typical repair costs at around 75k miles - conver my weekend car to daily driver???

[23109VC]

I have a 2000 base 5 speed. it had a new motor put in my Porsche at about 15k.
brakes are recently replaced, tires are virtually brand new. clutch stock. i believe the car had the 60k service...but nothing major was replaced as far as I know.

top was replaced under warranty a few years ago, it looks very good.... suspension, bushing, etc all stock.

I use the car a a "toy" on weekends. my daily driver is now falling apart, and I found someone who wants dirt cheap wheels - so it is in the process of being sold. i'll pocket a couple grand, that's it.

i'm debating about buying another DD, which means I'll likely get something like a used Acura TL, or something in that range. IS350, TL, etc etc. figure I can get something like that for 25-30k CPO, in excellent shape. but that means I'm back in debt on a loan for the next 4-6 years on a car.

i have thought about just using my Boxster as a dailyl driver. I am 36, married, 3 kids. We have a 2007 MDX as our "family" car. my existing DD that I am unloading i sa odler S70 volvo. it's big enough to fit all three kids in the back, but it has 150k miles and rattles, and is not 100% reliable, so we essentially never use it as a family car. I drive my S70 to work and back - I hae a whopping 5 mile commute!!

so part of me is thinking, either I just drive the boxster as a daily driver and figure that I'll have more repair costs on it than if I had kept it as a toy and put hardly any miles on it.

one other option is to just buy a little civic or other crap car to go back/forth to work and keep the Boxster in it's "weekend" car role. i could probably find a decent low mileage civic for $10k....

so - IF I decide to convert the boxster to a dd and suddently go from 75k to 85k on the odometer in the next 12 months - which would be on the "high" end for me...i might only put 5000-7500 on it.... as I commute 10-20 mioleis a day max in the car....

what kind of items shoudl I anticipate breaking on me, that I will hae to fix.

what would you guys do? buying a 30k car would have been on my plate, but my employer is hitting everyone wiht a 10% pay cut. i hae Zero chance of being laid off, i am gov't employee...but due to tax revenue drop off in my area, our budget was slashed...and pay is being reduced next fiscal year..so I lose 10%...which for me is about 15k/year. that was fluff money that would have paid for the car..now it's gone.

i can buuy a cheapo civic for $10=-15k and i twouldn't hurt much...and woudl get the job done...or just "save" that money and figure i'll drive the box everyday and the 15k I would have spent on a POS that I hate to drive...I can just use to tires, repairs, etc on the boxster. and drive the car i Love everyday.

i'll sacrifice having a second car that COULD double as kid hauler...but we rarely use my car for that. i someetimes take my oldest to school..and the box works for that. the othe rkids are so small they wno't be in school for at least another two years.. so back setas in my car woudl be nice, but n ot necessary.

maybe I can run the boxster two more years...wait for the job / economy to bounce back, and when the little ones are a smidgen bigger and need me to take more than one to school - i can sell my then 100k mile boxster, and roll the money into a 911.... hmmmm..

anyway...long rambing post, with various questions. any one car to chime in with suggestions, thoughts, observations - fire away.

[mikefocke]

5 miles to work every day and back is the worst type of driving that a car can do. Never gets fully warm enough to burn off the stuff in the crankcase (even in CA). So lots of oil changes needed...every 5k miles. Can you do that yourself to keep the costs down?

Not spending $10k for a DD or borrowing $20k to get a newer DD gives you a lot of $ to spend on repairs. Who knows what it could need, some do...some don't. Varies from $600-1200 for the 15k/30k servives to $15k for an engine. And inbetween.

But what if your wife's car goes down...then you are stuck. Yes you can drive her back from the car repair place. Or the older child to school or wherever. But not the whole family.

[spine911]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

5 miles to work every day and back is the worst type of driving that a car can do. Never gets fully warm enough to burn off the stuff in the crankcase (even in CA). So lots of oil changes needed...every 5k miles. Can you do that yourself to keep the costs down?

Not spending $10k for a DD or borrowing $20k to get a newer DD gives you a lot of $ to spend on repairs. Who knows what it could need, some do...some don't. Varies from $600-1200 for the 15k/30k servives to $15k for an engine. And inbetween.

But what if your wife's car goes down...then you are stuck. Yes you can drive her back from the car repair place. Or the older child to school or wherever. But not the whole family.

+1 on everything previously stated above....

