2001 Porsche Boxster S
Discussion
Well today after what’s felt like an eternity dad and I finally collected the replacement for the 944 Cabriolet which sadly was written off in February. We actually bought the car nearly 4 weeks ago, but due to transferring a private registration already on the car and Her Majesty’s Royal Mail taking its right old time sending all the documents back we were only able to get the car today!
There were lots of possible candidates for the 944’s replacement. Even though it would be a 3rd car used on the weekends it would have to occasionally be used during the week if both the other cars were in use.
We considered cars like the Lotus Elise/VX220 to the S2000 and 350Z Roadster/ TVR Chimaera (had considered Westfield’s/Caterham’s pre-crash but after the accident decided we wanted a bit more crash protection around us). However, there was an implication after I started my thread with the cars suggested above that limited our choice. In order for my father’s classic car policy to continue, the car had to be registered on 2001 (51 reg) or before. So , this meant no new look SLK or 350z. This realistically took us down to two options; A 986 Boxster S, early S2/late S1 Elise/ early VX220.
We had gone to view a stunning T reg S1 Lotus Elise not too long ago and as much as we liked it, it wasn’t the easiest car to get in and out of. I had also eventually got dad to view a TVR Chimaera at Fernhurst after much battling to get him onto my side. But several points put us off. The maintenance – knowing the niggles prone to TVR’s, dad didn’t fancy going out to the garage to find the TVR didn’t start. We also planned to do more track days this year – and found out the bushes had to be changed after every track day. The final nail in the coffin was the test drive. Conditions were not ideal being rainy, and the car was twitchy to say the least. At no point when I was out in the car did I feel safe as a passenger. Even though we took it extremely easy the back end was everywhere. Bye bye Chimera idea.
This led us back to the Boxster S idea, and we couldnt think of any other suitable candidates.
We were searching for weeks for the right car and viewed a couple of Boxster’s which weren’t as advertised. Then one evening I stumbled upon what would be our new car.
At first I thought the pictures had been taken at a dealer because of the flooring, but found out it was the owner’s garage! The car had been owned by them since it was 18 months old, the first owner being their close friends. As it turned out it was the seller’s wife’s second car and only had 28,000 miles on the clock! Astronomically low mileage for a car of its age – approximately covering an average total of just over 2500 miles a year. We plan to be doing about twice that now! It had been maintained at the same Porsche specialist since new (with work on the brakes done by an official Porsche centre). We have all the pieces of history associated with the cars including the original invoice where we found that it had about £11,000 worth of options added to it – making it a bargain buy for us!
There are two particular points I like about this car which stood out to us when I spotted it as these were things we planned on doing to whichever Boxster we would get. Firstly the headlamps. Boxster’s of this age usually have what were (I think) nick named ‘fried egg head lamps’ (see image below).
This car has the option of uprated headlamps which have clear lenses taking years off the look of the car. Secondly the wheels. We wanted to change them to something different, something that again looked a bit more modern and different hopefully making the car a bit more individual to us.
The interior some may say would be a let-down. I must admit it does look a bit dated, but I still like it. Some also may not like the blue leather dash and seats, but again it’s something I can get used to. The seats are certainly firmer than the 944’s, but are very supportive. It’s well put together are feels like a quality product inside, feeling brand new. And that’s what matters IMO.
I had found this car on Autotrader and convinced dad (not a very difficult task
) that we should make the trip to just outside of Norwich to view the car. Chatting to dad on the way up we knew this was going to be a good car and I knew there couldn’t be a more original car out there of the same age/price/mileage for sale. When we first looked at the car and heard it running (after a thorough going over – thank you Boxster buying guides) it was pulled out of the garage. I had a quick word with dad as this happened told him he had to buy it. He didn’t put up an argument. After a test drive a deposit was put down, and the car was ours! Result! The only niggles, if anything are very minor. One is that there is a tiny bit of wear on the driver’s seat bolster – but its barely visible and can be treated. Secondly there are some tiny marks on the rear alloys, but this can be remedied by professionals.
Fast forward to today and as mentioned it felt like an eternity. I must admit there hasn’t been a day gone by without me asking ‘Do you know if we can get the car yet Dad?’ I must have driven him mad! However, this morning we were up early, into London Victoria Bus Terminal and got the Megabus to Norwich. We were picked up by the seller’s wife, taken back to their house to sign all the documents and take the car home.
