Dilemma: ///m vs. boxster

[Woots]

When i got my zed i was trading in a 116i and was in a siilar state, owned the car for 6 months, owed more than it was worth and as part of the "deal" the salesman said he'd settle the finance deal and literally just start afresh.

...95% certain he didn't add your shortfall to your new loan though. He has used the profit margin in the Z to subsidise your trade in and get a deal closed. My guess is on your invoice, either they paid more for your 116i or the Z is discounted by the amount you needed. As long as they make a decent profit overall, he's happy. Plus BMW dealers, in my experience, always, always, always try and bend you over with a laughable opening offer for your car. I guess a fair number of people just accept it?

Example: I was offered £17,000 for my E46 M3 against this Z. They wouldn't budge past £19,000. I sold it for £23,500.

Don't forget if you do use car finance, shop around and perhaps use a broker. Failing that, remember BMW standard rates are hilarious and come down through negotiating.

yeh mate they offered me the 11k for my 116i which was exactly what i owed, so rather than haggling 2k off the zed they gave me more for the 116i and just fettled around with the zed price. The dealer i went to didnt reaalllyy rip me off anyways cos my dads spent so much with them they dont usually take the piss
Ill just hafta see really....2.0's arent really gettin much private anyways and so i'll just hafta see what i can do come sep reallyyy....

 

[easty027]

i cant imagine anything with a porsche emblem on it will be cheap(er) to service. they also score very highly (or is that badly) on reliability index's. ive done the research as i have also thought about switching to a boxster many times.

 

[Hark]

I echo what others have said. I stopped looking at TVRs and the Boxtser S when I saw the running costs and reliability stories.

 

[Dogmatic6]

If you will be half way through your finance agreement can't you just hand the car back? I did this with my z4 3.0 which was through BMW finance. I went for an M and my local dealer wouldn't do a trade in as they wouldn't make any money on it so I just handed it back which cleared the finance.

 

[martinb1966]

if your serious why not a cayman ? better looking car and fitting a lsd changes it totally my mate is the chairman of porsche uk and swears by them but hates the boxster , ive got a z4mc and he even says its pretty ! and on top of that it will nail a boxster driven right ! stay with bavarian excellence !

 

[Beedub]

The boxtser spyder i had on loan was imo sensational..... It was like a roofless slower gt3, the handling and drive still stick with me now!!

Designed as a roadster from the off so a hugely stiff platform like your zed!!

Cayman again... Lovely car. They way they steer, brake and interact with you will blow you away.

 

[billygilly]

I understand your always gonna have a car on finance and so am I but £20,000 on finance just look at the PCM figures the odd fork out on tyres etc.

And yes Mikedav I am talking about affordablity, we both work for the armed forces not KPMG or barcleys!

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Banbury]

First thing - you need to go and drive the Boxster if you have not done already.
As some of the folks have already posted - Servicing costs are more at Porsche. Although I do think they have even nicer coffee than BMW dealerships… 12-month Warranty is more for a Boxster. Servicing is more. Parts are more. Note: I have a £3000 Service bill that I keep for posterity - Rear Main Seal Failure + Disc + Pads etc, etc.
Reliability. The 986 suffered from RMS. So if you go for the earlier car then get this checked.
The 987 is more reliable (different seal). If Servicing costs scare you then go to an Independent - someone like Autofarm are good. Even if you are considering a Boxster I would talk to Autofarm anyway.
Performance? I can only speak for the 986 "S". Way more low-down torque. I drove an early 987 2.7 (for 30 minutes). To be honest it was still a nice car. And the interior is miles better than the 986.
Living with a Boxster? We had one for 3.5 years. Used as a Weekend car. Overall great. Wife and I loved it. Servicing is expensive but the car put a smile on your face every time you drove it.
Anything else? Well we sold the car and "lost" £15k due to Depreciation and Servicing costs so please factor depreciation into your costs.
Either way you are lucky to be in the "difficult" position! :wink:

 

[chetalien]

Woots- I was in your position about 2yrs ago. had 2.5i and was looking at 3.0si/M/boxster s. Test drove them all. Honestly Boxster was brilliant and so precise and great drive. but M gave me such a high. I'vent looked back since. Its an awesome car. I dont like precise driving I like hard driving just like I like bad girls.
test drive them both and you will know. Good luck.

