On the fence about buying a Boxster

[rteichman]

As other posts have said you CAN work on the car yourself, and you CAN take it to a mechanic other than a Porsche dealer (though sometimes that might cost as much as going to a Porsche dealer). There is no question about it though, parts are expensive. For example, the center cap on 2 of my wheels fell/popped off. Replacing them ended up costing me over $50, for 2 little pieces of plastic! Something that I would never have imagined having to buy.

In the end it really boils down to how price sensitive you are. If money is REALLY tight, the joy of owning the car will be outweighed by your anger/worrying over the cost. In that case you would be better off with an old Miata. Most of the fun for almost no cost. However if you feel you could swing an extra few hundred in savings ($500?) somewhere for eventual repairs, then go for the Boxster. Use that savings to cover the "extra" it costs for the repair of the Boxster.

I've had my Box now for 2 years. It hasn't been any more expensive to maintain than any other car I've owned. I replaced the original tires recently, they had about 33,000 on them and they weren't balogna skins either. Oil changes are easy enough to do. Haven't had any issues with mine either. Very reliable and fun (so far). I average 10k per year on mine.

It is easier to perform routine maintenance on my Box than my '66 T-bird.

[Wintermute]

Having recently acquired my own Boxster (2002 S), and having it be my one and only car, I too am a bit concerned about the maintenance costs of owning a car like this. But you really have to determine your own threshold of pain with cost. The cold hard truth is that if something breaks, it will most likely be expensive to fix. But from what I hear from people, Boxsters are reliable cars (espeically later models that have many of the bugs worked out) if they are maintained properly.

For peace of mind I will be getting an extended warranty soon (I still have a few months of the factory warranty left). Many people here are very pleased with WarrantyDirect. For about $3000 (less if you don't mind a deductible) you can get a full bumper-to-bumper warranty for 4 years and 75k miles (and I mean full: they cover anything on your car except "consumibles" such as brake pads). There's also a wealth of information on these forums and on the web about how to care for and service your car yourself.

You also have to evaulate your own driving habits. Are you a high-milage driver? Are they city miles with lots of stop and go, or do you tend to put easy cruising miles on your cars? Are you a track-whore (fess up now! ) ? Do you love to rev the engine and drop the clutch at every stoplight or light up your tires whenever you get the chance? Do you absolutely require the best tires with the most grip or can you deal with slightly lower performance for tires that might actually last you more than 5k miles? (Hey I know an autocross nut that buys 5-6 sets of tires a YEAR)

If you're like me, who drives about 5-6 miles to work every day and a bit on the weekends, doesn't push my car hard, drives 10k miles or less in a year, and never races it, then you will probably be fine if you get a good vehicle. If you're an agressive driver with a lead foot and a love for mashing the brakes then you'll most likely have a higher risk of needing extra maintenance costs.

Porsche tends to make vehicles to be driven and require little maintenance. What other cars only need the oil changed every 15k miles or 2 years? Even my 01 Honda Prelude (which used full synthetic oil) needed an oil change at least every 7500 miles or 6 months.

[Ronzi]

Vehicle cost and maintenance cost have usually been a tandem ... high original cost = high maintenance cost. Witness Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Mercedes, Ferrari, even Cadillac.
It has only been with the advent of the high reliability premium brands such as the Lexus that this has been in part turned on it's head, and this due principally to the extremely rigid quality built into the "Japanese" manufacturing methods.
The Porsche is not a particularly high priced car, especially the Box. I wouldn't be surprised if most of us on this forum paid less than $30k for our cars (used, obviously), not a large amount in a world where a pickup truck can easily cost more than that.
A Boxster owner can defer maintenance like any other car, and, like any other car, pass the ensuing chickens on to roost in somebody else's barnyard.

[986Jim]

Then your car will end up with the Avian flu!

[rob-cyn]

I have gotten all my maint. tips off this forum and done them all myself. Its just a matter of getting familiar with the car and you will be fine.

[Rail26]

It is time to fall off the fence...on the Boxster ownership side! Woohoo...I love Box (no pun intended, or is there????).