Finally a proper useful review! This is the best 986 video so far.

Great video. I have a 1999 with dual row IMS and it is nice to know that they have a failure rate of less than 1%.

Best visual explanation of how IMS failure works.

This is the best explanation of the IMS. Thank you for the insights and details.

From all the guides that i have seen of different cars this has to be one of the best ones. Great job!

This is the best description/analysis of the IMS bearing I have found. Thanks!

Great rapid-fire guide to Boxster purchase! Nice production! After tracking and modifying two 986s, I'm on the lookout for a 987S!

Superbly presented. Honest and informative - especially as I’m considering buying a used one. Many thanks!

You create proper informative videos that are a pleasure to watch. THANK YOU!!!!!!

This is a fantastically presented video, and I’ll be using this to guide my own purchase. Nice work

One of the best learning information videos about the Boxster! Thanks!

Excellent Video - very informative and to the point - giving exact details/costs of owning and running a Boxster.

love the audio quality you seem like such a nice person

Thanks for your video. My 99 986 is looking and running great. I have 170,000 miles.

Shopping for 986 - This is the best guide I have seen - thank you

Great vid! Been trying to find a decent buying guide for a 3.2S and this was perfect

Very good video of 986 reviews. I have my 2003 only got 3,000 miles. Took me 6 months ordered from Germany in mid 2003. Thanks for info about 986!

Very comprehensive and well put together video mate, nice work

As somebody that's thinking of getting a "weekend" Boxster, this film and the others in this series are very useful, as well as being well produced. Thanks.

A well put presented and informative video thanks, I have been thinking of a Boxster for a while now and now feel confident that I won't buy a pup.

Great video ! Just purchased a 2000 Boxster with 84,000 miles , thanks for the great info!

Thank you for the good information. Got my 02 Boxster Base a few months ago and this will certainly help me in the future.

THE go too guide for anybody doing research into buying a boxster.

Thinking of buying a 2002 boxster, your video really useful as to what to look out for. Regards TG

Thanks for article. I owned a '98 986 for 8 years. Pure joy and still does not envy newer models. Drove it daily (before retirement) and attended track and skidpan sessions. great fun, just enough power to enjoy all of it safely and regularly. Now at 220000km's still immaculate and my pride and joy. Run only with synthetic oil. Done recently engine mountings, replaced bushes, shocks and springs. reconditioned starter motor and cleaned throttle body. Thanks to YT tutorials. Miss cruise control and my plastic window starts to crack, so sad. Overall, perhaps one of the best and cheapest little sportscars. No intention of selling her.

thanks for your time and effort in contributing so much valuable information. i did not know about the IMS bearing issue.

easy to follow and good presentation of data I really want one the cost of repairs is making me very nervous

Great, informative video. Just in the process of researching for my first Boxster purchase. Video very useful - I feel better informed. Always find it a trial buying a car as a single female😢, but I feel better equipped having watched your videos. Thanks.

Verry good production and script also super ultra informative and helpful thank you!!

This is the best video I have seen on Boxsters on KZfaq, and I've seen a great number of them. Excellent job!

Great video, thanks. My boxster has been off the road for a while for full maintenence, nice to hear you mention all what we are doing and to put our minds a little to rest re the IMS bearing. Cheers, Janice from NZ.

Excellent video. Crisp delivery and quick info. Makes me less worried about buying an older car

Great video like the rest that you do. Your explanations of the IMS bearings and changes to the engine options were excellent and very helpful.

Excellent video. I think a good rule of thumb is to budget the price of your Boxster for repairs and maintenance. Also, worth stretching for an 'S' so the engine does the chassis justice. I may be in the minority, but I actually think the Boxster looks better as a roadster, and handles more naturally than the 911. When with maintenance costs, a bargain.

Amazing video. Very in depth and well put together, and actually kept my attention lol

I'm glad to know my 1998 986 has the better IMS bearing but we might be replacing it as well as the RMS and clutch shortly due to some oil leaking thanks for the video

This is THE best buyers guide video I have ever seen. Liked and subscribed, very nice work. Helped a lot indeed. Cheers.

