What do you think? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ohioboxster · 10-08-2006, 03:19 PM

I dont know how much oil changes are on the other cars. I do however know that my car holds almost 10 qts at $5.79 a qt and the filter is around $18.00 its not cheap was my point. If you research this site you will find that most of our cars have the same maintenance issues. Examples are MAF , 02 sensors, ignition switches and you pray daily that the RMS issues will leave you alone. Its a good thing you own an auto repair shop because the Boxster will be in one of the bays quite often. Im not trying to talk you out of the Porsche by any means. I wish I would have researched more before I bought mine.

10-08-2006, 04:09 PM

I got a 99 boxster specificaly because its the year pre 2.7 engine. That way there are things that I can get for my car that 2.7's have a harder time (and vice versa). So far I have had no problems other than a dirty MAF, but with an aftermarket warranty (paid an ass load) I only have to pay a $100 deductible for any work besides brakes and oil changes etc... So if I ever get an rms or engine failure I get a new engine and labor for $100. Get the boxster because even if you only keep it for a couple monthes you could probably sell it for more than you paid if you get a good deal.

RandallNeighbour · 10-08-2006, 04:26 PM

If you have a repair shop, buy a boxster! I sure would if I had a repair shop. That would make owning my old, needs everything boxster a lot more fun. Just make sure the guy working on it is familiar with Boxsters and their typical issues.

I tell you what though, the maintenance goes well beyond the oil changes. Boxsters seem to eat tires faster than most other cars and need suspension parts replaced far earlier than other makes, etc. Even if you can get the labor comp'd through your company, you still have to pay for the parts. I just bought a control arm and at 10% over cost, it was 270.00.

ohioboxster · 10-08-2006, 04:29 PM

That was the point I was trying to make. I didnt mean dont buy a Boxster because oil is expensive. They are just a repair shops dream car.

Brucelee · 10-08-2006, 05:17 PM

You might also want to rethink that depreciation assumption also.

boxlover · 10-08-2006, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucelee

You might also want to rethink that depreciation assumption also.

I don't think there is any need for that.

Look at how hard the RL gets hit, it will lose 20k in value in 3 years, the boxster will lose a lot less, the big hit has already been taken buying one used... but based on the replies I really don't think I am interested in getting involved with vehicle that has a lot of known problems.

The G35/37 will probably be the car for me, japanese reliability, great engine, torque, new car waranty and won't cost much more to own for a few years then the boxster, by that point I should be in a position to purchase a new 997, which is what I really want. I just thought that boxster would be a fun interm vehicle and a possible nice introduction to owning a porsche.

Thanks for the honest feedback, it makes this choice a lot easier.

z12358 · 10-09-2006, 09:44 AM

"...by that point I should be in a position to purchase a new 997, which is what I really want."

So you'd be willing to spend $30k more for a 997 which has the same "issues" as 987 and 986? You are rightly forewarned that Porsche will cost more to maintain than a Nissan, but the same can be said about Ferrari, Aston Martin, and every other high-performance, high-precision car. Even regular maintenance will indeed cost more. Fixing a problem, indeed even more so.

Personally, I think Porsches are designed to lure their drivers into driving them hard. My Box rpm needle resides in the 4k+ area much more often then the needle in my Maxima. Still, there are no 30 year old Maxima's doing hard track laps at DE events (not that I've seen).

Nothing bad with playing it safe. But more often than not, it's only by taking some risk that you get an extraordinary reward.
Z.

Mantis · 10-08-2006, 05:18 PM

You only live once...I bought my first Porsche in my forties; wish I had a time machine to buy one my twenties...

Rail26 · 10-08-2006, 06:21 PM

Go for the Porsche....you only live once. I am a young guy (early thirties) and the advice I give is: buy a house, max out your retirement, and have 3-6 months of paycheck in a SAVINGS ACCOUNT...if you can afford the Porsche after that...GO FOR IT. Be ready to beat the chicks off with a stick though...unfortunately the ones that hit on me are usually the hefty ones at the drive through. My wife justs laughs at me...and laughs and laughs.

z12358 · 10-08-2006, 07:25 PM

boxlover,
Buy whatever gets your heart racing the fastest. (There's a whole world of difference between RL and the Box). Personally, if I were you, I'd go for an 05 987 S. Next spring they will be 2+ yrs old, off lease. Catch a nice, low mileage one for low $40k (or less) and enjoy the 2 remaining yrs of waranty, or a CPO one even better. That Box S will definitely depreciate less than your other choices. It's also a totally different animal from the others. "Driving" means something else when in a Box. There's no substitute, seriously. You can always get an RL when you're 45, married, with 2 kids -- there will be plenty RLs waiting for you in the showroom.

Z.

boxlover · 10-08-2006, 07:21 PM

You guys are starting to make me scared... I have a friend with a 00 986 he bought it used with 21k on the clock, it currently has 39k and he has done nothing other then oil changes and a battery. I have a number of boxsters that come in, along with 993's, 996's and a small handful of 997's and they all seem fairly trouble free.... or maybe the owners are hiding it from me.

I had a new caddy a number of years ago and owning that car was like joint custody with the dealership, which is why I went japanese and now I am spoiled with the reliability. If constant problems are part of owning the car then its not for me, I just like a car that is fun to drive and works. I know the S2000 seems like another possible choice, but to me it seems less practical then the boxster and I really want a car with more torque(my main complaint with the Acura).

I'll remain open minded about this, but honestly based on the replies so far I am not interested in getting a car if its going to be problems... in this day and age that seems like a very foolish thing to do, image is not that important to me.