Went from Miata to Boxster
 

I picked up a great looking great condition '98 today. 77 degrees, sunshine, and my new-to-me car had me grinning the whole way home. Owned four Miatas, thought I was going to buy a fifth, and came across this Boxster that changed my mind.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5604/...7c744202_z.jpg$_4 (1) by donh20001, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3953/...ed0f607b_z.jpg2 by donh20001, on Flickr

Congrats! Nice looking car.

Beautiful
 

Great looking car. Nice color combination. You made the right choice. Welcome.

Arena Red Is SUCH a lovely color, don't you think? ;)

Just sayin'.............

TO

Welcome! You won't regret this decision.

I had a Miata too back in the day. Finest car I ever owned, until the Boxster!

Curious to hear a comparison of the two from you ugatha!

I've had a 1990, a 1992, a 1999 and a second 1990 Miata in that order. The 1999 (first year of the NB model) did not impress me much. It threw codes constantly and the ergos were wrong for me. The two 1990s and the 1992 were great cars - well-balanced, nimble, trouble free, and fun. In the process to replace my last 1990. which I sold three days ago, I drove some 2007 Miatas, and was thinking of a power hard top model. They were a larger version of Miata that seemed to be a bit more refined.

My first time driving a 986 was yesterday, so I'll need more time to let the qualities soak in before I can do an informed comparison. For a 16 year old car, it is a lot tighter and quieter vehicle than the 25 year old Miata it replaces. Of course, I was looking at replacing tires, shocks and springs, needing a AC compressor, and a few other knick knacks in the Miata, which was one of the reasons, I decided to sell it rather than do $2000 of work on a $3000 car.

The 986 is almost 18" longer and 4" wider than the Miata, and when the accelerator is pressed in 1st or 2nd gear, you definitely know you're not in a Miata anymore. It sounds and accelerates like a Lear jet compared to a Cessna 172. Different beast for sure.

The Boxster is bone stock as was my Miata - I like stock, unmolested vehicles. As I drive the car more, I'll be back with more.

That color is beyond outstanding!

Congrats, that is a beautiful Boxster

Generally I am not a big fan of red, but that is simply beautiful

See if you can find a local PDS or DE event and you will then find out how truly wonderful the Boxster is

I had 2 Miatas / Mx5. A 1999 & 2006. They were both great cars. The 99 had no abs and had a few suspension tweaks and a roll bar. It was so much fun to drive.
The 99 got hit by a truck so we then got a 2006. This was faster & in most ways better than the 99 - but not as visceral! Both cars had amazing brakes and the best transmissions in any car. (Mx5 trans. make old Porsche trans. feel like stirring paint! (I have B&M short shifter which helps).
Overall great cars - reliable, fun to drive and cheap.
But... the Boxster (2001) just seems more solid, a bit bigger inside & out but not too big.
It has a bit of a classic car feel to drive - but I like that, keeps things simple! The noise and power is much better and smoother than any Miata. The newer MX5's seem to have more body roll than Boxster. The Porsche just seems to have more character and more fun to drive and of course you get all the history and racing heritage!

My Boxster's PO traded to a newer 1 year old Miata w/folding hard top
But that was after 6 years owning the Boxster (2nd owner)
I have no contact, Id like to, but it would be interesting if they ever go back to a Boxster after the Miata.
Will never know unless they use this forum

I owned a 90 B package (crushed by a tree in a hurricane) and a 94 M Edition Miata. I still miss them, but I prefer the Boxster. I also think that we are safer in the Boxsters.

On the other hand, the Miata was almost as much fun as the Boxster, had a better shifter and was much less expensive to buy and maintain.

Enjoy your car.

Miata > Boxster > Miata > Boxster(?)
 

I've owned a 96 Miata for 16 years. Love it; just wish it had a bit more power.

Test drove an 03 base 5MT Boxster a few years ago and decided I had to have one. Ended up buying an 04 6MT S. I regretted buying the S, not because of the power; I loved that. I didn't like the 6MT ratios for daily driving. 1st gear is too low unless you're shiven er git, or at an auto-x.

So while I'm getting the Miata ready to sell, I'm realizing that I still like driving my Miata more than my Boxster. The Miata had a nice coil-over suspension with Azenis 615s. My Boxster just started to feel numb next to my Miata. Otherwise, the S was very nice to drive, and it strokes the ego way more than a Miata.

So after having my Boxster for a little over a year, I sold it and kept the Miata; that was 3 years ago. I needed the money, but I may have sold it anyways.

