Is the 2.5 Boxster too risky and too slow a purchase?
Discussion
ok, I may have the opportunity of buying a "toy" in the next 6-12 months and I have to express a soft spot for the original Boxster. I think (and this sounds crazy) its partly due to playing that Porsche challenge game on the playstation when they came out, I was 27 when the released it and along with the original Elise, its the one sports car I always said I would buy one day. I also think the original 2.5 looks very dainty and pure on its small wheels and it has that zingy revvy engine. However, two things bother me. 1) all the buying guides go on about the intermediate shaft bearing and the original 2.5 Boxster was the first oil cooled flat 6, I believe and 2) are they simply too slow in 2015?
I should qualify that second statement by saying that I own a bog standard 2 litre Mazda 6 and fiesta ST mk1 (with my wife) so even a 2.5 Boxster will feel quicker and that I am not particularly bothered by straight line grunt, my favourite cars have usually been those that felt the nimblest and sweetest to steer, rather than the outright fastest.
..thoughts?
I should qualify that second statement by saying that I own a bog standard 2 litre Mazda 6 and fiesta ST mk1 (with my wife) so even a 2.5 Boxster will feel quicker and that I am not particularly bothered by straight line grunt, my favourite cars have usually been those that felt the nimblest and sweetest to steer, rather than the outright fastest.
..thoughts?
Thanks for the replies. I saw what looked like a nice one on Autotrader with 70,000 miles and 2 owners I think, for £5995 and thought "what a lovely car, that surely will not go down in value".....
Off topic...3.4 Cayman S is another car that interests me, not now, but in 3 years time when I come into a bit of money....are they generally reliable?
Off topic...3.4 Cayman S is another car that interests me, not now, but in 3 years time when I come into a bit of money....are they generally reliable?
anonymous said:
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No not at all, when we were looking for ours didn't want black or silver. Arena or one of the metallic blues were on the list, possibly yellow or guards. Ours is actually Estoril blue a BMW colour which as a PTS option was £3500!I would assume no interior pics means it is a mess, mine had no rips but was scratched & marked. Brooklands Kent have just reconnolised the whole interior & it now looks great.
anonymous said:
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Interesting, did you see the 35,000 miler in London, for £6000? I'd probably rather spend a bit more to secure a low mileage example as it wont be driven every day, so its more likely to appreciate in value in the future. I suspect early 2.5s will become quite sought after in time, as they look the most classic and are probably the most "pure"...the more I look around the used car market, the more a Boxster makes sense. There are several sub 40,000 milers out there for £6K or less. You just cant pick up M3s, S2000s or Elise's (my other prospective purchases) for that money with those miles. In fact the Elise is right up for me, I have always wanted one, but even £10K doesn't seem to buy you anything with less than 70K on it.
Anyway, another question...is the 3.2 engined model one of the dodgy ones? My brother in law had a 987 3.2S between 2005-08 and I drove it and rated it very highly. Perhaps a bit too "smooth" for my tastes, but wanted to know if the 3.2 engine ( I assume its the same engine that is in the 986) is known for the aforementioned IMS or scoring problems.
Anyway, another question...is the 3.2 engined model one of the dodgy ones? My brother in law had a 987 3.2S between 2005-08 and I drove it and rated it very highly. Perhaps a bit too "smooth" for my tastes, but wanted to know if the 3.2 engine ( I assume its the same engine that is in the 986) is known for the aforementioned IMS or scoring problems.
anonymous said:
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Did a bit of research yesterday and the Honest John site says that bore scoring IS an issue on 986..in fact the list of potential problems is huge, much bigger than for the 987. Bit confused now! However, definitely all articles say the 3.4 engine has major issues!BTW, could I have your opinion on the 1999 17,000 mile Boxster 2.5 for sale on this site...its in blue and Hampshire, which is local to me, for £7500. Is a really, really low mileage one actually a good idea? Some commentators say that cars which aren't driven regularly can be worse than some that are!
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
Edited by GreenArrow on Sunday 14th June 13:26
GreenArrow said:
anonymous said:
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Did a bit of research yesterday and the Honest John site says that bore scoring IS an issue on 986..in fact the list of potential problems is huge, much bigger than for the 987. Bit confused now! However, definitely all articles say the 3.4 engine has major issues!BTW, could I have your opinion on the 1999 17,000 mile Boxster 2.5 for sale on this site...its in blue and Hampshire, which is local to me, for £7500. Is a really, really low mileage one actually a good idea? Some commentators say that cars which aren't driven regularly can be worse than some that are!
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
Edited by GreenArrow on Sunday 14th June 13:26
anonymous said:
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Simple lack of use, my 944 gave less issues when being used as my co. car doing 38K in 18 months than when it went on a classic policy & did 2k per year. Slow windows, poor running, sticky instruments, stuck on brakes.1000 miles a year equates to 3 miles a day, unlikely to get warmed through & if living in surburbia then likely to be slow speed & not up to full temp either. So cold acid laden oil.
anonymous said:
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For your info we found bore scoring on my 2.7 986 (MY01). It was just coming up to 120,000 miles. Felt strong as an ox and wasn't using any significant amounts of oil between services. The only symptoms were that it was taking longer to fire up from cold. We then discovered oily plugs at a service so put a borescope in and found the scoring.anonymous said:
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Fantastic! I am not actually ready to buy anything yet tbh...but I hope its a good 'un. I take on board your comments re the 986 and the Honest John site too....I must admit though, I am torn between Boxster/Elise and S2000. Had a business trip to Eastbourne yesterday, from my home near Bournemouth and saw several Boxsters and S2000s en route. Something very appealing about both those cars!Gassing Station | Boxster/Cayman | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff