Am I nuts to consider a Boxster?

[turbo23dog]

I say you only live once. Go with what tickles your fancy. The factors that feed into that for me were looks from the outside, fit and the overall appearance of the inside, and most importantly how it drives. For me, hands down, that was my current 00 Boxster S. I though long and hard about what other cars were out there in my price range and at some point I knew there was no other choice.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by turbo23dog

I say you only live once. Go with what tickles your fancy.
Good luck.

this is how I feel - except I usually say "if it feels good do it" at which point my wife will give me a nice smack....but you are only going to go around once,,,use the good china.

[23109VC]

I was looking at the same cars. Test drove several S2000s and the Boxster.

The S2000 is noisy, buzzy, and very cramped. It handles well, is reasonably fast - but it's just not the same as the Boxster. They are both two seat roadsters, but they go about everything else VERY differently. the Boxster is far more comfortable, has a lot more torque, and sounds glorious.

My 2000 base, has less hp than an S2000, but to me, it FEELS faster b/c it has quite a bit more torque.

Get an 03 or newer to get the glass rear window. trust me.

get 18" wheels. try to get M030 suspension - it is amazing.

hold out for an S if you can. I wanted an S but bought my car from my dad for a great price - so I got a smokin' deal and helped out my father who wanted to sell his car - but the one thing I would like is just a tad more power - which makes me sometimes second guess my purchase and wish I got the S.

But overall - I LOVE the car.

one thing about the Boxster - people will think you are driving a $50k car, even thouhg you only paid $15k. in an S2000, it's just a Honda. not that I bought my car to impress people, but you get a lot of attention in a Porsche that you will never get in a Honda.

yes, it costs more to fix. NO it will not be as reliable as a Honda. You gotta pay to play, nohting in life is free - and life is short. Know the risks, buy what you want, and don't look back. IN terms of being a daily driver - I honestly think the boxster would work = it is suprisingly practical for a two seater as you have two good sized trunks.

the S2000 is NOT going to be a good commuter car. Fro the reasons I mentioned, and another person here who had one and is trading it for a Boxster S stated - it's buzzy, cramped, and not the kind of car you want to be trapped in for long commutes. the boxster is fine for a long drive. i test drove an S2000 and got this feeling like I was trapped..the cockpit is very very tight and very very noisy. for a track day - it's fine. for a 50 mile commute it would really stink.

iu've taken the boxster on a 3 hour drive with my wife - top down - and she didn't complain - and htat's saying a LOT! even my car with the stiffer M030 suspension and 18" tires doesn't ride that rough and the handling is absolutely unbelievable. I test drove a lot of sports cars - the RX8, EVO MR, S2000, all excellent handling cars and in my opionin, none of them came close to the Boxster.

on an older boxster the warranty will cost you an arm and a leg. on my car, which had 74k miles when i bough tit - a 3 year 36k mile full warranty from a reputable company was going to cost almost $5000. forget it. I only drive my car on weekends, and for fun - i've put maybe 3k miles on it in the past 10 months - nothing has gone wrong except a vacuum leak that cost me $300 to fix at the independent mechanic. dont' go to the dealer - theyh will rape you. find a good private shop that works on porsches.

expect to have to pay to fix stuff. it's not your RSX that you just drive and drive and drive and nohting goes wrong with it. like I said, you pay to play and a higher performance car like a Boxster is going to require more work. but it's not an exotic either in terms of costs/reliability.

i hoenstly think the boxster is a great weekend car. commute in your RSX and save the boxster for fun times. or split drive time in each. if i was going to have a boxster as a daily driver, i would get the most expensive, newest one i could and woudl try to get one still under warranty,, CPO. if you have to rely on it for daily transportation - you want to have peace of mind.

for many of us here on this forum, our boxster is a spare/toy car - and if something catastrophic happened - we have daily drivers to get us to work, and we can figure out what to do in terms of paying for the repair, timing of the repair, etc later .... it's not our means of getting to work. but that's not to say you can't DD it. if it was betwen a boxster or an S2000, i'd hands down recommend the boxster. far easier to live with on a daily basis than an S2k.

good luck.

[Trade911forBoxster]

I have an 06 S2000 and an 03 Boxster S right now. I bought the Boxster outright after selling my 87 811. I leased the S2000 from new, and I'm turning it back in at the end of the month.

I generally agree with what most have said here. The S2000 will clearly be more reliable, and far less expensive to fix if it ever does break. If anything, I'd say the S2000 has sharper turn-in than the Boxster, and is easier to maneuver at low speed. The shifter is drastically crisper in the S2000. If you drive sedately, and stay out of the high rpm range, they can be shockingly efficient. Right after I got mine, I drove it 200 miles at 55mph and got 34mpg. My Boxster is definitely more rattly than the S2000, and some of the interior plastic in the Boxster is not wearing well at all.

On the other hand, any flat 6 is smoother than any inline 4, esp. at idle, or high rpm. The S2000 is noisy and buzzy when cruising at high speed, when the Boxster is pretty placid, for a sports car. The Boxster has a lot more torque, so it's easier to drive smoothly around town. The Boxster also has a lot more interior volume, and probably three times as much cargo capacity. It has far better ride comfort too, as the S2000 feels very brittle, since you're sitting much closer to the rear axle. The Boxster pedals are perfectly designed for heel-toe driving. I find the S2000 pedal positioning just a bit more awkward, but the effort is a good bit lighter (esp. clutch), which is important of you have to drive in traffic a lot.

