A few Boxster questions.

[dixie]

Hi,

I may be owning a Boxster s in the next few weeks. (The missus has granted approval!!)

I have a few questions.

- Is it safe to assume that a 42k mile car with full dealer history is going to be relatively trouble free?

- How long is a set of boots likely to last and how much does a good set cost? Probably be doing the odd trackday here and there.

- Am i right in thinking that it'll return about 25ish mpg on a commute to work? Or am i being a little optimistic?

- How bad are the "Cant afford a 911" comments likely to be?? Already seen the post on here from the BMW troll.

- Most importantly. Will i regret selling my S1 Elise for one?? (I'll be test driving this weekend all being well.)

[drybeer]

You should get 25 + mpg if you don't cane it to work and home again...

Boxster is a great car - no bad comments from me, unlike the Cayman imho.

Should be pretty trouble free, check for flywheel oil seal on early cars, try to get warranty on newer ones.

And as for the Elise, different animal, but I know which I'd rather own as a daily driver - the Boxster!

[Don]

dixie said:

Hi,

I may be owning a Boxster s in the next few weeks. (The missus has granted approval!!)

I have a few questions.

- Is it safe to assume that a 42k mile car with full dealer history is going to be relatively trouble free?

Reasonably so. I would still suggest getting a warranty. £900 a year after a £250 inspection. You can warrant the car until ten years old or 100,000 miles.

dixie said:

- How long is a set of boots likely to last and how much does a good set cost? Probably be doing the odd trackday here and there.

Depends on how you drive. 20,000 miles on a set of Michelin Pilot Sports would be possible. ABout £900 to replace. If you do track days less. Much less.

dixie said:

- Am i right in thinking that it'll return about 25ish mpg on a commute to work? Or am i being a little optimistic?

Yep. Around 25mpg. 30mpg (just) on the motorway if you feather the throttle. About 12mpg on track.

dixie said:

- How bad are the "Cant afford a 911" comments likely to be?? Already seen the post on here from the BMW troll.

Frickin' constant on here. You are actually bothered by them you shouldn't buy the car. Sticks and stones, man. Tell 'em to off.

dixie said:

- Most importantly. Will i regret selling my S1 Elise for one?? (I'll be test driving this weekend all being well.)

Well I wouldn't. I've driven the Elsie and its a cracking drive but the Box offers mid-engined handling coupled with some creature comforts. I've often described it as a cross between a Jag and an Elise. But its much better than that...

[hutchingsp]

I get an average of about 28mpg on a 20 each way mile trip to work plus the usual hooning around for fun.

Can't answer the "trouble free" question as any car can have problems, if in doubt look into the OPC inspection/warranty.

"Can't afford a 911" comments never seem to come from people who actually own a 911 (they tend to stick to hairdressing jokes).

[loach]

dixie said:

Hi,

- Am i right in thinking that it'll return about 25ish mpg on a commute to work? Or am i being a little optimistic?

- How bad are the "Cant afford a 911" comments likely to be?? Already seen the post on here from the BMW troll.

- Most importantly. Will i regret selling my S1 Elise for one?? (I'll be test driving this weekend all being well.)

- Nursed, I'd expect 30+ from a Boxster tbh. On a commute, 20-25 sounds about right.

- A Boxster is a seriously quick and sorted piece of kit. Don't mind the comments. They're meant in jest (those that aren't don't deserve to be taken seriously....well, unless you get a Tip, 'cos that's just gay), and you'll get comments in an Elise or a BMW too.

- Yes. You'll regret it some of the time. But then you'll love having something that looks and feels substantial, that doesn't require falling in and out of, something with a decent hood and heating, something that can take a decent amount of luggage/shopping, something made of metal, something with a decent multi-cylinder engine and exhaust note etc etc. It's all pluses and minuses. There will be days where the Boxster won't hit the spot the way a Lotus does, but the other 330 days of the year (or whatever), you'll be more than happy to have the Boxster.

