[husker boxster]

Welcome to the forum.

I think you've found the best resource here on this forum for answering your questions. The Box is an excellent daily driver and many forum members use them as such, including me. You will need a set of snows, however, for winter driving (don't even think about using summer tires in snow and all-seasons aren't good in snow over 2"). But to answer your main queston, a Boxster is a very capable daily driver.

Is a Boxster stone cold, Japanese reliable? No, but it's like a trophy date - the thrills and excitement generally outweigh the cost and occasional disappointment. Since you already own an expensive German automobile, the repair / service costs should be comparable. Make no mistake - nothing on a Porsche is cheap. Many forum members have purchased extended warranties to give them peace of mind on any impending repair bills while others pay as they go. Yes, oil changes can cost $140 but the Box has 9 qts of Mobil 1 Extd Life oil coarsing through its veins and a $20 filter, so you're already up to $90 worth of materials.

Search The Forum for DeliriousGA. He has a link to his website on Boxster service intervals, what is necessary at ea interval, and how to do many of them yourself. Some things on a Box are easy to do yourself - I change my own oil, just changed anti freeze, and plan to change the spark plugs this week. If you a bit handy with tools, you can save yourself some $$$.

One thing most forum members will tell a prospective buyer is to buy the newest S you can afford. It would definitely be a good idea for you to test drive an S since you've driven a base and are a bit concerned about the HP. Many forum members like to add HP mods, but in all honesty the Box motor is not capable of big HP increases unless you want to spend cubic $$$. Most of the mods come at 10-15 HP increases at $500 - $1000 per mod. If you are concerned with the HP at purchase time, you may want to reconsider buying a Box. They are not ground pounders.

Another Search The Forum topic is RandallNeighbor. He has a list of items to consider when purchasing a Boxster. Required reading for a prospective buyer. Unless you are looking to purchase a CPO car from a Porsche dealership, you should have any car you are seriously considering looked at by a reputable mechanic (the process is called a Pre-Purchase Inspection - PPI). Randall speaks about it in his link. Based on the years you mention you are interested in, you may not be able to find a CPO car. BTW, one of our forum members (DrBurton) has a very nice 05 S for sale that is very low mileage. Even though it's not near the years you are interested in, just thought I'd mention it. He has a thread from Fri about the impending sale.

Hope this helps. Other members will probably chime in with their thoughts. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Good luck.