For a used Porsche Boxster in mid October 2026, an early 986 or first 987 is a cheap way into a mid-engine Porsche only if you budget for the IMS bearing question and pay for a specialist inspection, while 2009-and-later cars, which fall after the IMS era in Porsche Club of America's timeline, cost more but take that worry off the table. The 718 Boxster that arrived for 2017 switched to turbocharged flat-fours, except the GTS 4.0 and Spyder models that brought a 4.0-liter flat-six back. Pick the engine you can live with first, then check the VIN, because the decoder data on some Boxsters is plainly wrong.
We tested that on October 14, 2026 in the free vPIC decoder. Sample 2000 and 2005 Boxster patterns came back with Uusikaupunki, Finland (Valmet) as the plant, a 2.5 for the 2000 car and 2.7 and 3.2 for the 2005 base and S. A 2013 WP0CA2A8 pattern listed Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and 2.9 liters. Then the 2017 patterns went sideways. A WP0CA2A8 718 Boxster decoded as a 2.7-liter six and the S pattern as a 3.4-liter six, which are the old engines, not the four-cylinders those cars actually have. Do not use that field to argue with a seller. Our Porsche VIN decoder post shows which characters to trust.
The IMS bearing, without the panic
The IMS story belongs to the older M96 and M97 flat-six cars. The Porsche Club of America's tech answer page says the intermediate shaft arrived with the first Boxster for 1997 and carried through the 986, 987 and 997 into 2008, that 1997-2000 cars used a dual-row bearing, and that a single-row bearing with a slightly higher failure rate came in sometime in 2000. Hagerty's Boxster ownership story quotes an Ohio Porsche shop saying an M96 rebuild runs $25,000 to $35,000 while an IMS solution is about $3,300 to $4,300 out the door, and that failures seem most common on low-mileage cars that sat.
So a 60,000-mile car that was driven every week is not automatically scarier than a 20,000-mile garage car. Ask for receipts showing an IMS retrofit, and if there are none, price the car as if you will do it. The same Hagerty piece recommends a pre-purchase inspection from a real Porsche shop (the one quoted charges $450) and says to include a check for bore scoring, which it calls rare on 986 cars compared with later generations.
Where the 718 is different
The 718 is the newer and simpler choice if you can accept the sound. Car and Driver's first ride in the 2017 718 calls it a heavy refresh of the third-generation Boxster (the 981) with turbocharged flat-fours of 2.0 and 2.5 liters replacing the 2.7 and 3.4 flat-sixes, rated at 300 and 350 hp. Car and Driver's 718 Boxster page tracks the later model years. That page lists today's lineup as a 300-hp 2.0-liter four, a 350-hp 2.5-liter four in the S, a 394-hp 4.0-liter flat-six in the GTS 4.0 and a 493-hp flat-six in the Spyder RS. The first-ride review also names 2.7 and 3.4 liters for the outgoing third-generation engines, which means our 2013 decode showing 2.9 for a base car was off as well.
Recalls to clear by VIN
For third-generation cars, 21V-679 replaces rear-axle carrier side sections that may fracture on 2013-2015 Boxsters, 2013-2014 Boxster S and 2015 Boxster GTS cars. On the 718, 19V-113 adds rivets to a crossmember that may detach from the luggage compartment bracket in a crash and cause a fuel leak on 2017-2019 cars, and 17V-054 fixes fuel collection pipe screws that may shear on 2017 718s. The rarest is 21V-200 covers 2021 Boxster GTS 4.0 and 718 Spyder cars whose connecting rods may crack, with rods or the whole engine replaced.
There are smaller campaigns too, including a 2014-2015 hood lock (14V-698), a 2024 shift cable clip (24V-343) and a Tiptronic key-lock cable on 1997-2003 cars (03V-004). Run the VIN through our NHTSA recall check by VIN walkthrough and ask a Porsche dealer for the open list.
Title history and what it costs to check
A soft-top car that sat outside through a storm can hide water damage, and a cheap 986 is exactly the kind of car that gets fixed up and resold after an insurance total loss. If a Boxster is priced well under similar cars, read our salvage title explainer before you go see it. CARFAX says its reports pull title, odometer, accident and ownership records, and a seller PDF with no VIN on it is not a report.
Through us in mid October 2026, a CARFAX report is about $5.50 as a guest or about $4.50 as a member, and a CARFAX plus AutoCheck bundle is about $6.75, compared with roughly $39.99 to $44.99 at retail. Confirm at checkout. We are a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller and are not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck, or Experian. If you are really torn between the roadster and the rear-engine car, our used Porsche 911 buying guide covers the 997 IMS overlap.
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