BUYING A BOXSTER S - Advice!
Discussion
OK, I have deciced to purchase a boxster S and I am going to look at them on Saturday at Colechester Porsche. I currently have an Exige and have had this for 2 months. I basically feel that I should have bought a Porsche for its finesse and poise.
Are there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
Are there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
L888DER said:
OK, I have deciced to purchase a boxster S and I am going to look at them on Saturday at Colechester Porsche. I currently have an Exige and have had this for 2 months. I basically feel that I should have bought a Porsche for its finesse and poise.
Are there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
The only thing you need to be aware of is that it is a boxster s and they do look a tad gayAre there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
kayc said:
L888DER said:
OK, I have deciced to purchase a boxster S and I am going to look at them on Saturday at Colechester Porsche. I currently have an Exige and have had this for 2 months. I basically feel that I should have bought a Porsche for its finesse and poise.
Are there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
The only thing you need to be aware of is that it is a boxster s and they do look a tad gayAre there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of. Plus should I look out for any faults?
Also are the exhaust options any good, bearing in mind I come from a stage 2 with Pipercross induction Lotus Exige that revs to 8.200 RPM?
Cheers
Up yer bum, spotty.
L888DER said:
Are there any MUST HAVES or NOT NEEDS that I should be aware of.
I've only tried the 987 S which was a total riot to drive. I'd personally only go 987 only, and waive the S if I had to. Didn't like sports seats - standard seats are perfect. Standard suspension is perfect: brilliant handling with exceptional comfort. I had 19's but to be honest 18s would be my choice. Bose was OK but bass was strangely disconnected: Bose is overrated as far as I can see, use JBL components to upgrade the standard system if I was going there. Lots of little £300 options I'd tend to go for (parking sensors, autodim, climate etc). Didn't notice if the one I trued had leather or not, so it may be pointless. Wouldn't bother with satnav or phone. Tiptronic required knowledge and learning to make it work right, when you get there it's fun but drinks fuel like someone trying to put out a flaming phall with a pint of cobra. Plus it costs more and I suspect manual is faster.
Get a warranty. Colour may be important!
These are just my views, your mileage may vary!
You have an Exige and you want a Boxster for its finesse and poise?! Are you on drugs? 
I swapped my Elise for a Box S 6 months ago and I've regretted it ever since. The boxster is a good sportscar don't get me wrong but I'm really disappointed with its supposed poise and finesse. The Elise would run rings around it any day of the week.
Ok so the Box is a more comfortable car, its more solidly built, it has a nice engine and it doesn't leak! But it's expensive, not very quick, heavy and un-reliable. I guess the reason I bought it was because I fell for the hype. It's wrong. I'm currently trying to reject mine because it's got a "design fault" in the gearbox which means it will pop out of second gear occasionally! That, Clonking suspension, 2 RMS failiures and corroded brakes on a "mint" 2003 car with only 28k on the clock. Absolutely rubbish.
Stick with the Exige, it's a waaay better car!
I swapped my Elise for a Box S 6 months ago and I've regretted it ever since. The boxster is a good sportscar don't get me wrong but I'm really disappointed with its supposed poise and finesse. The Elise would run rings around it any day of the week.
Ok so the Box is a more comfortable car, its more solidly built, it has a nice engine and it doesn't leak! But it's expensive, not very quick, heavy and un-reliable. I guess the reason I bought it was because I fell for the hype. It's wrong. I'm currently trying to reject mine because it's got a "design fault" in the gearbox which means it will pop out of second gear occasionally! That, Clonking suspension, 2 RMS failiures and corroded brakes on a "mint" 2003 car with only 28k on the clock. Absolutely rubbish.
Stick with the Exige, it's a waaay better car!
Andy T said:
I swapped my Elise for a Box S 6 months ago and I've regretted it ever since. The boxster is a good sportscar don't get me wrong but I'm really disappointed with its supposed poise and finesse. The Elise would run rings around it any day of the week.
I've not driven an Elise but I expect its low weight would make it unbeatable. I wouldn't consider an elise seriously myself though (well not currently anyway) because of useability issues like small storage space and a non-trivial hood setup. In fact the hood gets me most, in Britain a fast reliable power hood makes open-top motoring waaayy more accessible. I know this because the boxster hood was down at every opportunity, but my manual hood tends to stay up or down for long periods - usually up causing me to have the top up when I'd like it down.
The popping out of gear issue is a known fault. Porsche should replace the gearbox under warranty. You did get an official Porsche warranty, yes?
I agree that a full OPC Porsche backed warranty is the way to go with any relatively new Porsche. I maintain one on my car. I used the warranty quite a bit in its first year (it had teething troubles) then afterwards no claims. But the peace of mind is worth it. Over its ten year time with me I will end up paying £9K in £900 installments (less for me as it used to be £750) BUT during that time if anything breaks that shouldn't Porsche will deal with it.
For older vehicles I understand some of the fine independents can provide maintenance plans...
I agree that a full OPC Porsche backed warranty is the way to go with any relatively new Porsche. I maintain one on my car. I used the warranty quite a bit in its first year (it had teething troubles) then afterwards no claims. But the peace of mind is worth it. Over its ten year time with me I will end up paying £9K in £900 installments (less for me as it used to be £750) BUT during that time if anything breaks that shouldn't Porsche will deal with it.
