Can you daily drive a Porsche Boxster/Cayman? Maintenance cost?
 

I'm thinking about getting a 981 Boxster/Cayman, currently driving a BMW 5 series, is the maintenance/repair cost going to be much higher than the BMW or about the same?

I work monday through friday and average about 50 miles per day (commuting + other activities), can i use the 981 as a daily driver? Are the 981 reliable/durable? Or do they just fall apart after being daily driven for a couple of years like the Range Rover? free netflix tech news


Thanks in advance, very new to Porsche hope i'm not asking stupid questions lol.

Porsches make great daily drivers. There are plenty of people who use their Porsches in that fashion. One member put 300K mi on his 986 Boxster. Cost will probably be similar to BMW as they're both expensive Euro cars and command premium prices when being worked on. If you're the least bit handy with tools, there are plenty of DIY projects you can do on your Porsche that will reduce costs significantly, like changing your own oil - $200 at the dealer, $90 if you do it yourself. Not familiar with the reliability of BMW but Porsche has a very good recent history of reliability.

Good luck with your search.

I daily drove a Boxster for 4 years. Aside from a water pump, there were no major issues.

That car never let me down.

I tracked a Boxster hard for several years -- it was damn near bullet proof.

I now race a Boxster -- and still consider it a great platform.

Mike

The one thing you might want to consider is the size difference between the bmw and a sports car and really make sure you can live with less space for daily driving. Just saying kinda apple orange comparison and some people cant effectly use a smaller car.

I have owned five BMW's and five Porsche's. Both brands work well as a daily driver - it really depends on your personal desires/expectations. I currently daily drive my air-cooled 911SC.

The reliability and costs for maintenance/repairs for BMW and Porsche vehicles are generally about the same.

Second that. I use my Boxster almost exclusively on track (hard) and has been solid after doing a couple mods to improve the known issues (power steering pump, oiling system, IMS).

I've been daily driving mine (2000 Boxster S) for about 2 years with some autocross and track use mixed in for good measure. I drive it pretty hard, but besides standard maintenance items (oil, filters, and spark plugs) I've only really had a couple problems:

- Had to replace the washer fluid tank seals (~1 hour DIY fix)
- Had my B&M short shifter snap on me when downshifting (~1-2 hour DIY fix)
- Fans for the exhaust/emissions occasionally don't kick on when starting the car (triggers CEL, only happens about once every couple months)

I've driven around 50,000 miles in that timeframe, so I've definitely been pleasantly surprised in that respect with the maintenance requirements. My car is a tire shredder though, but that could just be me. My rears are usually down to the wear bars in ~10,000 miles, so thank goodness for the Michelin treadwear warranties that I've thoroughly utilized.