Boxster or 996...?
Discussion
I have recently sold a newish 118d which was fast approaching 100k and decided to go for something a bit different. My initial logic was a sub £5k Boxster on the basis that it if I looked after it depreciation would be minimal, and as I am quite handy with the spanners I could take care of the maintenance. As is often the case, I increased my budget to £10k and started to widen the search and realised I could get a pretty decent 996. I am aware of the various issues with the M96 engine and have been following the 996 £10K thread (and have just read the recent Porsche World article) as well as a few others, but I have fallen in love with the 996 and I like the idea of owning something a bit special. I will probably do around 12-15k a year and this would be my daily - barring any major engine issues would £2k be a reasonable amount to budget for running costs per annum?
Or am I being mad, and should I stick with a cheap Boxster? I know its a crystal ball type question, but how much lower can the 996 fall in price - it is (in my mind anyway) still a 911?
Or am I being mad, and should I stick with a cheap Boxster? I know its a crystal ball type question, but how much lower can the 996 fall in price - it is (in my mind anyway) still a 911?
I think you will see very little difference in the running costs of the two cars. They share many of the same parts so I would choose whichever you prefer. Depreciation would hopefully be minimal on either of them.
I think £2k per year is fine unless you are particularly unlucky but it could be less if you are fortunate. If you are a bit of a perfectionist it will cost you more in the first year getting eveything up to spec.
I think £2k per year is fine unless you are particularly unlucky but it could be less if you are fortunate. If you are a bit of a perfectionist it will cost you more in the first year getting eveything up to spec.
Well I will go against the grain here. I owned 3 Boxsters, a 986 then two 987.1's, a 2.7 and then a 3.2S. I then bought a 996 C4S, very high spec and in top condition. The 996 was nice but to be honest I missed the drive of the boxster. The 996 felt so much heavier than the Box and I thought for what the 996 was worth I could buy a much more modern Boxster. I therefore sold the 996 and bought my latest 2010 987.2 Boxster S. I believe you can have more fun more of the time in a Boxster/Cayman and with the Boxster you have the convertible option too. At the end of the day everyone is different but I would suggest you drive both for a decent amount of time. For not much more than your budget you could find a much newer more modern 987 Boxster S instead of a base model 996. However if you want to tick the 911 box you will need to buy the 911. I have done that now and unless I can afford a GT3 in the future I am happy with the Box.
Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
jimmy p said:
Well I will go against the grain here. I owned 3 Boxsters, a 986 then two 987.1's, a 2.7 and then a 3.2S. I then bought a 996 C4S, very high spec and in top condition. The 996 was nice but to be honest I missed the drive of the boxster. The 996 felt so much heavier than the Box and I thought for what the 996 was worth I could buy a much more modern Boxster. I therefore sold the 996 and bought my latest 2010 987.2 Boxster S. I believe you can have more fun more of the time in a Boxster/Cayman and with the Boxster you have the convertible option too. At the end of the day everyone is different but I would suggest you drive both for a decent amount of time. For not much more than your budget you could find a much newer more modern 987 Boxster S instead of a base model 996. However if you want to tick the 911 box you will need to buy the 911. I have done that now and unless I can afford a GT3 in the future I am happy with the Box.
Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
I think you may have proven the OP's point there - having had 3 Boxsters the itch still was not scratched and the C4S followed. Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
Whether you would then have another Boxster or move up to newer / more powerful 911s is an entirely different question (but a good one), but since the OP has had neither and is seriously thinking about a 996, then I you've got to go with your heart on these things.
That said, budget can be decisive. For less than £10k, it really has to be a Boxster rather than a dog of a 996. But at £15k I would say its the other way round and at £18k, its a no-brainer 996. So I would ask the OP to consider whether he can stretch a little above £10k? I am not sure I would want a 996 that cost less than that.
