986 Boxster Pre-purchase Advice
Discussion
Hi guys,
After a lot of research and reading online, including lots of very useful posts on this forum, I've almost convinced myself to pull the trigger on an early 986, but wondered if someone could answer a few questions first? I
By way of backstory, I'm looking at a 2nd car very much as a weekend toy, so will do a few '000 miles a year, and was originally looking an MX5, but hearing stories of the chronic rust issues in the MX5 (car will be kept outside) along with the relatively low difference in purchase price has had me looking at the Boxster. Insurance quotes, and I haven't looked too hard, are not too different either, certainly not enough to put me off. Budget was originally £3k-ish for the MX5, but could stretch to £5k for a Boxster. I wouldn't be betting the house on the car at that budget, but that's the most I'd be comfortable spending on effectively a toy with an upcoming wedding...
Firstly, am I entirely mad? Is there much of a jump in terms of car and accessible performance on UK roads between an MX5 and a Boxster? Does it justify the premium paid?
Secondly, on my budget I'm looking at either 70-90k mile 2.5 or 100k+ 2.7 and 3.2 cars, assuming that the car has been well maintained and serviced appropriately, are miles an issue other than for resale value? Am I better off getting a lower mileage car and risking taking it over 100k, which seems to be a cliff in terms of price or, considering the relatively limited mileage I'll be putting on, buy one that someone else has taken the hit on and either get a much cheaper 2.5 or be able to access the 3.2 that would be otherwise out of budget? Related to this and the first question, is there a recognisable difference in performance between the models? It seems like the 2.5 and 2.7 are remarkably similar in terms of performance figures. Am I right in reading that the 2.5's 5 speed box is arguably more fun on UK roads than the 6 speed 3.2 due to the ratios?
From what I've read with the sort of mileage I'm looking at , particularly on a 2.5 model, IMS failure isn't as much of a risk as it would have been, with conventional wisdom suggesting that if it was going to happen it would have already happened, is this correct? Does it vary across models?
Another potential snag is the roof, I've read various places suggesting that raising or lowering the roof in single digit temperatures is asking for trouble. Obviously, a major attraction of the car is open-top driving, are these issues caused by the plastic screen mitigated when the car/screen is up to temperature and slightly softer? (I.e. blasting the heat and driving for a few miles before lowering the roof and then having the roof warmed by the engine before raising?) Or is there a more fundamental issue with the roof mechanism?
Finally, how much should I be budgeting each year for servicing, consumables and parts? From experience, how much are your Boxsters costing you to run?
Thanks very much in advance for reading and for any replies, hopefully these are questions that haven't been asked too many times before, I couldn't find these answers using the search facility..
G
After a lot of research and reading online, including lots of very useful posts on this forum, I've almost convinced myself to pull the trigger on an early 986, but wondered if someone could answer a few questions first? I
By way of backstory, I'm looking at a 2nd car very much as a weekend toy, so will do a few '000 miles a year, and was originally looking an MX5, but hearing stories of the chronic rust issues in the MX5 (car will be kept outside) along with the relatively low difference in purchase price has had me looking at the Boxster. Insurance quotes, and I haven't looked too hard, are not too different either, certainly not enough to put me off. Budget was originally £3k-ish for the MX5, but could stretch to £5k for a Boxster. I wouldn't be betting the house on the car at that budget, but that's the most I'd be comfortable spending on effectively a toy with an upcoming wedding...
Firstly, am I entirely mad? Is there much of a jump in terms of car and accessible performance on UK roads between an MX5 and a Boxster? Does it justify the premium paid?
Secondly, on my budget I'm looking at either 70-90k mile 2.5 or 100k+ 2.7 and 3.2 cars, assuming that the car has been well maintained and serviced appropriately, are miles an issue other than for resale value? Am I better off getting a lower mileage car and risking taking it over 100k, which seems to be a cliff in terms of price or, considering the relatively limited mileage I'll be putting on, buy one that someone else has taken the hit on and either get a much cheaper 2.5 or be able to access the 3.2 that would be otherwise out of budget? Related to this and the first question, is there a recognisable difference in performance between the models? It seems like the 2.5 and 2.7 are remarkably similar in terms of performance figures. Am I right in reading that the 2.5's 5 speed box is arguably more fun on UK roads than the 6 speed 3.2 due to the ratios?
From what I've read with the sort of mileage I'm looking at , particularly on a 2.5 model, IMS failure isn't as much of a risk as it would have been, with conventional wisdom suggesting that if it was going to happen it would have already happened, is this correct? Does it vary across models?
Another potential snag is the roof, I've read various places suggesting that raising or lowering the roof in single digit temperatures is asking for trouble. Obviously, a major attraction of the car is open-top driving, are these issues caused by the plastic screen mitigated when the car/screen is up to temperature and slightly softer? (I.e. blasting the heat and driving for a few miles before lowering the roof and then having the roof warmed by the engine before raising?) Or is there a more fundamental issue with the roof mechanism?
Finally, how much should I be budgeting each year for servicing, consumables and parts? From experience, how much are your Boxsters costing you to run?
Thanks very much in advance for reading and for any replies, hopefully these are questions that haven't been asked too many times before, I couldn't find these answers using the search facility..
G
Hi r1flyguy1 and Green1man, thanks very much for the tip.
