Poor porsche, Rich porsche

[drsmith]

For me there are two types of people who buy a Boxster or Porsche in general...

A) The person that wants to buy into the lifestyle, the luxury, the prestige that comes with owning and driving a porsche

B) The enthusiast that is all about what the product can deliver, irrespective of whether it is a Porsche or a Kia

My Boxster is a 3rd car behind my Brand new Mercedes C300 4matic and a work cargo van. It was bought as a 'toy' and as such i would fall into category 'B'. When you think of 2 seater sports cars as 'toys' you see the usual suspects, Z3, Z4, S2K, Miata, SLK etc... all of which are good in their own right, but none offer the balance of a Mid Engined Sports car... the only other car i can remember that offers similar handling for a modest price was the old school Toyota MR2 (square boxy one and the newer one), these get used alot for track purposes in the UK and the newer style Turbo versions can be made to push out over 400BHP!? crazy figures.... but they lack the finesse and poise of Boxster the on track or on the street. If i wanted to throw a large amount of money at a 911 could i? sure i could, but just because you can doesn't always mean you should...

If you could work out a 'pleasure - $' ratio for the car, in my opinion the boxster would win hands down over almost all competitors.. does it help that it is a prestigious brand? yeah of course, but is it the only thing? no. I'm sure many Ferrari owners clubs have similar discussions regarding the older cheaper 308's, 355's etc.... however, what still remains is that they are all true thoroughbreds and were all built with the same passion and engineering precision as the other... the price points a personal thing, the core ingredients are the same.

People who worry about their image in a Boxster quite clearly are in group 'A' lol

[mdex]

For me I have my Boxster because I love the car. I have gone through many 911's from an 85 Cab, to an over the top 930, 993's, and a 996.

I just love how the Boxster drives. The car just works... on the street, on the track it is fun to drive and that is the most important factor to me.

Given an unlimited budget I would probably have a Carrera GT in the garage... but with a little less money I would have a gt3 motor in a Boxster over a new 911 gt3.

Its a personal choice for each, but I don't see the Boxster as a lesser alternative to a 911, unless you are judging a car by how much it costs.

Marc

[mikefocke]

though by someone else's standards I could be either.

I buy used..2 prior owners for both my Boxsters. Maybe a life habit of buying good enough is why I can buy the car I want and be satisfied with one that is perhaps 90%, not really needing or wanting the last 10% because I'll never use it. I can buy a 500 HP car yet I found the 201 HP 99 Boxster more than adequate (and lots more than the 85 HP 914 I had owned 30+ years earlier).

I sampled about a dozen brands and models of roadsters in the weeks before buying my first Boxster. I knew I wanted the Boxster about a mile into my first drive. I bought the first one I drove. I didn't want nor drive any 911...even though that had been my introduction to the Porsche marque.

My 2 Boxsters have cost me ~$12 per month in unscheduled maintenance costs and I don't do all my work.

I enjoy the heck out of the car ...its practicality and its balance. It's got my golf clubs in it, been to the trash dump with a dozen bags (where, 8 years old it still draws admiring comments), been off for a week with luggage for 2, been to the track to watch the big boys play, and is the reason I take the long way for any errand my wife sends me on. And my granddaughter considers it a place to play with her dolls.

Enjoy your car..if you don't, sell it. It isn't worth not having fun.

[Viper5]

I like that it's a mid engine vehicle. A lot better handling. . I had to get a convertible too. It also costs less, but at 250hp, I'm happy.

[chrisdridley]

Rich man's car.....poor man's car.....hair dressers ride.....girls car........

I'm non of the above. I've been poor and without that winning Powerball number, I don't expect to be rich. My wife and I have worked very hard for many years for what we have. Neither of us is a hair dresser but she is a girl.
My wife has wanted a Boxster for years. Together, we have owned many sports cars, several with a greater power to weight ratio than the Boxster and all would turn heads when we drove by but none that we enjoyed as much as our RS-60.
We went to the Porsche dealer to look around and I first saw a beautiful black 911 Turbo Cab. Next I saw the RS-60 and read the specs. I was interested enough to take a test drive. I drove first, then my wife....we were sold.
We could have bought the 911 but there was not enough difference in the performance and handling of the two cars IMO to warrant the extra cost.
We love our little Boxster, we have driven it on a couple of long trips and many runs on the Tail of the Dragon and I don't think we would be having any more fun in that black 911.
As for a rich man/poor man's car...we paid cash for the RS-60.....this increases the fun factor for us.....would have had to finance the 911.