Thankfully the weather just about held out for us on the country lanes and dual carriageway’s sections so we could give the car a good run. Like the 944 the ride is firm, and feels very much planted on the road, in dads words ‘like there’s a magnet puling the car down onto the road’. I should mention the noise –It’s great, if not a little quiet, but give it the beans in 2nd and 3rd gear you can really hear it start to shout – and occasionally in 6th as you cruise along it you put your foot down there’s a nice little bumble from the engine as the power is delivered.
What really surprised me was just how fast the car can go, and accelerate. On the way out of Norwich we were on duel carriageways between roundabouts. For us it was a good test of acceleration and braking. Dad didn’t put his foot down much, and nowhere near the rev limit, yet the car would catapult up to fast speeds (nothing illegal!). I thought the 944 was pretty fast, but this feels mad compared – but that could be because this has an extra 41bhp over the 944. Even at a pootle in 6th gear, you only had to put your foot down a little and the car would pull away.
The weather changed for the worse as we hit the M11 and traffic was slowing. Regrettably we pulled into a service station and put the roof up for the last half of the journey – something we did very rarely in the 944 (we even had the roof down during snowfall!).
- We couldnt compete with this weather! - It got much worse when we hit the M25.
We took it easy for the rest of the journey home – but it was still hugely enjoyable being in a brand new environment working out how most of the stuff attached to the car worked!
We have a few plans for things to do to the car. We want to add in an iPod cable and a hands free attachment, but there are other possible plans such as a remap. I found one place claiming to take the power up to 270bhp and also a more ‘sporty’ exhaust so we can hear that lovely 3.2 litre engine a bit more
Sorry to have going on a bit, but I hope everyone has enjoyed the write up – I hope to be adding to this thread in the future with work we do on the car – events we go to. This Sunday (10th June) is the Bromley Pageant of Motoring in Norman Park just down the road from us. A place opened up on the TIPEC stand so it looks like it’ll be on show there
Thanks for reading.
Phil
Some more pictures below taken from when we stopped at a service station:
There were lots of possible candidates for the 944’s replacement. Even though it would be a 3rd car used on the weekends it would have to occasionally be used during the week if both the other cars were in use.
We considered cars like the Lotus Elise/VX220 to the S2000 and 350Z Roadster/ TVR Chimaera (had considered Westfield’s/Caterham’s pre-crash but after the accident decided we wanted a bit more crash protection around us). However, there was an implication after I started my thread with the cars suggested above that limited our choice. In order for my father’s classic car policy to continue, the car had to be registered on 2001 (51 reg) or before. So , this meant no new look SLK or 350z. This realistically took us down to two options; A 986 Boxster S, early S2/late S1 Elise/ early VX220.
We had gone to view a stunning T reg S1 Lotus Elise not too long ago and as much as we liked it, it wasn’t the easiest car to get in and out of. I had also eventually got dad to view a TVR Chimaera at Fernhurst after much battling to get him onto my side. But several points put us off. The maintenance – knowing the niggles prone to TVR’s, dad didn’t fancy going out to the garage to find the TVR didn’t start. We also planned to do more track days this year – and found out the bushes had to be changed after every track day. The final nail in the coffin was the test drive. Conditions were not ideal being rainy, and the car was twitchy to say the least. At no point when I was out in the car did I feel safe as a passenger. Even though we took it extremely easy the back end was everywhere. Bye bye Chimera idea.
This led us back to the Boxster S idea, and we couldnt think of any other suitable candidates.
We were searching for weeks for the right car and viewed a couple of Boxster’s which weren’t as advertised. Then one evening I stumbled upon what would be our new car.
At first I thought the pictures had been taken at a dealer because of the flooring, but found out it was the owner’s garage! The car had been owned by them since it was 18 months old, the first owner being their close friends. As it turned out it was the seller’s wife’s second car and only had 28,000 miles on the clock! Astronomically low mileage for a car of its age – approximately covering an average total of just over 2500 miles a year. We plan to be doing about twice that now! It had been maintained at the same Porsche specialist since new (with work on the brakes done by an official Porsche centre). We have all the pieces of history associated with the cars including the original invoice where we found that it had about £11,000 worth of options added to it – making it a bargain buy for us!
There are two particular points I like about this car which stood out to us when I spotted it as these were things we planned on doing to whichever Boxster we would get. Firstly the headlamps. Boxster’s of this age usually have what were (I think) nick named ‘fried egg head lamps’ (see image below).
