Are there really this many blown engines

[pecivil]

The S54 had a couple of bad years with the bottom end and failed rod bearings. They have fixed that, and that engine has won "the best engine of the year" award a bunch of times. The S54 is a great engine. 333hp out of only 3.2 liters, normally aspirated?

Sure better than the boxster S. But we do know that Porsche has "restricted" what the 3.2 can do so it wont piss off any 911 owners who might get their hat handed to them.

I have an E36, had an E39, and have an X5 (wifey's car). BMW's are very good cars, they drive very well and are pretty easy to fix yourself. I love mine. They are expensive to maintain, but not as costly as a Porsche.

I got a boxster because I wanted a Porsche, and not a 911. I do not like the Z4's styling, but its still a very good roadster that you would not be sorry getting.

[prOk]

Man, some of the silly talk here is funny

I've owned two Boxsters now and really, honestly, I don't see the huge maintenance costs. I just had my 20k service done on my 987 for 400 bucks. So, on the average of say 3k miles per oil change for a typical car, with an average cost of 50 bucks per oil change with Synthetic oil your'e at 300 bucks over the same period of time. In that period, just about any car will have to make a trip or two to the dealer for a checkup which usually isn't free. So far, my 987 has given me 20k miles with zero issues and all it cost me over that time is 400.00? Not a bad deal in my opinion, and really, it's not a gigantic difference from the average maintenance costs of a Honda Accord.. the thing I think people choke on is that it hits them all at once instead of spread out over time.

The comments about 'racing' a Boxster and losing are good for a chuckle too If you buy a Porsche and don't realize you are not buying a dragster then you didn't do your homework. My car may be beaten by a chevy in a straight line, but straight roads are boring roads. Put that same chevy on some nice back lane twisties where a car shows what it's really made of and then you see what makes a Porsche what it is. I don't know how many times i've had idiots that feel the need to tailgate me to show how 'fast' they are and when that happens I just can't wait to take a hard curve in the road at 70+ and watch them fall apart at the seams

And truly, I don't care what make of car it is, you'll find a board on the internet and you'll find people talking as if it's the worst thing on the planet. I've never owned a car in the last 10 years that this wasn't the case. Reality is, most cars are perfectly sound and don't have major issues. Those that do are of course the people you hear from. You should also not have unrealistic expectations with cars.. true high performance vehicles will never have the reliability ratings of a Honda and you shouldn't expect it.

Just ramblin

/b

[Brucelee]

"I've owned two Boxsters now and really, honestly, I don't see the huge maintenance costs. I just had my 20k service done on my 987 for 400 bucks. So, on the average of say 3k miles per oil change for a typical car, with an average cost of 50 bucks per oil change with Synthetic oil your'e at 300 bucks over the same period of time. In that period, just about any car will have to make a trip or two to the dealer for a checkup which usually isn't free. So far, my 987 has given me 20k miles with zero issues and all it cost me over that time is 400.00? Not a bad deal in my opinion, and really, it's not a gigantic difference from the average maintenance costs of a Honda Accord.. the thing I think people choke on is that it hits them all at once instead of spread out over time."

Two quick points.

The service costs rise as the miles do. Your next one will likely be $800 plus and so on.

I think the really issue on Boxster mait. costs is what happens post warranty. When you start getting bills for RMS, wheel bearings, brakes etc., it can certainly add up fast.

[prOk]

I agree on that, but any car will have costs that go up, not down as the car gets older. 98/99 boxsters are 8/9 years old now!! Most people wouldn't buy a honda accord that is 8 years old knowing that they will probably need a boatload of work on normal stuff at that age. I'd still argue the difference isn't that great.

The real key is understanding just what kind of car you're buying. If you want a bulletproof mass production car with the long term reliability then you should buy your car with that in mind. Performance cars, regardless of brand, are not such vehicles and you should be prepared to maintain them. Just about any make/model has it's version of the RMS and if you go to an enthusiast site for any brand you'll see the same stuff you do here. I think too many folks make the mistake of 'forgiving' age due to the brand name and have overstated expectations as to reliability. Seems a lot of people might also buy a bit beyond their means too in the sense of buying the 90's era Boxsters due to the somewhat cheap price tag as porsches go, but not being able to afford to maintain them. Sometimes I wonder if people look past age and potential issues simply due to the brand?

[Brucelee]

Based on anecdote and data (JD Power data for cars three yrs old) Porsche DOES NOT have the reliability reputation of other expensive cars. In addtion, the RMS issue has been around for 10 yrs, time to really fix it in my opinion.

Moreover, when broken, there are very few cheap fixes for a Boxster.

Some of us take issue with these tendencies, others do not.

Caveat Emptor.

[jeff]

Bought a new 07 Toyota Avalon for the wife. Picked it up Friday. Today at 30 miles on the odometer, a CEL and VSC light came on. It's already back at the dealer. Bought the 06 Boxster in March. 6500 miles. Problems? none!!

So far the Box is more reliable than the Toyota!!

Go Colts.

[hdpt73]

brucelee took the words out of my mouth when he said

"Two quick points.

The service costs rise as the miles do. Your next one will likely be $800 plus and so on.

I think the really issue on Boxster mait. costs is what happens post warranty. When you start getting bills for RMS, wheel bearings, brakes etc., it can certainly add up fast."

EXAMPLE:
wheel bearings 750.00 (for 2)
oil separator 2000.00
windows 500.00
Horn gasket 200.00
(i will stay away from RMS)

Wait til the new Boxster 2005+ owners have their cars for 4-5 years and then give us a review. To summarize my boxster, some days when it works it's fun, when it's broken, porsche is a 4 letter word to me.

[Silverstreak]

I read all those threads.


Hopefully the 3.2 doesn't have the same problems

[Dr. Kill]

I'm not worried. I can always raid the kids' college fund if need be.

Worst case scenario:
My Box stays on the road and my kids join the Army. Hey, it worked for their old man...