Boxsters?

H

Herminator

Senior member
 Edinburgh
Does anyone have any experience with Porsche Boxsters?

I'm just considering alternatives at the moment, but the Boxster has really grabbed my attention.
I'm considering the 2.7 or 3.2S. In the range of £9k-£11k with some room to go above that for the right car but I'd like to keep that bit of my budget in reserve for when things go wrong. The Boxsters potential for big bills does scare me a bit.

Cars in my price range seem to range from 40k to 100k in milage. Of course lower milage sounds better but it's a compramise with spec and age.
Should I really try and go for a facelift? The biggest improvement seems to be the glass rear screen, rather than plastic. I've also heard the roof is more solid (more layers), but this has also been mentioned on earlier cars, was this a seperate change sometime before 2002? Is the earlier roof quite noisey and uninsulated?

Would you choose a 2.7 facelift Boxster or a prefacelift 3.2S? If they were similar money and well looked after.

I'll be looking for good history, but don't mind non Porsche servicing if it was done by a specialist. I'd be using a specialist myself.

I obviously need to get any car inspected before buying, but are the regular RAC type companies ok for this or should I try and find a Porsche specialist? Bearing in mind, finding a car close to home is unlikely.

I'll be trying to keep the milage down to around 10k a year if I get another sports car, especially a Porsche. I really didn't like putting 20k a year on my Z, despite the fun of driving it.
I'm also on the look out for the right Z4, but it's hard to find one that compares to my old one, I may wait a couple months to get a Z4 as the prices seem to be a little inflated at the moment.
 
I wouldn't touch an older boxter if you want to keep you wallet in tact. My boss has an 02 3.2S and it had a small oil leak, cost £ 800 to fix as the engine had to come out to get at it. And that was at an indy ,not main stealer.
 
A friend of mine runs an earlier 3.2 'S'
He tells me the performance and drive is phenomenal, but anything like servicing or repairs/spares is an eyewatering experience. Makes the Z4 look like a cheap car to run.
 
IF nothing goes wrogn then they're actually not expensive to run: service annually via Porsche to keep a full Porsche service history with intermediate oil changes. But it's a bit IF.

My father-in-law ran a pre-facelift 3.2S and it was lovely (apart from being yellow :cry:). He sold it about 12 months ago and has been looking for a repalcement Cayman S since, but has started looking back at newer Boxster S's as their prices at auction are ridiculously low (he's a car trader). His advice is that the post-facelifts are by far the more desirable car, and also to avoid the older 2.7!
 
I looked and test drove a 2001 3.2s Boxster before I got the Z4 earlier this year, and I have to say I found it a much better car to drive IMHO than the Z4. I had around 10k to spend but could only find higher mileage ones affordable and like you, was worried about the running costs. That's why I now have the Z4. Not as good a car, (again my opinion) but much cheaper to run and still loads of fun. My thoughts are to save a little for a newer Boxster next year perhaps with lower mileage and a decent history. I know of a 2001 locally with only 3k on the clock (yes 3k!) which I might consider for a higher price at some point (it's a friends car who's thinking of getting rid next year).

Check out the Boxster Forum and see what those guys have to say......

Good luck. :thumbsup:
 
Crank oil seal = £££

Service items a bit more than Z4 because it's unique parts rather than generic high volume E46 ones.

Personally I'd wait for a 987S than an older one, newer interiors, more power, fresher looks. The interiors really are poor in 996 gen cars if you are used to E85's :)


Sound good though, and come as standard setup right, rather than with muted sound generator and RFT etc. Good out of the box!

987S or 996 911 if your going into the next step up on running cost rung, IMHO!
 
IMS failure is what scares me. See hear for description: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wild-ass-rumor-of-the-day-porsche-boxster-engine-failures/

It happened to my brothers 05 plate with 35k on the clock. He had to argue very hard with the dealers for a replacement engine as he was a week out of warranty. Good job as they are 8k to buy a new one :o

A friend just sold his 03 plate boxster s with 80k on the clock says he couldn't handle the paranoia and it had to go. Says a lot when you think he owns his own italian car specialist garage! He only had it for 6 months but said the Porsche forums indicated that the IMS failures tend to happen to low or high mileage cars.

The facelift models dont have these problems as far as im aware. Look loads better too.
 
Dreamer said:
IMS failure is what scares me. See hear for description: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wild-ass-rumor-of-the-day-porsche-boxster-engine-failures/

It happened to my brothers 05 plate with 35k on the clock. He had to argue very hard with the dealers for a replacement engine as he was a week out of warranty. Good job as they are 8k to buy a new one :o

A friend just sold his 03 plate boxster s with 80k on the clock says he couldn't handle the paranoia and it had to go. Says a lot when you think he owns his own italian car specialist garage! He only had it for 6 months but said the Porsche forums indicated that the IMS failures tend to happen to low or high mileage cars.

