Considering a boxster

[mason storm]

I have been looking to replace my 2.5SE, test drove a Boxster, really liked the car but the price was too high. Test drove a 3.0si sport coupe this morning from a private seller which was really nice but noticed a patch of flat looking paint. the seller said he had a scratch repaired and will see a friend in the bodyshop business to see if he can get it sorted. I'm not sure I want to risk this now and am getting nervouse over a private sale.

Anyway the Porsche dealer rang me again today as they have dropped the price so I am seeing him tomorrow to see what he offers on my car. Parkers says about £9K and I don't want to accept less than this. Does this sound about right for a 2.5SE '05 plate with 56K on the clock. Full service history (indy rather than BMW). My car has 108's, 10 speaker system, sport seats, leather.

 

[paddy wright]

boxter is a crap car imo- wait for a good 3.0 or m??

 

[ZermattV]

certainly would not take less than 9k for it .. someone on here would surely take it from you at that money and then (if you must) negotiate a better deal on the 911-lite.

 

[ksher]

I prefer Cayman to Boxster.

 

[BobZ4]

I recon you will regret it once you get your first garage bill, I have heard some horror stories. I am not saying that our cars are cheap to run but at least the majority of work can be done diy, better the devil you know in my opinion.

 

[mason storm]

I prefer Cayman to Boxster.

Yeah Cayman's are nice but a bit too expensive for me, also i do like the roof down on my Z

 

[mason storm]

I recon you will regret it once you get your first garage bill, I have heard some horror stories. I am not saying that our cars are cheap to run but at least the majority of work can be done diy, better the devil you know in my opinion.

I am a bit concerened about this, what horror stories have you heard? I do get a 2 year warranty as it's a used approved Porsche

 

[ksher]

I heard that engines in Boxster and Cayman all have problems and expensive to fix. Someone told me service bill is £1.5k. Is it true?

 

[Ewazix]

Hi, I researched the Boxster to death before going for a Z, they are a great drive probably more involving than a Z and the engineering is stunning..........but you will be very lucky to get two or three years use out of a used one without a BIG bill. RMS (rear main seal) is a well known problem, just look at the for-sale adverts with a recent engine or box even at low miles (check the forums) and servicing is very pricy :thumbsdown: . By contrast how many Z’ds have been reported with full engine or box problems on here for example?

 

[mason storm]

Hi, I researched the Boxster to death before going for a Z, they are a great drive probably more involving than a Z and the engineering is stunning..........but you will be very lucky to get two or three years use out of a used one without a BIG bill. RMS (rear main seal) is a well known problem, just look at the for-sale adverts with a recent engine or box even at low miles (check the forums) and servicing is very pricy :thumbsdown: . By contrast how many Z’ds have been reported with full engine or box problems on here for example?

Yes I heard about the RMS, but was hoping the 2 year warranty should cover it if it went and thought it was still quite rare? I was thinking of selling before the warranty runs out just in case.

I guess i need to see if there is an independant specialist I could take it to for servicing.

 

[BGG]

Hi guys,
Newbie here and first post, joined to get as much info on Z4's before I make a purchase probably early next year.

Anyhoo, the Boxster was another car that interested me too so did quite a bit of research into those as well.

As has been mentioned on here reliability is the biggest concern and the price of parts .... so from me it's a no no.

One of the docs where i work bought a used one from JCT last year, came with warranty, after about two months of driving they said the discs needed replacing. So discs all round and pads and a coupe of hoses I think was about £1,500
There is an excellent Porsche specialist up here in Gateshead, Tom Ferguson and my mate has just had his in for a minor service and discs and pads all round and it was still £900 , he was looking at a new clutch to which was gonna be £600 + he thought nearer £1,000 after fitting.
They are also well known for eating oil seals etc which have to be replaced every three years, servicing and maintenance is expensive as there is no room to work in the engine bay and a lot has to come out.

Looking at everything I've read on here over the last week the Z4 seems a helluva lot more reliable and cheaper to run.

Anyway, nice to be here, so much info and so many nice cars

Cheers ...

Ainsley

 

[mason storm]

Hi guys,
Newbie here and first post, joined to get as much info on Z4's before I make a purchase probably early next year.

Anyhoo, the Boxster was another car that interested me too so did quite a bit of research into those as well.

As has been mentioned on here reliability is the biggest concern and the price of parts .... so from me it's a no no.

One of the docs where i work bought a used one from JCT last year, came with warranty, after about two months of driving they said the discs needed replacing. So discs all round and pads and a coupe of hoses I think was about £1,500
There is an excellent Porsche specialist up here in Gateshead, Tom Ferguson and my mate has just had his in for a minor service and discs and pads all round and it was still £900 , he was looking at a new clutch to which was gonna be £600 + he thought nearer £1,000 after fitting.
They are also well known for eating oil seals etc which have to be replaced every three years, servicing and maintenance is expensive as there is no room to work in the engine bay and a lot has to come out.


Looking at everything I've read on here over the last week the Z4 seems a helluva lot more reliable and cheaper to run.

Anyway, nice to be here, so much info and so many nice cars

Cheers ...

Ainsley

What kind of mileage had this boxster done? The one I am looking at has only 11,000 miles but i will check how much is left on the brakes as it's a used approved one they should not be selling if the brakes need changing soon

 

[Lance]

I too have a 2.5Z4 and my brother has a 2.7 Boxster. Whilst I really enjoy my car, if I could afford to run it I'd have the Boxster. IMO, a better drive, a nicer place to be and a nicer looking car.

