Friend wants a Boxster - 2.7 or 3.2S

[Bieldside]

My friend is a car "Virgin"
I'm thinking about an MX5 but what is it ?? That was the starter ...
So persuaded him to go Boxster
Seen a few nice ones
I've had the Boxster S and now have the new Spyder
Budget is £15000
Is the 2.7 to be avoided at all costs I wonder
That's the question
Given the choice why would you not buy a 3.2
Help !

[mikefocke]

What is your friend going to use the car for? Typical drive? Occupancy? Have they ever driven a stick? What beyond the purchase price do they have in reserve to pay for ongoing maintenance? Is there a local Porsche mechanic? Can they do without the car while it is being repaired? Have they priced and oil change? Tires?

Get your friend into one and see how the car fits them.

[Orangecurry]

mikefocke said:

Have they ever driven a stick?

I say old boy - this is England - we all do the 'stick'.

[Bieldside]

mikefocke said:

What is your friend going to use the car for? Typical drive? Occupancy? Have they ever driven a stick? What beyond the purchase price do they have in reserve to pay for ongoing maintenance? Is there a local Porsche mechanic? Can they do without the car while it is being repaired? Have they priced and oil change? Tires?

Get your friend into one and see how the car fits them.

He fancies a sports car and is happy that there are on costs with Porsche ownership

Second car for going down to his weekend cottage (first world problems!!)

I would always go Boxster S as whats the point of a 2.7 if you can afford the 3.2S

Unless someone says otherwise

[Rockster]

Bieldside said:

My friend is a car "Virgin"
I'm thinking about an MX5 but what is it ?? That was the starter ...
So persuaded him to go Boxster
Seen a few nice ones
I've had the Boxster S and now have the new Spyder
Budget is £15000
Is the 2.7 to be avoided at all costs I wonder
That's the question
Given the choice why would you not buy a 3.2
Help !

My 2002 2.7l Boxster has provided me with 300K miles of pure fun. Glad I didn't avoid that.

Have your friend drive examples of both cars and make up his mind.

I drove an S shortly after I bought my 2.7l car -- the premium for the S just didn't seem worth it to me and the 2.7l engine delivered pretty darn good peformance -- and the extra performance of the 3.2l engine wasn't that impressive. The shifting was much slower and muted the car's performance. I was glad I opted for the 2.7l engine and the 5-speed.

And the engine has certainly proved to be reliable, as has the 5-speed. Both are original).

[rb5er]

Bieldside said:

So persuaded him to go Boxster

Have you made him aware that some cars end up needing repairs which can almost outweigh the purchase price?


If it goes tits up then its your suggestion that has fked him.

[Phunk]

Id look at the 2.5 too, more reliable and pretty much just as fast as the 2.7

[Bieldside]

rb5er said:

Have you made him aware that some cars end up needing repairs which can almost outweigh the purchase price?


If it goes tits up then its your suggestion that has fked him.

I would only buy a Porsche of 8-10 years old if it had immaculate history + a 111 health check

Yes the costs can be high ..............

The joys of owning a Porsche!

[Adam B]

Bieldside said:

Is the 2.7 to be avoided at all costs I wonder
That's the question

not at all, 2.7 is a lovely car, but always go S if you can afford it

avoid the 2.5 IMHO, still a nice car but I found it too slow

[Rockster]

Adam B said:

not at all, 2.7 is a lovely car, but always go S if you can afford it

avoid the 2.5 IMHO, still a nice car but I found it too slow

It is not a question of affordability -- well it is for some I guess -- it is a question of which car feels the best.

While I bought the base Boxster in 2002, I could have bought an S it just didn't seem like on paper at least the S was worth the extra money. The base had the options I wanted -- not that many really which suited me to a 'T' -- and was in a nice color (Lapis Blue). The salesman took me out and after not to far from the dealer I asked to switch seats and then I hadn't driven very far at all when I knew this is the car I wanted. The car delivered an outstanding ride and continues to do so even to this day.

Some years later I "afforded" a new 2008 Cayman S. (Yes, I did buy the S in this case because I came upon one seriously marked down even though new. Back then Porsche was giving away 2008 MY cars even the 911 models. And the Cayman was replacing a 2006 GTO (Holden to you UK guys) with a 6.0l 400hp V8 engine, so I felt some need to replace the outgoing "muscle" car with some some Porsche muscle.)

Then later I "afforded" a 996 Turbo.

But even though the 2.7l Boxster has but nearly half the HP of the Turbo the Boxster is still a great car and continues to deliver a great Porsche experience.

But the OP or the person who's actually considering buying one of these needs to test drive both examples and weigh the pluses and minuses and make up his own mind. If he finds he prefers the S over the base so be it.