For older vehicles I understand some of the fine independents can provide maintenance plans...
You could take a S2 elise roof off in the same time as it takes to lower the Boxster one. It's a piece of cake. The S1 was a different matter though, akin to putting up a tent! you're right about the boot space being less but it's still bigger than the rear boot in a boxster. I could always easily fit a weeks worth of shopping in it, or 2 tents and all the gear for 2 people for a trip to Le Mans! theres much more legroom in an Elise/Exige and the driving position is much better. I actually find it more comfortable than the cramped Boxster. Also the Boxster sports seats I have in mine are absolute rubbish, no support whatoever. The Elise has ProBax seats which are way better in terms of comfort and support. The main downside to a lotus is the struggle getting in and out and the relatively flimsy interior. But thats the compromise if you want the best handling sportscar in the world!
Don said:
The popping out of gear issue is a known fault. Porsche should replace the gearbox under warranty. You did get an official Porsche warranty, yes?
No.
Didn't buy it form Porsche. I was put off by the extremely pushy and slimy salesmen. They were also pushing some of the worst examples of old secondhand tat I'd seen for some ridiculous prices. I've also heard horror stories about Porsche selectively deciding when or when not to honour their warranties.
I didn't really need to use my warranty in this case because the trouble started happening almost straight away. You're protected by the law if you can prove the fault existed when you picked up the car, which I have. I gave the garage lots of opportunities to put it right but after 2 months of being without the car, and 3 attaempts at fixing it, still no joy. And as for the "it's a known fault" well, apparently my Local OPC have never heard of this happening to any porsche ever made ever! (but they still wrote a report that says the car needs a complete replacement 'box!) I'm currently talking to the Finance company with a view to canelling the contract on the basis that I was sold goods that were not fit for purpose.
Andy T said:
You could take a S2 elise roof off in the same time as it takes to lower the Boxster one. It's a piece of cake. The S1 was a different matter though, akin to putting up a tent! you're right about the boot space being less but it's still bigger than the rear boot in a boxster. I could always easily fit a weeks worth of shopping in it, or 2 tents and all the gear for 2 people for a trip to Le Mans! theres much more legroom in an Elise/Exige and the driving position is much better. I actually find it more comfortable than the cramped Boxster. Also the Boxster sports seats I have in mine are absolute rubbish, no support whatoever. The Elise has ProBax seats which are way better in terms of comfort and support. The main downside to a lotus is the struggle getting in and out and the relatively flimsy interior. But thats the compromise if you want the best handling sportscar in the world!
Surely the main problem with the Lotus is the sewing machine they use for an engine?Andy T said:
kayc said:
Surely the main problem with the Lotus is the sewing machine they use for an engine?
You could put a hamster on a wheel in there and it'd still run rings round My boxster. Plus it costs about 20p per week in petrol. Compare that to the Box's £40 per week!
Andy you have clearly not got on with the car at all. From the way you are talking I'm surprised you bought one in the first place.
Sorry to hear you are having a disagreement with your supplying garage. If you had bought off Porsche they would have included a warranty with the car and would have replaced your gearbox F.O.C. It sounds to me like the main problem with the car you have is that the box should be replaced and your supplier isn't prepared to do that. The rest of your complaints seem to stem from the fact you are cheesed off with them. Don't blame the model for the faults with your particular vehicle. All cars are a compromise and the Box does its own thing - and very well IMO.
In any case - good luck with your fight with your supplier. Popping out of gear IS a fault that makes the vehicle unfit for purpose. You have every right to expect that they should rectify the situation - either with a replacement gearbox or by taking the car back.
I'm also surprised you were put off by an OPC salesman. They vary in quality but I've never found one who wasn't polite and reasonably helpful.
Sorry to hear you are having a disagreement with your supplying garage. If you had bought off Porsche they would have included a warranty with the car and would have replaced your gearbox F.O.C. It sounds to me like the main problem with the car you have is that the box should be replaced and your supplier isn't prepared to do that. The rest of your complaints seem to stem from the fact you are cheesed off with them. Don't blame the model for the faults with your particular vehicle. All cars are a compromise and the Box does its own thing - and very well IMO.
In any case - good luck with your fight with your supplier. Popping out of gear IS a fault that makes the vehicle unfit for purpose. You have every right to expect that they should rectify the situation - either with a replacement gearbox or by taking the car back.
I'm also surprised you were put off by an OPC salesman. They vary in quality but I've never found one who wasn't polite and reasonably helpful.
Sorry to hear of your troubles Andy - do you think your opinion might have been a bit more balanced had your example performed faultlessly?
I test drove an Elise a few years back - not sure which version but not an Exige. Thought it was fun and very taut but not particularly comfortable, surprisingly slow over 40mph and bloody noisy. Unlike the Boxster is was nto a nice noise either - like nuts and bolts on a spin cycle. Probably great on track but not a great one-car-only cover-all-bases car IMHO.
I test drove an Elise a few years back - not sure which version but not an Exige. Thought it was fun and very taut but not particularly comfortable, surprisingly slow over 40mph and bloody noisy. Unlike the Boxster is was nto a nice noise either - like nuts and bolts on a spin cycle. Probably great on track but not a great one-car-only cover-all-bases car IMHO.
Edited by Adam B on Wednesday 13th December 12:24
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