[nola911]

Originally Posted by chrisdridley

We went to the Porsche dealer to look around and I first saw a beautiful black 911 Turbo Cab. Next I saw the RS-60 and read the specs....
We could have bought the 911 but there was not enough difference in the performance and handling of the two cars IMO to warrant the extra cost.

A 911 Turbo is a different breed than the boxster.... not even in the same realm. Like I said above, I loved my boxster and had more fun in it than my (much much faster) 911... Performance wise, the cars are night and day, especially in the far superior turbo.

I think the 911 you drove was broken, or missing an engine. 3.7 0-60 warrants that price tag.

[Blue-S]

My 2000 Boxster S is an evening/weekend car. I bought it after deciding that club racing (I had an SCCA Showroom Stock C car) is not the right hobby for my family at this time. I was able to convince my wife that selling the racecar and buying another sports car would be a good move. I have been a Porsche fan since I was a boy, and I have admired the Boxster since it was introduced. Thanks to the downtrodden economy, Boxsters are now surprisingly affordable. With some money in the bank and the sales proceeds from the racecar, I pulled the trigger on a nice (but not perfect) local Boxster. Once I get it set up the way it needs to be, I will probably take it to a few autocrosses and track days. Because that's what it's for.

Am i rich or poor? I'll put it this way: doing my own maintenence and repair is the only way the Boxster can fit my leisure budget. That's OK, because I enjoy working on the car. Would I buy a 911 if I could? Probably not. I have driven my step-father's 2003 Targa Tiptronic, and I like my Boxster S better. For one thing, the 911 engine is in the wrong place! There's a reason why the RS racecar, the 911 GT1 and Carrera GT are mid-engined. It's a shame that Porsche insists on limiting the Boxster and racing only the 911. With equal prep, the Boxster would be faster than a 911 with the same powertrain.

[sd_boxster]

I bought a Hyundai Tiburon "sport compact" for about $20K and dumped about $10K in parts (supercharger, exhaust, intake, fuel tuner, larger injectors, strut bars, clutch mods, intercooler, brake upgrades, etc.), and wound up with a car that (a) still didn't perform as well as an "entry-level" Porsche, and (b) I was afraid to drive the hell out of because my warranty was voided many times over and I didn't want to buy a new motor.

I sold my Tib to another Hyundai enthusiast, and for $5K less than I spent on my Tib plus parts bought a CPO '03 Boxster which out-of-the-box does far more than my Tiburon could, even with 50% more horsepower than Hyundai shipped it with.

I still get crap from some of the Tib guys who like to point out that I own a "poor man's" Porsche. Having driven both a poor man's Porsche and a rich man's Tiburon, I can tell you with absolute certainty which one is better.

The Boxster may not be the most expensive car on the road, but I seldom see a car I'd rather own.

[Lordblood]

I didn't buy a Boxster to buy a Porsche, I bought a Boxster to buy a Boxster.

My budget was set, and that was the range I was looking at. Out of the selection, I found the Boxster had the best all around traits, that's why I bought it.

If I had been going for a 911, I'd get another car instead. I really don't like how the 911 looks, and it's rear engine layout and what not. There are better cars on the market for that much money (M5's and Jaguar XJ's and what not).

[Lil bastard]

I don't love the Boxster, I don't hate the Boxster, and that's OK.

It's just another car in a long, but far from complete, line of cars I've owned.

The Boxster is better than some, worse than some others I've owned.

No car is the perfect car, at least I hope I never find one because then there would be no point in ever buying anything else.

It's my 9th drop-top 2-seater, and while it lives near the top of my list, it doesn't top the list.

It's my 3rd Porsche. More refined than the other 2, but less fun - perhaps because of it's refinement.

I'm about done with it and am eyeing my next ride whatever that may turn out to be.

Like all my previous cars, it's firmly programmed into my memory banks. I still remember tossing the tail out in my Z-car, feeling each 'snick' of the 4-speed in my old 308, the sound of the straight six in my E-type. All these things stay with you long after you sell the car, and the Boxster will be no exception.

Imagine going to 31 Flavors and never sampling anything but Vanilla - no matter how good it may be.