Running costs, including parts/servicing etc are considerably more expensive than the Z4, however personally I don't buy into the unreliable issue. Porsche do have problems as do most manufacturers, however I wouldn't be put off by reliability worries.

The Z4 too is a great car, I just think the Boxster is better. Oh' and that tosh about not being a real Porsche is as knobbish (IMO) as hairdresser comments.

Cheers
lance

 

[cj10jeeper]

I had to fill up today and a '60' plate white Boxter pulled up at the next pump. Had a good long look and in the end decided it did nothing for me. I'm sure it has finer poise than the Z4 on the limit ,but seemed to lack any character - just looked bland.

The owner opened the boot lid and that convinved me - no way it was a joke of a space compared to the Zed Sure I'm aware it has more storage at the front too)

 

[Ewazix]

I too have a 2.5Z4 and my brother has a 2.7 Boxster. Whilst I really enjoy my car, if I could afford to run it I'd have the Boxster. IMO, a better drive, a nicer place to be and a nicer looking car.

Running costs, including parts/servicing etc are considerably more expensive than the Z4, however personally I don't buy into the unreliable issue. Porsche do have problems as do most manufacturers, however I wouldn't be put off by reliability worries.

The Z4 too is a great car, I just think the Boxster is better. Oh' and that tosh about not being a real Porsche is as knobbish (IMO) as hairdresser comments.

Cheers
lance

Hey I want a Porsche, I’ve wanted once since having a 911 Turbo poster as a kid, and a local guy with an RS passing my house on full chat every day, but it’s not a case of buying in to reliability issues or not, it’s a fact. Check forums, check out the firms specialising in top end or full engine re-builds? Have a look at reliability indexes like Warranty Direct, they rate cost against risk and publish the results for real life claims. A score of 100 is average, the Z scores 80 because it is more reliable than average and or repair total costs are lower. Boxster scores 222, which is frightening! (and is worse than an Alfa GTV).
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/

 

[mason storm]

I too have a 2.5Z4 and my brother has a 2.7 Boxster. Whilst I really enjoy my car, if I could afford to run it I'd have the Boxster. IMO, a better drive, a nicer place to be and a nicer looking car.

Running costs, including parts/servicing etc are considerably more expensive than the Z4, however personally I don't buy into the unreliable issue. Porsche do have problems as do most manufacturers, however I wouldn't be put off by reliability worries.

The Z4 too is a great car, I just think the Boxster is better. Oh' and that tosh about not being a real Porsche is as knobbish (IMO) as hairdresser comments.

Cheers
lance

Thanks for your input, although I don't think it looks beter than a Z4 I still think the Z4 is better looking than just about anything for that kind of money. However it will be nice to have a completely different car rather than upgrading my Z to a 3.0si. It does ride much better over b roads though so it probably faster on these kind of roads.

 

[lucky77]

My collegue has a cayman and his wife has a cayenne. He said that porsche were very strict in terms of maintaining your warranty to the point where they gave him a list of "approved" tyre centres that he had to use or risk invalidating his warranty on the car :?

 

[mason storm]

I too have a 2.5Z4 and my brother has a 2.7 Boxster. Whilst I really enjoy my car, if I could afford to run it I'd have the Boxster. IMO, a better drive, a nicer place to be and a nicer looking car.

Running costs, including parts/servicing etc are considerably more expensive than the Z4, however personally I don't buy into the unreliable issue. Porsche do have problems as do most manufacturers, however I wouldn't be put off by reliability worries.

The Z4 too is a great car, I just think the Boxster is better. Oh' and that tosh about not being a real Porsche is as knobbish (IMO) as hairdresser comments.

Cheers
lance

Hey I want a Porsche, I’ve wanted once since having a 911 Turbo poster as a kid, and a local guy with an RS passing my house on full chat every day, but it’s not a case of buying in to reliability issues or not, it’s a fact. Check forums, check out the firms specialising in top end or full engine re-builds? Have a look at reliability indexes like Warranty Direct, they rate cost against risk and publish the results for real life claims. A score of 100 is average, the Z scores 80 because it is more reliable than average and or repair total costs are lower. Boxster scores 222, which is frightening! (and is worse than an Alfa GTV).
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/

Intersting thanks for that, as i said I will have a 2 year warranty i wouldn't buy without this peace of mind. having said that i would still be peed off if it went wrong

 

[chris]

I was looking at the boxsters as well when in search of a new car. Just because the Boxster S was coming right down on price, and superb all rounders. However as mentioned the problems with suspension and engines was incredible. One i looked at, had so much service and repair bills i was actually almost put off just by that! I love my cars and keep them in pristine order with no expense spared, always use RP oil which is about £100 just for the oil itself, and change well before the service indicators tell me too. Anal, yes But i drive it hard, and want it as reliable as any other car, and the Boxster aint that. Weekend car yes, week car no imo. As said never owned one, so maybe they are ok.

And the 2.5 and 2.7! My god was it worth making them! Felt like they have no power at all, i thought there was something wrong with it until i saw the 0-60 claimed times, then the Boxster S was the only option, and as i said, no option when you look into it a bit more, well not for me anyway.

The later ones with no orange gayness look nice though. And ive wanted a 911 as many others from about the age of 12! And will have one! One day :wink: Or the Carrera GT perhaps

 

[tomTVR]

I too have a 2.5Z4 and my brother has a 2.7 Boxster. Whilst I really enjoy my car, if I could afford to run it I'd have the Boxster. IMO, a better drive, a nicer place to be and a nicer looking car.

On balance i would say the Boxster is the better car. Better put together and a nicer drive.

However there's no way it looks anywhere near as good as the Z4, inside or out. Just no competition at all!