Want to buy a Boxster, but I'm Afraid..very afraid!

[Jeannot]

Hmmmh...Porsches prices might go down, but not the maintenance price itself...
Maintenance on BMW 6 cyls (Z3, Z4) or Merc's SLK doesn't come cheap either.
M3 engine break and they don't come cheap etc etc.
Owing a sports car is not exactly a cheap thing.
But the Boxster is a 'modern' Porsche, water cooled etc. It's not an old 911 2.7RS which will require more attention. People drive these things daily and put miles on them....
Good luck with your choice...
A TT, a S2000, a Z4 makes you a happy owner.
A Porsche makes you the happiest owner

[Brucelee]

"A Porsche makes you the happiest owner"

There is something about a Porsche!

[jonomo]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

The other car's you mentioned are nice but are not that much cheaper to make you forget that the Porsche Boxster was engineered to be a world class car.

True, they aren't cheaper, in fact the SLK and s2000 tend to be more expensive used, and I'm starting to see why. I have no problem affording the car, and even normal maintance, what I can't afford is the possibility of shelling out another 10gs for something that I feel shouldn't really break. I've never heard too many complaints about the S2000 or SLK, and the BMW I own has been solid!

From what people say, even if I spend 30K for a decent model, there's still a good chance of the motor blowing out within a year. One forum member below said "yeah, this is my second motor, and its solid!"... that doesn't build much confidence... to me thats like saying "my second heart beats great!"...

Alota my friends own roadsters, Z4, S2000, Miata, Z3, TT, the whole gambit.. no one owns a Boxster... and I would love to represent Porsche.. I love german cars and Porsche has been a childhood fantasy... but reliability has to be a sserious consideration.... A Rolex is a great watch, but if it told the time incorrect 1/2 the time, i doubt people would buy it....

[98blackboxster]

If you go to enough forums for the other roadsters I'm sure you'll find that someone has managed to blow a motor in an s2000 or a z4 as well. The car isn't going to blow the motor because it's build quality is poor, becuase it's not. I had a z3 and a Z4 and the build quality there is questionable. The s2000 is a better quality car, but not as much fun and people still see it as a honda. My 98 boxster is my daily driver, but I don't abuse it, I have the Lotus for that

[clubhead]

Originally Posted by jonomo

If you're already on your second engine, then that shows me that the motors are not very reliable. I don't think you should have to switch out a motor on a car thats less than 10 years old. That means I should expect to switch out the motor every 5~7 years. That doesn't help me at all. Maybe I'll get the S2000... so ugly, but very reliable!

It is a fact that Porsche has cylinder casting problems for cars built bet 1997 and 1999. Go look up the tech section at pca.org. Full details are there. Something about the engine liners being porous. So engine built during this period may suffer from premature failure. It is a fault on the build process. Someone said it's rubbish to avoid 1997 to 1999 cars in an earlier post. It's NOT. I would avoid those cars unless cost is your major concern or you find one that already has its engine replaced under warranty.

If you're already considering a Porsche, part of you wants passion. You're not going to get that same feeling with a Jap car (S2000) like it or not. You don't buy a Ferrari and expect longevity of its engine and components. Modenas needs an engine out service every 50k miles! A Porsche is sort of like middle ground, at least for Boxsters and not exotics like GT2. It comes with a reasonable amount reliability iwth another reasonable dose of exoticness Hey, their still German made afterall Italians? That would be a different issue all together

[Brucelee]

Sadly, this engine alloy issue is not confined to Porsche. BMW has a MASSIVE problem with their V8 engines between 95-98. They VERY QUIETLY replaced a ton of these engines.

In my experience, the Porsche engine is very tough indeed, putting aside the issues we already discussed. Recommendation I make to all my customers:

Change the oil/filter every 7500 miles, not 15K like the manual recs.

Use 15-50 Mobil 1 in warmer climes.

DON'T hammer the car when it is cold. NO engine likes this.

[YellowJacket]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Sadly, this engine alloy issue is not confined to Porsche. BMW has a MASSIVE problem with their V8 engines between 95-98. They VERY QUIETLY replaced a ton of these engines.

In my experience, the Porsche engine is very tough indeed, putting aside the issues we already discussed. Recommendation I make to all my customers:

Change the oil/filter every 7500 miles, not 15K like the manual recs.