Now, I'm looking at getting another Boxster instead of, like the OP said, putting $5k into a $3k Miata. I think a 5-speed Boxster would serve me fine. I'm surprised how the prices have come down. I'd like to find a 03 for $10k; put in a L&N IMSB, RMS, clutch (unless this stuff was recently done), coil-overs, and whatever other maintenance it may need.

Or should I consult a shrink?

3 Week Observations
 

Loving the power (it's 14 pounds per horsepower compared to the Miata 18.25).
, but not too impressed with the shifter. In the Miata the shifting was shorter and crisper, but I had to do a lot more rowing with the gears compared to the Boxster.

I'm a little apprehensive about the Boxster maintenance, but the 1990 Miata had a short nose crank / engine destruction issue that also raised my maintenance anxiety level. I'm thinking that I just need to drive it and maintain it (as I did with the Miata) and enjoy it.

The Miata seemed more nimble but the Boxster feels more substantial and I haven't really done any spirited driving yet. I installed some rear speakers today that relieved my need for rear sound. The Miata had headrest speakers. The radio is better than the Mazda.

The interior of the Porsche is a lot nicer and I love the amenities of power windows, cruise, power top, etc. I was never a fan of leather in a sports car, but it's growing on me.

The Miata got 30 MPG so I'll spend a little more for fuel and insurance.

Overall, I am really pleased with the decision to buy a Boxster. I've only seen one other on the road since I bought mine. I really like the sounds of the engine and the exhaust note.

I'm still sneaking a peak back over my shoulder to look at it when I walk away from it. I think we're going to get along great together.

I had a 1990 B package...put 300k pizza delivery miles over 10 years on that puppy back in the day. Replaced everything on it at least once, except for the actual transmission. We all fret about the IMS, but the '90 and early '91s had the damn crank nose issue like ugatha mentioned....no "quick fix" for that. My engine was done at 100k. I put a new one in, added high profile cams (couldn't do turbo with pizza delivery...too many short trips), Bilsteins (did not have to replace the springs since '90s had super stiff springs factory) and a bunch of other mods....that more led to replacing my weak-azz differential 3 times...4 clutches, 3 timing belts, etc, etc...easiest car in the world to work on, if you can get it high enough...taking the tranny out while on jack stands was an adventure....it was a nice, crisp shifting car and the extra power I had was great.......I loved that car.......

But no way was that car any comparison to the Box. The Miata felt like an economy car....was very technical, but no finesse. I do have an S, so maybe the Getrag is much better because I don't think the Miata synchros are any where near as good. The throw may be longer in the Porsche, but the shift is so much more pleasurable. We also have to remember, the Miata had the benefit of no linkage, so maybe njbray has some linkage issues in his Pcar...my Box shifts like a dream....

I thought of getting a brand new Miata before I got my Boxster. The thought of virtual no, cheap maintenance was very attractive. I drove many 1998-2006 Boxsters....and many of them drove like crap (even a 2005!!)....finding an unmolested one is key to enjoyment, or one that was never taken apart by a monkey indy mechanic...I am so glad I found one that drives, and most of all...shifts, like new. Even at 14 years old, the drive is so much better than any Miata, new or otherwise....

BTW - welcome to the Forum and your car is absolutely beautiful!!!

I owned two Miatas in years past. I first had a really nice 96 M edition. What a go kart. I think one of the only cars I've ever owned that I never once thought "what this thing really needs is another 25hp".

Never had a stitch of trouble with that car. Only sold it because I needed a back seat.

A few years later my brother called me. He had been driving his 1990 model since new, and was in the process of buying a Z4 BMW. They only offered him $500 trade in, so he was calling to see if I wanted it for that amount. "Hells yes" I did.

I flew to San Diego and picked it up, then drove it home 1100 miles. It was no where near as fast as my 96 but still fun. It was also showing its age and needed PS pump, etc. I sold the car for $2800, so I did okay.

First off, Ugatha, your car is absolutely beautiful. I was never a big fan of Arena Red but your photos have me coming around.

Secondly, I have owned both a Boxster S and 2 Miatas, completely different vehicles and IMO the Boxster is far superior in every regard in terms of handling, braking and power. Given the price differential it ought to be.

One thing I absolutely love about the Miata though, you can twist the nuts off of it without getting into stupid / unforgivable speed territory, to say that they are a hoot is an understatement. To be able to modify or fix them for a mere fraction of the cost of anything with a Porsche badge is an absolute bonus........:cheers:

It seems I am better at buying sports cars than selling them. I had 2 Miatas before the Box, oh wait, I still have them, which reminds me that I also still have my old MGB.

