My plan is to set aside $10K every year until I'm 60. At that point I'll have enough to buy a Ford GT assuming they reamin around $150K.

There is only $30K in the fund at this point. It's 12 more years until I'm 60 and a lot of bad things can happen between now and then. Besides, I need a solution between now and then. Can't always get what we want, when we want it. I know what I want based on what I can afford.

I only plan on buying one more car between now and 60. So far the Boxster is winning...

OK. In general I hate Corvettes. I do recognize that Corvettes are the best performance for the money in the world. Why do I hate Corvettes? Remember when I said that the average 911 were the best drivers that I know of? Well the average Corvette driver is the worst! It’s an old mans profiling car (yes I’m almost old). It’s not the cost of the Corvette that hurts; it’s all the gold chains that one must buy before you can be seen driving a Corvette.

Why do I feel this way? Because most Corvettes are automatics! That says something about your average Corvette owner and how they feel about driving. More evidence is that even though there are more than 100,000 Corvettes in California they can’t even host their own track day because so few want to drive them on a track. I’m talking road racing not drag racing. It doesn’t take much driving talent to drag race a street car unless you’re under 18.

Please note I say average and most. I know some excellent Corvette drivers but they are not the norm…

I also think Corvette C4 and C5 styling was poor. If you don’t like the looks of a car, it’s hard to overcome some of it other problems. The C4 had some Euro vibe going. The C5 was their attempt to capitalize on the Japanese car craze of the 90s. They tried to blend some NSX and RX7 styling cues into the car and it didn’t work.

Now I must admit with the C6 they have went with a new look that works. Not as attractive as the Boxster but a nice design. I wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen next to a C6.

You are correct that I could buy a new C6 for around $40,000 and it would ******************** slap both an NSX and any Boxster or Cayman. However, to drive a base Corvette is to admit that I have joined the unwashed masses of Corvette ownership. I can’t bring myself to go there. I would rather loose to a Corvette than drive one. I do have some values.

However, the C6 Z06 is a different story. It only comes in manual so that eliminates some of the performance pretenders. It fears no “stock” car on the track which includes cars costing $100K +. That’s a kind of attitude I could live with. It’s a little more inline with my driving philosophy. It’s still a Corvette but I can still dismiss the base Corvette owners while driving a Z06. I would still rather drive a Boxster on the street but would give that up to have 505 hp at the track.

Unfortunately, I don’t want to spend over $50K on a car purchase. It would interfere with the eventual Ford GT purchase. It will also hurt a lot worse to stuff a $60K car into a wall than it does a $40K car. You can now start to find some Z06s under $60K. If they go below $50K in the next 24 months, I may just buy one. I’m waiting for all the hype to subside. Everyone still thinks that they are worth big bucks even though they have already made about 15,000 of the cars.

The new 600hp Viper will help draw some attention from the Z06. I would guess that by the time the 2009 models arrive you’ll see them discounted just like any other car. This will impact the after market and bring prices into line with what they normally would be on a used Corvette. Some say that in 2009 they will be announcing a 700hp Corvette for the 2010 model year….

Looks like this is being discussed over at the C&D site as well.
http://forums.caranddriver.com/auto/board/message?board.id=18&thread.id=44008&view=by_date_a scending&page=1

I still recommend that you save your a bit more money and jump to a Cayman S, which is a much better track car with the fixed roof. Some minor upgrades to the exhaust/headers and suspension will have you in very good shape. 300+ HP with lots of balance.

I was at a DE event last month and it was obvious the Caymans were performing very well at the track, even with novice drivers.

You can get a low mileage Cayman S around $50K, would think they will start dropping into the 40's soon.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=213229822&dealer_id=58999983&car_ye ar=2006&num_records=25&search_type=both&make=POR&k eywordsfyc=&distance=0&transmission=&model=CAYMAN& make2=&address=55337&default_sort=priceDESC&certif ied=&advanced=&max_mileage=&max_price=&sort_type=p riceDESC&min_price=&first_record=226&body_code=0&e nd_year=2008&color=&keywordsrep=&start_year=1981&d rive=&pager.offset=225&engine=&style_flag=1&doors= &fuel=&cardist=1021

The last guy in that C/D thread said his buddy has a 900hp+ Box. Now that I'd like to see. :rolleyes:

Excellent thinking - enjoy life while you can. We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow.

Question 1:
Motor problems are difficult to pinpoint with anecdotal data. Basically, there's in-warranty and out-of-warranty. If your engine grenades and you're in the former, you're fine...else, not so much.

Question 2:
If you're concerned with performance the two 987 options that would most impact performance, except for ceramic brakes, would be PASM (adjustable suspension) and Sports Chrono (more responsive accelerator, reduced stability management intervention).

Question 3:
In terms of knowledgable contributors on the 987, I'd rank the Boxster forums as follows:

986forum
Rennteam
PPBB
Rennlist
Boxa.net

Question 4:
I've owned a 2005 base and a 2006 S, neither was more reliable (both excellent) over 40K combined miles of ownership.

Question 5:
4yrs/50K. Your options as a resident of California for extended warranties may be limited. Some dealers offer extended warranties at point of purchase OR you may be eligible if you purchased the car second hand at a Porsche dealer. Tracking the car shouldn't void the warranty, but the 987 black-box reflects the improved sophistication across the industry and transmission abuse is recorded and may potentially impact your warranty.

Question 6:
Every 20K, minor/major/minor, like most cars these days. Tires can be an expensive regular upkeep item, but coming from an NSX you'll know this already. Some people feel that they know more about maintaining their Boxster than Porsche and Mobile and thus will change their oil more frequently to achieve self-satisfaction, peace of mind, and spend money unnecessarily.

THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! Great info...

As stated previously, I know a guy who is working on his race license with us and he recently switched from Cayman to an Exige. I sent him an email asking why. His response is below:

"The Cayman is a great car, but Porsche handicapped it a lot so it will not beat up the carerras. I had a lot of pwr steering issues, so are many other track driven caymans. the pulley runs too fast (driven by crankshaft) making the pwr str pump work too hard at high rpm, so pump and other pwr str parts die. i had three pumps and 2 str racks replaced in 13 months, 5000 track miles. to get to the parts, the roll bar has to come out. to get the bar out, i have to drop the rear suspension. it was too time consuming or i am just lazy. i think eventually porsche will get it right. plus i got a very good offer to buy my car so, that was my chance. exige drives just like the cayman except less torque and less weight. it's a more fun car on track, but Cayman was better on street."


I have personally heard a lot about Boxsters with power steering issues on the track. However, reading this forum has taught me that there is an under drive pulley fix.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I am right there with you Bud. You clearly have thought about this for a long time and I agree with your conclusions. Go pick out a nice Boxter and with a little suspension tuning you will be reeling in those C5's and C6's in all the tight stuff... where it matters. The Vettes will still own the big tracks and ovals but who cares. You will always have the cooler ride. :D And your values will still be intact.

A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage. A corvette owner came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten. We all looked at each other and another customer asked, "What is a seven-hundred-ten?" He replied, "You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one.." He replied that he did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there. The mechanic gave him a piece of paper and a pen and asked him to draw what the piece looked like. He drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. He then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked "is there a 710 on this car?" He pointed and said, "Of course, its right there."

If you're not sure what a 710 is or where it is located check out the link below:


http://www.hotautoweb.com/cogifs/710.jpg

HAHAHHAHAHA! :D Thats hilarious