RE: PH Service History: Living the dream

[suffolk009]

dhutch said:

jakesmith said:

I’ve just got a 987 Boxster S as pictured for £10.5k. What a car! Feels every part the £50k it cost new. Not sure I’d describe its handling as sweeter than a 911 but that’s another topic.
Incredible value for money

What's it like on running costs? Compared to (if you can) a Z4/330ci or similar? Or compared to a 911 itself?

We have a 987 Boxster S. Bought it at 80,000 miles 18 months ago. It's now just short of 100,000. It's had two services since then (each about £400 from a local specialist), and two new rear tyres. The only issues we've had have been one coil pack giving up, and a small inconvenience when putting the roof up.

It is frankly unbelievable value for money. It's a little bit German to drive (sensible, solid, dependable, does everything without a fuss), but my tastes are more Lotus. My wife absolutely adores it.

Edited by suffolk009 on Tuesday 6th February 10:26

[suffolk009]

samoht said:

Instead of the MX-5, I think the Honda S2000 is more of a £10k dream car, with its 9,000rpm engine and space-age instrument display.

You'd be nuts to buy an S2000 instead of a Boxster S.

[jakesmith]

406dogvan said:

A friend recently acquired an 06 Cayman S - low miles - it was almost 50% over budget for this - BUT

We looked at a lot of cars from the mid-00s and most had issues - plenty of crusty/tatty/obviously cheaply repaired cars - most with that sense of "not well maintained" about them (even the ones with fully-stamped histories!!) - mismatched tyres, oil and water leaks, knackered interiors, tired paint etc. etc

To be clear - his needed discs/pads/springs/shocks and the zorst was tired (since replaced with a noisy one) - the others needed WAY more and nothing we saw anywhere near £10K needed less than £4K throwing at it just to make it straight.

You might get lucky - you probably won't tho, Cayman/Boxters of that era aren't "964" levels of solid - they're not even "993" levels...

Edited by 406dogvan on Monday 5th February 22:36

Then look at a lower model or one that was less expensive to start with but has been properly maintained
A 986S you are buying an anniversary at the top of the market - £10k gets you the best the market has to offer
987 2.7 £10k will get you a good well maintained low miler
987 3.2S £1k will get you a good one with higher miles
£10k for a 3.4S or Cayman S will be a cheaper one in the market and possibly poorly maintained / high milage

[FELIX_5]

jakesmith said:

Then look at a lower model or one that was less expensive to start with but has been properly maintained
A 986S you are buying an anniversary at the top of the market - £10k gets you the best the market has to offer
987 2.7 £10k will get you a good well maintained low miler
987 3.2S £1k will get you a good one with higher miles
£10k for a 3.4S or Cayman S will be a cheaper one in the market and possibly poorly maintained / high milage

A good 987 3.2s for £1k??!! Pray tell......

[crispyshark]

suffolk009 said:

samoht said:

Instead of the MX-5, I think the Honda S2000 is more of a £10k dream car, with its 9,000rpm engine and space-age instrument display.

You'd be nuts to buy an S2000 instead of a Boxster S.

Why? Putting aside the tin worm the S2000 was/is a much more engaging, seat of your pants drive.

I can see the appeal of both.

[Emeye]

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

[paulguitar]

Emeye said:

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

I think 5k will get you into a 350z.


Or, a 350 SLK, which is what I have. Hard to find many cars for 5k that will do 155MPH and 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. They are more fun to drive than one might expect as well.

[Patrick Bateman]

How prevalent is the balance shaft issue on the early SLK 350 likely to be in reality?

[paulguitar]

Patrick Bateman said:

How prevalent is the balance shaft issue on the early SLK 350 likely to be in reality?

Estimates seem to depend on where one does the reading, a bit like the bore scoring on the 987's. It was a batch of balance shafts with weak metal apparently, so only the cars fitted with one of those are potentially affected. My understanding is it is perhaps 5% of M272 engines although apparently, Merc themselves claim only around 1%.


My own car has not been affected, thankfully. I think at 85,000 miles the issue would have shown up by now.

[va1o]

Emeye said:

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

MK5 GTI for that money I reckon! Solid all rounder and good fun to drive

[Emeye]

va1o said:

Emeye said:

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

MK5 GTI for that money I reckon! Solid all rounder and good fun to drive

Thanks, I didn't mean to turn this into my own what car thread! I've had two mk5s in the past, one was nearly new and £15k and the other was the answer to my "Living the dream for £10k".

Would love a 350Z but should have mentioned I need a 5 seater unfortunately....

[anonymous-user]

suffolk009 said:

You'd be nuts to buy an S2000 instead of a Boxster S.

Not really. The bushes may need doing on the S2K but apart from that they’re solid. The Boxster is still depreciating, has a chocolate engine and carries potential big bills. The Honda will never be ‘as good’ but it’s a damn site more interesting IMO.

[anonymous-user]

Emeye said:

Thanks, I didn't mean to turn this into my own what car thread! I've had two mk5s in the past, one was nearly new and £15k and the other was the answer to my "Living the dream for £10k".

Would love a 350Z but should have mentioned I need a 5 seater unfortunately....

£5K what about a 130i

[samoht]

Emeye said:

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

The Impreza is available at £5k, either the original or one of the bugeye or blobeyes with the more robust 2.0 engine.

[TR4man]

samoht said:

Emeye said:

Can we do this for £5k and £3k please?

I'm about to come out of my cheap Passat Alltrack lease and it has sucked the life out of me. As I have an extension to build, I have a lower budget to find some interesting and fun motoring, that I can also use for the odd work journey.

The Impreza is available at £5k, either the original or one of the bugeye or blobeyes with the more robust 2.0 engine.

At that price point, trying to find one that hasn't been "chavved" and worthy of the council thread would be a major problem.

[just passing by]

FELIX_5 said:

jakesmith said:

I’ve just got a 987 Boxster S as pictured for £10.5k. What a car! Feels every part the £50k it cost new. Not sure I’d describe its handling as sweeter than a 911 but that’s another topic.
Incredible value for money

I’ve recently picked up a 987 Boxster S and completely agree with these comments! Love mine!!

Ditto. Had my 05 reg 987 for a year now. Best car I've ever had. Beats my 05 4200CC into a cocked hat (tho' the Mas. was so flawed, that wasn't hard).

[jakesmith]

just passing by said:

Ditto. Had my 05 reg 987 for a year now. Best car I've ever had. Beats my 05 4200CC into a cocked hat (tho' the Mas. was so flawed, that wasn't hard).

I’ve got a Mas too it’s been pretty good to be honest no worse than any of my pork. It’s a Granturismo which has a decent rep for reliability

[Hairymonster]

Honeywell said:

I have a 2007 RangeRover L322 3.6 Diesel Vogue SE that has 135,000 miles on the clock bought three years ago for £12k at 99,000 miles now worth maybe £7k.

Never mind!

[Hairymonster]

Mr Tidy said:

But that isn't exactly "Living The Dream" - well not mine anyway! More like a nightmare.

Back in 2014 I took a lump sum out of a pension that I took early and I now have a BMW Z4 Coupe right in this budget. 3 litre straight 6 N/A petrol engine, manual gearbox and RWD - just the job! For me it is the E-Type FHC I will never afford, but quicker!

Now that looks soooo much better than the convertible.

[Hairymonster]

Emeye said:

Thanks, I didn't mean to turn this into my own what car thread! I've had two mk5s in the past, one was nearly new and £15k and the other was the answer to my "Living the dream for £10k".

Would love a 350Z but should have mentioned I need a 5 seater unfortunately....

Erm, VW GTi mk 5 with 5 doors and 5 seats?