Talk me out of a Boxster, please...

[AndyBeech]

On a side note I can't believe people are saying it's ugly, I think its a lovely looking car, yes the interior is a bit dated but the design is almost 20 years old. Would you discount a 993 turbo for it's "dated" interior?

Apples and oranges, you can't compare a 911 to a Boxster. If I had the money for a decent 911 when looking for a Z4M I would have been all over the Porsche. I wouldn't 'discount' it just because of the interior, but personally I like a nice cabin area to sit in on those mundane journeys, and the Zed is far superior to the Boxster, so for me it was an issue. If it's not a consideration personally then it's a point you can ignore
I don't think the car's ugly, but from certain angles it looks pretty uninspiring, the headlights for example are plain gash, again when compared to a Z4 which this thread is about, the Z4 just has a far more classic design in my opinion. Not perfect either, but it just has more presence.

 

[ZermattV]

It's easy

E85 vs 986 - get the E85

981 vs E89 - get the 981

Seriously I think the E85 is a great car as Paul states the maint costs are not too scary and it's a lovely looking car - handling not perfect but ebpngine makes up for it it's a real modern classic in its set up front engined straight six rear wheel drive sports car - the end of an era in many ways. Can't go wrong with a 3.0 E85.

 

[srhutch]

OK, so while the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, it's fairly representative of where I am at the moment.

I'm in the market for a two-seater, automatic soft-top, with a budget of about £7k (2.7/3.2 Boxster vs. 3.0 Z4). I want something that will deal equally well with Central London traffic and the occasional countryside thrash, while not trying to bankrupt me.

I tested a 2001 Boxster S tiptronic at the weekend, and absolutely loved the way it drove and felt - much more of a 'junior supercar' feel than I remember from my time as a passenger in a Z4. However, on the other side of the coin, the fabled Boxster unreliability reported on the internet scares the pants off me, and the Z4 appears to be an absolute counter-point in this respect. All my reading about the Z4 suggests that it's a really easy ownership proposition, and still reasonably fun to drive.

My problem appears to be a simple head/heart conundrum...
Head: The Z4 is a much more reliable, predictable ownership prospect.
Heart: The Boxster excites me in a way that the Z4 doesn't necessarily.

I'm sure this must be a comparison that some here have made (or even owned), and I would be keen to hear what tipped you over the edge towards the Z4? Which models did you compare?

Not saying it will help, but you need to drive a Z4 which it sounds like you haven't. That could easily give you the answer to your question one way or the other.

 

[Newbers]

It's a long time since I've driven a Boxter but I did get the opportunity to thrash a new Cayman around the Porsche centre at Silverstone the other day. It was fantastic on the track but out on the skid pan you really notice how a mid-engined car understeers until you weight up the front wheels when you turn in. Obviously you get used to this but I do drive with the traction control off (first setting) and do like to be able to kick the back out - which is easy on a Z4. Less appropriate to a Boxter on the road. That reminds me - my brother had one in 2001 and hit a sheet of ply that was lying on a roundabout. He folded it (the car!) in two round a lamp post and was extremely lucky to walk away....

 

[buzyg]

Only driven a couple of boxters. Never taken to them. The seats are very uncomfortable for me and the engine is a bit of a let down. But bear in mind My yard sticks are the zed sports seats and the 3.2 engine.

 

[Z4M-2006]

It's easy

E85 vs 986 - get the E85

981 vs E89 - get the 981

Seriously I think the E85 is a great car as Paul states the maint costs are not too scary and it's a lovely looking car - handling not perfect but ebpngine makes up for it it's a real modern classic in its set up front engined straight six rear wheel drive sports car - the end of an era in many ways. Can't go wrong with a 3.0 E85.

987.2 is a good car..

987.1 still has that gash engine....

987 looks a lot better than the early boxster, but they are still a bit fugly. The front and rear just look the same from a side profile...

That said... Boxster are cheap now, and it's nothing to do with "net scaremongering"..

