New, Need your guys opinion
 

Hello Im new to the site. I currently own a SRT-4 and am planning on getting a 2001 Porsche Boxster S.....What is a few things I need to look for...I know the basics in buying a used car but is there antything I need to look at in particular in this car?

Also, hows the maintaince on the car, is it pricey and can it be done by me or does it need a dealership per say

- Is it a relaible car?

Thanks guys :cheers:

homework:
read everything on this site by next week.
http://www.986faq.com/

Yes I've reading here, theres a lot of good info...I know that Ohio put a supercharger on his and I bet he's running strong....Also read about a guy getting quoted $800 for a suspension install.... :eek:

The particular car that Im looking at comes with a Hardtop piece...which I really like....

That SRT is a nice little car I see them at the autocross events and they perform very well for a family car :p
Don't get attached to any one Boxster/S.
There are soooo many low mileage bargains around you really have no reason not to take your time looking for one that has everything you are looking for.
Try and find one with the wheels, aero, stereo, HID's(Litronics) that you are looking for. Upgrading the Boxster parts afterwards is very very expensive. Plenty of cars for sale have most of this stuff on them already. I spent at least $7,000 on upgrades and I doubt I'll get even a third back on that when I sell the car. Not something that bothers me tremendously because I got the car with barely 10,000 miles at an excellent price.

Well Im selling the SRT because well, its that time and its best....Going to Law school here soon...Like yourself I invested a lot of money on the SRT...sooo Im de-modding it and that money I get from those parts well be my money for the first semester in Law school...

I've been searching a lot and reading a lot.....Im not trying to spend more then 25k...I found an 01 with 54k miles for 21000.....sport package and everything....Red with black interior <- my favorite color by the way.....Comes with 18' turbo wheels.....Im going to test drive it this week....does this sound like a good deal to you guys....the miles are a bit high but its a porsche so Im sure its well built...

you can find plenty of low mileage Boxsters for that price. No need to sacrifice mileage which is the last thing you want to do unless ALL maintenance has been done on a consistent basis.
As the saying goes"pay me now or pay me later but in the end you will pay".

Average price for an 02 Boxster S is about 25k here in Houston...thats ranging from 33k-54k miles.....I still searching...I am taking your advise and not getting attached to one....I saw a good deal on a Black one BUT I have own two black cars including my SRT and Im never owning one again...Red or Silver is my color....

I saw a silver with a bright red interior....looked nice!!!

I think there is a big ebay seller in Houston that sells lots of Porsches you can check out in the show room.

here's a nice one i a rare color he's selling. Go down in person and maybe make an offer. This time of the year is good for making deals.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-Porsche-Boxster-S-SPORT-Xenon-HtdSts-HiFi-18-s_W0QQitemZ170062763143QQihZ007QQcategoryZ6015QQrd Z1QQcmdZViewItem

Funny you posted that up, thats the same dealership that has the Red one Im looking at....Actually his Ebay prices are higher then his autotrader prices....I has about 6-7 in stock but not all of them as S....they are mostly regular boxsters....He has that burgundy one listed for 24500 on autotrader...

Expo is where I bought mine too :)
The folks there were pretty nice to deal with and they will deal with you
(never pay sticker price).

Hope you find what you are after. (Another Texan, we be growing :D )


-cheers
:cheers:

Blatallic, a forum member is selling his pristine, low mileage boxster (silver with full red leather interior) in January if you are interested. He lives in Magnolia and works in Rice Village. Call me if you are interested... 832-474-7381

What year and how much??

Travis, I'll be heading to Expo here this week....Ya I never pay sticker price...Im good at bargaining.....I got lots of practice in Hong Kong :D

If you call me tomorrow, I can give you his name and number and you can talk to him yourself on the details of the car and the price.

Sounds good....I'll be calling you tommorrow...

How is the insurance on these cars???

Blatallic,

I pay about $1100 a year for full coverage here in Chicago.

Hope that helps...

Nick

I am paying $1800 a year for full coverage on the Box and a Lexus SUV, Harris county is one of the highest in the country (too many good ol boys)

^ I pay that much for just one car! I haven't had speeding ticket in over 10 years and only had one minor accident that the police officer refused to issue a report for. We have more cars than people here in the Garden State. And everyone is trying to rip off the insurance companies when there is in fact an accident with jacked up auto body claims, personal injury law suits, etc. .
A huge waste money. I feel sorry for the good drivers who have to pony up $1200 just for liability insurance on beater cars that aren't worth much more than that, despite many having good driving records.

My first year of ownership(age 16) car was insured under my name.....A whopping $6400 a year for full coverage. We learned quickly and put the car under my moms name with me listed as a 10% driver.

When I bought mine the insurance company(AAA) wanted $4k for it in my name, I was 18,no tickets w/ a 15% insurance break from a class I took. The insurance lady said to call back and say it was the weekend driver under my dad's name,$1,200 a year full coverage.