What great straight forward buyers guide, many thanks

Great video. I have recently bought a 2003 2,7 and I just know that this will be a useful ongoing reference video. Thanks, I have subscribed.

Bought a 2003 Boxster S and have found your clips incredibly useful. Being a Porsche virgin this is brilliant. Thanks for the effort!

Great video and genuinely helpful buying/maintenance tips

1st time on your channel, thx for the good information. I'm still looking for a well maintained cayman s from 2012 to 15.

Just the video I was looking for, thanks for making it!

Really loving your channel thank you for this

Great presentation (short & concise) and useful information.

Great review with proper information. Keep it up. Cheers!

Wow. Really excellent review thanks. I am in the market for Boxster. I currently have a C4S. If I want to avoid all the engines with IMS /RMS issues which model should I go for? Do later models still have issues?

I thought that most engine failures occurred before 2001? This completely contrasts what I have been told. Thanks for the information. I am thinking of buying and older Boxster. Want to make sure my the care is reliable for the family.

Thx so much for putting this info out. The video is easy to follow and understand.

Cheers very informative and everything I really wanted to know about the boxster without blethering. Think I would be happy with a well looked after older 2.5 or 2.7. I do not think I would require anymore power for a car that size.

Man, this is the best guide ever! Thank you so much for making it🙏I am looking to buy a 1999 Boxster next week and I’m very relieved in knowing it’s less likely to have this IMS BEARING failure. I didn’t even know about it before this video, so thanks for that!!

Thanks for putting the time into producing this video. I've owned a '01 Boxster 2.7 for about 4 months now. It has 120,000 miles and I wish I had seen this video before purchase. Don't get me wrong- I'm do not regret my purchase, I just would have shopped around a little longer for one that was maintained a little better. I bought mine at a good price and have taken care of some issues that have made a real difference. I got really lucky finding a hardtop that actually was my color (seal gray) and I agree with your overall assessment of the 986-987 - you'd be hard-pressed to find a pre-owned true sports car in this price range. Cheers!

Good advice apart from clutch and gearbox removal. I did that myself on axle stands and it was pretty easy. Don’t let that put you off!

Thank you, I really do appreciate this and because of your video I’m at 100% of buying it. New sub.

enjoying this in 2020 when I'm considering a 2002 Boxster.. with the dreaded single row IMS bearing. Thanks!

Alex - great video - you nailed it clearly & objectively - your cost build-ups and assessments are accurate - overall its a great car - message is go in with your eyes open - look for simple telltales - service record / oil leaks / debris in filter / dirty milky oil. My advice - get a low mileage car - most cars have worn clutches so factor replacement into purchase price. When replacing the clutch simultaneously replace IMS bearing and engine seal - you need to have some cash over and above purchase cost but if the work is completed to the right standard you have a car that is bomb proof that you can then run for the same cost as a passat..... (almost :o) - my car - 2001 2.7, 32k miles, LN IMS single row pro - I love it.....

I bought the Boxster S on the back of watching this video, and I must say that I absolutely love it. I have owned more cars than I can remember and have been driving for thirty six years. If you love sports cars you will not be disappointed with this car.

What a great video. Im gonna take this to look at a 84k mile 99 this week

Very good video. I am still on my original IMS bearing as well and I drive it hard... Change your oil regulatory folks. Thank you sir.

Amazing video, I'm a very visual learner. Thanks for the in-depth information, you didn't talk fast or shout throughout the information.

Very useful video. I've put down a deposit on a 2002 Boxster S, and now I know what to look for in the service history. Sounds like the solution to the IMS issue is just to drive the car regularly and properly, which I intend to do :-)

Thank you ,sir.After watching your videos,I think I am ready for own a boxster.