Use 15-50 Mobil 1 in warmer climes.

DON'T hammer the car when it is cold. NO engine likes this.

Very true about the BMW engines. the 3.0L and 4.0L V8s during this time period had huge issues. And not all were replaced like they should have been. And BMW and Porsche aren't the only car companies to have had problems like these.

That being said, the Porsche still has better reliability ratings than a lot of cars out there. You have to realize, though, that there is a correlation on these message boards. Message boards are frequented by 2 groups of people: enthusiasts and those who have problems. And those enthusiasts often have more problems because they drive their cars harder and tend to mod them. If all 160k Boxster owners (I think that's the #) were on this board, you would get a much different picture of the reliability. The people w/ no problems are usually the quiet ones.

Is it a Toyota Corolla? No. But then, I'm willing to pay a couple dollars more for maintenance because it's NOT a Corolla. Although I have 2 years of warranty to go, so right now, it makes no difference to me anyway! :-)

[Perfectlap]

yes very true as nice as the S2000 may be, its still a Honda.
No girl has ever said to me "oh you have a HOnda?"

I've had at least a half dozen female friends and coworkers remark on my owning "a Porsche"
Like one girl at the car wash, she said to her boyfriend "that's a nice car! Porsche?" and her boyfriend didn't look so happy and got into his Accord with her. sorry.
The funny thing is that from Autocross racing I got so used to seeing Porsche 911's and Boxsters (S,Turbo's,GT3's) that I believed that someone owning a Porsche was common.
I got to know more people with Porsche's than people with sportscars in general!

Well aparently I was living in another "world" because in only two months of owning the Boxster I have lost count how many times people have said "nice car man" or just pointed a finger. The other day I saw a couple of kids on BMX bikes following me, they looked like they were 12 years old and one kid said "yeah look at the trunk, its the S".

[Brucelee]

The WOW factor def. belongs to Porsche!

[jonomo]

Originally Posted by clubhead

You don't buy a Ferrari and expect longevity of its engine and components. Modenas needs an engine out service every 50k miles!

A Ferrari Modena isn't an entry level car designed for the masses. They are exotics and aren't meant for daily driving. When's the last time you saw a ferrari with over 50K miles?

[jonomo]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

yes very true as nice as the S2000 may be, its still a Honda.
No girl has ever said to me "oh you have a HOnda?"

I've had at least a half dozen female friends and coworkers remark on my owning "a Porsche"
Like one girl at the car wash, she said to her boyfriend "that's a nice car! Porsche?" and her boyfriend didn't look so happy and got into his Accord with her. sorry.
The funny thing is that from Autocross racing I got so used to seeing Porsche 911's and Boxsters (S,Turbo's,GT3's) that I believed that someone owning a Porsche was common.
I got to know more people with Porsche's than people with sportscars in general!

Well aparently I was living in another "world" because in only two months of owning the Boxster I have lost count how many times people have said "nice car man" or just pointed a finger. The other day I saw a couple of kids on BMX bikes following me, they looked like they were 12 years old and one kid said "yeah look at the trunk, its the S".

I work at a very successful company and as I look out my window there are Ferrari's, 911's, Corvettes, etc. A Boxster would be in the lower end . Also, its a tech company and the only girl here is the receptionist and HR manager

[Perfectlap]

definitely below a Ferrari (newer models)...
but the Boxster beat the Corvette convertible in my latest issue of Road and Track. I'll take my Boxster S any day of the week overt a hard top Corvette!!!!

Anyone who knows sportscars and wants a new Porsche convertible MUST buy a Boxster. really now.... A convertible 911? its absolutely unethical. (or any other car that wasn't originaly meant to be convertible, After-thought convertibles are the realm of old dentists and lawyers and young girls who can't drive a manual transmission).

The Boxster is closer to the ideal of a "pure" Sportscar than the standard 911. (as much as I always wanted a 1973 911 RS with tartan seats). The Boxster is Inpractical (only two passengers ), RWD, short wheel base, EXCELLLLLENT steering, great 2nd-3rd gear sound(like a lear jet taking off) and low maintenace. I really wouldn't change a thing.
Perhaps the new Lotus is more of a pure sports car 'convertible' but its $50,000 for a toyota 1.8 engine