Porsche Boxster Buyer's Guide
Four tracked Boxster sales, £2,450 to £18,975, median £9,680, with seven more live as we write. These are the 986 and 987 generations, and the near eight-fold spread from floor to ceiling is the market pricing one thing above all: whether the engine's known risks have been addressed and documented, or merely hoped about.
What to pay
£2,450, our floor, buys a 986 with high miles, thin history and the engine lottery unhedged; at this money the car is priced as a consumable. Around £9,680, our median, buys the honest middle of the market: cared-for 986s and earlier 987s with history and, ideally, evidence of preventative engine work. £15,000 to £18,975, towards our ceiling, is 987 territory: the later, better-built cars, stronger specifications, full files. Seven live lots makes this one of the best-supplied Porsche markets in our records, so buy the file, not the first car.
What goes wrong
The M96 and M97 engines of this era carry two well-documented risks: intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing failure, which can destroy the engine without warning, and cylinder bore scoring, which announces itself with oil consumption and a telltale tick. Both are established, both are inspectable (bearing invoices for the first, borescope for the second), and both are already priced into the market rather than lurking outside it. Beyond the engine the news is good: galvanised body, durable interior, strong specialist network and sensible parts pricing by Porsche standards. Roof drains block and flood the electrics; clear them.
Our view
The cheapest way into a mid-engined Porsche, and the chassis is the equal of far dearer machinery. Buy on engine evidence: a median-money car with an IMS invoice and a clean borescope beats a cheaper gamble every time. The 987 is the keeper's pick, and cars bought right at today's money have little depreciation left to do.