I should probably see a shrink!:o

I have owned two Miata's. Both were 1999's. The last one was my daily driver for 6 years. Never a bit of problem with either of them. I replaced it with a Scion FRS for my DD. My friend has owned 5 Miatas. He drives 275 miles a day. He buys them used, puts about 200k on them and then sells them and never does anything to them expect change the oil and has never even broken a timing belt. They are bullet proof and cheap to own. The Boxster is much more comfortable to sit in. The Miata I had was loaded with options so they were pretty much comparable in that department. I love mid engine cars so I don't think you can really compare the handling either. Power wise you are comparing a car with 100+ hp to a car with 200+hp although the Miata was pretty light weightwise. I think that comparing them is apples to oranges. Your new car is beautiful and I love the color combination.

I went from a 2001 Miata to a 2003 Boxster. My main complaints with the Miata was its lack of get up and go and with me being a bigger boy, it just felt too snug. Now me being heavier probably contributed to its lack of go :) but it never failed to put a smile on my face anyway. I enjoyed driving it and it was my first convertible in almost 14 years since I gave up my BMW Z3 back when we found out we were expecting. I only kept the Miata about a year and a half and the desire for more response when I put my right foot down was leading me to be more disappointed with each drive. This was not the car's fault. I was asking more from it than it was designed to give me.

Enter the Boxster. I have the 227hp non-S model. I love driving it. It is the fastest car I have ever owned and I fully keep expecting to get into lots of trouble with it. So far I have not incurred any tickets but I figure it is only a matter of time. The car gets to higher than posted speed so quickly and seemingly almost effortlessly that I have to check the speedo way more often than I have done in any other vehicle I've owned. I can hit 75 in a seeming flash. I probably still have not adapted to it as yet. With the Miata, I always knew that I was working my way to higher speeds. The Miata's engine noise always let me know the car was working to get me there. The Boxster makes a terrific exhaust note (seemingly even better after a recent cat replacement) and I don't get to listen to it under acceleration for too long since it gets up to speed so fast and then we are just cruising (or actually we are often in the process of letting off the throttle to get back down to more prudent speeds).

Enjoy your Boxster. Different beast for certain than the Miata.

I have also owned two Miatas - a classic red 1993 which was replaced by a Titanium Gray 2003 Canadian SE six-speed which had about 6600 miles on it when I found it last June. I have added about 3000 more miles in the five or six months of warm weather since then. My grandsons still enjoy being taken for a ride in the Miata, but then they have not yet been in the Porsche which I have only had for six weeks now.
Similar to the Boxster S in that you feel that you can dive into any corner at any speed, but you can leave that corner behind much quicker in the Boxster.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1432852490.jpg

New to me 97 tip
 

I just picked up a 97 with 135K on the clock in need of some TLC. Many would say I was crazy for buying a car needing smog and overdue registration with a CEL. After much research and inspection of O2 sensors and plugs I replaced the MAF and the air filter. After resetting the codes and driving the cycles recommended in the Bently manual the CEL did not come back on and it passed. A bit high on hydrocarbons but I failed to drive it more the day of the test. Now I can get to the TLC and improvements:cheers:
So far I love driving it. The tip is easy to use and is quite fun on backroads with no clutch to work. I'm going see how many miles I can drive it before repairs get to out of hand. I think the tan interior is a bit much for a black car, so I am going to use some black 911 seats that came with the deal.

I like Mazdas. One of my favorite cars was an RX7. Loved that car. Then I discovered Porsche. There was no looking back because, Porsche: There is no substitute.

went from a 67 mgb in 1973 to a Porsche 914. then went on to other things.
never thought about a boxster until I saw one for sale about 8 months ago. it had been tricked out and the owner was going through a nasty divorce which mandated he sell the boxster. the price was so good and the ppi was good. I couldn't afford not to buy it.

love it and it's so much more forgiving than a 911, and I have driven a lot of 911's over the years...hard...

Hi all... Just sold my 1990 Miata yesterday for a 1999 Boxster base.... I loved my Miata but it was getting too unreliable. My transmission was rebuilt 10 years ago, and I got, in the last six years, the "stucked in reverse symptom" at least three times. Each time I was able to fix it by the roadside but I lost confidence in it. My wife would not drive it anymore. So I needed something more modern. I do notice that the Miata is much more tossable than the Boxster. Yet I like the luxury,and sturdiness of the Boxster. I am getting it in 10 days. The garage is changing the brakes & suspension all around, is fixing the bearing (Preventative) and the water pump and an oil leak somewhere. I will let you know how it compares to the Miata, but I think I grew up and needed something a little bit more aligned with my age. My wife is pleased, so am I!

hi welcome

You don't have a problem!

signed,
me
(2000 Box S, 1999 M Roady, 2004 350Z Roadster and 1984 Alfa Spider)

Double post...

That's a beauty!