 

[DaveP]

OK, so while the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, it's fairly representative of where I am at the moment.

I'm in the market for a two-seater, automatic soft-top, with a budget of about £7k (2.7/3.2 Boxster vs. 3.0 Z4). I want something that will deal equally well with Central London traffic and the occasional countryside thrash, while not trying to bankrupt me.

I tested a 2001 Boxster S tiptronic at the weekend, and absolutely loved the way it drove and felt - much more of a 'junior supercar' feel than I remember from my time as a passenger in a Z4. However, on the other side of the coin, the fabled Boxster unreliability reported on the internet scares the pants off me, and the Z4 appears to be an absolute counter-point in this respect. All my reading about the Z4 suggests that it's a really easy ownership proposition, and still reasonably fun to drive.

My problem appears to be a simple head/heart conundrum...
Head: The Z4 is a much more reliable, predictable ownership prospect.
Heart: The Boxster excites me in a way that the Z4 doesn't necessarily.

I'm sure this must be a comparison that some here have made (or even owned), and I would be keen to hear what tipped you over the edge towards the Z4? Which models did you compare?

Not saying it will help, but you need to drive a Z4 which it sounds like you haven't. That could easily give you the answer to your question one way or the other.

Hi. You're absolutely right. Time, circumstance and availability of the right car (within 100 miles!) have hindered me thus far. The Boxster test was actually an accident, but it certainly gave me a LOT of food for thought.

 

[tomscott]

Z4s a no brainer at this price point

 

[STUBOY2UK]

with a budget of about £7k (2.7/3.2 Boxster vs. 3.0 Z4)

This is the key point- your £7k will buy you a FAR better Z4 than Boxster. People tend to flick through Autotrader or wherever and see that you can pick both cars up for a similar price, you can't. I've just spent months looking at both and if you compare them exactly, i.e. same mileage, same dealer history, roughly the same spec etc, then the Boxster is a much more expensive car. For the price of a 3.0si 265bhp Z4 with all the trimmings, you'll be looking at an older/higher mileage, slower 2.4 Boxster with 17" alloys.

Edit: exactly as Tomscott says above, the Z4 is a no-brainer at this price point, it only starts competing with the Boxster at around £14k for me.

 

[DaveP]

with a budget of about £7k (2.7/3.2 Boxster vs. 3.0 Z4)

This is the key point- your £7k will buy you a FAR better Z4 than Boxster. People tend to flick through Autotrader or wherever and see that you can pick both cars up for a similar price, you can't. I've just spent months looking at both and if you compare them exactly, i.e. same mileage, same dealer history, roughly the same spec etc, then the Boxster is a much more expensive car. For the price of a 3.0si 265bhp Z4 with all the trimmings, you'll be looking at an older/higher mileage, slower 2.4 Boxster with 17" alloys.

Edit: exactly as Tomscott says above, the Z4 is a no-brainer at this price point, it only starts competing with the Boxster at around £14k for me.

I absolutely take your point - however, there are plenty of 2.7 Boxsters with similar mileage/condition (if not age) profiles to the Z4 at this price point. In actual fact, there are currently more Boxsters than Z4s on AT with the same criteria, but I appreciate the age factor (generally 2-3yrs difference). The 2.7 is a more logical comparison from the power-to-weight perspective for me, and they are plentiful in budget.

 

[Marlon]

I would always chose a Z4 over a boxster because I prefer its design, I never liked the lines of the boxster and those early ones are starting to look a little dated IMO. If you can manage to find a 3.0si within your price bracket then that's the one to go for, I find the gears silky smooth and its got plenty of grunt.

 

[STUBOY2UK]

I'll be interested to see how you get on, keep us updated. I really like both cars, a couple of friends had Boxsters and I initially set out to buy one but when I saw how much more Z4 I could get for the money, I changed my mind :lol:

 

[bony_13]

If you do test drive a Z4 around london, then try and go for one without runflat tyres. I can easily see how town driving in a z4 with runflats would put someone off - the ride is terrible.
I've had my E85 for over a year now and love it. I've looked at Boxters but they don't appeal visually enough for me to have even bothered with a test drive - just my own opinion and taste.

