S2000 or Boxster as a roofless shed?

[paulmnz]

I've already got a number of vechiles, but I fancy a convertible for tooling around in summer in.

I've driven the S2000 and boxster a fair bit and have likes/dislikes for each... 2k I think looks better, has a fantastic engine/gearbox, boxster is sweater handling and is nicely built and more practical with bigger boot(s). I dont really have a preference for brand...

What suprised me is how cheap they are at the moment... seems plenty of S2000's around for £5k and boxsters are creeping down to that price.

I'm pretty handy with a spanner, so I'm happy to buy something with a few miles on it. I wont be doing huge miles and I have other vehicles for daily-drivers / practical uses.

my question is, with the more leggy examples, which is likely to have more go wrong which is expensive and/or difficult to fix...

I'm guessing with the honda it's likely to be gearbox snycros and some of the suspension components at the back are prone to seize... Boxster seems to be potential oil/engine issues with older 2.5's I've heard of a few electrical issues / key problems...

Show-stoppers for me are being prone to rust and specialist parts like gearboxes/ECU and hood mechanisims etc failing

insurance is a bit cheaper with the boxster... imagine the 2k is cheaper to run with brake pads and tyres being significantly cheaper.

Also, I've never really got to the bottom of the 'twitchy handling' of the early 2k's... I'm very comfortable sliding a RWD car around, but I dont know if the 2k stories are from inexperianced drivers or genuine handling flaws with the early chassis?... #

Any opinions to share? I'm interested in running costs and reliablily... Likely to be early S2000's and 2.5 boxsters., maybe a boxster s if i really felt i could justify the extra outlay.

[kambites]

If you can get a good Boxster for that and you can afford to run it, I'd go for the Boxster. However you'll get a better S2k for the money and it probably, on average, be considerably cheaper to run.

I think the problems with early S2ks were just down to the suspension setup (which is adjustable) and they really weren't that bad anyway.

[R12HCO]

S2000 for me. Alot more driver focused car.

A friend works for a ferrari/porsche specialist and he always bangs on about how to keep away from the early boxsters due to the engine thing every time i mention they should be a good buy!

[mikey P 500]

Having owned an s2000 previously and now a Boxster (both bought at the lower end of the Market), I’m probably well qualified to comment. Essentially they are both good fun cars and I don’t thing you would regret either.
Don’t be mistaken for thinking the s2000 is cheaper to run, its generally more expensive, parts cost at least as much as the boxster and as said insurance is lot more. £5k buys a very nice early boxster these days and loads to pick from, it buys a fair but early example of the s2000 too. On either car the best upgrades to look for on an early car is a glass rear window hood if possible.
I prefer the Boxster overall, as engines better for road use (vtec on the s2000 is too high for road use in most gears (ie vtec in 3 rd gets you to 90mph so vtec is 4,5, and 6th is fairly pointless on the road), handling is far more forgiving and flattering for the average driver, (I can lap circuits faster in the 2.5 boxter than the s2000 even though on paper its slower).
The s2000 however looks a lot nicer (in my opinion) I quite like the general Jap scene over the Porsche owners club etc and the interior is surprising nicer than the boxster.

[MC Bodge]

paulmnz said:

Also, I've never really got to the bottom of the 'twitchy handling' of the early 2k's... I'm very comfortable sliding a RWD car around, but I dont know if the 2k stories are from inexperianced drivers or genuine handling flaws with the early chassis?... #

I know somebody who destroyed their S2000 one mile into ownership. It was wet she booted it from the lights, as she would have done in the 206 1.1 that she had just traded-in, and lost the back end.

If you have an idea about which wheels are doing the driving and that the throttle input is analogue, I suspect you'll be ok.

[kambites]

R12HCO said:

S2000 for me. Alot more driver focused car.

Hmm, the S2000 may be more "driver focused" but I'd say the Boxster is a better car to drive, personally.

[melted piston]

Can't the 'bad' handling of the early S2000 just be fixed with changing the rear ARB? Not sure if it's a thicker one or thinner one you want.

[paulmnz]

melted piston said:

Can't the 'bad' handling of the early S2000 just be fixed with changing the rear ARB? Not sure if it's a thicker one or thinner one you want.

Thicker one would tame oversteer I suspect some tweaking to the rear toe might also be in order...

[Twincharged]

£5k is a shed to you?
You must have even more directorships than the average PHer.

[bencollins4]

S2000 has a great engine and gearbox but that was it for me. Handling felt very average and although I haven't driven a Boxster, I'd guess it was by far the more entertaining drive.

[wackojacko]

S2000 would be my choice, 2.5 Boxsters are boring at the best of times.

[gethyped]

Even going for an early 2.5 Boxster will offer a better driving experience.
However for value for money you won't go wrong with the S2000.
Overall both very good open topped fun.