[VR6-er]

I've had 4 Boxsters and in my experience:

Q - Is it safe to assume that a 42k mile car with full dealer history is going to be relatively trouble free?

A - No nothing is written in stone. You will never know how hard it has been driven and what is going to happen. I had a an engine failure at 800 miles. Make sure you understand all about the RMS issue. The rest of it is bullet proof. Because of RMS issue "Porsche warranty" could be crucial. Do not think that you cant negotiate with a main dealer, go in and bargain hard, if they wont listen walk away. The further out of London you get, the better the deal and people you deal with.

Q - How long is a set of boots likely to last and how much does a good set cost? Probably be doing the odd trackday here and there.

A - Michelin is the best road tyre by a mile. Pirelli is sheeite and Contil is very cheap £400 a set for 17's.

Q - Am i right in thinking that it'll return about 25ish mpg on a commute to work? Or am i being a little optimistic?

A - The fuel economy is excellent for the performance. I never was easy on the throttle (unless cold) and always got 26mpg - Cross country 13 mile commute.

Q - How bad are the "Cant afford a 911" comments likely to be?? Already seen the post on here from the BMW troll.

A - Fukk them. This car will put a serious smile on your face, its and everyday car thats a supercar also.

[paulatte1968]

I sold my Lotus S1 and bought a Porsche 996. I miss the drive of the lotus but much prefer the Porsche by far. I had doubts at first but now would never go back!

[CVP]

dixie said:

I may be owning a Boxster s in the next few weeks. (The missus has granted approval!!)

Well done, step one complete

dixie said:

- Is it safe to assume that a 42k mile car with full dealer history is going to be relatively trouble free?

Not necessarily, go for full warranty to be sure as fixing things is not always cheap. I bought a 4 1/2 year old car, now just coming up to 7. In this time apart from standard maintenance I've had to do discs all round (corroding discs esp front is a Boxster trait) and have just done the clutch. It's cost me a fair old bit but I do maintain to a high standard and have changed some parts before they broke / needed an extra trip to fix so maybe you could get away with £1k to £1.5k p.a for ongoing running costs probably a small incraese over the Elise but not too much so.

dixie said:

- How long is a set of boots likely to last and how much does a good set cost? Probably be doing the odd trackday here and there.

I'm using the Pirelli Rosso Corsas and have gone through one set in 17,000 miles. Maybe I don't drive hard enough !

dixie said:

- Am i right in thinking that it'll return about 25ish mpg on a commute to work? Or am i being a little optimistic?

I get a bit more than than, approx 28mpg on the commute using Optimax. It's mainly rolling 40-50 ish with a bit of fast dual carriageway and a few roundabouts / country lanes for a bit of a second gear blast. Away last weekend with Mrs CVP I got over 30 mpg and most of the motorway miles were covered a nice rate (make of that what you want) ;

dixie said:

- How bad are the "Cant afford a 911" comments likely to be?? Already seen the post on here from the BMW troll.

Get quite a lot but never from fellow petrolheads. Take on the chin and move on, it's their problem.

dixie said:

- Most importantly. Will i regret selling my S1 Elise for one?? (I'll be test driving this weekend all being well.)

Absolutely not. I went from an S2 Elise to the Boxster S. To my mind it's a grown up Elise, more practical for weekends away with the other half, she's happier in the car, the handling is great and the noise is so good compared to the Elise. 99.9% of the time I much prefer being in the Boxster. It's a brilliant all rounder.

Take a good test drive and I'm sure you'll be convinced they are great machines.

Cheers

Chris

[S99]

I had an S1 Elise and now have a Boxster S.

You'll miss the razor sharp handling of the Elise, but the Boxster feels so much more of a car. Easier to drive in the wet too and with a lot more grunt at the top end.

The missus will certainly approve of the Boxster over the Elise.

Go for it !