 

[tomscott]

The thing is the power to mpg the Z4 has both over the boxster that 2.7 isn't very economical and its not particularly fast. They are also extremely dated, looks and interior. The interior specifically its very very dated hasn't aged well at all.

7K for a boxster is more of a risk than the Z4 for cheap motoring. Spades of mechanical issues compared to the Z, has the same issues as 911s of the same era. The Z4 3.0l will be better equipped looks more up to date and for its age the boxster feels a little antiquated compared to the newer boxsters. Z4 all the way for me.

There are 2 engine variations of the 2.7 the earlier one has 217hp and the later 2003> 225.

The 3.0l Z4 engine has 3 variants 218, 231 and 265hp. The 3.0si pretty much beats the boxster in every aspect even with more power does more mpg and 0-62 in 5.6 whereas the 2.7 is 6.2 in fastest guise.

The Boxster S is meant to compete with the Z4M.

I did go out and test drive a 987 Boxster S and was pretty impressed with it, although It didn't have the brutish feel my Z4M had neither the feel, pedigree or kudos on the road, sound looks and equipment the BMWs of this era were far better in those respects. But what it did do that was better was felt much more planted, agile but very predictable and it was a little boring where as the Z has this brutish feel the back end comes out and is more fun to drive. What ever I did the boxster just wouldn't, you can see that in two ways, a great car or a boring one. Depends what camp you sit in. I like a little of both so the Z4 nicked it.

 

[Ewazix]

I thought about a Boxter but at this sort of age and pricepoint horrific bills are a big turn-off for me on a weekend toy. The reality check for me was the number of adverts proudly detailing all the expensive engine re-build work that had been done on Boxters with pretty modest mileages - usually several £k worth! ..... and last time you saw that in a Z4 advert?

I've only had to spend the low-hundreds on non-scheduled repairs in over 5 years (I know ... I'm tempting fate )

 

[jimmybell]

New Boxster? Yep, great car.

Old boxster? dated, take a Z4 instead!

 

[srhutch]

The 3.0l Z4 engine has 3 variants 218, 231 and 265hp. The 3.0si pretty much beats the boxster in every aspect even with more power does more mpg and 0-62 in 5.6 whereas the 2.7 is 6.2 in fastest guise.

THe 218bhp alothugh the same N52 engine as the 265bhp is in fact a 2.5, not a 3.0.

 

[tomscott]

Sorry I meant to add that!

 

[Tr1ckster]

I was in exactly the same boat mate. I spent months looking and this weekend picked up my lovely 06 plate 3.0si "Individual" Coupe!

Absolutely no regrets whatsoever BUT the Z's can be expensive too, the day I was meant to pick it up the garage noticed the wiper motor on its way out, they have replaced that with a genuine BMW one including new arms and everything, that was about £300 in parts (Waiting for the receipt when he gets his invoice through to put with the other paperwork).

When I arrived at the garage last night to get that fitted, the owner noticed that the fuel pump was whining at 2k rpm. No quible or hassle, he has ordered a new one and will fit it later this week, looking around thats a £1k job!

Sooo what I am saying is, if I had bought privately I could of had 1.3k in repair bills in the first month of ownership.

However, not being that mechanically minded I got it from a dealer with a 6 month warranty for a few extra quid. I paid £8.1 for mine but it has all of the toys and I definitely prefer it over the P but that is at the end of the day "subjective".

I do however live only a mile from Revolution Porsche and had a lot of contact with them whilst on the hunt for a car, seems like a really good workshop with a great reputation. They will do you a "Labour" warranty for £85 a month which means you only ever pay for parts on your P and they do I believe pass you the parts on at cost price too. This includes your annual service and MOT too.

Good luck with the hunt!!

 

[Tr1ckster]

Here is a link to them on Boxa.net http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=55617