Boxster vs. RX8

[23109VC]

just trying to get some additional opinions.

I'm in the market for a third car. I'm married, three kids. I have a nice/new SUV for my wife to drive around w/kids and for our weekend trips as a family. I have an old but nice daily driver that is well maintained and paid off. it is a larger sedan and actually can fit everyone.

I'm in the market for a third car for ME for FUN. I have driven the boxster and love it. I drove an s2000 and did NOT like it. I test drove an rX8 and thought it was great too.

for about what it would cost me to get a used 2000 boxster base with 75k miles, I can almost get a 2006 rx8 with 15-20 miles. rx8s, with their horrid gas mileage - are not in high demand and they are NOT selling. new ones are goign for $8k off MSRP....

the rx8 has those little seats in the back which are kind of neat - with small kids, I could take one or two of them with me and use the 8 for short trips and still get to drive a fun car. I think the 8 would get more usage as a daily driver as it is somewhat more practical.

The stock 8 is kind of softly sprung. I'd wind up putting shocks/springs and probably an intake/exhaust on it too. they sound great. not as good as a boxster, but good. power wise, they are more powerful than the base model boxsters I'mlooking at, but have less torque. to me, the boxster feels faster due to it's higher torque...but i think if ou had them both flat out ona track, the rx8 might edge out the base boxster? i have no idea,that's just my guess.

the rx8 would have a warranty as it's a 2006 model. mazda has also extended the warranty to 8yr/100k miles on the motor. the boxster would be off warranty and I'd be paying repairs/upkeep and be on the hook for IMS if it ever happened...knock on wood..

the boxster looks way more classy. i'm 36, gov't atty workign for the county. i'm not a slave to image...lots of my coworkers drive pieces of junk and wouldn't even notice if i drove up in a 911TT - but I do like the idea of somethign "classy" looking. i would NOT drive an EVO/STi partly because i do not want the boy racer image. the rx8, to me, does not look boy racerish. it looks like an affordable japanese sports car, kind of like a Z, but not ricey.

the one i am interested in has the OEM body kit/spoiler and looks somewhat aggressive.

i have NOT driven a boxster / RX8 back to back.

I KNOW one is a convertible and one is a 4 door/couple 2+2... apples/oranges.

i really like the fact that the boxster is a convertible, but my main goal is to get a FUN car. both the boxster and rx8 have light tossable characteristics, with great shifters. i want something light, that i can take to work, and have fun as i row through the gears, but also take out on an occasional saturday morning for a fun drive on a twisty road. i likethe idea of having hte top down while i do it, but i also like the idea of having back seats so i can take my 6 year old with me...

a 911 would be the best of both worlds - back seats, pcar class/engine sound - but most 996's are out of my price range. i really need to be closer to 20k.

i maybe could get a used 996 if i wanted 6-12 montsh to save moremoney or for used car prices to tank even harder.

i kind of see an rx8 as a poor mans 911.

part of me wants to just go for the boxster. it's the car that I know I would have more FUN in. i'm also nervous about costs of upkeep and repairs, while the rx8 would be under warranty and motor repaldemens would be on mazda until 100k.

i haven't seen any CPO boxsters for $20k. most are closer to 30k..even the 986's that are CPO.

any of you drive around in rx8s. feel they are similar to the boxster? far inferior?

thanks for any constructive comments, ideas, etc.

[ekam]

Have you browse on any rotary forums yet? Most of the engine problems came from the RX-7s... but RX-8 is not that much better in that aspect.

I'd stay far away unless you know what you're getting into.

[rick3000]

Having driven both I would hold out for the Boxster. The interior in my opinion is much nicer (not as much plastic), the engine is more reliable (really? yes), and I think it looks and handles better.
It is completely up to you. I would just recommend you don't stretch yourself buying a car. If it is just a fun car and not your primary car, I would go for a 30k mile '98-'99 and get a $3k extended warranty, then start saving for other out of warranty repairs. That would probably be close to $22-24km depending on the mileage.
I would say wait (as hard as that may be) until you have more than you need for just the car.
Hope this helps!

[Samson]

That's a tough one... my experience with the RX-8 is limited to a few test drives, but they were very, um, thorough test drives.

My favorite part about the RX-8 is the wankel. I love the 9k redline and how it is smooth as silk throughout the range. The handling is just about perfect. Like you said, very tossable and has high limits, but still a comfortable(ish) cruiser. Reliability issues seem to be overblown. From what I've read and heard, just make sure you keep it full of oil... they burn it as part of the combustion process, so they use more than most people are used to.

This might be a step below what you're thinking, but have you looked at a previous generation Mazdaspeed Miata? That is probably the most fun I've had in a car in a long time. The turbo engine suits this car perfectly... raspy, raw, and a bit on the laggy side. Add to that the just about perfect Miata chassis, and you have one hell of a car for the money. Sure, it isn't practical, so buy a trailer hitch.

Another fun and in-your-range car is a C5 Corvette. I mean, where else can you get 350 hp, 30+ mpg, and amazing handling for $20k? Have you looked into a Z4 3.0? LS2 GTO? GTI 2.0t?

[John V]

The RX-8 is a phenomenal car if you can get past the lack of torque and the poor gas mileage. It is extremely practical - has a big trunk and four good sized seats. It's quiet, it handles great, it's quick enough if you're willing to rev it out, and they've shown to be very reliable.

I spent a couple years driving one and developed a real appreciation for just how good of a car it was.

John

[ekam]

RX-8 is reliable when it's sitting in the garage or in the mechanic's garage.

First post in "Issues & Problems" forum - Engine Seized w/ 34000 miles!!

Hey guys just an update on my other post asking if anyone knew what was going on with my car...http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=153935. I had it towed to the dealer and he said the engine definitely seized. All fluids were always topped off, ive had it brought in for every TSB and flash, and it never had any issues whatsoever on lack of power. It ran perfect, then suddenly I heard a bang, and game over. Only mods were various intakes and a midpipe..just wanted to give everyone a heads up. Thank god for warrenties i guess.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=154264

GOOD LUCK!

[Dr. Kill]

+1 on the RX8. I really enjoyed the test drive I took in one. Since you have a couple of kids, I say take the Mazda.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Box, but now that I have a daughter, family trips in the Porsche are out. This year, I wouldn't mind piling into an RX8 to run up through Vermont this year when the leaves change. Instead, we are going to take the Toyota. For some reason, my wife doesn't like the idea of storing our daughter in the front trunk...

[23109VC]

I think what I really WANT is the boxster. my only fear is that the upkeep and repairs might nickel and dime me to death.

I have a pretty reliable daily driver - it's a 1999 volvo s70 with 135k miles. i've owned it almost since it was brand new and have done a very good job maintaining it. it runs excellent has tons of new parts on it. mechanic says it will go another 100k easy before i shoudl expect any motor/turbo/tranny issues. i commute like 5 miles to work so i put maybe 5k miles on this car a year.

if i got a boxster, id' only drive it for fun trips with my wife and maybe to work once or twice a week - i'd literally HAVE to take the long way to work to get the car fully warmed up right!!

i'm leaning toward the boxster an dmaybe if i really am worried about $$$$ repairs, just bite the bullet and buy the warranty. dealer quoted me about $4700 for a 3 yr / 36k miles bumper/bumper warranty. covers everythign except wear/tear and interior stuff.

i can get a nice 2000-2001 base for 15k or so.

the dealer said if i could find a car that had 30k or less on it, the warranty price would be only about $2000 for the same coverage. most of the 2000-2001 cars that have that low of mileage are more like $25k or so.... so if i talked them down into the 20-22k range, then bougth the warranty for another 2k, plus tax, i'm at about 25k....

my dad is actually selling his 2000 base. 5 spd, 73k miles, full leather, 18s, M030. ocean blue on black, black top. he wants about 15k for itif he sold it to me. i think he could get a bi tmore if he sold it privately given how nicely optioned it is...mabye not at on more. he originally was even thinking of selling it to me for 12k...but we decided it wasn't fair to royally "steal" it from him...so $15k is a round figure that sounds fair... if i tacked on a warranty, i'm at 20k with peace of mind. almost what i would spend on the rx8, but no sales tax..inter family.

boxster boxster boxster.

i can't get that sound out of my head. sometimes i go on youtube and pull up boxster ehxaust videos just to listen to the sound. am i sick or what...

[John V]

Originally Posted by ekam

RX-8 is reliable when it's sitting in the garage or in the mechanic's garage.

And Boxsters are reliable when they aren't eating O2 sensors, MAF sensors, leaking oil out the RMS or IMS, cracking heads and blowing up due to IMS failures.

All in all, I would have a lot less fear in an RX-8 (especially with the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty) than I do in a Boxster.

[fragdude]

Having owned a RX-8 and currently owning a Boxster I would say go for the Boxster. I really had a problem with the RX-8. I felt like it did not nearly have enough torque (especially for a sports car), the old 6 speed transmission felt nice, but was actually fairly weak (thats why mazda changed it), the rear seats pissed me off (they fit grown people, but I wanted a sports car that didn't have an image problem and if it didn't have the seats it would be lighter and thus faster), it got horrid gas milage, the air conditioning sucked, was really hot in the summer, the oil would get water in it during the winter (dealership said this was normal, doesn't sound right to me), and drank oil.

However, the RX-8 was a more reliable car IMO than the Boxster and did feel nice cruising on the highway or in the twisties. But I also love the torque that the boxster has over the rx8 and it also feels good while cruising or driving vigorously.

Im kinda surprised that you like the boxster and rx8 but hate the s2000. I had an s2000 and I absolutely loved it. More so than the boxster. It was reliable, had good gas milage, was insane when in VTEC, and handled sublimely. However it wasn't as nice while doing long distance driving....

well....thats my opinion

[mikes_box]

Good luck with your decision. Both are great cars but the possibility of my boxster engine going at anytime worried me enough to sell the car, well so did the leaking RMS that was gonna cost me another 3k to repair with a new clutch. Plus a new engine for a boxster will cost you close to 15k which could actually buy you a new running boxster or for sakes a used rx-8. Since selling the car, I bought a Nismo 350z but wasn't too happy with it either. It was nice but the car is HEAVY that's why it needs all the HP. Plus as you said its kinda of racerish especially with the nismo exhaust. First day I got it some kid in a EVO tried to race. Ended up getting rid of that after 3 months. Missed the convertible so I looked at the s2000 but that 4 cylinder car was too noisy since you had to get in the higher rpm's to hit torque. I went ahead a bought a BMW Z3 with a 2.8L engine. Its a nice little convertible but it doesn't handle like the porsche but it actually has more torque at a lower rpm than the base boxsters. A suspension upgrade would help that. Have you ever looked into the "M" z3 coupe or roadsters? Those cars will eat the boxster and boxster "s" maybe even a base 911... The M's have 345hp. The BMW's seem to be a nice alternative to the boxster in terms of being a convertible and fun to drive as well as status and speed. Good Luck. Hoped that helped....