Porsche Virgin - Boxster advice required

[navier_stokes]

I'm looking at upgrading my daily runner 130i to a Boxster and in need of some advice to get me going! Has anyone made this particular leap before?

Budget is around £12-15k but wanting something quicker in a straight line than my 130i so it's probably going to be a 2005/6 S?

I've noticed there's a 3.2 and a 3.4 987 - whats the difference between the 2? Any differences in tax?

Are there any must have options to go for better resale value?

And what's the general consensus on warranties? I see there are £900/year warranties on the official website - can these be applied to any used car?

Cheers

[dadofbud]

Head over to www.BoxA.net apart from the info there's a sponsor offeing maintenance deals

[Paul O]

navier_stokes said:

I'm looking at upgrading my daily runner 130i to a Boxster and in need of some advice to get me going! Has anyone made this particular leap before?

Budget is around £12-15k but wanting something quicker in a straight line than my 130i so it's probably going to be a 2005/6 S?

I've noticed there's a 3.2 and a 3.4 987 - whats the difference between the 2? Any differences in tax?

Are there any must have options to go for better resale value?

And what's the general consensus on warranties? I see there are £900/year warranties on the official website - can these be applied to any used car?

Cheers

Agree with dob, Boxa is where it's at. I service my car with the sponsor (revolution) and I have found their customer service (and price!!) to be second to none.

As for your questions...

2005-2008 is 3.2
2009-2012 is 3.4

Cheaper tax on 2005 model only, the rest are in the top band. 2.7 is in the lower band, but I'm assuming you want an S (the bigger engines)

Options are a personal taste. For me, wind deflector and heated seats are an absolute must.

Warranty can be applied to any car under 10 years old I believe, but if you buy from another dealer I think you have to have an inspection, then wait a few months and then the warranty will be applied. Something like that. But as a general rule the process goes... 1) Pay Porsche a wedge to inspect the vehicle. 2) fix anything and everything they find wrong (probably RMS seal, brakes and battery! ), then 3) pay the wedge for warranty.

The main issue with Porsches is the engine going bang (not that common but common enough to scare lots of people), and aftermarket warranties dont seem to cover it according to many Internet posts on the subject.

Worth it? Only you can decide but I wouldn't bother with aftermarket warranties unless you go with a maintainence plan like the one offered by Revolution which offer total peace of mind. Check it out.

Hope that helps - these are great cars!!

Edited by Paul O on Wednesday 27th March 21:27

[thegoose]

Paul O said:

Warranty can be applied to any car under 10 years old I believe, but if you buy from another dealer I think you have to have an inspection, then wait a few months and then the warranty will be applied. Something like that. But as a general rule the process goes... 1) Pay Porsche a wedge to inspect the vehicle. 2) fix anything and everything they find wrong (probably RMS seal, brakes and battery! ), then 3) pay the wedge for warranty.

That's kind of right, except that if the car doesn't have a full dealer history they'll also insist on a major service too - so you'll be close to £2000 to get it covered (more if work needs doing to pass inspection).

I'd also suggest a maintenance plan from somewhere like Sports & Classic or Hartech (who can do a surprising number of things in-house - many maintenance plans don't cover any costs for work they have to contract out).

[RichB]

Worth remembering that the performance of the 2.9 GenII 987 is as near as damn it the same as the earlier 3.2S don't know if they're in budget though...