Porsche Boxster 2.9 PDK - Final 3 Year Report & Goodbye :(
Discussion
You can read my 2 Yr report here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Excuse the waffle, here goes!
Well, 3 years with a car as superb as this comes around very quickly. I still have the pictures and video I took from the collection at OPC East London fresh in my mind.
What can be said about this car that already has not been written by car journalists the world over? As an owner it is a tough one to add anything meaningful as they have experience of a much wider variety of cars and environments, most writers awarded this car 5 stars so, according to the press the aggregate review scores of the boxster is only bettered by the 458.
You could be a touch cynical about that. Others might be, I am not one of them.
After living with this car for 3 years as my daily drive, in rain, storms and sunny days I have no doubt that this car will be hard to top. The steering feel and the perfect weighting of the cars balance, the suspension feel, the way the car is low but not too low, the progressive slip of the tires - is all-perfect.
The wide range of sounds from thug, thug, thug of the engine at low speeds to the shiver it sends down my back as I ping it off the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd can only really be topped by classic pork and something like the 996 PSE. Yes, the GT3 cars are something special but bumbling around at normal road speeds is something the 2.9 engine is designed for and does it better than almost all other water cooled pork I have heard, with the caveat that it is paired with the PSE.
The interior has aged well, it remains a great place to sit and the size of the sports seats are also perfect for me. I drove down to Exeter from Kent one warm weekend evening, got out for a stretch and then got back into the car to do it all again, roof down.
And ahh the roof down experience, how special this car feels when the roof is down, “how fast does it go mister?", "nice car mate", thumbs up from passers-by made was just a cherry on the very large cake.
My favorite time in this car was a mid-summer run from landundno to Newport, starting at 3am…with the roof down. That’s one of the things with these cars; they make you do things that you would not consider in most other cars.
Is this car a challenge to drive? For an expert hand I would say “no”. The masses of grip and low power means you can drive this car near 9/10ths and not feel intimidated by it. I can understand why this would be boring for experienced drivers, especially ones who regularly do track days.
Was I felt wanting on the road? Only on a couple of occasions, both against cars running Turbo’s (non-porsche)
For the rest of us, these cars (especially in manual form) offer a real challenge, I remember on my training days at Silverstone, one Cayman 2.7 driver came into the canteen looking like an extra from Platoon.
“Did you find the limits of the car?” I enquire,
“No, but I found mine” came the breathless response.
And this is the thing, if you stick these cars onto 18inch wheels and use the stick, it is as close as you are going to get to classic pork in a modern, factory warrantied package. The dimensions of the car, the weight, bhp/ton, aural sound is as close as you will get in modern pork to the 964RS.
I can hear the lynch mob arriving as I type this out so I will quickly proceed and talk about the downsides to the car.
One downside is that the 2.9 engines remain a thirsty proposition (<20mpg) due to its love of revs although; the PDK 7th gear does resolve this on long boring stretches of motorway, I doubt the new 2.7 makes this situation any better.
Two more niggles are due to design faults, the seats will rub off the paint off from the framework behind if someone adjusts the seat all the way back, if left un-checked this will produce a right mess. Also, if you are over 6 foot and in the drivers seat, there is a fair chance the left and right indicator lights will be obscured, if you have the top down you will not hear the clicking and I have been found guilty of leaving the indicator on numerous occasions.
I also found the 19inch wheels a pain to live with at times due to the harshness of the ride, especially during the winter months; fitting winter tires and wheels resolved this. I still believe 18inch wheels and PASM is the best combination for the 987.
Finally, the car is a bit of a plod magnet, although each time I have been pulled over they were very complementary about it.
So, for such a near perfect drive the question must be begging : “why are you getting rid of it?!”
Simply put, as a father I am under pressure to buy something the whole family can enjoy, for a family man the Boxster is a guilty pleasure and one which some can get away with and others cannot. I fall into the latter category.
My little girl will be most upset when she finds out Daddy has sold the Boxster and if I am honest, it’s a bit of a wrench to have to move it on.
So, in conclusion if you are a Petrol head and have the opportunity to own one of these cars and the time is right for you, beg, borrow, pawn do whatever needs to be done in order to get into one, the money spent will be worth it and the drive is simply sublime. Pound for pound, it is tough to beat this side of £100k.
Here is the final financial breakdown for Year 3:
It was an incident free year:
Tyres - £1,200
Insurance - £1,200
Petrol - £2,250
And all 3 Years in summary:
Total 3-Yr cost Inc. depreciation and credit costs - approx. £48,450
Total 3-Yr cost Inc. depreciation and credit cost, *excluding* car cost options - approx. £36,000
Total 3-Yr cost exc. depreciation and credit costs - approx. £21,650
Goodbye then, Mr. Boxster, I hope if someone on here picks her up that they will keep me up to date with the cars progress.
DSC_0182 by bestofbritish96, on Flickr
And so to the future and to the Porsche that will replace it tomorrow…………………
Nice writeup Carl and lovely looking 987 too, you don't see that many in red but its one of my favourite Boxster colours.
Its great reading these ownership experiences, tru enthusiast stuff, just appreciating the car for what it is.
I am looking forward to your next Porsche installment.
PS: I assume the costs are inclusive of insurance, tax etc? I would have thought that actual maintenance would have been very very little on a 3 year old car.
Its great reading these ownership experiences, tru enthusiast stuff, just appreciating the car for what it is.
I am looking forward to your next Porsche installment.
PS: I assume the costs are inclusive of insurance, tax etc? I would have thought that actual maintenance would have been very very little on a 3 year old car.
Sorry to hear the motor is leaving you Carl, looks in fine fettle, quite a difficult decision. Must agree 100% with your assessment after 3 years of ownership and yes, the quiet indicator has caught me out too, and indeed, is my only criticism. The 981 is louder! Hope the next motor is a joy.
I wondered when you would change, it was because of you, truth be known I bought my 2.9 PDK PSE Boxster, although I think you got 100% out of yours, I guess I'm a little more reserved, anyway I hope you enjoy the new car, Panamera's are great and despite what others think that haven't driven one the diesel is brilliant.
Have fun !
Have fun !
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