Talk to me about maintenance costs

[denverpete]

One thing you might want to consider is your location. Since you aren't inclined towards mechanical repairs or maintenance, you'll need a Porsche dealer or mechanic in your area. This isn't a vehicle you take to Jiffy-Lube or your neighbor.

I noticed you listed Fargo as your city. Not being familiar with Fargo, is there a Porsche dealer or Porsche certified mechanic there? If not, you might have some long drives ahead of you to get it serviced. My wife knew a couple from Bottineau with a Porche who actually enjoyed taking that 2 hour drive to get an oil change - but is that you?

As to the Elise, that's basically a track car you can drive on the streets. It would probably be a fun 2nd toy - but not one you'd want to spend a whole lot of time in. My comments regarding service would doubly apply to a Lotus....

The Miata and S2000 are both good vehicles. Neither one gets my blood going - but to each their own.

No one can tell you whether to spend your discretionary income on a Porsche. Plus, some incomes are more discretionary than others....

[crzn427]

Jump,

We just had the 30k service done on our '04. The cost was right at $1k plus another 1k for a set of tires. (I also had a 10% discount which reduced the charge by $224., I paid $2,024, but I also had a 4 wheel alignment done).

When we had the first service done, at 15k, it cost just under $1k.

We were told that the 26k miles we had on our tires was execptional in that most rear tires get replaced at 6 - 12 k, and the fronts 10 - 15k. Depending on the wheels, the tires will be a couple hundred either side of $1k for a set. It is probably 60/40 (rear/front) in cost differnce if you replace them seperately.

I'm not that familiar with the Elise but as others have said, the other two don't do much for me either.

The MX-5 (Miata) is nice but is usually thought of as a little limp wristed comparied to the Boxster. There are a few Monster Miatas out there with a 5.0 Ford engine in them that can put a grin on when you drive it.

I have noticed that the S2000 has a quite harsh ride. We were next to one on a freeway, at about 70mph, going over an overpass. When we hit the expansion jounts the S2000 driver looked like he actually came off the seat as the car bounced over the road imperfection, we felt it but nothing like him.

I also read that some testers from a national car magazine (I can't remember which one) thought that the S2000 got a little boring after a while because the revs had to be kept really high, over 8k, to get any thrill out of the car.

I've never driven any of the three alternatives you mentined. We did drive a BMW Z-4 and an Audi TT Roadster when we decided on the Boxster.

We considered several aspects of how the cars compaired and found that to us the service interval and lugage space were among the things we liked better than the others we did drive. (We had an RX-7 and didn't want the MX-5 as it would feel like going down in status, plus we didn't want another Japanese car.)

So, you have to decide how you want to spend your money. Get the one that fits best with your desired image, and be happy with it regardless.

To sum up, as in "Risky Business, "THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A PORSCHE", or was it "PORSCHE, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE"? Which ever, you do make a statement when you arrive in a Porsche.

[Brucelee]

Richard Kwei (co-owner of this site) has a modded, turbo Miata. I think he would hammer most Boxsters, at least from the feel of driving the car.

Fun car, cheap too!