Hi Blatallic,
I also had an SRT-4 that I sold to buy my Boxster. I would definately get the S. My SRT was highly moded, so as far as balls-to-the-wall speed (in a straigt line) the Box dosen't come close. The engineering and handling of the Boxster is far beyond what a turbo charged Neon will ever be. You will NOT be disapointed!!

I'm a new member and first post. I just got a '02 Boxster S from David in Houston on 12/22. I drove it around 1500 miles to get it home. They did have about six and from what I remember about 3 were Boxster S.

By chance was the one red? There was a guy there to pick up a red one with a hard top and I was told there were some bearing issues with it???

Ahh... the SRT-4... proof that you can't polish a turd, but apparently you can make it go real fast.

I'd wager the SRT-4 heavily modded would be considerably faster (in a straight line) than a Boxster S. But it's NOWHERE near the same quality automobile.


I'm about to go from a Hyundai Tiburon (which honestly is a pretty nice car for it's price) to a Boxster. The base Boxster probably has 50hp and maybe 20-30ft-lb on the stock Tiburon V6, but probably only about 20hp and little if any torque over mine with the few mods I have on it. I don't really care if the Boxster isn't quicker... I'll like the quality.

And it will go nicely with my 1969 911 Targa!

Thanks guys for keep ing thread full of info...Actually I've been reading this forum a whole lot and getting all the info that I can...

My SRT was putting down about 350ish to the wheels, yes it was heavily modded and I did enjoy the car....I know that the Boxster wont be no where as fast as my SRT but Im not going for all out straight away performance....Even though I had a complete suspension upgrade on my SRT, Im sure the Boxster is going to handle better and yes, quality is a WHOLE lot better then the SRT...expecially the interior....I dont plan on modding the Porsche, mainly I'll be in Law school and wont be able to afford it....But I do plan on adding some 19's, I've always wanted rims with a nice lip....Im aiming for and Boxster S but they seem a couple grand out of the price range so I have to shop around....OH by the way the insurance is cheaper then my SRT..... :dance:

The Neons aren't bad at all in the handling department either. The EVO Autocross Schools Chief is a national champion who did most racing in a Neon.
I hope they continue to develop it and making something on par with the STI or Mitsu EVO, but allot less cheaper. The evo is creaking over $35K!
and there should be at least one American car in that class of performance. An SRT World Rally Car would be great, if Ford can do it with a Focus I see no reason why Dodge can't also do it.

you can always trade up to a S model, the prices are coming down each year.
I'd stick with 18" wheels like the Carrera Replicas for a mere $1000 and slap on some side skirting. Big transformation for less than 2 grand.

Lap, I think the Neon/SRT-4 has been discontinued...

Wow, that's funny! I'm using it.

The SRT-4 neon base has been discontinued....05 was the last year..Now they have the Caliber which replaced the Neon....

Going tommorrow to go and look at some Cars....we'll see what happens...

Forgive my ignorance, I'm not exactly trying to keep up with the latest in Neon technology, but how, pray tell, can you do anything with 350hp in a front wheel drive car? Or is it real wheel? Reminds me of people who used to soup up Gremlins and Pacers. Polished turd indeed....

1) How's the insurance? Call your agent. They can give you a quote (which is more helpful than knowing what people in other age groups/locations/marital status/driving record will tell you) Since you asked, I pay about $500/year, full coverage and low deductible. In NJ, I paid about $2k/year for a 20 year old "standard performance" 911. NJ Insurance sucks. Enough said ;)

2) Don't expect the Porsche necessarily be as "FAST" as your SRT-4, especially if you've been hitting the boost bong. The best way to improve a Porsche's performance is by improving the drivers skill level. Learn to drive the car. If you want 350-400hp, you'd better off looking for a detroit V-8 or keeping your SRT-4

3) Most of the maintenance and usual wear items are not too expensive. What makes a Porsche expensive is avoiding proper maintenance and paying shops (dealer or independent) $100/hr.

Traction was a huge issue with the car....I had a full suspension setup inlcuding traction bars and motor mounts in the car....First and second gear were gone from a launch.....With a boost controller I could lower the boost for the lower gears and go all balls to the wall 3rd gear and on...I didnt do this on a stock turbo by the way...Looked stock but only because it was ported/clipped and a bigger wheel installed in it.....I had every supporting mod as well but to be honest..I NEVER raced the car on the highway....very rare the time that I did.....car is completely stock now...and it drives so much smoother but its not as fast.....Im not looking to getting 300+ with a porsche....I want the porsche because Ive always loved them and why not get one...the racing scene is nice but always tuning to keep a/f's in check got to me especially with school....with the Boxster I want to go for looks...comfortable ride and have that porsche luxory....

Ive done pleny fo research on this car and I like everything...MUCH more PRICEY to mod then a SRT but Im not in it for that....Insurance is going to be cheaper on the porsche too.... :cheers: