Boxsters - which one
Discussion
My mate was telling how cheap you can get these for nowadays and a quick search on eBay has confirmed this. The cheapest are around 1997 models with a 2.5 engine? How are these cars? I know nothing about Boxsters would I desperately regret not buying a bigger engine? are there any inherent problems with these cars? Especially of this age / smaller engine?
A couple of people I know who Boxters have had a few problems and a couple of the problems have been expensive. I'm not sure fully what their problems were but both had some sort of seal go I think at the back of the engine somewhere, all I know is they had a four figure bill for the work done.
I might just know two bad luck people but I would suggest you do some digging to find out if or what problems there may be on these cars. Buying cheap is not always cheap running.
I might just know two bad luck people but I would suggest you do some digging to find out if or what problems there may be on these cars. Buying cheap is not always cheap running.
Tyres are shocking prices, so much so that many owners take out a seperate tyre insurance policy. There were a few probs with the earliest 2.5l cars having badly cast (ended up porus apparently!)blocks but they would certainly have had the issue resolved by now. The rear screens in the early cars were plastic which became very translucent as they scratched and generally need replaced.
Check out some boxster owners clubs, many have detailed buyers guides along with VIN# that were known to have issues.
Havent driven a 2.5 but the 2.7 is definitely a rapid car, but not that keen on the interior myself.
Check out some boxster owners clubs, many have detailed buyers guides along with VIN# that were known to have issues.
Havent driven a 2.5 but the 2.7 is definitely a rapid car, but not that keen on the interior myself.
Decky_Q said:
Here in NI the rears are £140 (also proxe t1r) and ripped one on a rough road which meant £420 on tyres in less than 6 months, hence dealer telling me about tyre insurance 
Thats just unfortunate but the price of tyres arent going to stop you getting the car you want. If you went through a set in 2 years then you'd put x amount away each month to cover the tyres.Or you could do what someone has done in the tyre snobbery did and get some linglang shangalang on a sports car because the OE ones were too expensive.
redgriff500 said:
PHmember said:
Even basics like tyres will put you back £700 for four.
Ever heard of camskill / MyTyres ?Of course, most Boxsters don't spit their bits out and require a new engine, but many owners complain of this. Cylinder Liners were redesigned in 2000 to eliminate some problems but rear main seals and intermediate shaft failures seem to cover most of the big failures.
It depends how brave you feel. I chickened out after reading and now I'm saving for a Z4, but you may feel differently.
Here's a guide from a reputable specialist and offers balanced advice about failures and how much they're likely to cost you.
http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%2...
Good luck.
(And don't buy a Tiptronic. No one likes them and they're more expensive to do repairs on the engine if they do go wrong.)
It depends how brave you feel. I chickened out after reading and now I'm saving for a Z4, but you may feel differently.
Here's a guide from a reputable specialist and offers balanced advice about failures and how much they're likely to cost you.
http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%2...
Good luck.
(And don't buy a Tiptronic. No one likes them and they're more expensive to do repairs on the engine if they do go wrong.)
Edited by blearyeyedboy on Wednesday 2nd November 09:24
- Tyres can cost you the same as for any other car with 17 or 16 wheels, unless you want to go for "Porsche approved" N rating.
- They won't be cheap to maintain, parts are expensive and they do not last for ages, but overall nothing crazy or different from any other P. car
- There is a small yet real risk of an engine going bang, in which case your car is a write off, but then you already are going to pay little for the car
- I can't see a reason for depreciation to stop. I bet they will get even cheaper.
I would go on the Porsche forum for more specialised advice.
Edited by chris7676 on Wednesday 2nd November 09:56
torqueofthedevil said:
My mate was telling how cheap you can get these for nowadays and a quick search on eBay has confirmed this. The cheapest are around 1997 models with a 2.5 engine? How are these cars? I know nothing about Boxsters would I desperately regret not buying a bigger engine? are there any inherent problems with these cars? Especially of this age / smaller engine?
We had the same "issue" in May this year when we part exchanged my wife's SLK320 for a 2.5 Boxster (1999 model year) with a Tiptronic gearbox.
The 2.5 is fine car - but in hindsight a 3.2 would have been my choice - but we could not find one that was correct spec/colour etc.
Next one will be a 3.2S.
Since May 2011 we have had to replace the air conditioning condenser, MAF sensor and two rear tyres.
I tried various versions of the car when looking for a Boxster and ended up with a 986 S
to summarise:
2.5 > bit too slow, dash and steering wheel aren't nice, poor spec
2.7 > A lot better than the 2.5
986 3.2 > better in every area than the 2.7 for only a small price premium
987 3.2 > a small improvement in every area over the 986, but when i bought mine there was a 10k price difference between a decent 986 S and a decent 987 S
987 3.4 > had a go in this more recently and I'd say i preferred the 987 3.2 engine
once i had fixed a bunch of jobs that had been neglected by previous owners i had put about 2.5k into it, since then it has been relatively cheap motoring, though it now occasionally suffers from the 2nd gear jumping out which is a common fault, it's an expensive thing to get fixed so i think i'll probably just put up with it
to summarise:
2.5 > bit too slow, dash and steering wheel aren't nice, poor spec
2.7 > A lot better than the 2.5
986 3.2 > better in every area than the 2.7 for only a small price premium
987 3.2 > a small improvement in every area over the 986, but when i bought mine there was a 10k price difference between a decent 986 S and a decent 987 S
987 3.4 > had a go in this more recently and I'd say i preferred the 987 3.2 engine
once i had fixed a bunch of jobs that had been neglected by previous owners i had put about 2.5k into it, since then it has been relatively cheap motoring, though it now occasionally suffers from the 2nd gear jumping out which is a common fault, it's an expensive thing to get fixed so i think i'll probably just put up with it
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