Blinkwatt--good for you
 

Sounds like a well thought-out decision.
You're dead on regarding the attributes of the car; there are faster cars , but none that are as much fun to drive and communicate so well with the driver, IMHO, besides being a drop-top.
Best of luck with it.

Hi,

As I've always said - The Boxster is the Most Miata for the Money! That's not a Slight or a Bad Thing because the Miata set the Standard and Led the 2nd Generation 2-Seat, Drop-Top Revolution waay back in 1989. It was the Japanese Engineers' closest imitation of the Lotus Elan (they actually purchased 3 Lotus Elans and Reverse Engineered them resulting in the Miata, right down to Weight Distribution, Turning Radius and the Twin-Cam Engine, while adding many Modern Advances as well). The Lotus Elan has long been considered by most Automotive Engineers to be the Pinnacle in Suspension Design and Handling. I owned a '69SE and have yet to find ANY Car which handles better (except maybe a Seven), even the Boxster.

I am not at all surprised by the Mix New/Used displayed here. I suspect those Buying New are either well-enough Heeled to pay for the Dealer to maintain their Cars, are under Warranty (New and Extended) or are actually driving Lease Cars and so do not consider their ownership long-term. Used Buyers, on the other hand are not so well Heeled, have longer Term Ownership Plans and wish to perform much of their own work as doing this puts the Car within their reach. Consequently, these Used Owners tend to participate in Forums like these to learn and help flatten that Learning Curve. I suspect that with Greater Participation, we'll see the number favor Used Cars even more...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Probably true in many cases, but not all. Jim, you're quite observant, but don't forget about that book, The Millionaire Next Door and what it said about hundreds of thousands of Americans who are worth a lot more than they show others.

While I'm not a millionaire, I could have easily purchased a brand new Boxster and I can also easily afford to pay the dealer to repair non-warranty items. I just choose not to do it because I have other priorities in life, as well as the desire to retire very, very comfortably and at a young age.

I do wish I had enough income to justify owning a brand new boxster every four years though... the smell of a new Porsche in one's own garage is very hard to get past, isn't it?

Oh, and I think your saying should be the other way around. The Miata is the most boxster you can buy for the money!

@RandallNeighbor,

You're right! I meant to say "Generally Speaking, Used Buyers, on the other hand are not so well Heeled..." never meant to slight you or others.. ;) I too can handle a New one, but I choose to let another take the depreciation... I was actually looking for a Miata when I came across my Boxster. When I negotiated it down to Miata Money, the decision was easy...

So far as my addage about the Boxster being the Most Miata one can buy, I stick to it.

The Boxster certainly betters the Miata in many ways. But, I doubt that there would even be a Boxster had not the Miata started the whole thing off and brought Automakers into the light (Remember that 20 year period when there were virtually NO Convertibles?). I'm sure that the Miata's success was what motivated Porsche to both Design and Produce the Boxster...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I didn't think of mine as "used". Just modestly experienced.

Although it is possible the Miata influenced the production of more convertibles, I don’t think anyone doubts that the Boxster is based on the 1954 production of the 550 sypder. It just might be my ignorance but I hate to say Miata and Boxster in the same sentence.

The Miata and the Boxster share the fact that they both have four wheels, two seats, and a rag top.
That's about the end of the similarity.

The Miata was intended to be an updated Lotus Elan, and kudos to Mazda. They did a lot better job of it than Chapman's crew did with the original. Time and technology had both marched on in the interim, to be sure.

No disagreement with the 550 heritage, but there were other mid-engine road Porsches in the mix, including Porsche No. 1 in '47 (a mid-engine roadster), the 904, and the lowly 914.

New 04 in 05.

First time that I bought a car a year old already but the discount was enough to convince me to take dealer inventory.

Have always bought new so I can order them how I want.

The box was the first time I ever took a car off the lot as well. It had all the options I would have ordered ( minus heated seats ) and in the color I wanted.

Bought new but never again. They depreciate way too fast!! My '03 had a sticker price of $52,000 and I was recently offered $29,000 for trade-in value. It just turned two years old and only has 9500 miles. I will let someone else take the hit next time around.

2000S used 10,000 miles paid 30K in 2004 with 6 month power train warranty.

mods and goodies:

Carrera 5 spokes
GT3 Seats
GT3 Front bumper (Cup lip spoiler coming)
GT3 II side skirts (best bang for the buck mod)
Litronics
rear speakers
Clear tails and side markers
rear speakers
Bird Bike rack.
Window Tinting
Sirius PNP 3
V1

DONE!!! I decided I wanted to enjoy all the enhancements for the entire time that I owned it. On my previous car I tinkered until it was perfect and ended up selling it a few months later :mad: But I couldn't pass on this Boxster cream puff

Hi,

The same can be said of the Boxster vs the 550 Spyder. The Boxster is Uni-Body, Longer, Wider, much Heavier, 6-cyl, FI, Hydraulic Clutch, AC, Power Top really no comparison at all.

' A throwback to the 550' - a Romantic Creation of the Marketing Dept. designed to boost sales by riding on the Coattails of a Legend.

I have an acquaintance who owns a Real 550 Spyder - #47, which I have driven. It is so much more responsive and provides so much more feedback. When I drove home in my Boxster, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in some Fat, Overweight, Gentleman's Cruiser. That's how much the 550 betters it in performance, not speed to be sure, but overall feel, it's the winner hands down.

'Course, I don't have a cool $250K burning a hole in my pockets, so I turned up the Stereo, turned on the AC, adjusted my Seat Back and like Stephen Stills remarked... "Love the One You're With!"... :)

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

my previous car the 1.8 Miata was indeed different but they are also both rear wheel drive finely balanced cars with high revving engines. Because of the low HP the Miata is a very forgiving car like the neutral Boxster. The Miata is not as predictable as the Boxster, a little prone to oversteer in abrupt turns unlike the Box but its still a very responsive car. I'd say the S2000, Miata and Boxster are three best handling roadsters I've driven. The Miata is probably the most represented car in grass roots motorsports because of its handling and bullet proof reliability despite its girly car image. The S2000 seems to be the only roadster to have escaped the "girly car", "poser" or "old guy" image.

Great observation about the S2000. If it had six airbags it would have been more of a consideration.

The Miata owes no apologies to anyone. Great little car for the money, tons of fun and reliable as all get out.
:cheers:

MNBoxster wrote:
"The same can be said of the Boxster vs the 550 Spyder. The Boxster is Uni-Body, Longer, Wider, much Heavier, 6-cyl, FI, Hydraulic Clutch, AC, Power Top really no comparison at all.

' A throwback to the 550' - a Romantic Creation of the Marketing Dept. designed to boost sales by riding on the Coattails of a Legend."


As you point out, there were a lot of things the 550 didn't have. Like a top (that little scrap of canvas set on stilts doesn't count as a top, unless you're a LeMans scruitineer), any road amenities whatsoever, and about 1,700 extra pounds.
Bottom line, the 550 was a dedicated race car, the first for Porsche. The fact that James Dean got half way from LA to Salinas on the open highway in one is incidental.
I agree, the connection between the 550 and the Boxster is basically a figment of the Porsche marketing department's imagination. But that's what they get paid for.