[saaber]

Originally Posted by Rayn325

with little worry of what could go wrong next (I had the unreliable sports car before!)

I suggest looking at known problem areas (every car has chronic problem areas) and evaluate how likely you are to experience that problem before 150k miles. My experience has been similar to others here as my 2000 S is a daily driver. I have had rms leak, coolant tank, and and one wheel bearing replaced so far at 75k or so. In my opinion this car is drastically different than the BMWs I have owned. The BMWs I have had have been incredibly complex electronically and several electrical items have went out. The boxster is much more simple n terms of elctronic gizmos IMO. I do not get the feeling from the boxster that something is going to go wrong in the near future like I did with the BMWs.

I think if you compare this car to most other well built cars (ultra-reliable toyotas and lexus excluded), repair cost/frequency are similar. f.e. subarus run forever but you may have a head gasket failure (chronic problem with subaru 96-99 2.5l). Similarly the boxster has known problem areas.

Here is my wild ass guess for "% likely to fail" in 150k miles and I am sure others will have drastically different opinions than me which is fine (you asked for honest opinion ha ha) I did not include wear items like tires, brake pads:

RMS leak 15% (cost $800 dealer)
Coolant reservoir replaced 90% (cost $175 DIY, $700 dealer) (spray out radiators regularly to reduce the peaks in the heat cycle)
Wheel bearing 15% ($350 with alignment?)
Alternator 15% (cost?)
O2 sensor(s) 20% (cost?)
Water pump 35% (cost? change coolant regularly to reduce wear and drastically lower this "% likely to fail" Do not use Porsche's recommended "never change" standard, it is BS)
Mass air flow sensor 15%??? (cost ?) (Cleaning this and throttle body regularly helps, not part of Porsche maintenance I don't think)

Intermittent shaft failure - rare overall I would say (depends on year of engine, if you have a single bearing int. shaft the chances are much higher than the double bearing as I understand it, tool pants would know)
Slipped cylinder sleeve - very rare overall I would say
Cracked head, head gasket, or block - rare (head gasket failure frequency probably influenced by coolant change frequency)

I would love to hear from people like tool pants who have more experience than I on these guesstimates for "% likely to fail"

Note that alternator, water pump,MAF, O2 sensor failure rate is probably true with any car. Ac compressors seem to go out in other cars before 150k but haven't heard much about that with boxster. Of course climate and driving style have effects on these items.