Having been considering one for a while, second hand. Had kind of talked myself out of it given its so impractical, but spotted a lovely Boxter s today at a dealer, 60k on the clock, great nick, for around 8k. I is a 53 plate however.

Anyone know anything about these cars? I know running costs will be high, but I only do 4k a year so i’m hoping to keep this down. My thinking is I could buy it, runit for a year and sell it for not much less.

And could I fit a bike rack?

ta

As long as you know the parts are expensive in the first place then happy motoring 8)

Enjoying my 540i sport and want an M5 and know it’s expensive to run and cost me £180
for the aux fan – fitted by me.

I ran one for nearly three years and really enjoyed it, great car to drive.
Sounds like you’re aware that big bills might come your way, which is good cause they probably will and as regards bike racks, forget it. I used to disassemble my bike, wheels in the boot ( turf the space saver out and even then only 26″ wheels would fit) the bike itself on passenger seat that i covered with a dust sheet first and secured with the safety belt.
You’ll have loads of fun!

That sounds quite expensive to me.

Saris Bones should fit – there was a Porsche bike carrying thread a couple of days ago if you search for it

Running costs need not be high. Not sure of service intervals on that year but 2007 cars are 24 months for example. Road tax stings at £480. There have been a few threads discussing the Boxter.

They can get expensive to run, but as a weekend car and sunny day car, that will keep the costs down. My boss has one and has just got to fit new tyres all round, which they are a specific Pirelli compound on his Boxster S. He also fitted new discs and pads, which were pricey, but if you had to, there are lots of independants which sell and service these cars around. Go for it, I would if I had the cash.

any ideas what i should be looking at value wise. I think it needs 2 new front tyres but other than that looks pretty damn tidy

I’d rather an old 911 than a boxster as long as the brakes had been swapped from the ceramics. You won’t lose money when you sell it either. Not sure if 8k will get you one but know for a fact that 10k will.

Those motors can have a important bearing fail that can write off the engine. Worth researching? Called the IMS

IMS?

I’ve been considering one as well now I’m past 30 and insurance would be sensible, keep getting more drawn to a cayman though to avoid the soft top.

Both are expensive to own and it’s always good to find out an independent local garage to check the car over before purchase.

yikes that IMS business looks a bit ropey doesn’t it. What do you reckon the chances of me wangling a 1 year warrenty from a dealership is? (it comes with 3 months, and its Evans Halshaw who are selling). Is this something you can commonly do on a 2nd hand motor.

They will probably be able to sell you a warranty for a few hundred quid a year.

Bad ones can be a world of pain….this era Porchse have various engibe issues that are pretty documented….IMS bearing failure, piston scoring etc. The Boxster is quite probe to oil leaks which can get come dive to resolve. My other half’s uncle bought a 2.7 a couple of years ago for that kind of money and it’s been pretty good but the clutch let go a few months ago and that cost shed loads to fix.

Most cars like being used, so one that gets used very little could turn out to be a pain. My issues are that the 2.5/7 really aren’t very quick. The S is pretty quick but the running costs are pretty high, particularly the brakes for which a full set is pricey.

They’re feeling their age inside too and sone of the interior colours are hideous manly because everything is in that colour. They do make a lovely noise though.

All the hairdressers round here have got one, so they must be good.

All the hairdressers …… Etc

Oh, my aching sides … Etc.

yikes that IMS business looks a bit ropey doesn’t it. What do you reckon the chances of me wangling a 1 year warrenty from a dealership is? (it comes with 3 months, and its Evans Halshaw who are selling). Is this something you can commonly do on a 2nd hand motor.

Those kind of warranties are usually useless…with capped payouts if you’re lucky. The only warranty that I’d trust would be a Porsche OPC jobbie. You’d be better off have a war chest put aside but at the kind of money you’re looking at spending be aware that an engine rebuild could write the car off. There set still plenty of older Boxsters on the road so they can’t be all bad or too pricey to run.

As for the hairdresser comments….they’re not very original or funny. Especially coming from people in diesel rep wagons.

If you wait 2-3 months your £8k Boxter will be £6.5k

Make sure you get the 3.2L S version otherwise all the folk in half decent modern diesel rep wagons will been looming large in your rear view mirror. While still getting +40mpg.

