[Closed] Porsche Boxter. Getting very cheap now. Should I?

Should be fine and dandy for ya's, it's only a flappy paddle box afterall..
My mate (old mate now) had a BoxyS 3.2, he loved it, Black, nice wheels, red trim that kinda thing, he was a keen skier and bought a roof rack thing for it from Thule and even though it was a bit like an oil rig it actually fitted the car really well and made the car (for him) very practical. He ran his daily/trips to the Alps/Sweden (a lot), only form of transport just him and his Mrs and I think (haven't spoken to him in a couple of years) he's got a Cayman now, a white one with big wheels on it IIRC.
Seems like good fun if you ask me.

buy a Maxi, or an Avenger, or a Princess everything else is just an unhappy compromise.

Other than looks, I don't get the original Boxster - the R32 Golf is as quick in a straight line and not that much slower in the bends, and can take several bikes in the boot!

what the hell is wrong with you people..!!?

seriously.. why not blow the moolah on psychedelic drugs and broad-minded women instead..?

much more stimulating, wholesome, creative, fulfilling and manly

your children will thank you for it..

I think i love you Yunki, fancy a Peyote sweatlodge trip sometime?

You could save yourself a load of money and buy an MR2 Turbo.

£4k will get you a low mileage, fresly imported example.

242 bhp, mid-engined, lsd, Toyota reliability and it'll take a roof rack with 2 bikes!

Then spend the rest on what Yunki said.

Otherwise, £7k will get you a nice standard RX7 with a couple of grand left over for your first thousand miles of petrol.

A friend had two Boxster engine replacements in the space of 18 months. He wasn't thrashing it or crashing it.

a mate loves his quick cars and bought one but decided it wasn't that great so chopped it in for a Z4 m series which he disliked equally as much. He's now got a 911 which he loves and he said you can't compare a boxster with a 911. He's a bit of a posh tw..

He said it was the most expensive to keep going

Its a brave man that spends 7k on an RX7. In fact, its a brave man that spends any money on an RX7.

Elise looks a bit too er... niche for me, K Series are trouble too.

Lotus rebuilt them with metal dowels and better gasgets so should be no problems, if you're still worried the cooling system can be re-plummed in the conventional way at the expense of waitign longer for the engine to warm up.

Check the clutch hose has been replaced though with a metal or braided replacement.

The Flying Ox - Member
And they're achingly gorgeous cars

Not getting carried away I see... 😉

If you can only afford Boxster's below £7k, does this mean you can't afford to run them ie if something goes badly wrong?

The boxster line up had two versions the 986 and 987. I'd ignore the 2.5, although 208hp is not that slow in a light car!) The 2.7 and S versions had various face lifts over the years and engine upgrades.

If i was set on a Boxster I'd go down either one of two routes - really try and stretch to a facelift mark 1 986 from 2003 onwards - on top of the 2.7 being upgraded to 227hp, the trim and interior quality is a step up. Either that or an early 987 from circa 2005 with again power upgrades, significant interior improvements and most of all better steering IMO. Oh, and ignore the split rim alloys - corrode and need continual referb.

I've explained on different threads that looks are an entirely subjective thing. I'm aware others may see the RX7 as bulbous Jap crap, but I'm not one of them.

Have a look here http://www.911box.co.uk/ if you are Kent/Surrey/S London area. Pat & Geoff know lots about Porsche. My brother has had a couple of 911's from them over the last few years and they did a cracking job on selling a Merc 500SL for me - their stock tends to be a bit pricey but for advice and servicing they are pretty good. HTH (enjoy whatever you get!)

I've had a 2.7 Boxster for a couple of years now and love it. It isn't my main car but I do use it for trips away with the bike on the back. Tax, insurance, servicing and fuel consumption aren't excessive. Yes, repair bills can be pricey but they can be with any car and hopefully few will be needed.
If you really fancy a Porsche - go for it. If you just want a little convertible there'll probably but more sensible choices.

Wife almost literally had a run in with a Boxster on the M62/M6 interchange, where the boxster driver seemed intent on running her onto the hard shoulder. Memorable private plate so she called the plod and it eventually went to court, he was charged with careless driving. Didn't stick sadly, but the scare may have made him change his driving ways. Since seen him texting on the M62 though, so maybe not, and he's progressed to an Audi TT so maybe the Boxster phase was shortlived for him.

Sadly it is episodes like this that result in drivers or certain cars being stereotyped, and consequently neither my wife or I are keen on Boxster type drivers.

It's a weekend car - so your mileage won't be *that* high will it?

Some real good advise here.
Glad I asked.

Been doing a bit of homework and actually dont like the styling on the latest ones. The interior estesially the dash is a bit borring dare I say.
Cerberra...tempting but to scary for me.!

So I have my heart set on a 2.7 around 2005 ish.
May end-up spending a bit more than I had wished but there you go.
Looking at one on Saturday and taking the wife, she will almost certainly fall in love with it, so watch this space.

Sorry forgot to say...
No miles wont be that much, holidays and highdays really so less than 4k per year tops.

Well done you!.