This car has the option of uprated headlamps which have clear lenses taking years off the look of the car. Secondly the wheels. We wanted to change them to something different, something that again looked a bit more modern and different hopefully making the car a bit more individual to us.
The interior some may say would be a let-down. I must admit it does look a bit dated, but I still like it. Some also may not like the blue leather dash and seats, but again it’s something I can get used to. The seats are certainly firmer than the 944’s, but are very supportive. It’s well put together are feels like a quality product inside, feeling brand new. And that’s what matters IMO.
I had found this car on Autotrader and convinced dad (not a very difficult task
) that we should make the trip to just outside of Norwich to view the car. Chatting to dad on the way up we knew this was going to be a good car and I knew there couldn’t be a more original car out there of the same age/price/mileage for sale. When we first looked at the car and heard it running (after a thorough going over – thank you Boxster buying guides) it was pulled out of the garage. I had a quick word with dad as this happened told him he had to buy it. He didn’t put up an argument. After a test drive a deposit was put down, and the car was ours! Result! The only niggles, if anything are very minor. One is that there is a tiny bit of wear on the driver’s seat bolster – but its barely visible and can be treated. Secondly there are some tiny marks on the rear alloys, but this can be remedied by professionals.Fast forward to today and as mentioned it felt like an eternity. I must admit there hasn’t been a day gone by without me asking ‘Do you know if we can get the car yet Dad?’ I must have driven him mad! However, this morning we were up early, into London Victoria Bus Terminal and got the Megabus to Norwich. We were picked up by the seller’s wife, taken back to their house to sign all the documents and take the car home.
Thankfully the weather just about held out for us on the country lanes and dual carriageway’s sections so we could give the car a good run. Like the 944 the ride is firm, and feels very much planted on the road, in dads words ‘like there’s a magnet puling the car down onto the road’. I should mention the noise –It’s great, if not a little quiet, but give it the beans in 2nd and 3rd gear you can really hear it start to shout – and occasionally in 6th as you cruise along it you put your foot down there’s a nice little bumble from the engine as the power is delivered.
What really surprised me was just how fast the car can go, and accelerate. On the way out of Norwich we were on duel carriageways between roundabouts. For us it was a good test of acceleration and braking. Dad didn’t put his foot down much, and nowhere near the rev limit, yet the car would catapult up to fast speeds (nothing illegal!). I thought the 944 was pretty fast, but this feels mad compared – but that could be because this has an extra 41bhp over the 944. Even at a pootle in 6th gear, you only had to put your foot down a little and the car would pull away.
The weather changed for the worse as we hit the M11 and traffic was slowing. Regrettably we pulled into a service station and put the roof up for the last half of the journey – something we did very rarely in the 944 (we even had the roof down during snowfall!).
- We couldnt compete with this weather! - It got much worse when we hit the M25.We took it easy for the rest of the journey home – but it was still hugely enjoyable being in a brand new environment working out how most of the stuff attached to the car worked!
We have a few plans for things to do to the car. We want to add in an iPod cable and a hands free attachment, but there are other possible plans such as a remap. I found one place claiming to take the power up to 270bhp and also a more ‘sporty’ exhaust so we can hear that lovely 3.2 litre engine a bit more
Sorry to have going on a bit, but I hope everyone has enjoyed the write up – I hope to be adding to this thread in the future with work we do on the car – events we go to. This Sunday (10th June) is the Bromley Pageant of Motoring in Norman Park just down the road from us. A place opened up on the TIPEC stand so it looks like it’ll be on show there
Thanks for reading.
Phil
Some more pictures below taken from when we stopped at a service station:
Congratulations on the purchase and brilliant post - i love our Boxster and it started a new love of Porsche for me having been a BMW man for many many years. I really wanted to Hate the Boxster but i viewed it, drove it and to date cannot fault it in anyway - superb cars which means we also now have a 996 911 parked next to it!
I really do like these, was looking through the classifieds a while ago at these and now after reading this i find myself back there!
I`m a BMW man at the moment, finding it hard to pull myself away and an E46 M3 seems the next logical step for me although the 3.2s boxster tempts me.
Seems great value for money and they look the part.
Only thing putting me off are the known "poor mans Porsche" remarks and also the 3.2s only produces around 250bhp
I hear though that the chassis is actually great on the boxster and a great little car for track days!.
I`m a BMW man at the moment, finding it hard to pull myself away and an E46 M3 seems the next logical step for me although the 3.2s boxster tempts me.
Seems great value for money and they look the part.
