Looking to buy a boxster, 21 years old need some help

[RandallNeighbour]

Let me give you a little advice. I bought a boxster four years ago wanting to do exactly what you want to do... mod the car right away. Boy, am I glad I didn't do that!

1) Save up and buy an S. No one says "I wish I had bought the smaller engine." I really wanted a 2000 S, but settled for a 97 with a 2.5 in it. The 2.7's don't have enough power either if you ask me. However, the 3.2 has a lot more torque and HP and is well-suited for the curb weight of the car.

2) Buy the color car you want and then drive it for a year before you mod it. You'll discover that there are repairs you have to make to any used boxster (coolant tank, oil filler tube, RMS leak, radiator fan crapping out on you, etc.) It would be foolish to put a couple of grand into your car wishing you'd used the cash to keep it running.

3) The body kit, by virtue of the low price, is probably not polyurethane. The last thing you want is a fiberglass front bumper cover. The very first time to scrape a curb or someone backs into you or you tap the side of the garage it cracks.

4) I hope you have a love affair with car wash soap and your sponge. Black rims are always in need of washing with all the brake dust.

I think buying a Porsche at 21 is a great idea if you can pay the horrendous insurance premiums for being under 25. If you haven't looked into that, you should so you have no surprises that first day of ownership. I sure wish I had the money and wherewithal to buy a Porsche at 21

[JoshMD]

I'm barely 21 and I just bought my 2002 2.7L and the insurance isn't bad at all. It's actually very affordable (USAA).

OP, I like what you're thinking, but I see a couple problems:

- If money isn't an issue, get the newest S with the lowest miles you can afford.

- Body kits are funny to me, you can get FG and if anything happens to it, it is easy to repair and make new again, but urethane I have heard sags in hot temps and since it flexes so easily, any light hits will make the paint crack, rather than the bumper.
But, then again think about how often you have hit things with your last car, I almost NEVER hit anythign and it be my fault.
I would be concerned about bottoming out though with a big bumper. Depends on how the roads are around you and how familiar you are with the areas with steep driveways, etc.

- GPS would be nice to have, but I'm worried about adding to the appeal for someone to slash my top and yank it. It seems like you are just asking for it to get broken into.

- Wheels, black shouldn't be too big of a problem. Anyone with a porsche should know to wash it regularly anyways, or be smacked. All wheels will have to be cleaned, the only color I would never get would be white. One thing to think about is how the spokes are designed, and how tedious is it going to be to wash the wheels. In general, a 5 spoke wheel is going to be the easiest wheel to clean.

- Brake calipers you can paint yourself, or you can remove them and get them powder-coated, then go ahead and change your brake fluid, pads, and rotors while you're at it. (that's what I'm going to do)

[moose]

whoa thanks for the quick reply guys.

Ok well i can't really get around the body kit issue. I simply hate the look of it and will have to mod somehow. Anyone know of any good boxster kits? Whats the alternative to fiberglass?

Also, I hate the dashboards in the boxster since before they've been redesigned (I think earlier than 05?). So i don't mind putting in the GPS at all. To me the dash looks cheap and plastic-y like a GM car

Moose, I would also suggest the car you buy has PSM- Porsche Stability Management.

[Chills]

Just out of curiousity please answer this question for me:

You hate the look of the stock Boxster and you hate the dash, so why are you even getting a Boxster?

[nola911]

Originally Posted by Chills

Just out of curiousity please answer this question for me:

You hate the look of the stock Boxster and you hate the dash, so why are you even getting a Boxster?

You beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing.

If you don't like the dash now, wait till you really chop up it's lines with a GPS that doesn't match. I say, buy it because you love it or you will never be passionate about the mods. Most people here that have modded their cars loved them from the start, but saw an area that could use an improvement.

Also, the boxster is not really a cheap way to get into a nice car. Any simple repair or tune up can cost you a grand.

[blinkwatt]

Whoa whoa! Your a professional poker player? Have you been on the World Series Poker Tournaments on ESPN?

[rick3000]

Just a not I am under 21, and my insurance is really not that outrageous. It is actually comparable to that of a honda civic coupe, or something similar (maybe a bit more). Except my car looks a lot better. Thanks, USAA.

You could probably do a lot of those mods yourself if you wanted to, like painting the rims, and installing the GPS. You can do just about anything on the Boxster yourself. Painting the rims and painting the calipers is a day with your car up on jacks and little elbow grease. The rims the picture you posted are painted stock rims. You could either pay a premium for the Porsche Nav aswell, or retrofit one in. And for the bumper I would wait it out until you get a few little nicks and scratched on the bumper before you go upgrading.

Also, what year dash do you hate, the '97-'04 (986) or the '05-on (987)? Your pictures are of the 986, which it seems is easier to work on yourself.
Hope this Helps!