You recommend IMS bearing replacement with every clutch replacement, but your car is an automatic. When would you replace the IMS bearing in you car since you have no clutch to replace?

shopping for a 2.5 this year end.Ty.this helped me..keep it up

Great video! If i know of anyone looking into a 986 I'll send them this way. Best explanation of "issues" i've ever watched. As for me, I purchased a 2007 Cayman S :)

Excellent video.. I am about to purchase my first boxster.

Brilliant information great delivery.

I thought I had read/heard everything about the IMS bearing issues and this is the first bit of information outlining the failure rates and why the single row ones tended to fail more often. So basically the dual row bearings are good and not worth being worried about and if the single row cars run fine and I change the oil at a reasonable interval I should be good. I’ve gone back and forth between Boxster and Miata for a while now with the draw of the Porsche being the engine and the draw of the Miata being reliability. I’ll look more closely at the Porsches now.

For my 2003 3.2 over the last 2 years it's been a bill of 4.5k with most of the repairs done by myself. They are great cars but the combination of low market value against repair costs means DIY is essential. Great video's, keep up the good work :)

I'm so glad to have stumbled across your video. Thank you very much for taking the time to document and share this valuable information with us all. All I have to do now is choose between a 135i or 986s. I'm usually a Japanese coupe guy. What is it like with the top down please? Kind regards Roland Sydney Australia

Excellent video. Very well produced

The video i was looking for. Thanks :)

I’m so glad I found this video. I’m buying one of these from 2000

Looking at one of these for a first car, this was super helpful!

Looking for a boxster and this was very helpful. Thanks

Unique presentation. Very good video. Thanks.

Subscribed. This guy is really very good!

Excellent and informative video, well done.

Thank you for your very informative and well made videos. In 2008 I bought a 1999 Boxster (2.5 l., double row IMS bearing) from its first owner and have enjoyed it ever since. It now has 223,000 kilometres on it and has proved to be very trouble free (at least compared to my previous 911 3.2 l.). In the 165,000 kilometres that I have driven it I have replaced the top (lasted 17 years, but I use a hard top in winter), the radiators (4 x, ouch!), the water pump, the oil separator, and the clutch and did the front discs and all four coffin arms myself. So far no IMS trouble, but I have the impression that, apart from the fact that I have the apparently less failure prone double bearing, when it fails, it seems to do so within 50,000 kms. from new. If it doesn't, it will probably last the life of the car. Time will tell. Meanwhile, keep up the good work!

currently looking for one! Subscribed thanks for the info

Something about this video reminds me of early 2000s colin mcrae games??? Great and informative vid by the way.

Great practical review and very useful insights. Thank you!! Would you replace a double-row bearing with the same factory bearing? ... or use an alternative like LN-Engineering?

Very informative, Thank you. Excellent!

Mine is a ‘04 S. I’m fifth owner. Installed used trans. Is perfect. 72,000 miles. Dark Blue, grey interior. Dark blue powder coated wheels. Great investment and very much fun to drive. JellyRoll

I would love to see you do a 2.5 1998 review. Good vid

Excellent video!

Thank you, very helpful info!

Fantastic video, really professional and great info 👍 thanks

great video! I want to buy one of these cars someday in the next year or two and this was excellent!

fantastic info, de-mystifying lots of stuff. subscribing now!

This is a brilliant video as im looking to buy a boxster, dropped you a sub!

Great and detailed review! Thanks a lot!

Fantastic video! Super helpful!

Hi I'm looking at Boxster 2002 with 22k miles , do you think that is a high risk car if I replace the oil frequently ?? Thanks great review !!

KZfaq knows I like the general idea of getting a boxster, but it's not happening any time soon. But I watched this anyway. This was a proper informative video though. Thanks! :D

Lovely review!cheers!

Great Video very informative, really worth watching. John

very detailed review. Thanks for sharing.

That was a great informative video.

New subscriber, her! I really appreciate this clip seeing as how I am considering buying one...or a Cayman. Which would you buy?