Buying a Boxster S, need reasurance pls!
Discussion
I am thinking of buying a Boxster S,
Well, to be more clear, I am about to hand over the money for one next week (after I have cleared up some questions about its service history.
I had originally planned to buy a 2001 BMW M3, but after testing one I wasnt very impressed and I then decided I wanted a soft top. The Porshe looks a lot more special too.
I read around lots of reviews on the net and everyone gave the Boxster top marks but since I have been reading views on some of the leading car forums I am starting to have my doubts.
A few people seem to be suggesting that the Boxster S is overly expensive to run. That the yearly servicing can be up to a couple of tousand pounds if several new bits and bobs are needed. Also, I have seen a few opinions stating that considerable new parts are needed on a yearly basis and are quite expensive.
I also have a concern about the image that people seem to be suggesting they have. I always thought 'nice car' when I saw a Boxster but after reading some of the owners opinions it seems there is a lot of jelousy and the car can be at risk of gaining a few extra scratches if not parked in a secure place.
What is the average cost for running a Boxster S for a year?
Do you get much of the 'wrong type of attention' when you are driving one?
I have seen a 2000, Manual Boxster S with 49,000 miles on the clock for 15,995. I am not sure if the car has has its big 48k service. (which I read costs around £900. Correct?)
I have seen the car and it is in very good condition. How much should I be aiming to get the car for if it hasnt had its 48k/50k service? How much should I pay if the car has had its service and therefore wont need anything spending on it for a while?
Should I go for one at all?
I can afford the insurance and fuel costs no problem and I can afford a new set of tyres a year. I could also comfortably afford approx £1000 - £1500 a year for servicing and any other costs. I cant afford to be spending several hundred every few months on new parts and I certainly cant afford to spend a couple of hundred geting the paintwork re-touched & roof repaired every time I park in a public place.
I'd appreciate some advice... Thanks
Well, to be more clear, I am about to hand over the money for one next week (after I have cleared up some questions about its service history.
I had originally planned to buy a 2001 BMW M3, but after testing one I wasnt very impressed and I then decided I wanted a soft top. The Porshe looks a lot more special too.
I read around lots of reviews on the net and everyone gave the Boxster top marks but since I have been reading views on some of the leading car forums I am starting to have my doubts.
A few people seem to be suggesting that the Boxster S is overly expensive to run. That the yearly servicing can be up to a couple of tousand pounds if several new bits and bobs are needed. Also, I have seen a few opinions stating that considerable new parts are needed on a yearly basis and are quite expensive.
I also have a concern about the image that people seem to be suggesting they have. I always thought 'nice car' when I saw a Boxster but after reading some of the owners opinions it seems there is a lot of jelousy and the car can be at risk of gaining a few extra scratches if not parked in a secure place.
What is the average cost for running a Boxster S for a year?
Do you get much of the 'wrong type of attention' when you are driving one?
I have seen a 2000, Manual Boxster S with 49,000 miles on the clock for 15,995. I am not sure if the car has has its big 48k service. (which I read costs around £900. Correct?)
I have seen the car and it is in very good condition. How much should I be aiming to get the car for if it hasnt had its 48k/50k service? How much should I pay if the car has had its service and therefore wont need anything spending on it for a while?
Should I go for one at all?
I can afford the insurance and fuel costs no problem and I can afford a new set of tyres a year. I could also comfortably afford approx £1000 - £1500 a year for servicing and any other costs. I cant afford to be spending several hundred every few months on new parts and I certainly cant afford to spend a couple of hundred geting the paintwork re-touched & roof repaired every time I park in a public place.
I'd appreciate some advice... Thanks
Well it looks like your budget is enough, depends on how you use the right foot as to wear and tear, but lets face it Porsche were building sports cars when the others (Nissan Honda and such like) were padding about in the rice fields. So the car can be driven as intended without much trouble. Just had the first service on mine and its cheaper to service than a Nissan pickup truck.
As for the image well there is a slight problem, last week I was accused of not being able to afford a 911 and another wit suggested I had a girly car. My reply is always considered and well thought out ie: Off and f**k seem to work.