 

[Aliv6]

I can't shake the Boxster image...I.e Poor mans Porsche...So i'm affraid i would never buy one. (Beneath the snobbery, i'm certain its an excellent car)

Same applies for Evos, Scoobs, FRS, Skylines...etc...All amazing in their own right but common and driven by chavs... I'm out.

 

[mikedav]

Anyone who calls a Boxster a poor mans Porsche simply shows their blatant ignorance IMO and I would just laugh at them; anyone who has driven one would know thats not the case. A well equipped Boxster is £40k-£45k anyway, hardly cheap.

I don't like them, but they are very very good.

 

[GCB]

I can't shake the Boxster image...I.e Poor mans Porsche...So i'm affraid i would never buy one. (Beneath the snobbery, i'm certain its an excellent car)

Same applies for Evos, Scoobs, FRS, Skylines...etc...All amazing in their own right but common and driven by chavs... I'm out.

Ali from Cliosport.net? Used to go on there some time back when I had a 172.

Sorry to go off topic, but how come you've kept the Clio V6 after getting the Z4?

 

[rob davey]

So 5 people here at work drive Boxster's only one of them is a non S. This says to me that the non-S is pretty much pointless and is also seen as you not being able to afford the 'proper' boxster even then most people assume you couldn't afford a 'proper' Porsche hence why you bought a box.
There is no denying the Porsche isn't good because it is. Fact. Any motoring press will tell you that. But I think the difference is emotion. The M makes you feel whereas I never felt anything in the boxster. It was just a quick car, that's all.
Running / servicing etc all the same for both. Buy the car you want not the one your told to, go and drive them both see how they make you feel. If you like the box buy it, if the M scares the pants off you and you think you need that in your life buy that. :simples:

haha BRILLIANT

i think i need some scares in my life
sounds like a bloody good day to me as well lol
and for a boxster s with lowish miles its about 24k which is pretty steep compared to an ///m
what do u think the chances are tht they'd let me test drive a car now even tho i cant buy until sep lol

what do u reck would be bmw's view on it if i part ex'd m car for an ///m

mine was 15k so i pay bout 330 a month,i'll be halfway thru my 4 year finance deal, worth prob about 8, owe about 10 i reck so if i went to buy an 18k car do you think id be payin much more than i am now? does tht make sense? cos im signing up for another deal so theyd make money out of tht....

I recently sold my 2.0 06 for £7700 but it had 73,000 miles. I'm guessing yours is lower milage so should be worth more than 8k??

 

[powerontap]

My thoughts? Da, M!

 

[Franzino]

I've driven both. Had a friends boxster s for 3 days. Left me cold to be honest. Doesn't compare to the M in terms of ceremony. Sure it's an accomplished car and handles superbly, just doesn't provide the raw thrill that the M does. Also, servicing costs from Porsche aren't any better than M-power servicing by main BMW dealers. I'd choose the M every day.

+1

Had he said either an M or 997 I would have said 997 so I'm not biased in any way!

You are on a BMW forum, so most answers will say BMW. I must say I'm not a big Porsche guy...but for a dedicated track car I would take a GT3 any day over a M3 GTS. If the decision is 911 (997) vs M then I would probably also say; get a 997 Carrera S. In my country servicing cost and parts of a Porsche are higher then a BMW M. I think Porsche are a bit overpriced.

A Boxter S vs Z4Mr is a good comparison. I also drove the Boxter S for one day...in essence it drives good and it's really easy to drive. It's feels slower and the driving feels is a bit boring. The Boxter S did not challenge me and did not give me the same level of thrills as my Z4M. A Boxter S is really not a car for me and I also don't like the look. Side note; always funny when a guy in a Boxter S is standing a the red light and want's to show off it's so called sports car performance.. Most of them don't recognize a Z4M (without M badges). I'm not a big street racer, but then I get carried away in my childishness and put the throttle down :wink:

 

[bigshurv]

Check your finance agreement. If you are on a standard hp agreement, you can hand the car back to BMW finance once 50% of the total amount payable has been reached. This amount will be highlighted on your agreement.There are two items called the halves and thirds,its the halves you should be looking at.There is no comeback on this you are just exercising your consumer rights.Much better than being 2k in neg equity. It is dangerous to keep rolling neg eq from one car into another as it tends to get worse each time ending up a massive debt that is hard to clear usually resulting in a separate loan. ( Can't you tell I'm in the motor finance business)