Want to buy a Boxster, but I'm Afraid..very afraid! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jonomo · 02-01-2005, 02:33 PM

Last year I was poised to buy a 99 boxster... but like an eediot I decided to save some money and try to buy a house... little did i know that is almost impossible in Southern California... anyway, I ended up buying a 02 VW GTI... i got a great deal on it cause it turned out to be some limited edition version that the Dodge dealer didn't know about.. so i got it super cheap... its a fun car .... but i miss driving a roadster.... I use to own a Miata and a Kia version of the Lotus Elan (S. Korea).... anyway, it looks like I can sell the car for the same price I purchased it for even though I've driven it for a year... so I decided to look into a roadster again, and of course my heart slowly drifted back towards the boxster.... I looked over some of the forums to see what people were talking about these days and saw alot of reports of $11K being spent to replace blown motors... now I realize that most of the people who post are usually angry about something and 99% of the others don't even look at the forums.... but seriously though.. how prone are these cars to breaking down... I can't afford to spend 25K on a car.. then spend another 10k to replace the motor or tranny.... maybe I should buy another miata, or a z3 or SLK? I know what peoples advice is, "have it checked out by a mech", but ... seriously folks... is it that much of a hassle? Is the car that unreliable?

Perfectlap · 02-01-2005, 03:21 PM

Simple, try to find a car that still is under the 4 year powertrain warranty and then get an extended service contract. I bought a 2000 S for 30K a little more than I wanted to spend on my Boxster but my #1 motivation was low mileage. My S had a mere 10,000 miles at purchase back in November so I wasn't too afraid to buy an out of warranty Porsche. ALso, here in New Jersey used car dealers are mandated to offer a 90 day warranty. (mine is almost up).
It will take some searching but there are definitely deals to be had.
Do some searching for "problem" on forums like this one and the Renntech forum. And do some seraching for extended service contracts. Be familiar with teh Boxster tooth aches and you'll know what to look for when you check it out.
But one thing is for sure in terms of Maitenance, there will never be another car as easy as the Miata.

02-01-2005, 03:25 PM

it all depends on how the person drives it like any car.
All boxsters are made the same, its the idiots who mess about with engines and upgrades who cause the problem.
Some will disagree but its the truth, mess about with the engine and pay the price... If you read these posts about engine failure ect... its down the owner or the prevoius owner.

Boxsters are not probe to faults... I bought my boxster new in 1998 and never had ANY major problems.. I know many other UK owners also who have never had any problems and the only people who have are on internet forums.
Dont take to much to heart about boxsters having major engine failure ect.... If you see a boxster thats looks to good to be true then walk away...

Also anyone who says stay away from the 1997 -1999 is talking rubbish....

Brucelee · 02-01-2005, 04:25 PM

I think it is fair to say that there is no reliable external data to answer your question. Certainly, you can lose a motor in a Box, like any other car. It IS more expensive to replace/repair the Box motor than say, a Honda Civic.

My experience is that the car can be very relaible if taken care of and driven properly. The issue with a pre-owned Box is that this takes some attention on the part of the buyer to insure he/she is buying the right Box.

Most of the Boxsters I sell come with the balance of the factory warranty. This provides some protection from big ticket items and if you have the funds, this is certainly a way to go. At the end of the warranty, you then need to decide if you go naked, sell the car, or buy an extended warranty.

Overall, if you want the Box, I say go for it, but buy with caution from someone you trust. If you want to call me, I can tell you how I go about buying my Boxsters for resale. Caution and diligence is the watch word here.

Good luck and thanks for posting!

jonomo · 02-01-2005, 04:35 PM

Brucelee...

I just emailed ya today... I use to live down in SD last year... If i had known I woulda stopped by your place.!

Brucelee · 02-01-2005, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonomo

Brucelee...

I just emailed ya today... I use to live down in SD last year... If i had known I woulda stopped by your place.!

Great. If I can help, I will be most pleased~

Perfectlap · 02-01-2005, 07:12 PM

BruceLee,
would you recommend a service contract for a 2000 Boxster with only 12,000 miles?
I passed on the plan they tried to sell me on at the Acura dealership where I bought the Boxster. The previous owner traded it in for a CL or something.
The service records only included one oil change and something electrical I think.
I asked for more but they said that was all it had done.

98blackboxster · 02-02-2005, 02:28 PM

If you want a roadster I would definately consider the boxster as an option. I was in the same place you are a year ago and I chose the boxster over a Miata, TT, S2000, and whatever else. I bought my car with 20k miles on it and now have 34k without any problems at all. The guy who owned the car before me took great care of it as it had a car cover on even in his heated garage. I've done the maintanance myself so it only cost me $200 or so for the 30k service and the car runs awesome. The problem with the ones that have blown motors is that people abuse them, they try to get Carerra performance out of it and it's just not gonna go that fast. I woulde definately take this car over the other roadsters, as long as you find one that has been properly taken care of. The boxster is not the same product Porsche had out 10 years ago which was prone to problems, this is a very modern car that is reliable.

Jeannot · 02-02-2005, 02:41 PM

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 · 02-02-2005, 04:27 PM

"A Porsche makes you the happiest owner"

There is something about a Porsche!