The facelift models dont have these problems as far as im aware. Look loads better too.
Click to expand...

ouch! That alone would put me off...
 
Google 'Boxster RMS' ..

Early models had a crank case issue causing a slight oil weep ... ( ah well, it's a sports car ) but there's an inexpensive seal for the job ..... however, replacing it means taking half of the car rear out = £££+ £ !


In the meantime Porsche 'fix' this issue for all models ..... or have they, Google 'Porsche RMS'

For me, in deciding a Zed V Box - the Porsche came out as too much of a chance to take, (besides the general servicing costs etc)..... but I would never say never !
 
Yeah, I've been reading about the RMS and the IMS failure.
The RMS seems to occure for some people more than others, and possibly more on weekend toys, but it can still hit anyone with a £800 bill :thumbsdown:
The IMS is the scarey one, needing a new engine, but it seems to occure before 40k miles, if you get past that point, it should be safe.

New clutches get done a lot with RMS failures, so add to the bills :|
Brake discs and pads wear quicker than the Z4 too.

I'll pop around to a local dealership tomorrow, where they have a 2.7 It's overpriced but I'll atleast get a feel for if it's much better than a Z4.

I'm only going to put my Brera up on the Alfa owners forum and the free Piston Head ads, if someone wants it for the right price then they can have it. I'm not desperate to sell though.
 
Mr Whippy said:
Personally I'd wait for a 987S than an older one, newer interiors, more power, fresher looks.
Click to expand...
Agreed, the 986 is looking very dated now.

I think I'd take a 987 2.7 over a 986 3.2.
 
I had a 986 boxster s 550 spyder which was a lovely car but after a few months the 2nd gear synchro went, costing me £2000. After that I had no faith in the car so I got rid. Not regretted it for an instance.
 
Wondermike said:
Mr Whippy said:
Personally I'd wait for a 987S than an older one, newer interiors, more power, fresher looks.
Click to expand...
Agreed, the 986 is looking very dated now.

I think I'd take a 987 2.7 over a 986 3.2.
Click to expand...

The 987 is definetly out of my budget.
My original plan was to get a 7-8k Boxster and have a large emergancy fund, but I was persuaded to go newer and lower milage. Gradually getting towards a 2002 facelift. I'll have a drive of one tomorrow, but I'll not be rushing out and buying one next week. Maybe see what happens to prices in the next few months. I do wonder if I could live with the worry of what might happen, but there is still an itch to be scratched.

I still really like the shape of Boxsters, the interior is a bit dated but it's still better than most more modern cars. The outside is simple and hasn't aged badly at all, it's very classy in the right colour, especially grey.

An MX5 would be a more logical choice but I much prefer the older pop up light shape, which are getting too old now. The newest shape really doesn't do it for me, and the old shape without pop-up lights is pretty girly. I think I need to look on PistonHeads for something special.
 
Just remembered, from the Boxa.net forums. It seems Tesco have stopped offering warranties for cars, they were loosing too much money. Boxster guys used them a lot since they were about £400 rather than £800ish that other companies wanted :headbang:
 
Herminator said:
The 987 is definetly out of my budget.
My original plan was to get a 7-8k Boxster and have a large emergancy fund...
Click to expand...
Yep I never read your first post properly.

Maybe in that range I would be looking at an S2000. Don't think you'll be happy with an MX-5 after a 3.0 Z4. I've had two, nice cars but no air con, not very fast, cabin is dated, it'd feel like a big backwards step.
 
Muso said:
For me, in deciding a Zed V Box - the Porsche came out as too much of a chance to take, (besides the general servicing costs etc)..... but I would never say never !
Click to expand...


X2
 
Exactly why this year I started to spend money on my Zed, I just could'nt find anything that gave me the feeling the Zed did when I first saw it. Had a very quick look at Boxters & Cayman's earlier this year, but everything that has already been highlighted put me off.
 
Wondermike said:
Herminator said:
The 987 is definetly out of my budget.
My original plan was to get a 7-8k Boxster and have a large emergancy fund...
Click to expand...
Yep I never read your first post properly.

Maybe in that range I would be looking at an S2000. Don't think you'll be happy with an MX-5 after a 3.0 Z4. I've had two, nice cars but no air con, not very fast, cabin is dated, it'd feel like a big backwards step.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about the MX5, everyone says it handles great, but I want a bit of power and refinement.

I guess when you spend months searching for the right car and buy it, when you come to sell and find the next car, months of research a year or two later is going to show the same cars as being the best :roll:

The 350Z I really should like more, but have been less impressed as time goes on. They look great in the right spec, but I don't know if they're "me" Their image has been tarnished by boy racers, I'm only 27 myself (as of today) but I probably have the tastes of someone older and yet look much younger.
 
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