Offspeccer said:
jimmy p said:
Well I will go against the grain here. I owned 3 Boxsters, a 986 then two 987.1's, a 2.7 and then a 3.2S. I then bought a 996 C4S, very high spec and in top condition. The 996 was nice but to be honest I missed the drive of the boxster. The 996 felt so much heavier than the Box and I thought for what the 996 was worth I could buy a much more modern Boxster. I therefore sold the 996 and bought my latest 2010 987.2 Boxster S. I believe you can have more fun more of the time in a Boxster/Cayman and with the Boxster you have the convertible option too. At the end of the day everyone is different but I would suggest you drive both for a decent amount of time. For not much more than your budget you could find a much newer more modern 987 Boxster S instead of a base model 996. However if you want to tick the 911 box you will need to buy the 911. I have done that now and unless I can afford a GT3 in the future I am happy with the Box.
Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
I think you may have proven the OP's point there - having had 3 Boxsters the itch still was not scratched and the C4S followed. Good luck with whatever you decide on, they are both great cars!!
Whether you would then have another Boxster or move up to newer / more powerful 911s is an entirely different question (but a good one), but since the OP has had neither and is seriously thinking about a 996, then I you've got to go with your heart on these things.
That said, budget can be decisive. For less than £10k, it really has to be a Boxster rather than a dog of a 996. But at £15k I would say its the other way round and at £18k, its a no-brainer 996. So I would ask the OP to consider whether he can stretch a little above £10k? I am not sure I would want a 996 that cost less than that.
The Boxster is a fab car but it is what is is, and will never be a 911. I would reach for the 996 and relish in driving something truly special.
Many thanks for all the helpful replies. I do like Boxsters and I had considered using the £10k to get a newer car, but my logic was (it might be flawed!), that a £10k Boxster will over time become a £5k Boxster whereas a 996 is less likely to depreciate and I intend to keep it for the long term. I know not everybody likes the shape of the 996 but I think it is lovely, especially the rear - just come back from having a coffee in a nearby town and a really nice one was parked outside the cafe - since I started looking they seem to be everywhere I go!
My limit is £10k (I will set aside some cash for any work required to sort it), but would budget during ownership for future engine work if required. Any thoughts on the this car -
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Ideally I would like the mileage to be lower given I will be doing circa 14k a year, but condition/history is more important.
Thanks!
My limit is £10k (I will set aside some cash for any work required to sort it), but would budget during ownership for future engine work if required. Any thoughts on the this car -
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Ideally I would like the mileage to be lower given I will be doing circa 14k a year, but condition/history is more important.
Thanks!
Hmmm, this is a difficult one. I've had both too. I currently have the 996 and I do miss the Boxster sometimes, esp. on sunny days. But I have kids now so the 996 makes more sense, it' also feels more grown up, which might not be a good thing. At 10k there is a wide selection of boxsters... But you could bag a really nice 996 too. Good luck!
Finally comparing a c4s to a Boxster is interesting, re- weight comments, a c2 vs Boxster wouldn't be much in it on weight comparisons. I only say this as I've always hankered after a c4s, I think I would quite like the planted feeling despite weight penalty.
Finally comparing a c4s to a Boxster is interesting, re- weight comments, a c2 vs Boxster wouldn't be much in it on weight comparisons. I only say this as I've always hankered after a c4s, I think I would quite like the planted feeling despite weight penalty.
Helicopter123 said:
+1
The Boxster is a fab car but it is what is is, and will never be a 911. I would reach for the 996 and relish in driving something truly special.
you think a base model 996 is something "truly special"? i considered changing my 986 S to a 996 but when i test drove one (it was a nice one with aero, MO30 and PSE) it felt very unspecial, less fun to drive than the Box and not really noticeably quickerThe Boxster is a fab car but it is what is is, and will never be a 911. I would reach for the 996 and relish in driving something truly special.
