Thinking of Buying my First Porsche
Discussion
HI,
I'm thinking of getting a boxter, however i know little if anything about them. I have £20,000 to spend. I am not too fused about what engine it has in it although i would prefer it to be the 3.2
Mileage is the essential thing. it needs to be maximum 30,000 miles as i will be doing at least 25-30k miles a year.
any advice about what i should be looking for??
Ben
I'm thinking of getting a boxter, however i know little if anything about them. I have £20,000 to spend. I am not too fused about what engine it has in it although i would prefer it to be the 3.2
Mileage is the essential thing. it needs to be maximum 30,000 miles as i will be doing at least 25-30k miles a year.
any advice about what i should be looking for??
Ben
IMHO Boxsters at that money are not going to be 'that special'.
Autotrader shows up cars with <30k miles at <£22k - which can be haggled down to £20k, including the FANTASTIC SMG 'box (beats the pants of porker's Tip).
An old Boxster feels like an old car and is nothing special - those M3s will go on for ever and are faster and more fun. I am not biased as I am currently in the market for a 996 TT - I am just saying that for £20k an M3 is the better buy (personally I think that they look more 'special' than the run-of-the-mill-looking Boxsters of that era).
I LOVED my Carbon Black SMG E46.
Autotrader shows up cars with <30k miles at <£22k - which can be haggled down to £20k, including the FANTASTIC SMG 'box (beats the pants of porker's Tip).
An old Boxster feels like an old car and is nothing special - those M3s will go on for ever and are faster and more fun. I am not biased as I am currently in the market for a 996 TT - I am just saying that for £20k an M3 is the better buy (personally I think that they look more 'special' than the run-of-the-mill-looking Boxsters of that era).
I LOVED my Carbon Black SMG E46.
If the 20-30K miles are motorway then tbh the Boxter will be wasted and the M3 will probably serve you better both in terms of performance and being more practical (4 doors, 4 seats, boot blah blah) BUT if you want a drivers car that actually gives you feedback and corners like it's on rails, then Boxster it is ... Yes Boxter S is the one to go for, but for £20K I don't think you'll find a good one with the low mileage you seek.
johnny senna said:
Getting a good Boxster S 3.2 for 20 grand should be no problem.
Had you thought about stretching the budget for a glass rear screened face lift version? They look better as well with their white (not orange) indicators. Lovely cars, these.
Yeah but you're looking at more like £26 to £30K for one of these. An MY01S (On a Y plate) should be around £20K. Although it won't have the glass rear screen and will be slightly down on power (8bhp!) the bang-for-buck quotient is probably even better. And it handles the same as MY03-MY04 car.
johnny senna said:
Mind you, so are M3s.
Yes the M3 a good, and surprisingly practical, car.
One thing I will point out. This car might cost just £20K but it was £40K-£50K new. And its running costs will reflect that - and there will be more running costs now in a four year old car than when it was new, of course, as its likely that the discs/pads will need doing and the fresh tyres will be needed soon. On an S with 18" rims this will do you £800 for the tyres if you go Michelin, £400-£600 on other makes. Discs and pads I'll let you know as my car is getting its first new set all round (at 20K miles!) in a week or so.
All the same. Buy one. You won't regret it. Join the Porsche Club (for the magazine, small-ads, addresses of independents who do maintenance cost effectively etc) for just £60 and then come our Track Days. Nice lot. Loads of fun.
Sorry Don, gotta disagree on the price of face lift cars:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/64397.htm
This is just one car. You could get that for 24.5K I bet. There will be desparate people out there needing to sell and you could do better than that even.
The prices in the small ads rarely reflect the true values of cars.
www.pistonheads.com/sales/64397.htm
This is just one car. You could get that for 24.5K I bet. There will be desparate people out there needing to sell and you could do better than that even.
The prices in the small ads rarely reflect the true values of cars.
.. not sure I follow your logic on running costs increasing with age - increased running costs are generally based on mileage not age. There are 'age consumables' on every car which are the exception - oil and brake fluid are the only two I can think of right now, but all the others are based on mileage driven (pads,discs,belts,transmission oil etc) so have nothing to do with the age of the car.
Some buying advice - look at the history IN DETAIL and compare this to the service intervals to see what HAS been done and what HAS NOT. Get the VIN number and ask an OPC to list the history for you - this will show all the HIDDEN warranty work that you will have no paperwork for. May show that it has a hidden problem. In an earlish Boxster you need to check that it has had a new coolant tank (or it WILL crack on you), ideally new discs (don't fall for the classic OPC 'rusting discs need replacing..'), check for RMS (do a search but don't let it put you off..)and igntion coils.
My final piece of advice though - is get a Porsche Warranty applied to the car - budget £700 per year for this - it could save you £1000's
:-)
Richard.
Some buying advice - look at the history IN DETAIL and compare this to the service intervals to see what HAS been done and what HAS NOT. Get the VIN number and ask an OPC to list the history for you - this will show all the HIDDEN warranty work that you will have no paperwork for. May show that it has a hidden problem. In an earlish Boxster you need to check that it has had a new coolant tank (or it WILL crack on you), ideally new discs (don't fall for the classic OPC 'rusting discs need replacing..'), check for RMS (do a search but don't let it put you off..)and igntion coils.
My final piece of advice though - is get a Porsche Warranty applied to the car - budget £700 per year for this - it could save you £1000's
:-)
Richard.
richardb.jones said:
.. not sure I follow your logic on running costs increasing with age - increased running costs are generally based on mileage not age. There are 'age consumables' on every car which are the exception - oil and brake fluid are the only two I can think of right now, but all the others are based on mileage driven (pads,discs,belts,transmission oil etc) so have nothing to do with the age of the car.
Some buying advice - look at the history IN DETAIL and compare this to the service intervals to see what HAS been done and what HAS NOT. Get the VIN number and ask an OPC to list the history for you - this will show all the HIDDEN warranty work that you will have no paperwork for. May show that it has a hidden problem. In an earlish Boxster you need to check that it has had a new coolant tank (or it WILL crack on you), ideally new discs (don't fall for the classic OPC 'rusting discs need replacing..'), check for RMS (do a search but don't let it put you off..)and igntion coils.
My final piece of advice though - is get a Porsche Warranty applied to the car - budget £700 per year for this - it could save you £1000's
:-)
Richard.
Don't forget seals, gaskets, bushes go with age aswell. This include suspension components.
richardb.jones said:
.. not sure I follow your logic on running costs increasing with age - increased running costs are generally based on mileage not age.
I can certainly agree that mileage AND age affects running costs. There again - a car will be cheaper to run (most probably!) for a while if its just had new tyres, discs and pads put on it. These things go. And not just with mileage - the damn things rust - you also get far faster wear if the car has done track days. Its not that a tracked car is worth less - its just that "buyer beware" if the consumables haven't been changed recently...
... true but I was specifically talking about 'service interval' maintenance. I don't think replacing bushes/mounts etc are on normal time based intervals (perhaps they should be ?!), they are just replaced if they are worn on major inspection services (due to mileage). But as joint enthusiasts, we would of course replace them anyway for optimum performance ! :-)
johnny senna said:
Sorry Don, gotta disagree on the price of face lift cars:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/64397.htm
This is just one car. You could get that for 24.5K I bet. There will be desparate people out there needing to sell and you could do better than that even.
The prices in the small ads rarely reflect the true values of cars.
Blimey! That car is a bargain! Its not even at galactic mileage - 36K mile4s although its certainly not a low-mileage car that's nothing.
BUY IT!
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