986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

jonomo · 10-09-2006, 06:53 PM

Hello ya'll..

I havn't posted in a while... but about 2 years ago, I was looking to buy a Boxster... but made the horrible mistake of trying to save up for a house in Southern California... Needless to say, that didn't happen seeing as how the median price is floating around $700K.... gah! not too easy for a single income guy :S...

Anywho... my company moved me to Seoul, Korea... and this time I'm on a expat package... which makes things a bit easier..

SO~ with that being said, I was looking to buy a roadster (plz no flames on driving a sports car in Korea~ especially if you havn't been to Seoul in the past 5 years)...

As many of you might know, Korea has a 100% duty on all foreign cars.. so a Boxster nears almost $100K.. and it sure as heck does not depreciate.. a 99 still goes for about 40K here... so I was looking for other options... and decided to try and buy a S2000 right hand drive (gray market from Japan)... they run about 20K... but luck had it, that I was able to buy a 2001 left hander for a VERY good price.. for some reason left handers are very rare here.. Honda does not officially import the S2000

Now... I wanted to buy the Boxster, but I had to take into consideration a few things..
1. obviously the price
2. reliability (not easy trying to repair your boxster in Korea)
3. availability (not too many used boxsters to choose from here)

So now to get to the point of this post... i must admit that I was a HUGE Boxster fan... loved the car.. and every other roadster seemed like a poser-mobile... I especially detested the S2000 because it looked bland, hated the 'ricer' image, and it wasn't a Porsche...

But having owned the car for a few months now, I must admit the S2000 is a GREAT car...
1. I think it has the best gear box I've ever driven.. hands down...
2. the 9000 rpm might be annoying, but its what makes the car so cool in my opinion.. when the vtec kicks in.. it just howls.. the new US 8000rpm versions are just not the same...
3. SO freakin reliable
4. parts are super cheap (even in Korea)
5. handles great
6. looks okay with some mods
7. ricer image doesn't apply to me in korea,, cause everyone here is Rice in some way

So in a year or 2 my company might either move me back to California or maybe Tokyo... and I must admit... I might go back to buying an S2000... especially in Tokyo... California... i'll buy the Boxster...

Just wanted to give my 2 cents~!~~~

PS ... my photo

Oh.. the carbon fiber hood was not my idea.. it came like that... been trying to look for another yellow hood.. but no luck...

10-09-2006, 06:53 PM	#1
jonomo Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 23	I bought a Honda S2000~ Hello ya'll.. I havn't posted in a while... but about 2 years ago, I was looking to buy a Boxster... but made the horrible mistake of trying to save up for a house in Southern California... Needless to say, that didn't happen seeing as how the median price is floating around $700K.... gah! not too easy for a single income guy :S... Anywho... my company moved me to Seoul, Korea... and this time I'm on a expat package... which makes things a bit easier.. SO~ with that being said, I was looking to buy a roadster (plz no flames on driving a sports car in Korea~ especially if you havn't been to Seoul in the past 5 years)... As many of you might know, Korea has a 100% duty on all foreign cars.. so a Boxster nears almost $100K.. and it sure as heck does not depreciate.. a 99 still goes for about 40K here... so I was looking for other options... and decided to try and buy a S2000 right hand drive (gray market from Japan)... they run about 20K... but luck had it, that I was able to buy a 2001 left hander for a VERY good price.. for some reason left handers are very rare here.. Honda does not officially import the S2000 Now... I wanted to buy the Boxster, but I had to take into consideration a few things.. 1. obviously the price 2. reliability (not easy trying to repair your boxster in Korea) 3. availability (not too many used boxsters to choose from here) So now to get to the point of this post... i must admit that I was a HUGE Boxster fan... loved the car.. and every other roadster seemed like a poser-mobile... I especially detested the S2000 because it looked bland, hated the 'ricer' image, and it wasn't a Porsche... But having owned the car for a few months now, I must admit the S2000 is a GREAT car... 1. I think it has the best gear box I've ever driven.. hands down... 2. the 9000 rpm might be annoying, but its what makes the car so cool in my opinion.. when the vtec kicks in.. it just howls.. the new US 8000rpm versions are just not the same... 3. SO freakin reliable 4. parts are super cheap (even in Korea) 5. handles great 6. looks okay with some mods 7. ricer image doesn't apply to me in korea,, cause everyone here is Rice in some way So in a year or 2 my company might either move me back to California or maybe Tokyo... and I must admit... I might go back to buying an S2000... especially in Tokyo... California... i'll buy the Boxster... Just wanted to give my 2 cents~!~~~ PS ... my photo Oh.. the carbon fiber hood was not my idea.. it came like that... been trying to look for another yellow hood.. but no luck... Last edited by jonomo; 10-09-2006 at 08:03 PM.