Getting back into Boxster ownership

[Petrolhead]

A few years ago I had a 3.4S and loved the car. Came into some money and bought an Aston V8 Vantage as it was a car I always wanted to own. Aston gone and I am now after another Boxster.


I don't want to spend a fortune as it will now be a second weekend car.


I am looking at 978s and have thought about a 2.7. Why I hear you ask. Well the 3.4 was a fast car but I found it too fast and too easy to loose the licence Don't get me wrong, I like fast cars having owned a Caterham R500! but now that I am bit older (over 50) I am more interested in handling more that outright speed. I also enjoy working cars to get the best out of them. (Please do not turn this thread into a 2.7 vs 3.2/4 discussion). However if the right car come along I will not rule out an S


So I am looking at a 2005 car, to avoid high car tax and hopefully will get something that's not going to depreciate like a stone. Obviously when you get to 2005 cars the mileage gets higher, is this a worry if it has a full service history.


These are the cars I am considering looking at:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-PORSCHE-BOXSTER-2-7...


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...


So what are your thoughts and what do I need to be aware of?

[RiccardoG]

Both the ones from PH ads look really good, I vote for the 12.5 k one as it seems a good spec and color combo, plus it looks gleaming! The only reason to go for the 2.7 would be the supposedly more reliable engine.

On my 55k miles 997 I've started having some of the classic mileage related items such as aircon rads, coffin arm, etc. so expect things like these to come up.

[Petrolhead]

Cheers for the quick replies

Pre-DFI< what's that?

I personally do not like the look of the 986, especially the dash

If I was being fussy I would like Sport Seats, having had them on my last one they were very comfy and I suffer a bad back, heated seats would also be nice. I emailed the one down south but as yet no response which does not bode well. The other Atlas Grey one is a local car, he email back quickly with the following info:
[i]
Service history part Porsche Leeds and then Pro Porsche http://www.pro-porsche.co.uk/

1. 1st service (minor) 09.10.2007 mileage 15,179
2. 2nd service major 26.09.2009 mileage 24,105
3. 3rd service (minor) 26.09.2011 mileage 36,396
4. 4th service major 16.05.2013 mileage 48,477

Work carried out

1. new front disc and pads 1.10.09 £326.23
2. new clutch 18.01.10 £743.01
3. new battery 3.11.10 £92.77
4. new rear springs 21.06.11 £645.64
5. Polybelt changed 26.09.11 £inc service
6. new tyres front 27.04.12 £598
7. new tyres rear 11.09.12 £418
8. front coil springs 19.03.13 £365.66
9 new front shock absorbers 26.03.13 £533.13
10 new door microswitch 23.04.13 £103.68
11. window regulator 24.04.13 £235.35
12 rear discs and pads £295.00

The tyres are pilot sport, with about 6 mm left.
[/i]

Edited by Petrolhead on Monday 11th November 17:52

Edited by Petrolhead on Monday 11th November 17:53

[Petrolhead]

what are the italics not working? Bloody computers

[Petrolhead]

Ah right I see

Looking at the car on ebay and the one on pistonheads at £12500 although the ebay one has an extra 10,000 miles does that make the other one worth 2k more?

[tony993]

I bought a 40k mile 05 2.7 987 for £12,400 in April & although there are a few things I dislike about these cars (super heavy weight DM flywheel, for example), I am still very pleased with my purchase & I can’t think of a better way of spending £12k. Quite soon after buying the car I put on 4 new PS2s & had the suspension checked over + goe done & this gave a good improvement.

One thing to be aware of when looking at low mileage cars that are 9 years old, is the age of the tyres. If a car hasn’t been driven very much it may be on some very old rubber & although your tyres may be legal, with plenty of tread depth, if they’re 6 years old you’ll have a noticeably better car if give it some new tyres.

Other things to be aware of:

You won’t pay any more for a car with xenon lights but these make a huge difference if you drive in the dark.

The sports seats are much better than the standard seats.

I’m constantly swapping between my car & my girlfriend’s Cayman that has standard lights & standard seats, so I am not going to be persuaded by anyone that doesn’t share my view on these two points (& I know there are people who don’t).

Some ads that say “xenons” are for cars that do not have xenons – look for the silver washers below the headlamps.

Adding heated seats (or driver's seat) to a car without is easy & inexpensive - call Southbound Trimmers, or a similar outfit near you.

[walm]

Petrolhead said:

Looking at the car on ebay and the one on pistonheads at £12500 although the ebay one has an extra 10,000 miles does that make the other one worth 2k more?

The one on PH at £12.5k is an "S".
The other two are just the regular Boxster.

[Petrolhead]

walm said:

The one on PH at £12.5k is an "S".
The other two are just the regular Boxster.

Dooooh! so they are

[Petrolhead]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's a good point. Had an other look on Pistonheads for cars up to 45k miles and found this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

[VladD]

Petrolhead said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's a good point. Had an other look on Pistonheads for cars up to 45k miles and found this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

That looks nice.

I bought a 55 plate 3.2 Boxster S with only 20k on the clock on Saturday. It really is a lovely thing to sit in and drive. It still looks and smells like a brand new car. Lovely.

[Mike Brown]

Same here to the op, I sold regretfully my 987 boxster s in part ex for my 360 spider, and I am now looking for a boxster as well, the fezza is glorious but I won't take it out on rainy days and mucky roads, so this is where a replacement Boxster will fit in, salty roads etc etc. I agree the Boxster is superb and handles sublimely, i am looking for maybe a 3.2S as i think its fast enough against the ferrari but not to sluggish to be unenjoyable, I also considered a 2.7, for all the reasons you state. Nice to know I am not the only one thing along the same lines, anyway let us all know how you get on Mike

[Piersman2]

I've recently re-joined the Boxster fold, I'm waiting for the garage to sort out the airbag light before I pick up my second 2001 3.2S.

The first one I had I bought new in 2001 (;)), a speed yellow. Had it for 2.5 years, loved it but stopped using it so sold it on.

This one is from local dealer, in silver with 75K miles. Had a look at it week before last and thought it looked pretty well untouched for what is a 12 year old car.

Big difference in cost, the first one was £40K, this one is £6.5K, and will make a very nice second car to the Range Rover.