I think for a lot of people it's the fact it's called a 911 that makes it special to them rather than what the car actually delivers, I'm not saying that's wrong though
BRMMA said:
Helicopter123 said:
+1
The Boxster is a fab car but it is what is is, and will never be a 911. I would reach for the 996 and relish in driving something truly special.
you think a base model 996 is something "truly special"? i considered changing my 986 S to a 996 but when i test drove one (it was a nice one with aero, MO30 and PSE) it felt very unspecial, less fun to drive than the Box and not really noticeably quickerThe Boxster is a fab car but it is what is is, and will never be a 911. I would reach for the 996 and relish in driving something truly special.
I think for a lot of people it's the fact it's called a 911 that makes it special to them rather than what the car actually delivers, I'm not saying that's wrong though
I retired a few years ago and my wife fancied a convertible. The only one besides a TVR that I would consider was a box.
After a long search finally got one from a nice indie dealer.
It was the 2.7 with loads of extras. I really liked the car but felt ,as some others have said, that it really was not the "full fat" proposition. So looked at the "S" great car then had a couple of test drives in a 996 C2 anniversary model in met black with tip etc.
Absolutely no comparison for me - got back to the dealers and bought the car straight away. Had it for 4 years and only sold it as I saw a fantastic T350.
They are a truly special car - just be careful about the pre face lift issues and you should be fine. They are a great car.
For me, ever since having a silver 930 Scalextric car as a young lad, I'd always wanted a 911, so it had be a 911. I'd never longed for a Boxster. Very simple matter of heart over head !
Touch wood I seem to have bought a good one, my first year's running costs have been a set of tyres, set of front wishbones, a fuel pump relay and a service at an Indy. Probably about £1500 in total and that seems like reasonable value to me.
I've no illusions about residuals though, I'm expecting it to continue to drop around £1k a year. Anything better will be regarded as a bonus
Touch wood I seem to have bought a good one, my first year's running costs have been a set of tyres, set of front wishbones, a fuel pump relay and a service at an Indy. Probably about £1500 in total and that seems like reasonable value to me.
I've no illusions about residuals though, I'm expecting it to continue to drop around £1k a year. Anything better will be regarded as a bonus
Like most on this thread I have had both.
I bought a 3.2 S boxster last July and kept it for a year before changing it for a 996 C4 3 months ago.
I thought the boster was great fun but had always wanted a 911. As I wanted to learn a lot about the cars (I am not a mechanic by any means) I bought the boxster as an introduction to Porsche and learned loads about them.
I now have the C4 and wouldnt change it. It is a lot faster and with a good spec they can be great value.
Mine is a weekend toy and I love tinkering with it (the boyhood 911 dream) is hard to get rid of.
The boxster would be better in the summer as the noise from a PSE is great but if you are hankering after a 911 it wont go away even if you buy the box.
Where are you based??
Like most if you are worried about the engine blowing take it to Revolution in Brighouse, they are highly recommended and look after my car even though I am 280 miles from them.
They can fit a ceramic upgraded ims bearing for £999 and your worrys will disappear!
Good luck
I bought a 3.2 S boxster last July and kept it for a year before changing it for a 996 C4 3 months ago.
I thought the boster was great fun but had always wanted a 911. As I wanted to learn a lot about the cars (I am not a mechanic by any means) I bought the boxster as an introduction to Porsche and learned loads about them.
I now have the C4 and wouldnt change it. It is a lot faster and with a good spec they can be great value.
Mine is a weekend toy and I love tinkering with it (the boyhood 911 dream) is hard to get rid of.
The boxster would be better in the summer as the noise from a PSE is great but if you are hankering after a 911 it wont go away even if you buy the box.
Where are you based??
Like most if you are worried about the engine blowing take it to Revolution in Brighouse, they are highly recommended and look after my car even though I am 280 miles from them.
They can fit a ceramic upgraded ims bearing for £999 and your worrys will disappear!
Good luck
stuckmojo said:
I had to make the same choice about 8 months ago and went for the 996. I always wanted a 911 and I might keep this one forever. Boxsters are really good cars too, though.
You will not keep this car forever. It will never be a classic, and every chav in essex will have one shortly...Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff