Just bought an '05 S

[husker boxster]

Hi Capt -

Here's my official welcome to the group. Gorgeous car and a great buy - the CPO alone's worth $2K and will give you peace of mind.

DON'T drive it in the white stuff if you don't have snows. You'll be pulling donuts at the most inopportune time. On the surface, 23109VCs comment about finding a beater is probably true if you're not too picky. But it took me 4 mo to find a bad weather car that didn't have 120K mi, wasn't leaking oil like the Exxon Valdez, and didn't have CELs going off. Sounds like this is your first Porsche, so you're about to be exposed to the wonderful world of parts costing 4X the "normal" cost of other cars. Wheels will run you anywhere from $600 - $1200, depending on what you want. You've got several options to explore. Best bet for now is to become friendly with a co-worker or neighbor who can get you around in the bad weather. Bribe them with rides in your Box in the summer.

BTW...
I have snows on my Box because I want to drive it year-round. Now that I can take it out only on the nice days helps, but as you know the weathermen can't predict worth a darn around here. I didn't want to drive somewhere in nice weather and freak out when the snow starts falling.

Good luck with the no front plate. The Omaha cops don't care as long as you're not doing something stupid that forces them to pull you over. If you drive outside of Omaha, the State Patrol will immediately stop you. I lasted 6 mo before they caught me.

Hope we have a chance to get together, maybe at the Porsche Club breakfasts.

[Jacques79]

Can someone compare the steering-braking-shifting-power-torque-handling of a 2000 Boxster S vs a 2005 Boxster S?

thanks

[vincesf]

Congrats, and excellent choice. A Miata is a fun car, but it feels so ordinary compared to the Boxster S, and properly maintained, the Porsche should provide you years of smiles.
vincesf

[fatmike]

My Boxster is a daily driver. I got rid of two other cars because I couldn't stand to drive them.

I bought a used set of snow tires and a hardtop. Both were surprisingly inexpensive. The Boxster does great in the snow with proper tires. Its controlled, but you can still slide it around when you want to. Lots of fun. The hardtop totally changes the experience. Almost makes it civilized...
Good luck with your car.

[CaptainObvious]

I'll decide what I'm going to do this summer. I think the car would do really well with some snows, but if I could pick up a small 4x4 for $3500, that would be better. I'm guessing there will be more hardtops available in the summer too. I searched ebay and found nothing.

The Box feels a heck of a lot faster than my old BMW 330i. I guess 15s vs 13.5s quarter mile is a bigger difference than it seems.

[23109VC]

they aren't NEARLY as fun to drive as a boxster - but a used volvo makes a decent "beater". the older ones, like mine, are indestructible. I have a 1999 S70.

they have very large room cabins. big back seat, large trunk. they seem to age well too. my parents have a 1998, I have a 1999 - and they look much newer in terms of how the paint, interior, etc has held up. the T5 version pushes almost 250hp, albeit it's FWD. great cold weather cars. they make killer wagons. not the car I would buy for my "MAIN" vehicle as I honestly don't like the handling, and it's NOT stylish - but if you want something that will handle cold weather, is CHEAP, SAFE, and runs and runs and runs - the older boxy volvos are good finds.

my mechanic said most of the older volvos like mine will run 300,000 easily. the motors are tanks. not quite like an M96 in terms of reported failures... Mine has about 140k and it has required only routine maintenance the entire time I've owned it - i've had it from 20k miles to now.

they make an XC70 variant of the "boxy" wagon V70 - that has a similar powerplant as my car. great snow car - lots of practicality, luxury, and the one other good thing about used volvos from a buyer's perspectie is they depreciate terribly, so relatively clean ones, wtih low mileage are cheap.

just a suggestion. let me tell you this - after driving my S70 for a few days, getting in my 2.7L Base - it feels like i got into a indy car..

[ekam]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

BTW...
I have snows on my Box because I want to drive it year-round.

Kudos to you for driving your LE box year-round!!! Porsches are built for all-year driving like Panthers.