The Porsche Boxster: Is it a 'Real' Porsche? Advice Please!

[Darren156]

Don't get offended Boxster fans! I love the Boxster, and with £5000 to buy a new car they have crossed (Flitted) across my search engines for fun, sub £5K convertibles.

It's just I've heard alot of negative comments from critics saying how they aren't a real Porsche, why so exactly??? From what I can tell it's a rear engined, rear wheel drive car that looks exactly like every other Porsche; STUNNING! 'Hair dresser' comments will always pop up when looking for a convertible so that's inevitible... But, with a 2.5 engine with some 200BHP I'd be reaching my customers hair dryer in hand pretty damn quickly.

Porsche tends to be a marmite car, if you love the look of one of them you tend to love the look of all of them, and vice versa. In my opinion anyway. My dad hated them, lol

Boxsters; There seem to be quite a few popping up for sale around £3500-£5000, and of course being nearly 15 years they would have depreciated, but they look like one HELL of a car for the money!

These seem to be 70K-100K examples in 'good-excellent' condition that require maybe £500 to get mint.

With 5K to buy a car they look like a great option, are they as good to drive as they are to look at? After a bit of advice really... Any problems, issues to look out for etc?

[Paul O]

Yes, it is a real Porsche. Says so on the badge

I loved mine, certainly didn't feel less "Porsche" to drive.

My ownership report if you want to know what went wrong in 3 years...
http://motorcloud.net/porsche/boxster-retroview/

[Koln-RS]

No less a Porsche than any other - and each generation of the Boxster has been 'best in class'.

[51mes]

It's a mid-engined rear wheel drive car (the engine is between the drivers seats and the rear wheels).

But it's irrelevant, Porsche have made rear engine, mid engine and front engined cars in their time with rear or four wheel drive, oh and water or air cooling.

If you think it's a porsche - it's a porsche - and you will either love the car or hate it. In 6 years I owned a 911 and a boxster - the boxster is the every day better car but the 911 is more special most definately both of them are porsches.

For example - the 986 / 987 series cars (911/boxster/cayman) were nigh on identical up to the back of the seats - same doors, same seats, same switchgear.

But fundamentally - buy a car for what you want not what other people think of it.

Simes.

[yajeed]

Darren156 said:

These seem to be 70K-100K examples in 'good-excellent' condition that require maybe £500 to get mint.

That's possibly the case, or you could need to add a zero. You need to check the suspension components, radiators (inc. air con), RMS, clutch, brakes, tyres.

If they have been renewed fairly recently then it should be a relatively economical car. If they haven't, it could be a money pit. An uprated IMS bearing/housing would be a massive bonus too.

[smj996c]

Of Course its a proper Porsche, further it could be argued The Boxtser saved Porsche from Financial Oblivion in the mid 90's

[V8KSN]

Of course its a proper Porsche!

[Beanoir]

Every inch a real Porsche even down to the way the steering weights up, fantastic cars to drive and if you chose the right one can be a bargain these days IMO.

[kingston12]

Does it really matter if it is a real Porsche or not? You are looking for a ' fun, sub £5K convertible', and older Boxsters fit that bill better than any other car. If it had a Yugo bage on the front that wouldn't change that.

The fact that the Boxster is a real Porsche is actually more of a problem at this end of the market because you are buying a cheap car that still has the potential to have the 'Porsche-sized' bills that would be associated with a car that cost up to £50k new if it goes wrong.

Something like an MX5 is likely to go wrong less often and cost less to fix when it does, but it is not really in the same league to start with.

There will always be the Top Gear comments 'poor mans Porsche' etc, but I think they are irrelevant when you are just choosing the best car to buy for £5k.

[Darren156]

Thanks for the comments guys. The main thing I'm after from whatever car I buy is reliability and for it to be economical to an extent. I'm not too fussed about fuel consumption as I walk to work, and insurance wise it shouldn't be much of an issue as I am 27 with 8 years NCD. Touch wood, lol

How much in repair bills do Boxsters usually cost per year? If I spent £5000 I wouldn't really want to be forking out another £1000+ on top for the first year.

If I adhere to previous posts and ensure rebuilds and suspension work etc have been done should I do okay? And can I afford one that has had ALL the work done for £5000?

[edc]

Darren156 said:

Thanks for the comments guys. The main thing I'm after from whatever car I buy is reliability and for it to be economical to an extent. I'm not too fussed about fuel consumption as I walk to work, and insurance wise it shouldn't be much of an issue as I am 27 with 8 years NCD. Touch wood, lol

How much in repair bills do Boxsters usually cost per year? If I spent £5000 I wouldn't really want to be forking out another £1000+ on top for the first year.