The real truth is (and I know having owned 911s) I am sitting in a car that is 90% 911 for 60%of the cost is as quick as a Carrera 2 around the ring, arguable quicker. No other car has come close to the driving pleasure I get from my Boxster S
nough said, buy and enjoy.
As for the image well there is a slight problem, last week I was accused of not being able to afford a 911 and another wit suggested I had a girly car. My reply is always considered and well thought out ie: Off and f**k seem to work.
The real truth is (and I know having owned 911s) I am sitting in a car that is 90% 911 for 60%of the cost is as quick as a Carrera 2 around the ring, arguable quicker. No other car has come close to the driving pleasure I get from my Boxster S
nough said, buy and enjoy.
...these are probably questions best answered over on Boxa.net they are a friendly bunch over there and i'm sure any reassurance will be available in bucket loads.
I personally ran a 986 boxster s but it neve made it to a service as i wrote it off at the tender age of 4months. I had no problems with it in that time though! Infact it was the cheapest car i have ever ran....4months of motoring in a brand new car and i lost just £100 in my insurance excess
I personally ran a 986 boxster s but it neve made it to a service as i wrote it off at the tender age of 4months. I had no problems with it in that time though! Infact it was the cheapest car i have ever ran....4months of motoring in a brand new car and i lost just £100 in my insurance excess
image is no problem at all. yes some will rip people for owning a boxster but they are elitest 
s who think they are driving gods
i had a boxster and ran it for 75k miles. it had no problems and other than normal servicing it was fine
the clutch lasted til 70k, pads and disks 40k and the day it went the interior was as good as the day it arrived.
believe me the pork is one of the cheapest and most reliable cars you will ever own
go for it
s who think they are driving gods i had a boxster and ran it for 75k miles. it had no problems and other than normal servicing it was fine
the clutch lasted til 70k, pads and disks 40k and the day it went the interior was as good as the day it arrived.
believe me the pork is one of the cheapest and most reliable cars you will ever own
go for it
100% Go For It!!!
I owned a Box S for 18mths. Was lucky that the big service had been done before I bought it, so only needed a minor service whilst I owned it. Not a thing went wrong with it.
I drive my cars pretty hard (incl. beasting it around the Ring for a whole weekend) but with great mechanical sympathy. General stuff like, car gets warmed up and cooled down. Obviously no 'dump the clutch' type starts from traffic lights, etc.
Only other money besides the service I spend were to upgrade to 18" wheels and fitting a B&M short shift.
I still believe pound for pound it is the best roadster out there and obviously loads of people including magazines agree.
I had to scratch the 911 itch but knowing the whole time (and I said this before I bought the 911) that the Boxster would out handle it any day. Raced a couple of 996 C2s and there really is nothing in it until you get into 3 figure speeds when the 911 pulls a very slight lead.
I'm thinking I will go back to a Box S one day once I am done with the 911, but I am thinking I might go via the Cayman route first .... but who knows I might be posting after the Cayman experience to say it is the best Porsche out there.
I owned a Box S for 18mths. Was lucky that the big service had been done before I bought it, so only needed a minor service whilst I owned it. Not a thing went wrong with it.
I drive my cars pretty hard (incl. beasting it around the Ring for a whole weekend) but with great mechanical sympathy. General stuff like, car gets warmed up and cooled down. Obviously no 'dump the clutch' type starts from traffic lights, etc.
Only other money besides the service I spend were to upgrade to 18" wheels and fitting a B&M short shift.
I still believe pound for pound it is the best roadster out there and obviously loads of people including magazines agree.
I had to scratch the 911 itch but knowing the whole time (and I said this before I bought the 911) that the Boxster would out handle it any day. Raced a couple of 996 C2s and there really is nothing in it until you get into 3 figure speeds when the 911 pulls a very slight lead.
I'm thinking I will go back to a Box S one day once I am done with the 911, but I am thinking I might go via the Cayman route first .... but who knows I might be posting after the Cayman experience to say it is the best Porsche out there.
Thanks for all the kind replies!
