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Oil changes can be super expensive if done at a dealership... mine charges 180.00 plus tax.
It's far cheaper to do the following:
Buy your NINE quarts (yup, you read that right) of synthetic oil at Wal-Mart.
Buy a filter, gasket and drain plug crush washer at dealership.
Then, take it to a quick lube place or a good independent mechanic.
Should cost you about 120.00 or so... and oil should be changed every 15k or at least once a year if you drive less than this. Most Boxter owners change it more frequently.
Not to scare you off, but oil changes are not what breaks the bank when owning an older Boxster. It's the sensors that go out after 5-7 years (causing the check engine light, rough idle, lousy performance and fuel economy), control arms, etc. that get expensive and are not easy to diagnose before one buys the vehicle.
Also, I seem to see that many older Boxsters (97~99) have had the engine replaced, as was done with mine just before I bought it.
My opinion is that if you will be using the car as a daily driver, buy a newer one with some factory warranty on it and buy an extended warranty from a dealer... then you'll keep a dependable car.
If it's a toy, like my 97 is to me, just look for a car that's been cared for and doesn't have tons of miles on it... and be willing to invest what's needed to get it up and running.
You're smart ... I did NOT do my homework before buying my 97 for 15,500, and now I know why I got such a good deal. The only bright spot was a brand new engine. The dark spots were that it needed a transmission, subframe correction, etc. and I've spent about 6k in the last year fixing it up.
The car, however, drives like a dream now and I grin from ear to ear when I take this one particular U turn under a freeway near my office at 60+ mph and the tail kicks out just a foot or so... there is absolutely nothing like the feel of a balanced, mid-engine Porsche! Even my small 2.5 liter engine pulls strong and feels quite fast to me.
Hope this helps!
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