Wednesday 6th June 2012

Spotted: the £3K Porsche Boxster

Boxsters are getting seriously cheap, and we're getting seriously tempted

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Ladies and gentlemen it has arrived, the three grand Porsche Boxster. Or at least the three grand Porsche Boxster with service history and a valid MoT - no doubt there have been cheaper Boxsters before with a murky Cat D history or other serious and obvious flaws. Like a knackered engine...

But this car looks to us to be pretty. The pictures and description of it aren't the best, but from what we can gather it looks to be a fairly straight, tidy and clean example both inside and out. Though there might just be some sort of horror lurking in that service history file - the early 2.5 Boxsters aren't blessed with the most robust of motors, with rear main oil seals going, dodgy ignition coils and even the occasional intermediate shaft failure.

It's a car you should go in with your eyes wide open, then, but as long as its service history suggests it's been looked after well during its 93,000-mile life it might just be a bargains. Especially since, with a bit of haggling and the sacrificing of that private plate, you might just get your hands on it for a number starting with a two.

There's an even cheaper Boxster currently in the PH classifieds, too, but that suffers from a) being an auto and b) having done 150,000 miles. Plus a couple of tears in the soft top.

Of course, if you've got a 986-gen Boxster-shaped itch that only the extra power of the 255hp 3.2-litre S you'll need to fork out a little extra moolah, but you can still get into one for little more than £6K as this V-plate Boxster S shows.

Judging by the recent weather, we may have already had the best of the summer, but the Boxster has a perfectly decent roof and, for the brave buyer, this might well be the cheapest way into the ownership of a (relatively) modern Porsche.

Whetted your appetite for a used Porsche Boxster? Why not check out the other options in the PH classifieds?

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PORSCHE BOXSTER
Engine:2,480cc flat-6
Transmission:5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp):204@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft):177@5,000rpm*
MPG: 31.7
CO2: 214g/km
First registered:1996
Recorded mileage: 93,872
Price new: £33,950
Yours for: £3,250 ono

[Hellbound]

Didn't realise prices had dropped so far south of £10k.

These cars can look awfully limp wristed as they're colour and spec sensitive. But a nice S with decent wheels, in a dark grey or black and clear light update would look pretty cool. Maybe add a decent exhaust and mini Carrera GT spoiler if you're feeling cheeky. There are even boot spoilers out there that imitate the look of the new Boxster, if one was desperate enough to go down that route.

I've read running costs are near enough on par with the 996 though.

Edited by Hellbound on Wednesday 6th June 15:53

[M666 EVO]

Ah I thought you meant 3k dead on, not a bit over... still cheap though

Seriously tempting but I think I would go for the S. A mate had one and he said it was superb so seems the extra buckage would be well spent

[TTwiggy]

Silver with red is the classic colour combo for the era of this car.

I'm getting shot of my S soon - don't expect to see more than £5k back on it.

[RodSmith]

They have been out since '96 and with all the rms issues, its a bit Russian roulette if they haven't been looked after.

[TTwiggy]

RodSmith said:

They have been out since '96 and with all the rms issues, its a bit Russian roulette if they haven't been looked after.

RMS is not a problem.

IMS however...

[snorkel sucker]

And there is also a brilliant thread running here for some more info on them...

[Jasandjules]

Can't say how depressed I was to read that PH put the CO2 rating in.

[yajeed]

Hellbound said:

But a nice S with decent wheels, in a dark grey or black and clear light update would look pretty cool.

I picked up a manual 2000 3.2s in Black/black yesterday (with all consumables, clutch, RMS and IMS recently sorted). I'm already tempted by a wheel upgrade, but it rides so well on the standard rims, maybe a refurb would be the order of the day.

Can't say I can fault it as yet, maybe lacking a little power but handles superbly and even inspired confidence in the rain last night.

[TTwiggy]

yajeed said:

(snip) IMS recently sorted (snip)

You got that in writing fella?

[yajeed]

TTwiggy said:

You got that in writing fella?

I've got a receipt from a couple of months ago when it was 'done' as it was found to be an issue when they did the RMS.

Whether it's fixed forever is another manner entirely.

[RodSmith]

yajeed said:

I picked up a manual 2000 3.2s in Black/black yesterday (with all consumables, clutch, RMS and IMS recently sorted). I'm already tempted by a wheel upgrade, but it rides so well on the standard rims, maybe a refurb would be the order of the day.

Can't say I can fault it as yet, maybe lacking a little power but handles superbly and even inspired confidence in the rain last night.

Pre 2001 has the cheap car tax @ £220 per year. Post 2001 it can be up to £475!

Add a service and petrol and that'll put a lot of people off.

[CampDavid]

RodSmith said:

yajeed said:

I picked up a manual 2000 3.2s in Black/black yesterday (with all consumables, clutch, RMS and IMS recently sorted). I'm already tempted by a wheel upgrade, but it rides so well on the standard rims, maybe a refurb would be the order of the day.

Can't say I can fault it as yet, maybe lacking a little power but handles superbly and even inspired confidence in the rain last night.

Pre 2001 has the cheap car tax @ £220 per year. Post 2001 it can be up to £475!

Add a service and petrol and that'll put a lot of people off.

Tax doesn't properly beef up until after March 2006

[Hellbound]

There's also an argument to be made for the 996 911.

Do you go for a well specced Boxster 3.2 S or just go for a tidy 996?

Edited by Hellbound on Wednesday 6th June 16:08

[Butter Face]

This S looks tasty for the money

http://beta.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[tomoleeds]

in 2006,i had a 2.7 2001 "y" reg damaged repaired i give £12,000 for it, (non damaged were doing £16-£18k) i knew the person who repaired it they had used it for 12 months no problem,i used it for 6 months in the summer and sold it for £12k, had no problems but the ride was too hard for our pot holed roads,my dad went in it once and refused ever again,had to pick him up in a my 2001 bmw 320 4 door after that. i then bought a 2003 A4 3.0 quottro sport,saloon in black,with black leather and the factory body kit,like a s-line,for £11,800 (was £36k new in 2003)

[yajeed]

RodSmith said:

Pre 2001 has the cheap car tax @ £220 per year. Post 2001 it can be up to £475!

Add a service and petrol and that'll put a lot of people off.

Indeed. Mine's £220 tax and showed 38mpg on the motorway last night (but 22mpg average when I hit the twisties).

It has 4k of bills (service, disks, pads, IMS, RMS, clutch) in the last 6 months (and has a full Porsche history before that) so it's clear the low purchase prices are factoring in the potential running costs.

[StottyZr]

What are the running costs like for these? I'm looking on the classifieds already

[TTwiggy]

yajeed said:

TTwiggy said:

You got that in writing fella?

I've got a receipt from a couple of months ago when it was 'done' as it was found to be an issue when they did the RMS.

Whether it's fixed forever is another manner entirely.

sorry, didn't mean to sound 'off', but as far as I'm aware, the only company that can properly fix the IMS issues are Hartech, who rebuild these engines with improved parts. Porsche built them with intrinsic design flaws. Many will go on forever without any issue - others will blow up (often at quite low mileages) with little or no warning.

[GTRene]

thats cheap...
when you sell it in parts you get more for it I guess

maybe such sort car is a better trackcar then the loved mazda miata mx5...

I guess they are a bit faster and better materials and les rust?

[martyspain]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Seemingly no 986 thread on PH is complete without you mentioning this as if it's a cast-iron fact, rather than just your own opinion.