Should I get a Boxster ?

[RandallNeighbour]

jeph, I have suggested to the owners of this board that they should put an articles area of the site in plain view for all new folks to this board or new/potential Porsche owners.

I think it takes programming money and they just bought this board from the guy who created it... it's gaining financial momentum with banner ads (sponsors), but it's probably slow going.

Here's a list of things anyone should read up on and learn about before buying a used Boxster. The search engine is a good place to find threads relating to each topic:

Buying a used Boxster
- The truth about Carfax - it ain't no LexusNexus (and don't trust it for much of anything, although it does give some basic history on your car).
- Find a paint density meter (go to a body shop that owns one) and use it all over the car to see if it's been wrecked.
- Have a 3rd party inspect the car carefully - this includes CPO cars from dealers
- Find and call each dealership that's worked on the car for a history... they're not linked nationwide like most other car companies. (Use the carfax report to see where it's been titled and call the dealerships in those areas with the VIN number. Time consuming but revealing!)
- Rear speakers are a must and terribly expensive to buy later. Find one with rear speakers.
- The roll bar inserts and windstop are also very expensive after the fact, by the way ... but they make a huge difference and you should get them.
- Last word on buying a boxster: Buy an S (every owner here will tell you it's worth it), buy the newest one you can afford, and buy one with some factory warranty on it and take it in for every single thing you can find ... which means having the car checked out regularly by an independent mechanic.

Owning a Boxster
- The convertible top ("chopping" the window so it doesn't crack, etc.)
- The dreaded Check Engine light (when it stays on-not blinking-you probably have a cap loose somewhere (oil, radiator, gas) or a O2 sensor or MAF is out and that will cost you some $$. When it blinks you are screwed.)
- Tires can't be rotated and wear quickly—15k is about all you'll get out of them.
- Wheel balancing is hard to achieve. Road force balancing with a Hunter 9700 is recommended.
- Cleaning your car is a big debate, but worth reading about (Using clay, pre-wax stuff like klasse, waxes, etc.)
- Roll bar inserts and windscreen "walk off" when you park your Boxster with the top down in busy parking lots... pop them off and stow them in the trunk or you'll see them for sale on Ebay next week.
- Hang around the service area of your local Porsche dealership at closing time and ask the technicians if they know anyone at the shop who moonlights from their own garage. I did this and now I save some big money on repairs and upgrades. (Risk is high though—thought I'd add this)

Modifiying/Tuning a Boxster
- Exhaust systems will make the car louder and increase HP a bit. Big money.
- Intake systems are not worth it, save your big money.
- "Desnorkeling" means removing the snorkel like plastic tube leading to your air filter that makes the Boxster a little louder and doesn't seem to hurt anything unless you go through car washes (shame on you) or shoot the hose at full blast into your intake grill.
- Chip mods are not worthwhile on the Boxster.
- Mods in general are not worth the cash spent if you ask me personally... others will disagree, but the Boxster is not an S2000 and isn't nearly as "tweakable."

There's a bunch of other stuff I could share, but these are the basics. Hopefully, we'll have some lengthly additional posts on this thread with contributors who disagree with me on something written above, and that's great because you will learn more that way! I like it when people don't agree with me because I too learn something.

Randall Neighbour
Location: Houston, Texas

1997 Boxster - Triple Black (paid $15,500 in 2004 for it)

Work done to my (previously trashed) Boxster in one year:
- Transmission swapped out for a used one (engine replaced prior to buying the car)
- Driver's side control arm replaced. Passenger side rebuilt/repacked with grease.
- Added upgraded shift knob, rear speakers and 3 spoke wheel and airbag
- O2 sensor replacement
- Instrument cluster replaced (LED's were out on the speedo)
- New tires
- Brake pads all the way around (calipers were still good, fortunately)

I've put about 6k into this car so far—should have waited and bought a $21k Boxster that was a year or two newer or just held out to buy a 2000 S, which was my dream car. Oh well, this one is fast and fun and running well today.

Hope all this helps you!

[IwAnTaBoxster]

Thanks for all the info, it's a great read. I will definetely be checking out the history on the car before I buy one. The car I have now was rebuilt and i didnt find out until my loan had already gone through so I owned the car already , so I wont be making that mistake again.

[Brucelee]

Let me see what we can do with these suggestions above, which are great!