I had one from 2007 until 2010. probably the most reliable car I have had. Service costs are pricey if you use a main dealer, I used an indi garage so saved a few quid each year. Resale value is poor ,Part ex’d mine for the motor I have now , that’s about to be traded in some time in the next couple of weeks. I would have another if I had the room for a sunday run around, fun cars to drive.

I’ve got a Cayman S, love it and it’s practical enough as a second car though wouldn’t have it as only car as not much cop for bike or family transport, Have heard the horror stories about bore scoring / ims and so on, worth having a look on the porsche forums for more info – prevailing wisdom seems to be they are rare but are real. Would be a real bugger if it happened and I guess shouldn’t get one unless you could handle it if the worst happened.

Re speed etc, as some have said there are diesels etc that will be just as fast but the way they handle is what I enjoy most – it is very enjoyable to drive at sensible speeds.

Main question to ask – is the tyre on your wheelbarrow big enough to carry your balls?
Colleague bought an 06 Boxster S from Lookers 18 months ago for £11k – looked the part, real smart looking thing with full OPSH, he bought it with confidence as it came with a 6 month warranty. Really loved it while he was driving it, one month after the warranty ended he sold it as it had burnt through £11,400 of warranty work in those 6 months and he was terrified he was now liable for it. Scary thing was none of the warranty work was on the engine.

Make sure you get the 3.2L S version otherwise all the folk in half decent modern diesel rep wagons will been looming large in your rear view mirror. While still getting +40mpg.

All of which are quite quick and sound grim.

Mundiesmiester; that’s pretty scary bill wise. Thing us they were expensive when they first came out and even though they get a bit cheaper to buy (ok a lot) but the running costs don’t diminish. But your average 3 series can rack up some fairly sizeable bills (chocolate turbos, timing chain issues, appetite fir suspension components etc).

My mates M3 V8 in the last 3 years, he worked out from problems, if he didn’t have a warranty at £75 a pop and £1000 a year premium………….would have cost him nearly £24k in repair bills. He’s just had a warranty repair of £6k to fix the folding hood and throttle body replacements on the engine.
IMS is repairable with a replacement bearing kit
http://www.rpmtechnik.co.uk/servicing/ims-bearing-upgrades/
Gearbox out job, but just a bit more work than a beetle to drop it out.

Petrolhead workmate had one, owned a few 911’s previously so bought eyes open, engine failed-broke it for parts, wasn’t happy bunny.

engine failed-broke it for parts, wasn’t happy bunny.

I had the same thing happen with a Nissan Micra.

Would have one in a heartbeat if I didn’t need more seating than just 2… And as for taking a bike, well, Porsche have thought of that 😉

acherlly seen one of those racks in the flesh, with bike on it, in the US, was going to google image it til you posted…

Have you considered a Honda S2000?
Similar car in speed/handling and being a 2 seater convertible sportscar, but a bit cheaper to run and you can get a slightly newer one/lower miles one for the same money or pay less for an older one and have more cash for tyres and petrol?
Generally reliable cars too.

My pal has an 3.4 Alpina Z4 that is a great car – very fast, handles well, looks great, nice to sit in etc. Drinks fuel but probably the same as a Boxster S.
He had the standard 3.0 Z4 before. I liked that car too – it wasn’t slow!

I’ve seen one if those racks in use in the Surrey Hills! Not many other soft tops that have the option.

Hartech in Bolton is a good place to read up on the issues that all porsches can suffer from. http://hartech.org/

@somouk I too have a Cayman S, they are great cars and a little bit different (many fewer about than boxyers) I am not a softtop fan so perfect for me. Not a bike car though although there are roof rail points ! OP my car has cost me £250-300 a year to service at main dealer and pretty much zero additional work over 7.5yrs admitedly it has only done 32000 miles as its a weekend car as i commuted by foot/train/bike. As I posted they need not be expensive and as others have said losts of specialist servicing companies. Would suggest you contact Porsche Club GB too.

By the way when I bought my Cayman in 2007 the standard model was about £32k so those shoukd be about now around £10-12 in good condition

Good luck

Thanks for the advice guys. The general running costs I can live with, I’d go into those with eyes open. But the IMS issue has put me right off. reading up on it if the engine goes its a 10k repair bill, which on a 8 k car means its a write off.