Only thing putting me off are the known "poor mans Porsche" remarks and also the 3.2s only produces around 250bhp
I hear though that the chassis is actually great on the boxster and a great little car for track days!.rossi-328i-sport said:
I really do like these, was looking through the classifieds a while ago at these and now after reading this i find myself back there!
I`m a BMW man at the moment, finding it hard to pull myself away and an E46 M3 seems the next logical step for me although the 3.2s boxster tempts me.
Seems great value for money and they look the part.
Only thing putting me off are the known "poor mans Porsche" remarks and also the 3.2s only produces around 250bhp I hear though that the chassis is actually great on the boxster and a great little car for track days!.
I thought the 'Poor Mans Porsche' was the 944! and you only had a Boxster becuase 'you couldnt afford a 911'. I`m a BMW man at the moment, finding it hard to pull myself away and an E46 M3 seems the next logical step for me although the 3.2s boxster tempts me.
Seems great value for money and they look the part.
Only thing putting me off are the known "poor mans Porsche" remarks and also the 3.2s only produces around 250bhp
I hear though that the chassis is actually great on the boxster and a great little car for track days!.Anyway dont think about what other people think of the car, its your own opinion that counts. You mention power remarking 'only around 250bhp'. Its aactually plenty enough. Without thrashing the car we were hitting 70mph coming our of 2nd gear and into 3rd just by changing gear at the right time! It gets down the road very swiftly indeed.
If however you want a bit of extra power, this was the place i mentioned in my original post about a remap. The 987 Boxster S puts out 280bhp or so. With this remap you get 270bhp claimed, and im sure if you had a proper set up, and a better exhaust bolted on it could quite possibly level with the 987 S, who knows?
Linky to remap site: http://www.porschecartuning.co.uk/
There's a real Boxster theme on PH just now. People are finally waking up to what value they are. Why spend more on an old 944, when you can get a proper flat 6 experience and mid engined handling!
I really do want a Boxster just now..especially an S. Thanks also for correcting a common mis-conception that Boxster's are slow. Against TVRs they are, but against most other traffic they are quick enough!
I really do want a Boxster just now..especially an S. Thanks also for correcting a common mis-conception that Boxster's are slow. Against TVRs they are, but against most other traffic they are quick enough!
Great looking car!! My wife has a 986S too and it's great to drive. The power output is a little deceiving because they are quicker then people would expect - I suppose some people might compare them to Z3M which claims over 320bhp but having owned both I would have the Boxster anyday.
Comparing it to a 944 driving experience is tricky. I have a 968CS that has more power then the Boxster but the Boxster is still quicker. The driving position is much better in the 944/968 as there is no compromise having the engine right behind you in the Boxster. If you're taller than 6ft you'll enjoy the drive of the 944/968 more than the Boxster.
Comparing it to a 944 driving experience is tricky. I have a 968CS that has more power then the Boxster but the Boxster is still quicker. The driving position is much better in the 944/968 as there is no compromise having the engine right behind you in the Boxster. If you're taller than 6ft you'll enjoy the drive of the 944/968 more than the Boxster.
Your Boxster is exactly the same as mine apart from the interior colour and I have the clear rear lights.Even on the same prefix!
250bhp is plenty on the open road.Handles really well and is a hoot to drive.I have been ribbed by the poor mans Porsche brigade before and just laughed at them.You find most people who do that drive about in old s
tbox cars.
250bhp is plenty on the open road.Handles really well and is a hoot to drive.I have been ribbed by the poor mans Porsche brigade before and just laughed at them.You find most people who do that drive about in old s
tbox cars.DrBezza said:
There's a real Boxster theme on PH just now. People are finally waking up to what value they are. Why spend more on an old 944, when you can get a proper flat 6 experience and mid engined handling!
I really do want a Boxster just now..especially an S. Thanks also for correcting a common mis-conception that Boxster's are slow. Against TVRs they are, but against most other traffic they are quick enough!
Well we had toyed with the idea of a Boxster S for a while, it seemed the sensible 'upgrade' from the 944 cabriolet. To be honest it ticks all the boxes for an everyday/weekedn sports car. It's fast, comfortable, got plenty of space, easy to drive, and even on a run can return mid/late 20's mpg (not part of the requirements).I really do want a Boxster just now..especially an S. Thanks also for correcting a common mis-conception that Boxster's are slow. Against TVRs they are, but against most other traffic they are quick enough!
I think in my opinion if youre going to go for a Boxster, it just has to be the S, they're fantastic value for money
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