Worth upgrading IMS bearing on apparently healthy Carrera?

[scoobysnacks2]

I'm seriously considering buying a late 996 or early 997 Carrera and I was wondering if it's advisable to upgrade the IMS bearing on a car with no apparent problems or could this cause more harm than good for any reason (not just the £1.5k of harm to my pocket...)?

What do the experts like Autofarm and Hartech recommend?

Any thoughts appreciated.

[scoobysnacks2]

Thanks guys, some great info and advice so far. The magnetic sump plug sounds like a very good idea which could (should?) provide an early warning with little expenditure.

[scoobysnacks2]

On balance then, it sounds like the best advice is to wait until you need a clutch or RMS leak fixing before replacing the IMS bearing.

Obviously there are risks in doing this, but perhaps they're not quite big enough to warrant the potentially unnecessary cost for most of us.

I think that's what I'd do, along with buying the car from a good specialist with a warranty and then getting on a maintenance plan before that warranty expires...

Alternatively I suppose I could just buy a Turbo :-)