[Viper5]

Get the Boxster S!!! It is hella fun. Also make sure you get the convertible . But seriously, I've never ridden a s2000 before but it's a honda as someone said. Get the car with attention. The one that people look at and say "that guy has class." To me it's a no brainer. Also, as far as parts and repairs go, just do it yourself. It will cost less than half if you don't pay for labor. And seeing as how you wouldn't ride it that often, you should have time to fix up stuff. You also get an amazing sense of accomplishment.

Having said all that, it would be cool to have a push start...

[CRCGuy]

Originally Posted by Viper5

Having said all that, it would be cool to have a push start...

unfortunately, it's not even cool on the S2000. You still have to put the key in (on the right) and push button on left. Would have been cool if they used e-key like other manufacturers so you just jump in and push start. If anyone should have had that technology in a car first, it should have been Honda and specifically FOR the S2000. I never understood that. the novelty wore off like the second week I had it.

[mikefocke]

Just got a quote of $350+ to replace an O2 sensor at the dealers. And had it been the other sensor it would have been $450+. I guess they told me that to make me feel better.

My Porsche sensor cost $110 and $49 labor to install.

Generic sensors cost $25.

My Porsche has been cheaper to maintain than my Honda or Accura over the last 2 years by a bundle.

So the Honda is cheaper to maintain mantra isn't always true.

[ekam]

I'm rather suprised to read the comments on S2k's handling limit.

All I have to add, is apparently when Honda designed the S2K, they put the best technologies that they could in the car, so that's the best of the best they can come up with (minus the NSX, which is no longer in production). It's not even supposed to be made after 2-3 years as it was meant to be a limited production model.

And for reliability, if you get a 03+ Boxster with low mileage you'll be fine until you hit 100k+.

[CRCGuy]

Originally Posted by ekam

I'm rather suprised to read the comments on S2k's handling limit.

Try learning it while taking a right hander at 30--talk about surprise. Had I known, I would not have leased one. I'm losing a serious chunk of change to get out of my S2000 lease and into a Boxster S. But no $$ is worth my life.

If you want to experience it for yourself, go drive a pre 2006 model (before VSA). Just before you take a sharp corner as you would in your boxster, quickly move your head betwixt your knees and kiss your ass goodbye---then floor it.

I'm pretty sure no accident attorney has ever owned an S2000. Otherwise, there would have been a class action lawsuit years ago...

[mts]

Try driving an older 911.

[renzop]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle

Thanks to all of you.

As to why an s2000 or a Boxster, one of you nailed it with the two-seat convertible remark. I would only add that I take driving seriously, and I do not fit in a Miata.

What intrigues me is that the S2000 and the Boxster offer such different experiences. At this point I am leaning Boxster if I can find the right one, because it would be so different from the RSX.

If you don't fit in a Miata, are you sure you would be comfortable in an S2000? Make sure you test drive one with the top up AND down. Make sure you get in and out of the car with the top up.

[schnellman]

I just joined the group of guys who dry their wheels with a leaf blower. I'm not sure this is the right group to check your sanity.

[clickman]

Originally Posted by schnellman

I just joined the group of guys who dry their wheels with a leaf blower.

What a great idea! I'm in!

[GT_YellowJacket]

Originally Posted by schnellman

I just joined the group of guys who dry their wheels with a leaf blower. I'm not sure this is the right group to check your sanity.

+1 on this great idea! A perfect reason to go buy the little craftsman blower/vac that sears has on sale right now.


And I said it before, but I'll say it again....Get a Boxster S!!!

[Immortal1520]

Kinda ironic that I'm reading this now, considering I drove my friends S2000 yesterday. He was trying to convince me that this was a better ride than the Boxster. For me, it depends on how you're going to drive it.

They're both really stellar cars, but it all depends on the way you drive it. For the S2000, If you want that engine to roar, you're going to have to put a lot of revs into it. If you keep your revs under 5K-6K, you won't be impressing anyone or yourself with that. I hardly felt any torque in the S2000 also. Where as with the Boxster, the engine will howl more at lower revs and there's just enough torque to give you an exciting drive, but not too much to the point where it'll snap your neck(Nissan's 350Z comes to mind when I say this, lol).

This is one of the many reasons why I bought my Boxster. I'm a pretty conservative driver, and I love that it doesn't take a lot of power, or revs to get a nice sporty feel out of it. I feel that you need to work a lot harder in the Honda to get the same feeling. It's also a much smoother ride, I'm positive I could drive it for a few hours and not have to worry about seeing a chiropractor the next day.

Also, it makes sense to look at a Porsche from a service point of view. Yes, you're going to be paying a lot more than you would a Honda. But you gotta realize that you're comparing that to a Honda. Those things are cheaper in almost everything. And while a Porsche will bleed your wallet in terms of repairs, it's not like you're going to be doing them all the time. And considering what you'll be driving, it'll be worth it.

So pretty much, if you're going to drive like a bat out of hell, get the S2000. If not, stick with the Box. For a daily driver, I wouldn't be against it. I don't use mine as a daily driver, but I think it'd work. It's comfortable enough to get you to work without a limp.

[ekam]

Porsche is more reliable than Honda? You don't say.

[mts]

Originally Posted by ekam

Porsche is more reliable than Honda? You don't say.

You don't seriously think they'd look the same if you run those numbers out 5 years do you?

[mliakopoulos]

Originally Posted by ekam

Porsche is more reliable than Honda? You don't say.

just got a 97 base (can't you tell i am on a budget) after owning a 87 944 for two years. no major problems with the 944 but i paid top dollar for it. i took the boxsster to the indy shop to check a few gremlins out and so far the bill has reached over a grand. i am waiting for the other shoe to drop, there 's a grinding noise that could be clutch or a bearing. any suggestions on how to beg mechanics to keep the tab down?