[Wintermute]

I'll chime in here first I suppose.

Bottom line is, the Boxster is a pretty reliable car. It's no Honda or Lexus, but on the whole there are more cars without problems than with them. And this forum is not an accurate crossection of Boxster owners as most people who post here are looking for help with a problem.

That said, when things do go wrong they can go wrong catestrophically (e.g. RMS failure) and be expensive to fix. The used Boxster market is definatly a minefield and your best weapon in protecting yourself is your pre-purchase inspection. Get it done by a Porsche dealer if possible, or at least a Porsche mechanic. Tell them you want to know of ANYTHING that is wrong or even looks worn. If it comes back clean, go over the car yourself and try out EVERYTHING. Check the operation of the top, windows, alarm, trunks, radio, AC, windshield wipers, windshield/headlight washers, rear spoiler w/ the manual switch (on the road if you can; have to get the car up > 75mph to deploy, and drop below 65mph to retract). Flip every switch, push every button, pull every lever. And if it has cupholders, make sure they pop out and push back in quickly and easily. These can sometimes be broken without you knowing it.

Drive the car for at least 10-15 minutes and make sure the temperature stays around 180-190 degrees. It can creep up on a hot day, but it shouldn't ever go above 200 for more than a few minutes. Make sure you have BOTH keys, or if not, ask for a second one to be made or $250 taken off the car. If they refuse, plan on walking. Also, if it has the windstop, make sure that ALL the parts are they (middle plastic window, and black mesh inserts behind the roll bars) and if any are missing get them replaced or negotiate a reduced price. Basically, just get the option codes from the sticker under the front hood and make sure that all the parts that the car orginally came with are still there. Also check that when you pull the lever to release the top, the windows lower a few inches. Be sure that both windows rais and lower automatically with one-touch on the buttons. When you close the top, the windows should raise up automatically. They should also lower about a centimeter when you open the door and the top is up, and raise up again when you close it to seal.

As far as maintenance, here is what you can expect:

Interval maintenance:
Every 15k miles: $200 for oil change, which you can do yourself for $80.
Every 30k miles: $600-1600 (do alot of it yourself such as the oil change and spend less at the dealer) Call different dealerships as they charge different prices.

Replacement parts:
Tires: $400-500 for the cheap tires (ask RandalNeighbor) or $1000+ for the high-performance ones (like Pirelli P-Zeros). Expect these every 10-15k miles depending on your driving habits. And tires cannot be rotated.
Brake pads: $150-200 for all four

Also, plan on a few thousand on top for an extended warranty. Most folks here recommend the SecureCare+ w/ Emissions from WarrantyDirect. This will replace ANYTHING on your car that breaks or wears out (with the exception of things like tires, brake pads, body panels, etc.). It will also cover an engine replacement if you have something like an RMS failure.

And last, here's some pricey emissions parts you may have to replace over the years (covered with the extended warranty if you get emissions coverage):
Mass air-flow sensor: $300-500
O2 sensors (4 I think): $100-120 apiece