I'd had a nose around the Boxa.net forums during my research, user CJ225's thread on buying a Boxster is an absolute goldmine. (Located here: http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?/topic/71190-h... if anyone else comes across my thread and has similar questions).
I'll introduce myself over on Boxa.net and hopefully join the Boxster club soon...
If anyone else does have feed back on the original post I'd be delighted to read it in the meantime.
I'd had a nose around the Boxa.net forums during my research, user CJ225's thread on buying a Boxster is an absolute goldmine. (Located here: http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?/topic/71190-h... if anyone else comes across my thread and has similar questions).
I'll introduce myself over on Boxa.net and hopefully join the Boxster club soon...
If anyone else does have feed back on the original post I'd be delighted to read it in the meantime.
Some facts/some opinions https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikespors... Maybe 50 articles with both facts/opinions assembled from owning 2 Boxsters (2.5 and 3.2) and reading more than a half dozen forums daily for probably 10 years.
Hi George - I have had my Boxster 8 months or so - having previously owned a number of MX5s including a turbo.
Regards performance - I found theres a bigger jump in performance going from 2.5 to 2.7, than there is from 2.7 to 3.2. I ended up with a 2002 2.7. My advice would be don't stretch your budget and be desperate for an 'S', at the botton end of the market its not worth it.
Also, forget miles. It matters little - look for a car that has been used regularly and has had lots of the expensive jobs done, particularly I would say a clutch change. Lots of the Boxsters I looked at had very heavy, but not slipping, clutches. Only once I drove a car with the clutch replaced did I realise this.
You may find that higher mileage cars have had a lot more work done.
Regards cost - my MX5's, even the turbo, were very, very cheap to run. Parts are practically free, you would struggle to pay more than £200 for the best set of tyres you can find. The Boxster is going to be considerably more - although I would caveat that by saying its more that the Mazda is cheap, than the Porsche is expensive.
They are very nice to work on DIY aswell.
Regards performance - I found theres a bigger jump in performance going from 2.5 to 2.7, than there is from 2.7 to 3.2. I ended up with a 2002 2.7. My advice would be don't stretch your budget and be desperate for an 'S', at the botton end of the market its not worth it.
Also, forget miles. It matters little - look for a car that has been used regularly and has had lots of the expensive jobs done, particularly I would say a clutch change. Lots of the Boxsters I looked at had very heavy, but not slipping, clutches. Only once I drove a car with the clutch replaced did I realise this.
You may find that higher mileage cars have had a lot more work done.
Regards cost - my MX5's, even the turbo, were very, very cheap to run. Parts are practically free, you would struggle to pay more than £200 for the best set of tyres you can find. The Boxster is going to be considerably more - although I would caveat that by saying its more that the Mazda is cheap, than the Porsche is expensive.
They are very nice to work on DIY aswell.
I bought my 3.2s in December 2014, for your budget figure.
Forget mileage, mine had 115k on the clock, but included a raft of invoices, etc., so I could see exactly what had been carried out on the car and when.
It's always been serviced correctly and I did a fault free 2,200 mile tour of Europe in it, last August. Only 200 miles of that, with the roof up!
Go on condition & provenance. I always have, with all my Porsches.
Forget mileage, mine had 115k on the clock, but included a raft of invoices, etc., so I could see exactly what had been carried out on the car and when.
It's always been serviced correctly and I did a fault free 2,200 mile tour of Europe in it, last August. Only 200 miles of that, with the roof up!
Go on condition & provenance. I always have, with all my Porsches.
We've had three 986 Boxsters - one 2.7 and two 3.2s. When I had my last 3.2 our Son had a Mk 2.5 MX5 Sport. Although the Boxsters were significantly quicker, I often felt the MX5 was more fun to drive, especially on narrow country lanes or around town, because it was far easier to explore its limits. It was much lighter and more chuckable and pointy. On the other hand, the Boxster would win hands down on a proper road trip due to its extra luggage space, refinement and open road performance.
Try both and think about what you're going to use it for.
Try both and think about what you're going to use it for.
Can't say much about MX5. Ive had my 986 for 5 years now, purchased as a weekend toy but currently semi-daily.
If you get a low-miles, accident free one they are not that expensive to maintain. First four years, I've only done annaual minor service (250) + consumables like tire or oil. Last year I've spent a fairly bit money on it to upgrade the engine and all necessary parts to go through another trouble free 5 years at least, one never knows its a 17 years old machine now.
2.5 and 2.7 my fav. But you gotta drive all and make your own decision really, good luck, not sure if they can stay this low forever.
If you get a low-miles, accident free one they are not that expensive to maintain. First four years, I've only done annaual minor service (250) + consumables like tire or oil. Last year I've spent a fairly bit money on it to upgrade the engine and all necessary parts to go through another trouble free 5 years at least, one never knows its a 17 years old machine now.
2.5 and 2.7 my fav. But you gotta drive all and make your own decision really, good luck, not sure if they can stay this low forever.
Thanks very much for all the advice, fantastically useful!
I'm glad that some of you have gone through the same thought process as I have.
Looks like I'm going to have to go and drive a few and see what fits. It's certainly not an unobtainable dream though... hopefully I'll be in the Boxster club pretty soon.
I'm glad that some of you have gone through the same thought process as I have.
Looks like I'm going to have to go and drive a few and see what fits. It's certainly not an unobtainable dream though... hopefully I'll be in the Boxster club pretty soon.
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