Should be a good weekend here for top down'idge.

Jerseychaz
Thanks for the link.

I may just book a veiwing on the blue one. (last one in list)
Very nice.

K series aren't really trouble in an S1 - they aren't really stressed by the weight of the car.

Worst bit is cooling at front, engine at back. It's hypothesised that the HGF issues you're probably thinking of may be caused by the shift in temp causing the head to expand and contract .. but I think it's what cooling is supposed to do .. maybe it's where the water goes in ❓

I spent way more on suspension and tyres than I did on the engine, in terms of maintenance.

I've explained on different threads that looks are an entirely subjective thing. I'm aware others may see the RX7 as bulbous Jap crap, but I'm not one of them.

Love the way they look, applaud the individualism of a rotary, couldn't live with the result though 🙁 - unreliable and uneconomic. I think they've been retired now.

Love the way they look, applaud the individualism of a rotary, couldn't live with the result though - unreliable and uneconomic. I think they've been retired now.

That, and the fact they use more petrol than any of their competitors by a country mile and use more oil than they use petrol.

The choice is easy

VX220 Turbo

Cheap, reliable, fast and peanut servicing costs

And a Vauxhall key fob 😉

People are always focused on whatever they want. Dude buy the car and close the thread, you know you want it, so put up and shut up! 🙂

Tipinman, owner of a real Porsche, a 911 C4S. Two years ownership, zero problems.

Love the way they look, applaud the individualism of a rotary, couldn't live with the result though - unreliable and uneconomic. I think they've been retired now.

I especially like the fact that if you start the engine it has to be left running for several minutes before you can switch it off again. That would be a real PITA if you just needed to move the car to let someone out of your drive.

That, and the fact they use more petrol than any of their competitors by a country mile and use more oil than they use petrol.

and they sound the mutt's nuts

Don't get me wrong, I think they are a great car and have some big plus points (the power of the engine and the looks) but have some massive downsides. Three years ago I looked into getting one but decided on a TT instead - *slightly* down on performance but almost half the fuel consumption in most driving conditions. And I didn't have to top up the oil more than twice in three years.

Can you ping me your email addy (not in your profile), yes I'm a dealer, but I won't try to sell you anything, just want to give some friendly advice 😉

A Boxter would be on my shopping list for a weekend car, but so would an MX5 Mk 1 or Mk 2, Elise S1, Caterham/Westfield. I'd love to add TVR but a friends experience put me off them.

Get one.. brilliant fun.

Had my 911 for 2yrs - still (sort of) looking for a bike rack for the roof!

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Digger90 - Member
Get one.. brilliant fun.

Had my 911 for 2yrs - still (sort of) looking for a bike rack for the roof!

I got the dealer to throw one in when I bought it a couple of years back. Quite a practical car considering...

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wifes had an MX5 for 3 years mk3 its brilliant fun only 130bhp but its quick agile and so much fun haved use it all through the year even had the top down through last winter superb fun take one for a test drive you will love it (go to aberystwith via the elan valley you will take weeks to get the grin of your face and it wont break the bank with service bills or repair. you know it makes sense

I had a Mk3 MX5 2.0 sport and found it lacking. The handling was spot on after getting the geometry sorted, and the car lowered to the height it should be, but Mazda have tried to make the car grow up too much and its now characterless and having an identity crisis. It's not a bad car, but no longer a great sports car IMO. A Mk2 feels alive the Mk3 feels dull.

All you guys talking about the Mazda RX7 being bulbous and having the flooding problem - are you not thinking of the RX8? The RX7 finished its production run in 2002 and certainly couldn't be described as bulbous!

Specialknees,
It was exactly this thinking which lead me to buy a 12 year old one with a 2.7 engine a few weeks ago,
can't keep out of it and every chance I get the hoods down, even when its not that warm its snug in there.
Wife loves it, got a tiptronic so she would drive it and it works great.
Might not be for everyone and some big bills are bound to happen but you only live once and the howl it makes when you're chasing down the red line... 😉

All you guys talking about the Mazda RX7 being bulbous and having the flooding problem - are you not thinking of the RX8? The RX7 finished its production run in 2002 and certainly couldn't be described as bulbous!

Sorry.

I know diddly about the RX-7

I'm certainly talking about the RX7
[img] [/img]

*swoon*

I'm also talking about RX7's, I wouldn't touch one as lovely as they are. BIG bills all the time, rubbish fuel/oil consumption and a rebuild at 60k.

This on the other hand....

[img] [/img]

...is probably full of rot but it doesn't stop me wanting to sell a kidney for it. Words cannot express how much I want a S30...

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I like the Boxter but 'getting one cheap' rings alarm bells for me.

They aint cheap to run when cheap ones go wrong.

Why not a S2000 or a MX5?

I'd love a RX8 but it has waaaaaay too many negs sadly. No not the oil consumption or mpg. Worse.

Anyone had a Z4?

Yep, well, for about 3 weeks.

The one I had was on run-flats which ruined the ride. Other than that it was ok, not exciting, just....nice. Pretty similar to every other BMW I've driven/owned to be honest.