IMO, i would let go of both the aging Box and the S70 and use the sale $$ as downpayment for a 4 door japanese sedan within the price range of $20-27k TOPS!!....considering your family situation, Ca. budget/job cuts, current recession i would rather play it safe--this is no time for "weekend" cars not unless you have a deep slush fund ready for disposal...in the end it is all up to you :ah:

A 5 mile commute? Get a bike. Loose weight and save money! Take the savings in 12 months and buy DD.

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

A 5 mile commute? Get a bike. Loose weight and save money! Take the savings in 12 months and buy DD.

driving to work in my suit would not work out so hot a I'd likely smell a little yucky at the office.

I do know one guy who bikes to work, keeps his suits at the office, and he changes in a men's locker room that has showers. his office has a suit rack with hsi entire wardrobe..... i'm not gonna do it.

[Boxtaboy]

I am doing that just now with my car- I used to use my 01 boxster as only a weekend fun car because we lived in NYC and I worked there too. After having a baby boy, we moved to NJ, and now also got a chance to change my office location to an office complex in NJ, which is only 5 miles from my home.

I contemplated buying a junker car to do the daily commute, but then thought what for? My car, although in pristine condition, is already 8 years old, and in reality isn't worth that much anymore anyway, so why only enjoy it on the occasional weekend when I figure I can drive it everyday to work?

I have been driving it everyday to work for about a month now, and absolutely love it. I get to drive top down to and from work, park in a secure garage with security cameras, and am smiling from ear to ear everyday as I go to and from work. Can't beat that with a stick, and I'm not worried about the wear and tear or mileage because I bought the car for the pleasure of using it and not for saving it for anything.

Before I was using it everyday, and only using it occasionally on weekends, I used to think the car was a bit of a waste, as we already have an 08 Audi Quattro as a family car, but now, it's pure permagrin. I say use it as your daily driver!

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

I am doing that just now with my car- I used to use my 01 boxster as only a weekend fun car because we lived in NYC and I worked there too. After having a baby boy, we moved to NJ, and now also got a chance to change my office location to an office complex in NJ, which is only 5 miles from my home.

I contemplated buying a junker car to do the daily commute, but then thought what for? My car, although in pristine condition, is already 8 years old, and in reality isn't worth that much anymore anyway, so why only enjoy it on the occasional weekend when I figure I can drive it everyday to work?

I have been driving it everyday to work for about a month now, and absolutely love it. I get to drive top down to and from work, park in a secure garage with security cameras, and am smiling from ear to ear everyday as I go to and from work. Can't beat that with a stick, and I'm not worried about the wear and tear or mileage because I bought the car for the pleasure of using it and not for saving it for anything.

Before I was using it everyday, and only using it occasionally on weekends, I used to think the car was a bit of a waste, as we already have an 08 Audi Quattro as a family car, but now, it's pure permagrin. I say use it as your daily driver!

Boxstaboy- thanks for the words of encouragement!! I really don't know what exactly I should do. half of me is with you - drive the box as my daily driver. I honestly do not NEED to have a car with back seats as we have a virtually brand new car for family use. We have free roadside assistance and complimentary loaners when our family car is in for serice. it's a 2007 Acura MDX. it has like 30k miles on it...yeah, it could break down, but we'd get it towed to the dealer and they'd immeidatley give me a new TL or TSX as a loaner - all of which will fit all my kids - been there done that - even the TSX fits three cars seats in the back - the new one is the size of the old gen TL in terms of width which is all that matter wiht kids/carseats. legroom isn't an issue..

BUT - there are going to be times when due to one of us being out in the big car, wiht one or more kids, that the toher person woudl be home with 2+_ kids and essentially be stranded.... having 3 kids, and an MDX and Boxster, means in all reality, we are a ONE car hosuehold. which is not ideal.

i'll do some serious soul searching this weekend. I really don't want to sell my boxster. it runs great. i've put new brakes, new tires, painted my bumperettes, painted my calipers, put in the 9897 shifter, - all fun stuff. not that I can't sell it...but it's a lot of fun for me. and given that I only paid $13k for it...it's not like I sunk a huge mega chunk of money into it. but again, it's just a car. i can sell it, and if the mood hits me, and the $$ is right, I can always buy anothe rone. it's not like there aren't a pile of boxsters for sale at any given moment. many of them far nicer than mine...