[PSP]

....and make sure your Boxster comes with more than one ignition key. The keys are a dealer-only item and cost well over $100 each.

[RandallNeighbour]

PSP - You ain't lyin' about that key thing! I'd walk away from a bargaining table if the salesman did not guarantee he would provide two fully functioning keys with remote key heads. That'll save you not $100, but nearly $280.00 and an hour at the dealership during a normally busy mid-week work day!

And while we're on the subject of keys, DO NOT buy any keys off Ebay that say they will work for your car and can be reprogrammed. This is sheer crap from an uneducated person! If the remote key head does not have the hanging tag on it with the part number that you are certain goes to your car, and contains the bardcoded set of numbers used to program the transponder to your particular car, it's worthless!

[jast513]

I think this would be a great idea to have everything in one section. All of the n00bs (including me) could get a lot of information from that section. But what if a newbie has a question or a comment that just wasn't covered the way he/she wanted to ask it or it is similiar but just doesn't get answered for the newbie. So he jumps on the forum to ask a question and the first reply is "Look this up in this section this has been asked before." I know this isn't going to be said all the time. But from a newbie's standpoint, we just want to get out here and interact with all of the members that have Boxster's. And what better place to come to a site that everyone on the site is passionate about what that newbie wants. You know thinking about it, putting myself in your position (the position of already having a boxster which I don't) maybe I wouldn't want to say the same thing over and over again for each newbie who joins. But I think if you are passionate about it(and I know you all are) I would really think I would reply to each newbie who joins. Just to interact with people who have the same passion that I do!!! Porsche Boxsters!!!! :dance: (just my 2 cents, correct me if I am wrong )

So just to let you know I am a n00b that joined about 4 days ago and so far I love this forum. Everyone here is very nice, and has a lot of experience with the Boxster. I do appreciate this site and all of the information. I will probably be lurking on this site for a year and a half before I get a Boxster. That is when my wife will be graduated from College. She doen't have a job right now so it is just my income paying the bills. So I hope you guys don't mind me lurking out here.

I have one last thing, is there a place where all of the porsche boxster owners meet once a month or something like that to show of there cars? I live in Gilbert AZ and I love going to see cars especially Porsche's but I don't know of any place that you guys get together just to shoot the breeze.... I go to the Scottsdale Pavillions every other Saturday or so just to check out the passion people have for there cars.

Well Thanks for reading and I hope I am not off base with any of this. I look forward to hopefully meeting you guys and one day seeing your beautiful Boxsters one day.

[Brucelee]

If you have a local chapter of the PCA, they will certainly have tons of get togethers for like minded car owners.






"I have one last thing, is there a place where all of the porsche boxster owners meet once a month or something like that to show of there cars? I live in Gilbert AZ and I love going to see cars especially Porsche's but I don't know of any place that you guys get together just to shoot the breeze.... I go to the Scottsdale Pavillions every other Saturday or so just to check out the passion people have for there cars."

[KShep]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

jeph, I have suggested to the owners of this board that they should put an articles area of the site in plain view for all new folks to this board or new/potential Porsche owners.

I think it takes programming money and they just bought this board from the guy who created it... it's gaining financial momentum with banner ads (sponsors), but it's probably slow going.

Here's a list of things anyone should read up on and learn about before buying a used Boxster. The search engine is a good place to find threads relating to each topic:

Owning a Boxster
- The convertible top ("chopping" the window so it doesn't crack, etc.)
- The dreaded Check Engine light (when it stays on-not blinking-you probably have a cap loose somewhere (oil, radiator, gas) or a O2 sensor or MAF is out and that will cost you some $$. When it blinks you are screwed.)
Hope all this helps you!

Not to hijack this thread, but could someone please explain the term "chopping" the window? I have searched to no avail.

Any more detail on a flashing CEL?

Thanks...K~

edit...nevermind about the chopping...applies to plastic. I assume this is uncalled for with a glass rear window.

[RandallNeighbour]

Flashing CEL:

My mechanic told me the following:

"A flashing CEL means something is quite wrong with your boxster's engine. You need to get it to a mechanic with a PST2 tool immediately to diagnose the problem and correct it. Driving it with a flashing CEL could do serious damage to your car."

Since I have not heard otherwise from my dealer or others on this list, I'd say to take a flashing CEL light seriously. If I get one I will pull my car over to the side of the road and have it towed to my mechanic's shop. One can never be too careful with a 12k engine!