[e7lew]

we can’t handle the fact that we buy the boxter because we can’t afford the 911, and we convince ourselves of the joinable driving and great exterior, that’s why we buy the cheapest Porsche and the ugliest, with an expensive parts, and all that is for pleasing people and hearing them say “ look! He is driving a Porsche”!

[Lil bastard]

@e7lew

You pose a question and then ask people for their honest response, which I assume everyone responding did.

Then you go on and tell us, in essence, that we're all liars and only bought the Boxster because it was the only model we could afford and allowed us to say we 'drove a Porsche'. IMHO, that seems very disingenuous of you, a setup if you will.

Perhaps if your country repaid the $7B we spent prying you out from under Saddam's fist back in GW I, many of us might now be driving 911's.

[chrisdridley]

Originally Posted by maxferran

A 911 Turbo is a different breed than the boxster.... not even in the same realm. Like I said above, I loved my boxster and had more fun in it than my (much much faster) 911... Performance wise, the cars are night and day, especially in the far superior turbo.

I think the 911 you drove was broken, or missing an engine. 3.7 0-60 warrants that price tag.

You are correct...the 911 is in a different class.
The point is that while the 911 is faster and a beautiful car, IMO being 1.3 seconds 0-60 faster and 23 mph top end difference is not enough for an additional $70,000.00 for me. My boxster does 0-60 in 5.0 and 170 top end. I rarely get to drive the Boxster to it's limit so I don't think I would be any happier with a car that cost twice as much.....and I know my pocket is happier.

[Sputter]

It's spelled BOXSTER. I guess if you can't even spell it,, well,,,, nevermind.

Originally Posted by e7lew

we can’t handle the fact that we buy the boxter because we can’t afford the 911, and we convince ourselves of the joinable driving and great exterior, that’s why we buy the cheapest Porsche and the ugliest, with an expensive parts, and all that is for pleasing people and hearing them say “ look! He is driving a Porsche”!

[ChefCarnivore]

I am retired, theoretically. That doesn't mean I am not looking for a job that I was recently trained in at my local community college. When I TSD Rallied with a 911 owner I had my heart set on that car to own but I was a poor grad student.

For the last 5 years I have been driving a Nissan 240 SX SE and had planed to upgrade it with a Silvia turbo JDM engine. However when I discovered by accident that for a few thousand more I could get a used Boxster it was a no brainer.

The new home we are moving to is a golf community that I noticed has a LOT of Porsches in the driveways including more boxsters I've seen in one neighborhood.

So Porsche + Boxsters + neighborhood + retirement time = fun + maybe will return to TSD Rallys again + lots of time to do my own maintainance and upgrades.

Would I buy a 911? Frankly Scarlet I don't give a damn. They all look so ancient to me. (Sorry but it's true!)

[TMM986]

e7lew - your original question is a bit odd given that this is a forum for people who are enthusiasts about Boxsters.

However, here is my honest answer:

I have been preoccupied with driving a Porsche since I was 7 years old and took a ride in a neighbor's 911 RS. That was because it was the most exciting car I had even been in - perhaps the "passion" for them started then.

For years after I looked at various Porsches both new and used. In 1998 I test drove a Boxster and bought one. More recently I bought a 911 Carrera 4S.

Why did I buy the Boxster? Simple - it's a great car that drives wonderfully and I enjoy it too much not to have it. The same goes for the 911 which I bought because I also enjoyed it so much it made sense for me to have one. I don't get into the pointless debate over which model is "better," they are different cars and I enjoy them both.

If you are "poor" by your own measure, then you buy the cheapest car you can find that suits your needs. If you consider yourself "rich" then you buy a car which displays your wealth as you want others to see you.

I'm neither poor nor rich, I am just an enthusiast who enjoys driving and Porsche cars are the most fun to drive as far as I am concerned!

[SeanZ4]

eylew, I'm going to have to agree with a poster above. You wouldn't be driving anything if we hadn't of bailed your country out from under Iraq in '91. Your line of questioning is a bit odd, if not a little pretentious.

Which one do you drive?

sean

[drsmith]

How appropriate... a Rag Head buying a Rag Top... lol

I think it's pretty obvious he is just a Troll so i wouldn't bother taking him seriously.

[ekam]

USA! USA! USA!





(sorry.)

[Immortal1520]

Looks like we're gonna be calling 'em Freedom fries again....

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!