Boxster vs. RX8

[racer_d]

I know, a bit of a blowhard here, but a car is a car. If you want a car as appliance get a "honda". If you want a car with passion (whose cost is maintenance) get the boxster. Pocket the $4K for the warranty and invest it... use that money should anything go wrong.

Then.. Confirm if

1) you really want a convertible? I enjoyed mine but at times worried about the roof being vandalized and at times felt too "vulnerable" with the top down. Found it noiser up than I thought it would be as well.

2) you really want to bring the kids along? Not sure how old they are, but some states are quite overprotective about the use of car seats.. make sure they fit in whatever you get if in fact needed.

2b) Sometimes its nice to treat "1" kid for a ride in the fun car instead of all 3

3) If you cant afford the maintenance for ANY car (Porsche or other marque), why consider having a 3rd car at all? Theres tires, oil changes, brakes, suspension, clutches, INSURANCE, garaging costs, depreciation and so many other "costs" to car ownership. - conversely, maybe you should read this one as, Sell VOLVO, GET BOXSTER

4) Try another choice.. Like an E36 M3

[23109VC]

selling my volvo is not an option. I have put a lot of time/money into maintaining it and it is in VERY good condition despite it's age/miles. It's worth hardly anything if I sell it, but in terms of it's actual utility - it's priceless. There is a low, but possible chance my work location could shift some time in the future, increasing my commute distance, and I want to have a "disposable" car that I can rack miles on and not worry about. The volvo is perfect. it looks good, runs great, costs me very little to insure/maintain - and it *should* keep on running for a while.

I think i'm going to try and get the boxster. if I am honest with myself - the only car i have driven recently that really got my juices flowing was the porsche. i "liked" the rx8 a LOT. it's a really fun car. I "loved" the boxster.

a third car is not for practical purposes - it is for fun.it is a purely emotional purchase done for no other reason than it is fun. the boxster is probably the biggest bang/buck car to accomplsh that.

keep your fingers crossed i can get my hands on one at a good price.

[coreseller]

Originally Posted by racer_d

I know, a bit of a blowhard here, but a car is a car. If you want a car as appliance get a "honda". If you want a car with passion (whose cost is maintenance) get the boxster. Pocket the $4K for the warranty and invest it... use that money should anything go wrong.

Then.. Confirm if

1) you really want a convertible? I enjoyed mine but at times worried about the roof being vandalized and at times felt too "vulnerable" with the top down. Found it noiser up than I thought it would be as well.

2) you really want to bring the kids along? Not sure how old they are, but some states are quite overprotective about the use of car seats.. make sure they fit in whatever you get if in fact needed.

2b) Sometimes its nice to treat "1" kid for a ride in the fun car instead of all 3

3) If you cant afford the maintenance for ANY car (Porsche or other marque), why consider having a 3rd car at all? Theres tires, oil changes, brakes, suspension, clutches, INSURANCE, garaging costs, depreciation and so many other "costs" to car ownership. - conversely, maybe you should read this one as, Sell VOLVO, GET BOXSTER

4) Try another choice.. Like an E36 M3

Plus 1 on your #2 and #2b points. I wanted a Boxster 5 years back and was ready to pull the trigger when the wife reminded me we had 3 kids.....Doh. I folded and bought a Mustang Cobra Convertible, a pretty cool car though. About a year back I sold the Cobra and bought a Boxster S earlier this year, couldn't be happier. Also....it's a Porsche!!!

[CA_Boxster]

I just read some of the posts I didn't really look at earlier and noticed that it's your Dad's car you're talking about. You came to the wrong place to have someone convince you a Boxster is too much trouble and you should go for the Japanese pacticality

Here's the deal: as an owner of what would be considered a pretty atttractive MY 2000 base with 50k miles on it I'll tell you that if I were selling my car I'd expect around $18k and that's an informed estimate because I thought about that recently in determining if I'm keeping it for the long haul and need to plan for a 3-car future. If I were looking to spend $20-25k all in for another Boxster in my garage I'd be looking for a 2003-2005 base with 30k or less for mileage. Forget the warranty and spend the $4k on a car that's a couple years newer with fewer miles on it. If you're putting 5k/yr on your commuter what's the Boxster going to get? 5k? 8k? You'll have a warrantly to protect it in your garage for 36 months / 20,000 miles at that rate. Get a '04 with 30k miles and it's not going to break down in the next 20k miles. You'll still have to pay for the brake jobs, expensive tires, etc. either way. Warranties don't cover that. You'll find one before long if you keep your eye out and have the cash available.

My car is hitting some maintenance bills now simply because rubber seals and belts only last so many years. On a 8-9 year old car things like water pumps, engine mounts, cam cover seals, etc. start needing replacement. buy a newer car and delay that hit. I'd say either steal Dad's car and forego the warranty but get used to the idea that some of the money you saved is already "spent" for maintenance, or research the market for a few months and see how new a car you can get with low mileage for $20k so you don't need a warranty.

[Jacques79]

I bought a CPO 2000 Boxster S with 40 000 miles from a Porsche dealership in Virginia in November 2007 for only 22 000$.

The warranty is good for 2 years (November 2009) or 100 000 miles and covers engine, transmission-differential, electronic stuff and some suspension components.

I have already brought my car 5 times to Porsche and about 2500$ worth of parts-labor have been covered under warranty already. Plus when you buy a CPO car from Porsche they do a whole bunch of part replacements and maintenance.

I got unlucky with my car because it had quite a few problems though...I'm really glad I had a warranty!


If you wait until October when convertible prices go wayyyyyyy down, you can find yourself a 2001 Boxster S with a CPO extended Porsche warranty for the same price I paid mine last year.