if I did sell the boxster, i'd have to get something relatively sporty to replace it. I'm not talking about an RS4 or M3 sedan...both very cool, but very much too expensive. but again, I'm definitely a "car guy". if I woke up tomorrow and my boxster was gone and I had to drive a Honda fit, or a camry, or some kind of "regular" car, I would be depressed, clinically depressed. all though college and grad school I had posters of sports cars over my desk - as enocuragement, motivation to get good grades, pass the bar exam, and get a job. if i was a single guy, withough the family, i have NO doubt I woudl have a brand new 911 turbo in my garage. period. i could afford one on my income if I was a bachelor.... but with stay at home wife, 3 kids, and all the associated family expenses...it's not even in the realm of possibility for me. maybe when the kidsd are out of the hosue in like 20 years... if gasoline powered cars haven' tbeen made illegal by them..

on my "budget" of wanting to spend $20-30k, if I sold the obxster, I could easilyh pickup an almost new, CPO TL Type S. they are FWD, nowhere near as sporty as a a boxster, but they are "kindas" sporty, very reliable. used CPO for $27-30k for 2008 low low miles. this would be very reliable, fit all the kids, and be fun "enough" to stave off clinical depression.

a used 335i woudl cost a bit more, it's a bit smaller inside, but it's piles faster and more sporty. but if I buy, i'd be paranoid about the service ocsts once it went off warranty. i would have hte same paranoia about turbo/intercooler/etc failure and some multi thousand dollar bill - just like we sweat IMS and RMS issues hwere....

I don't want something too small or too cheapy. i coudl live with a slower / less flashy car - but it needs to be safe. my current DD that I am likely selling to my bro in law - is an older Volvo. it's old, but it's solid and safe. ... I work in public safety job, and i've seen the aftermath of major T/Cs involving small and unsafe cars. I've seen stuff that would make you vomit, and shudder in disbelief at how just fragile our bodies are when they come into contact with broken glass, twisted metal, and fixed objects. .... that's why I have a big SUV for our main car. something lie a 3 series or a TL is not a "tank" but amuch much safer than a civic or other sub 3000 lb car.

another car I've thought of - a used V70R. I used to have an S60R from 2004-2006. very nice, very safe, quite fast. not 335i fast, but fast. you can flash the ECUs just like many turbo cars, and easily have a large wagon tha tlooks good, AWD, brembos, with 330-340hp on tap. total sleeper. i've seen these in the high teens, low 20s.

the more I think about it, the more it seems impractical to make the boxster a DD. it would work, but there woudl be many situations where it would just create problems.

Originally Posted by 23109VC

I do know one guy who bikes to work, keeps his suits at the office, and he changes in a men's locker room that has showers. his office has a suit rack with hsi entire wardrobe.....

Smart dude.

[ohioboxster]

I vote for drive your Boxster. Why get a loan? Hell, any day any one one of us could "Billy Mays it".

[944boy]

My Box is my daily. I was driving 60miles a day for almost a year. Now its down to about 20 for the commute (8-10 each way).

I do plan on riding my bike more often as we are moving to the largest underground parking garage in the western hemisphere, and I don't feel like getting lost trying to find my car.

I say drive it. take the long way to work to get the motor warmed up. Regular use is good for these cars. Mine has 75K on it in the last 4 years, Daily driven and garaged its whole life.

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

I vote for drive your Boxster. Why get a loan? Hell, any day any one one of us could "Billy Mays it".

how true. "carpe diem". life is short and you never know how much time you have left! that was "sort of" thelogic that led me to buy the boxster in the first place. I was thinking of something more "practical" like an RX8...it had back seats, but it was still fun. but after driving the RX8 back to back against the Boxster, I KNEW I wnated the Boxster more. top down roadster was just too much fun!! so I went with what I wnated, not with what was practical. i also bought the boxster off my dad, - 13,500, no sales tax (interfamily xfer) and we split the cost of new tires/brakes. so I got a car for 13,500 and he paid half the tires/brakes. What a dad huh!

car has M030, 18s, heated seats, ,fullleather. 75k. motor has 60k as it got a new one from theformer owner. my dad had it from 25k to 75k. i think the car now has 77k...

heck, why not just take the 25k, and use the existing boxster to trade in for an even newer preowned boxster. now if I could talk the wifey into that I'd be THE MAN!

or a 911. most of the CPO 911s are out of my price range. they are 50k+ and I am not gona spend that much. besides, I think the boxsters drive better than the 911s..at least the one 996 that I drove...I didn't care for it as much.

[Kirk]

Personally I think this is a no-brainer... You've got a $13.5K Boxster that's already paid for and has 75K miles on it. When you commute you only need ONE seat. It's a base Boxster, not an S. So basically you've got a good car that's not overly modified (extra investment), cost little to start with, and already has somewhat higher miles. Sounds like a perfect candidate for a daily driver to me!

Kirk