'd like to get another. I researched the h@ll out of porsche products and I have to question how they could produce vehicals at this price point for so many years with a known problem and not fix it till 2009.....the ims.

Anyway, based on two years ownership of a cpo car and contemplating spending the better part of 100 big ones on another one I will raise whatever point I choose politely. If you feel I need more posts under my belt before doing so feel free to ban me.

Respectfully
Dbw

 

Do some research.. there is lots of material on that " secret problem", frankly it's not that big of a deal but if you buy a 2009 or later.. you should get an extended warranty... these cars are expensive... no matter what goes wrong and why it goes wrong (some of it will be driver related for sure). This is super-car territory with prices for parts and labor to match and there is very little out there that matches the performance in a car that can be used as a daily driver.

 

Which one? "rketekt" or "dbw"?

Considering that rketekt used his first (and so far, only) post to bring up a 2 year IMS thread in the WRONG forum, I whole heartedly recommend that his post be deleted.

As for dbw's assertion that he wouldn't own one of these without a warranty, I can only offer my experience. I bought a '99 C4 in April 2010 with 14K on the odometer. In the 2 years/15K miles since, I have had 3 oil changes, one brake fluid flush, replaced one oxygen sensor and replaced a set of tires.

Only one of those could be considered a warranty item, so I would have lost money on an extended warranty.

 

I just had the bearing replaced in my 2005 boxter as a preventative measure. I have 59,000 miles on the engine. When the bearing was removed it looked like a little bit of wear. I had the main seal and clutch also done at the same time by Musante MotorSports in South Windsor Connecticut. They specialize in Porsche upgrades and regular service.

 

I feel like a broken record. It is a KNOWN problem (on about 10% of the cars). It is a SERVICE item. Get an LN bearing, drive for 40k+ miles, monitor and get it changed. I have had my P car with zero (knock wood) issues. Even if it does have some, it is a near super car that retailed for over a $100k, expect it to cost more than your honda.

 

Do you have a link to support your statement?

 

If it is a Service item, it should happen on ALL cars and there should be estimate at what age/ mileage that is likely to happen, like you would see that item pop up in the 30k miles / 60k miles / 90k miles Service Book for the Owner. So I am not sure that this is a Service Item in the traditional sense of the word. I am not buying that. Having said that, this is all gone and bye-bye as we no longer see that issue on new cars with basically the same engine / lay-out and with even more power.

 

Read the recent reports in Excellence etc. All the mags have narrowed it down to about 10% after their research. Is it accurate, who knows, is it close probably.
It is a service because it is a moving part that wears, and sometimes prematurely like any other bearing can. The estimate on LN site is 50k miles, I beleive.
http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html
This is way beyond getting old.

 

What's getting old is that any time the IMS bearing topic appears to die down in the forums, someone always manages to stir it up again with no new information to offer.

What's getting old is people spouting off IMS failure rates as fact with no proof and no way to actually get proof.

Very few people deny that some cars have experienced IMS bearing failure. But when trying to objectively determine the extent of the problem, it sure would be nice to have some actual facts rather than mass hysteria.

Let's ballpark this: say there were 150,000 cars produced, so the 10% failure rate you mentioned would equal 15,000 cars. At that rate, shouldn't the streets be lined with 996 carcasses?

 

Kevin, your ball park statistics are statistically not in the ball park!!

 

Please feel free to correct them.