[rb5er]

Rockster said:

Holden to you UK guys

You mean Vauxhall?

[scotty_917]

I think the mantra to most car buying, is thoroughly check & drive the car in question, including the history stacking up, as presented.

I've had a guards red 3.2s for a number of years now and apart from routine servicing at a known Porsche specialist (was FPSH when I bought it) & tyres, has been just as 'affordable' to run as a modern hot hatch, IMHO, including insurance.

Also, I had a 2.5 many moons ago, interspersed with 911's and can say with authority that the Boxster doesn't lose much, to it's better known brother, for a fraction of the cost. The grin factor is always there and 'feels' special, as Porsche sports cars should (forget the SUV's & saloon, means to an end...financially).

[bgunn]

scotty_917 said:

I think the mantra to most car buying, is thoroughly check & drive the car in question, including the history stacking up, as presented.

Agree with this 100%. I own a 2.7, I test drove a load of 2.5s (I wanted a pretty early one) and a 3.2. The 2.7 is a nice sweet motor and very free revving (as all good Porsche engines should be). Don't discount it on the basis of its capacity, buy on condition.

[Adam B]

Rockster - you seem to have a bit of "affordability" chip on your shoulder old chap.

I think the 2.7 is an excellent car as l clearly stated.
You didn't think the S was worth the premium, fair enough
The S is the better car (if they were the same price you would have chosen the S as everyone would) but whether the premium is consequential to the OP only he can decide. It will certainly be a lot less now then when new

Whichever you choose checking the condition/getting an inspection is pretty obvious

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 26th May 20:17

[andy97]

Bieldside said:

I would always go Boxster S as whats the point of a 2.7 if you can afford the 3.2S

I'm no expert but there is a view that the 2.7 engine is the best of the Boxster bunch, mainly because it's supposed to have the best chance of long term reliability, and yet has pretty reasonable performance.

[Phunk]

andy97 said:

Bieldside said:

I would always go Boxster S as whats the point of a 2.7 if you can afford the 3.2S

I'm no expert but there is a view that the 2.7 engine is the best of the Boxster bunch, mainly because it's supposed to have the best chance of long term reliability, and yet has pretty reasonable performance.

Porsche stated that the 2.5 IMS has a failure rate of 8x less than the 2.7 and 3.2.

I've owned the 2.5 and driven the 2.7 and 3.2.

I loved my 2.5 as it was more raw and as it's lighter, just as fast as the 2.7

However, as above, buy on condition over engine. My 2.5 needed discs, pads, drop links, control arms, air con condensors and a MAF in a years ownership. Luckily I've got a mate who can work on it for me and parts for the 2.5 are cheap. But to do the work at Porsche or even a specialist would be eye watering.

For example Porsche quoted £750 for the air con condensors, I did them myself in a hour and parts cost £100 including the dryer

Edited by Phunk on Thursday 26th May 22:08

[AlphaJulietGolf]

I have a 2005 Boxster S, 3.2 that am looking to move on pretty sharpish if your friend is keen. I may get slaughtered for this but I put a deposit down on a RS5 at the weekend and as a result looking to sell.
It is a
2005 3.2S
Silver, Black leather
52000 miles, full Porsche / JZM service history
PCM 2.1 Nav with Bose speaker upgrade
Manual
19" Carrera alloys

Just had MOT, with no advisories, 20k mile minor service and break service all carried out at JZM Porsche last week. All in good nick no dents pings etc a couple of minor stone chips to the front, but in great condition. Happy to take £12k, leaves your friend with £3k in the bank for a holiday?? PM if keen

[anonymous-user]

My 2.7 Cayman has been an absolute dream in the three years I've owned it. There's not a huge difference in price between the 3.2 (I think the 3.2 has the cheapest examples second hand). My thinking was purely that the 2.7 is known to be more robust in terms of bore scoring, so I can use it much more happily.

Friend of mine bought the 3.2 in silver, black interior simply because it was the biggest engine. Gearbox st itself in less than a month. Car didn't look for feel special at all in my eyes.

Buy on condition.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 9th June 10:19

[Greshamst]

I've got a 2005 2.7, and I'd definitely recommend it.

For me, the smaller engine means you can have a bit more fun in higher revs, above 4000 and the engine has such a great howl, without getting into trouble with speeding.

Using 2nd and 3rd gear gives a whole lot of fun and response, whilst 5th is still good for motorway driving, with 32mpg possible if just pure motorway.

Also, not that this should sway your decision eitherway, the road tax on the 2.7 is far less, half I think if I remember rightly?

[Davel]

I have a 2014 Boxster 2.7 with the pdk gearbox.

I'm really pleased with it and the handling is pretty amazing.

Sure he'll love it.

Buy a warranty if you / he can.