Should I ????
 

Trade in my 03 Toyota spyder w/20k for a 02Boxster w/40k?

Sorry, I should introduce myself first. My name is Jay and I have been dying for a boxster for a long time. I've found and test rode a couple already, I have found a pretty clean 02 boxster (not S). However, when searching last night, I came across another forum that had a thread on Blown Motors. Apparentally,there is a numerous of motor failure complaints especially 97-00. Alot of people did state the problem was not just proned to those years, as late as 03. Is that stuff for real? I love the car, but couldnt deal with the fear of blowing a motor. My toy is pretty damn reliable . Maybe I should get the extended warranty huh? Any Input greatly appreciated!

This car will be more expensive the your Toyota, but it will be more rewarding. I've had many small problems, but nothiing major with my 01'. 40k miles is starting to get up there, especially if the numbers you are running are on 60 month loans. I would highly recommend forcing yourself to do a 48 month loan because of the milage, if the cost of it is still in your price range that's a good sign. Definitely look into an extended warranty, otherwise you are very much at risk. And my rule of thumb is 1500/year minumum to keep it going (maintenence and tires).

So here is my advice:

(48 month loan cost) + $125month(service/tires) + extended warranty

If that doesn't freak you out, then HELL YES DO IT! Hope to see you back soon. :cheers:

The motor will probably blow. Stick with the Yota.

Inspect the car (fully), get the extended warranty, then make the trade :)

My 2000 2.7L non S model has been a dream to own. Not a single problem other than the normal maintainence issues. It's true, everything seems to cost a premium but you're in a whole different tier coming from a Toyo to a Porsche. Look at the 2.7L and get it inspected, buy the warranty, and enjoy the ride and some peace of mind.

MrYellow:

I have a buddy who owns a spyder and dropped a supra engine in it (the same one that Lotus uses in the Elise, if I'm not mistaken).

The car is wicked, blinding, stupid-fast! And, the engine upgrade was cheap. His mechanic had to do a little fabrication on the exhuast to get it to fit, but it wasn't a big deal.

Why tell you about this? From recent and personal experience, older Boxsters are expensive to maintain, especially as daily drivers. By keeping your spyder and replacing the engine the way my buddy did, you'll have a spyder that will absolutely KILL most boxsters out there, and keep right up with lots of very expensive cars like M3's, A4's, etc.

Now if you've always dreamed of owning a Porsche and want to buy one regardless, buy the newest you can afford, and save up for the S... that way you won't wish you'd have bought it later. I think Jim or Doc on this forum said it best: "The cheapest Porsche is the most costly car to own."

Should you wish to correspond with my friend who owns the spyder, I'll gladly give you his email address through a PM.

PS - I refuse to race him in my 2.5L 1997 Box. Well, that's until I get my SC kit installed at the end of the year. Then we'll need to find a lonely road.

I would have no misgivings about a properly cared for 02. Perform a search on this site on how to buy a used Box and you will be on your way.

The Toyota is nice but we are talking a Porsche here.

Good luck! :cheers:

I think you are referring to the 1.8L from a Toyota Celica GTS. A supra engine is a 3.0L straight six and probably impossible to sqeeze into the the little MR2's engine bay.

my advice:
if you have time on your hands sell your MR2 on your own don't trade it in to a used car dealer. If don't have time and no one will sell it for you different story.

Keep looking for the right Boxster, Prices vary widely. And make an S your priority the price difference between the 2.7 and 3.2 aren't that big. You don't want to pass up an extra 50 HP because power mods are very very expensive for this car.

Actually the S will only give about 30 extra ponies... it would be 50 over the 2.5 but they never made them in the same year.

True on paper it doesn't sound like a whole lot but you are losing some of that power at the wheels. So its not so much how much more you have as much as how much you will be losing.
And I'm of the opinion that with sports cars in general,
at the wheels a car of this weight should have at least 200 HP. Its hard to describe but the car seems to come "alive" at this power to weight ratio over a nicely driven lap.
I think the S at 250-258 HP covers that. Its a significant enough difference that my local PCA classes the Boxster S with the 996 911's and places the 2.7 one class below with the older 993 911.

Either way the 2.7 or 3.2 have more than enough power when you actually turn the steering wheel. If merging onto highways and passing cars is important to you the extra 30-50 HP (depending on year of the standard Boxster vs. S) is well worth the extra price. Not to mention better brakes which can save your life one day, and other factory upgrades which are too darn expensive in the Porsche aftermarket world. You'll definitely spend more doing it yourself than buying it on the Porsche to begin with.

You are correct! I knew I wasn't dead on with that engine size.

My buddy with his GTS powered spyder slid it off a curve while driving the Dragon last year. I told him it was a great time to move up to a Boxster because the insurance company gave him a whopping 22k for his car as a settlement.

He decided that a boxster as a daily driver was going to cost him far more than his Toyota and decided to stick with spyders. He "borrowed" the car from the salvage yard, yanked his GTS engine out of it, put in the engine from another spyder he bought cheap, and got back on the road.

If you will offer me to trade mine 98 with your toyota i will not.
Fun to own a nice example.

my 2002..no problems outside of routine maintenance.albeit not my daily driver.

2002
24, 000 miles.

My 2002 S, purchased in April 2005 with 13,000 miles on it has only had 1 minor problem. The low horn malfunctioned. I purchased the Superloud Italian Air Horn from Griot's and had my dealer install it. They credited me 1/2 of the labor to install it as that is how long the factory horn was to install. Now when I honk the horn people are sure to notice! :D :D Other than that issue, my Boxster has been trouble free.