I saw a couple of friends since I posted that. The first guy I spoke to said "dont buy a Boxster for f's sake it's a hairdressers cars". I think there may be a hint of jelousy in there as he drives a RX8 (192 version). And to be honest, he is the only male I have ever seen behind the wheel of an RX8 so he has no room to talk.
The other friend isnt really into cars, when I told him I was thinking of getting one he said "oh right" with about as much enthusiasm as if I had said "hey, George Micheal has planned a new uk tour, wanna get tickets?". I'm sure his view will change when I take him for a spin in it though.
OK. Onto the next question, What price should I try and haggle the car I have seen for? Its £15995, yr 2000, with 49,000 miles on the clock.
And how should I treat the matter of the big 48,000 service? I am pretty sure it has been serviced every 10k miles so will be due this big service right after it is purchased.
Any thoughts?
I saw a couple of friends since I posted that. The first guy I spoke to said "dont buy a Boxster for f's sake it's a hairdressers cars". I think there may be a hint of jelousy in there as he drives a RX8 (192 version). And to be honest, he is the only male I have ever seen behind the wheel of an RX8 so he has no room to talk.
The other friend isnt really into cars, when I told him I was thinking of getting one he said "oh right" with about as much enthusiasm as if I had said "hey, George Micheal has planned a new uk tour, wanna get tickets?". I'm sure his view will change when I take him for a spin in it though.
OK. Onto the next question, What price should I try and haggle the car I have seen for? Its £15995, yr 2000, with 49,000 miles on the clock.
And how should I treat the matter of the big 48,000 service? I am pretty sure it has been serviced every 10k miles so will be due this big service right after it is purchased.
Any thoughts?
I take it that this is not a private seller? IMO the only thing I would insist on is putting it through the 111point inspection and i would put a warranty on it. If only, as said by another on a different thread, to ward off the evil that is a wrong un.
I would haggle if it is due a service as it’s most likely the reason why the seller is selling e.g. either sell now or, if it is the biggy and it needs a few other little bits looked at (as a car of these mile might well, even if only the sticking indicator stalk or the new ignition barrel) and spend £1k and still have a car that’s worth iro £16k IYSWIM
Just bought an S myself- on a 2000 plate with 37000 miles.
I have always hated anything Porsche, but I needed something a bit more day-to-day than a TVR.
When I first drove it, I have to say it was a revelation! The handling is sublime and the general build quality is superb.
Needless to say, I am very impressed with the car and would suggest anyone who gives you a hard time about owning a Boxtster (ala me 1 month ago) has never driven one or been in one.
Just need to find a good priced sports exhaust for it....
I have always hated anything Porsche, but I needed something a bit more day-to-day than a TVR.
When I first drove it, I have to say it was a revelation! The handling is sublime and the general build quality is superb.
Needless to say, I am very impressed with the car and would suggest anyone who gives you a hard time about owning a Boxtster (ala me 1 month ago) has never driven one or been in one.
Just need to find a good priced sports exhaust for it....
Dont worry what other people think, theres not a car made that doesn't have some sort of mick taking put in its direction. A friend of mine recently took the mick out of another friend of mine for having a Bentley continental asking him if he bought it because he couldn't afford a proper one!
As the others have said get the check done and get the warranty at least for the first year. If it does need the big service try and haggle this into price an opc should be able to do the 111 point check free if done with service.
Buy a good one and you'll never regret it.
As the others have said get the check done and get the warranty at least for the first year. If it does need the big service try and haggle this into price an opc should be able to do the 111 point check free if done with service.
Buy a good one and you'll never regret it.
It really winds me up when people say it is a hairdressers car 
If it is someone who knows nothing about cars then I can understand it, since anything with a convertible roof is a hairdressers car to them. I reckon they would even call something like a TVR Griffith a hairdressers car
However, if it is someone who knows a thing or two and says it, you will normally find they have never actually driven one and may not have driven any Porsche before.
It has to be one of the best handling cars out there. A REAL drivers car. Don't see why this would be of relevance to any hairdresser unless he/she was really late for an appointment.
If it is someone who knows nothing about cars then I can understand it, since anything with a convertible roof is a hairdressers car to them. I reckon they would even call something like a TVR Griffith a hairdressers car
However, if it is someone who knows a thing or two and says it, you will normally find they have never actually driven one and may not have driven any Porsche before.
