Going to look at a 2.5 Boxster this weekend!

[delays]

edc said:

You're at the bottom end of the market at £3.5k. You can't really expect that much more, especially on the service side if it's been bought on the cheap in the past and px'd too. Spend £1k on a roof and some tyres and you are still owed a bottom of market price car.

This is worth noting and would be my advice. 986 owners, as a group, tend to avoid the vulgar "investment" chatter of the GT3 clan, but even with a sensible financial hat on, yes, you'll need to pour some capital into a £3,250 Boxster. Perhaps even a significant amount.

You can "cut corners" financially. That hood replacement could just be a replacement of the plastic window sewn into the current fabric, perhaps re-dyed and re-proofed (looked after properly, it can last years). Various components can be bought OE or OEM, shaving the "Porsche tax". Work can be done yourself. But I wouldn't scrimp on tyres, oil, fuel or servicing.

There's a number of ways to look at that: a) fantastic, I've got a well-sorted, reliable flat six Porsche for around £5k; b) my budget should really be around £5k.

[Ray Singh]

I have learnt that i need to revise my budget after seeing the £3995 Boxster.

I had hoped that it would be a third car and require minimal of further investment. However, its lack of practicality (2 seater) and the likelihood of spending up to £5k on a rarely used car makes it something I need to ponder.

Its not quite the Mx5 Mk1 in terms of costs, no matter how you look at it. I am a cheapskate, but perhaps an old Porsche with a mid mounted engine is not in line with cost effectiveness - especially with porsche tax on parts and labour.