Cat C 2002 Boxster - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Have a pal who runs a car dealership and someone came in to buy a car and trade in their Boxster (2002, 45k miles). Unbeknown to her it was cat C. He took it off her at an appropriate price as he is just going to put it thru an auction . Had a look at it close up, underside etc and they reckon it looks in great nick ie no signs I'd damage, welding, alignment....no issues. Just wondered what peoples thoughts were. Would you consider it ? I'll probably be able to get for around 4k. Have previously owned a 964 but the IMS issue with boxers is a new one on me - is it blow out of proportion and therefore not worth worrying about too much ?

I have a Cat C cayman, you'd have to be very good and know your porsches/cars to know it had been repaired. If it's done properly then go for it. IMS is a different issue, I know lots of people that have had to spend huge sums on a new engine or write the car off. Queue the deniers telling you its an Internet magnifine glass issue and is a rare occurrence.

There is NO IMS issue on a 2002 Boxster or Boxster S

whats it worth straight? 5-6k tops, the car is maybe nearer 3k IMHO

wow, such certainty! in fact, the only way to be certain is to look at the bearing itself, but here is a good guide: Engine Number Model Bearing Type Up to engine # M 651 12851 Boxster 2.7L M96.22 Double Row Bearing Up to engine # M 671 11237 Boxster S 3.2L M96.21 Double Row Bearing From engine # M 651 12852 Boxster 2.7L M96.22 Single Row Bearing From engine # M 651 11238 Boxster S 3.2L M96.21 Single Row Bearing

NicD said: There is NO IMS issue on a 2002 Boxster or Boxster S Are you a Porsche spokesperson?

anonymous said: [redacted] OK, if thats a fact, I hold my hands up, for some reason, I thought still dual row, so no more an 'issue' than anything else on a 12 year old high performance car. Of course, if an IMS lets go,its pretty serious.

have to be cheap,i'd say 2500 tops if the car is clean,and mileage is't too high. quite a few around 3500-4000 without the dreaded cat c /d marker.

The date of the Cat status should give an idea of how bad the damage was. If the car nearly new at the time then for repair costs to warrant a Cat C it will have been pretty bad, but if it was say in the last couple of years then only a few grand's worth of damage would do it. For example a recent light bump to a front corner damaging the bonnet, bumper, headlight, wing & maybe radiator could easily write the car off economically, whereas as such a bump when newer & more valuable would have just been repaired and you'd never know. It might be cheap @ £4k dependent on mileage and more importantly condition and what may need doing to it - likewise for the same reasons it could be expensive at £3k (if it needs £££ spending to get it so you're happy with it). Having said that, £4k's not a lot of money for a nice usable car, I'd have thought a breaker with a blown engine is worth up to £2k, so unless you're in it for the very long term I can't see the logic in definitely spending £1k replacing the IMS which may never fail (most don't) and will only effectively cost £2k in the unlikely event that it does. Think of it like buying a £500 car that's due a £250 timing belt change but worth £150 as scrap - why would you change the belt?

anonymous said: [redacted] You sure about that " by 2002, they're all small single-row"? My "2002" Boxster was built in late 2001 and its VIN is not listed as one of the class vehicles in the IMSB settlement. IIRC even the engine number didn't jibe with the list of engine numbers that supposedly indicate which engine has which type of bearing. Furthermore, the IMSB now has been in service for over 285K miles, so if it is a small bearing it is one of those small, strong, silent types.

Not quite. Porsche along with other manufacturers release 'model years' early. My Boxster S was registered on 31/10/03 when new but the certificate of authenticity from Porsche (came as part of my Porsche GB membership) states the "Model Year" as 2004. Silly really.

The new model build starts after the summer holiday, so September, but they have to use up the parts, so the first cars of a new MY may include bits from the previous year. As mentioned above. Certainly was a bugger for Autoglass on my October delivery 03 model. Have to check the VIN numbers.

After 90000 miles, the 8% failure rate will increase at an unknown rate?

How long did they fit the small single row bearings for?