If I adhere to previous posts and ensure rebuilds and suspension work etc have been done should I do okay? And can I afford one that has had ALL the work done for £5000?

If those are your priorities then in all likelihood your better bet would be an S2000, MX5 or Z4. That's from a Boxster owner. If you want the driving dynamics then get the Boxster. IMO it would be rare to find a car that has had all the preventative maintenance done.

[Darren156]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yeah you are right, that makes no sense, lol. By economic I meant repairs etc, which also makes no sense... Hmm...

Are Boxsters NOT reliable then?

[kingston12]

Darren156 said:

Thanks for the comments guys. The main thing I'm after from whatever car I buy is reliability and for it to be economical to an extent. I'm not too fussed about fuel consumption as I walk to work, and insurance wise it shouldn't be much of an issue as I am 27 with 8 years NCD. Touch wood, lol

How much in repair bills do Boxsters usually cost per year? If I spent £5000 I wouldn't really want to be forking out another £1000+ on top for the first year.

If I adhere to previous posts and ensure rebuilds and suspension work etc have been done should I do okay? And can I afford one that has had ALL the work done for £5000?

The main reason Boxsters are so cheap is because they are likely to cost more than an MX5 or equivalent to run. To a certain extent, you are taking that 'discount' upfront because the fuel and other bills will be higher.

It is impossible to say how much it would cost to run one. I'd certainly be budgeting up to £2,000 a year, but it could cost you nothing more than an oil change.

[MadMark911]

Darren156 said:

Yeah you are right, that makes no sense, lol. By economic I meant repairs etc, which also makes no sense... Hmm...

Are Boxsters NOT reliable then?

I doubt you could guarantee any 10 year old car will be "reliable" - as things wear out - especially in the 50-100,000 mile bracket and if it's been driven hard, crashed, mistreated etc. As others have said, what you want to see is a sheaf of recent bills for things like servicing, radiators, brakes, tyres, batteries, IMS, clutch etc - all done by OPC's or well respected independents.
If not - be prepared to spend £000's ...... as Porsche parts are not cheap!

[993kimbo]

My garage tells me a Boxster will cost roughly the same as my 993 to run each year and I reckon I spend £3000 a year on average.

My wife however spends £250 max, and has done so for the last 10 years, a saving of £2500 per year.
She drives an MX5 which never, ever goes wrong.

[Junior Bianno]

kingston12 said:

The main reason Boxsters are so cheap is because they are likely to cost more than an MX5 or equivalent to run. To a certain extent, you are taking that 'discount' upfront because the fuel and other bills will be higher.

It is impossible to say how much it would cost to run one. I'd certainly be budgeting up to £2,000 a year, but it could cost you nothing more than an oil change.

You don't need to budget this much IMO. It is possible that you could get stung for this amount on a one-off repair, but in general you should be able to look after a decent 986 on a much more modest budget.

[edc]

Here is my 12 month spend (cut and paste from boxa.net):

Service £341 plus £50 oil
Front brakes £226 plus £86 to fit
Suspension arms all round circa £445
Reverse switch £26
Clutch spring £34
Rear Contis £320 fitted

Extras
Short shift £25
Clear lights circa £600
Stainless manifolds and exhaust circa £250 plus circa £250 fitting
Bulbs and leds circa £45
Ctek charger £45 and never used lol
Decal £7
996 throttle body, Plenum, silicone hose plus extras circa £220
Smart top £140
Front and rear splitters plus paint fitting and mesh circa £500
Renovo and Fabsil circa £30
Zunsport grilles circa £100

Rough total £3650!!!!!

You can now add to that £500 fitting and geo set up at center Gravity, £400 fitting of short-shift, clutch assist spring and painting of centre console.

Most of that spend - including most of the suspension parts - is totally discrrtuonary and un-needed.

[Stefandk]

Yes it is a real Porsche....but....
I had a Boxster S about a year ago...but my dream was always a 911.
Everytime I looks a my Boxster, I told my self, I should have bought the right one, from the start.
I sold the Boxster and bought a 911, and havent looked back or regret.

Sorry my english

Regards
Stefan
Denmark

[crispyshark]

Drive one, listen to the engine (pref an S) and then decide....i think you will decide yes!

Your question is a bit like asking if a 928 is a 'proper' Porsche? Again, i think yes.

Of course the 911 is the iconic symbol of the company but then so are some of the Le Mans cars they have produced.

My personal fav having driven a good cross class (i own a 987s) is the current Cayman R.

[BertBert]

def a real Porsche, and as with all Porsches, not for poor people.
Bert