I could perhaps fit the new clutch and bearing kit, but thats the best part of 1500 quid straight away!

The s2000 was considered, but not many for sale. The Z4 doesn’t really excite me unless its a 3l job, and the ones I’ve looked at cost an arm and a leg

🙁

IMS?

It Might Seize, apparently.

Bit different from the Boxster but have you looked at A4 Cabrios? The 3.0 and the 3.2 are not as quick as the Boxsters but they’re nice engines – at least, the 3.0 is. I’d love an S4 or an RS4 but the bills put me off! As does the fuel consumption. Don’t buy a 2.4 – drinks oil and uses nearly as much petrol as the 3.0 for inferior performance.

3.0 petrol and 3.0 diesel are cheaper to tax (currently £285 – but the 3.2 is £500!) and return better mpg than the Boxster – the trade-off is the slightly lower performance, of course.

Just a thought. Good luck and enjoy it, whatever you get!

Why not buy a car with the IMS work done ? May cost a little more, but then you wont have to do it.

The A4 cab isn’t in the same league. They’re absolute puddings to drive like a lot of soft tops derived from saloons or coupes. The RS4 version being the worst.

The Z4 is nice, but again it’s not in the same league to drive because it shares so many underpinnings with the E46. The six pits do sound lovely though and the interior is much more modern. If your budget won’t stretch to a 3.0l, don’t discount the 2.5. Performance wise it’ll be about the same as a baby Porsche. That era engine sounds a bit sweeter than the 3.0l too.

The A4 cab isn’t in the same league. They’re absolute puddings to drive like a lot of soft tops derived from saloons or coupes. The RS4 version being the worst.

I didn’t say it was in the same league…

Only having driven a Boxster once and not for very long I can’t comment much on the differences between that and the A4 Cabrio but mine doesn’t feel like a pudding to me. I believe that mine doesn’t share any bodywork with the saloon but I suppose the chassis is probably the same. Not driven an RS4, sadly.

Though i’ve never owned a Boxster I’ve clocked a few miles driving them and know a good 7 or 8 people that own or have owned them. Basically they a superb car. None of them, even the S, won’t feel that fast to you in a straight line – they’re not slow, but don’t expect something that is super fast – a top end good hot hatch would feel much faster and wouldn’t have much trouble seeing one off from the lights. However their strength is in their handling which is second to none. What you lose on straight line acceleration you will more than make up for when you hit the first bend.

As far as running costs are concerned as with most cars its down to luck to a certain extent. Out of all the people I know who have owned one only 2 have had issues, and they’ve been costly to fix – one a cylinder head gasket failure and the other had failed springs and a few other buggy issues. The rest have been as cheap to run as a normal run of the mill car. Brakes are reasonably priced (especially at specialists instead of main dealer) and services are no more expensive than a Mondeo. They can return half decent MPG too.

The IMS bearing issue I seem to remember, was more of an infantile issue, if you’re looking at a car with a good 40k miles or so and its not had an issue, the chances are it will be fine forever. The issue is that Porsche fitted a sealed bearing and in some cars these have failed damaging the engine requiring an engine rebuild. The Hartech mod changes this bearing to one that is lubricated by the engines oil system (i’m sure this is a massive oversimplification of what Hartech does – they’ve got a great reputation and this mod they’ve developed really does seem to be very effective). Despite the horror stories on the inter web, its a relatively rare issue considering the number of cars sold, so you’d have to be very unlucky to suffer it, especially on a 2nd hand car with a good 40 or more k miles on it.

The Rear Main Shaft oil seal issue is something you may have to live with. You might get a small amount of oil seepage around the housing joint, but its not an issue and when the clutch needs replacing then you can change the seal, but that’s still no guarantee that the issue will be fixed – it seems to be an issue that if you’re affected you have to live with it and some cars don’t have an issue at all.

All in all a fantastic car – one of the best handling sportscars on the road. You just can’t compare it to something like an A4 Cab – that will feel like driving a jelly in comparison. But it depends what you want out of the car.

I’d have one in a heartbeat if I had the cash and was able to manage running 3 cars.