It has to be one of the best handling cars out there. A REAL drivers car. Don't see why this would be of relevance to any hairdresser unless he/she was really late for an appointment.
MaKSiNG said:
It really winds me up when people say it is a hairdressers car
If it is someone who knows nothing about cars then I can understand it, since anything with a convertible roof is a hairdressers car to them. I reckon they would even call something like a TVR Griffith a hairdressers car
If it is someone who knows nothing about cars then I can understand it, since anything with a convertible roof is a hairdressers car to them. I reckon they would even call something like a TVR Griffith a hairdressers car
Now you're being silly! Anyone knows that the glove box in a Griff is neither big enough for tongs nor strong enough to stay shut with rollers in!
From a Griff owner's point of view and an ex-911 owner (which I really really miss) I have steered clear of the Boxster mainly due to the fact that i just don't like the "is it coming or going" look of it. I would 100% also get the p!ss ripped out of me by many people on this forum
HOWEVER, I have no doubt that the Boxster 'S' is one hell of a car and having gone from Porsche back to my second TVR, I would have been a lot happier had I gone to a Boxster 'S'. You cannot overlook the build quality and know how of the guys at Porsche.
newboxsterS said:
What is the average cost for running a Boxster S for a year?
I reckon £1500. Some years it will be £200 for the service and £900 for the warranty. Some years you will add £1K for dics/pads. Discs and pads on mine lasted three years (and a LOT of track days!). If you said with the warranty the car would cost you £2K a year to run you would be absolutely safe. That's not cheap but there you go. If you service with a good independent and take a punt on the warranty you could run one a LOT cheaper - but if something big goes pop you'll take the hit to get it fixed.
newboxsterS said:
Do you get much of the 'wrong type of attention' when you are driving one?
Yes. Thankfully for every utter tosser out there there are hundreds and thousands of decent people. So its not often that the downside rears its ugly head. However - you will always be giving some thought as to where you park it or leave it when its not in sight. Comes with the territory. For this reason I drive a shitty old Vectra to the supermarket or if I need to leave a car parked in a layby/dodgy street etc.
newboxsterS said:
Should I go for one at all?
Yes, of course. The car is wonderful to drive! It will reward you with a great deal of pleasure for the expense.
I bought a Boxster S last week. I've been a member of some car clubs in the past and had weekends in everying from elises (s1 and s2 inc 111r), 996 C2, F355, F308 QV, Evo VIII, Imprezas, e30 m3, e36 m3, 4.0 & 5.0 chimera etc. Of all the cars I've driven, the boxster is the one that is most like what I think in my head. It really is that good. I actually never liked porsches and never imagined I'd buy one. But for the money I don't think there is a better buy. Independents will cut down the service cost. Other costs seem very reasonable.
Worth going to Porsche-1.net
Also worth becoming a member of TIPEC, fair few Boxster owners there.
www.tipec.net
www.porsche-1.net
Also worth becoming a member of TIPEC, fair few Boxster owners there.
www.tipec.net
www.porsche-1.net
newboxsterS said:
And how should I treat the matter of the big 48,000 service? I am pretty sure it has been serviced every 10k miles so will be due this big service right after it is purchased.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
Yes, stop getting hung about about the mielage, services are due every 12k miles OR annually. They go small medium small big. Therefore the "big" one is 48k miles or year 4. A 2000 car should have had the big one 2/3 years ago and would be coming up for a small yr 7 one.
This pattern can be disrupted if low mileage car and £150 inspection service done, ie no oil change. But IMHO a well maintained car should have big service at 4th anniversary regardless.
Great car though, only costly thing is RMS which go regularly so get a warranty.
Edited by Adam B on Monday 16th April 13:51
I personally couldnt give a f****ng sh**e about people saying Boxsters are hairdressers cars etc I love driving my Boxster and after driving numerous roadsters decided it was the best of the bunch. Buy a car because YOU want to not because some kn*b on here said it was for a hairdresser and you shouldnt get it. If you get half as much enjoyment as i do flying about on twisty back roads then you wont be dissapointed i asure you.
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