Hey y'all, I'm 20 years old, junior in college, about to buy my first car. I want to get something fun and affordable and terribly impractical, so I'm torn between a new-ish Miata (around 2012) and a 986 Boxster. I'm hoping there will be some people here who have experience with both cars and can make a recommendation, but general feedback on the Boxster experience would be great as well!
A few points I'm concerned about/researching:
- Reliability. If I go for the Boxster over the Miata, I'm expecting to incur drastically higher maintenance costs both because it's twice as old and because it's a Porsche. Although I can afford increased regular maintenance costs, I can't afford to fix a catastrophic failure. So IMS problems aside, what other expensive problems might I find on a high-mileage Boxster?
- Optimal mileage. In general, I'd opt for the car with the lowest mileage possible. But with the 986 Boxsters, it sounds like I may actually be better off with a higher mileage example since it sounds like cars which have been consistently driven tend to last longer, especially with regards to the IMS.
- Convertible top. I love the simplicity of the Miata's top. No electric motors or hydraulics which can fail, fairly cheap to replace, etc. How reliable is the convertible top on the Boxster, and what's the cost of replacing it if it fails? Is it a fix I can do on my own? (I'm competent with wrenches and mechanical stuff, but not experienced with car maintenance)
- Practicality. Although both cars seem horribly impractical, how is the Boxster's storage space? Has anyone managed to find a way to store surfboards plus two passengers in either vehicle? (lol)
- Performance. Ultimately, which is more enjoyable? It looks like the Boxster will be considerably quicker in a straight line and probably similar in corners, so I'm assuming Porsche wins that one.
- Safety. I'd assume the Mazda, being newer, will be safer, but since the Boxster is from a much higher-end market, maybe they're similar?
- Interior. I'm not a huge fan of the Boxster interior. That's the only part of the car that really feels dated to me. But when you're driving it, do you even notice?
I think that's about all. I'm not expecting to be handed answers to everything -- just wanted to put it all out there so anyone who wants to help is able to
I'm still planning to research all these points myself.