Boxster - Cost of ownership

[head_ed]

Hi all,

I am looking to get a new car in the summer & have narrowed it down to a couple of favourites. The Boxster is the front runner though (alas only a 2.7).

I have had TTs in the past, which as well as being sporty (no comments please) were 'fairly' economical to run/service.

What kind of running costs am I going to be looking at with a Porker? Also any advice on what to look out for would be much appreciated too

Cheers,

Martin.

[_topcat]

Just a quick comment about the fuel consumption. My subaru does no miles to the gallon no matter how its driven, the boxster was maintaining a steady 140mph on sunday and still delivered 23mpg and thats a 3.2. Good luck and hope you find a nice car for the summer.

[Don]

Servicing should be a few hundred quid a time. If you have a lead foot and wear out tyres then you'll need some of them. On my 18" wheels its about eight to nine hundred quid for a set of new boots all round.

If buying new the warranty is excellent - you won't pay for an extra thing during it other than consumables.

Depreciation is horrible on new cars however - largely due to the large margins OPCs need to make...whilst it may lose 10-15% a year on the forcourt their margin gets taken out of your trade-in value...OUCH! (7K ish!)

Also- the options list is long and expensive. NO-ONE buys a Boxster at the base price. For example a 38K Boxster S specced up will easily cost £45K

[head_ed]

Cheers guys,

I should've been more specific, I am after a used model maybe 18/24 months old.

I'd love an 'S', but can't stretch to it - after being shot around castle Coombe in the new Turbo at an owners day last year I am determined to get a 996 at some stage

[robyn]

Never run a TT so cant say much but compared to my old subaru its a lot cheaper to run.

If you are buying 2nd hand (I got my 2.7 a year old) deprecitation is much more acceptable!

Servicing is annual and is about £200 to £400 depending on minor/major.

Tyres I have 17 inch wheels and can get the lot changed for about £500. Bit more than the subaru but I used to only get 8000 miles out of set of tyres for the subaru I got 17000 miles out of the Boxster and my driving style has not changed that much.

All in all I am a lot better off with the Porsche than I was with the subaru but I dont know how much the TT cost to run.

[rumbletumble]

I’ve had my S from new; it’s had 2 main dealer services of about 200 and 400 pounds. The 3rd service is nearly due and I'm considering using an independent instead of an OPC, but I'm not sure if that will greatly affect re-sale. Also 1 set of tyres at around 20K miles which were 500 pounds for the whole set (17s).

If you buy used privately, depreciation will also be kept to a minimum but do get it checked over by one of the independents.

[Don]

robyn said:

Tyres I have 17 inch wheels and can get the lot changed for about £500. Bit more than the subaru but I used to only get 8000 miles out of set of tyres for the subaru I got 17000 miles out of the Boxster and my driving style has not changed that much.

You aren't TRYING!

[Don]

head_ed said:

Cheers guys, I should've been more specific, I am after a used model maybe 18/24 months old. I'd love an 'S', but can't stretch to it - after being shot around castle Coombe in the new Turbo at an owners day last year I am determined to get a 996 at some stage

Instead of an 18 month old 2.7 why not get a three year old S? About the same money and a different car. Its a LOT more powerful, comes with bigger brakes, climate control air-con as standard..and most owners specced their car up with toys you get practically for free now and they paid a mint for when it was new...

[GregE240]

Don said:

robyn said: Tyres I have 17 inch wheels and can get the lot changed for about £500. Bit more than the subaru but I used to only get 8000 miles out of set of tyres for the subaru I got 17000 miles out of the Boxster and my driving style has not changed that much. You aren't TRYING!

Blimey - best ask Mrs "Driving Miss Daisy" Thomas what she's got on hers then. Alex wasn't impressed.

[Tom_W]

Don said:

head_ed said: Cheers guys, I should've been more specific, I am after a used model maybe 18/24 months old. I'd love an 'S', but can't stretch to it - after being shot around castle Coombe in the new Turbo at an owners day last year I am determined to get a 996 at some stage Instead of an 18 month old 2.7 why not get a three year old S? About the same money and a different car. Its a LOT more powerful, comes with bigger brakes, climate control air-con as standard..and most owners specced their car up with toys you get practically for free now and they paid a mint for when it was new...

Yep, that's exactly what I did. As everyone says, the 2.7 is great but with all Boxsters you feel the chassis could handle more power, at least with the 3.2 you know you got as much as was available.

The standard equipment on the S is so high that the price difference between a well specced 2.7 and an S tends to be less than you'd think.

[Don]

GregE240 said:

Blimey - best ask Mrs "Driving Miss Daisy" Thomas what she's got on hers then. Alex wasn't impressed.

Naaah. Emm doesn't do track-days in hers though, Greg, does she? That's what does mine in...

With my IAM stuff going on I try to take the minimum possible out of the car to do road miles. Once on the track it gets the spanking it so richly deserves...

[Tom_W]

Oh forgot to say: I absolutely love mine , it's such a great car!

[head_ed]

Cheers,

Cost for a 20, 000 mile service for my TTs was about £350, and an decent set of shoes was about £7/800..

Sounds like I am going to be coming back to a German motor then

[johnny senna]

Don is right. Instead of a 2.7, it is better to buy an S that is a year or 2 older. You get a fairly powerful car then, and the lovely big brakes. And you will lose less money on a 3 year old car than a 2 year old one. However, the warranty might be an issue on an older S.

[Tom_W]

Warranty on mine from the OPC was 1 year, extendable at £850/yr. I'd try and get the second yr thrown in as part of the deal, or half price maybe.

[ettore]

You lot seem to be spending a lot on tyres - micheldever will do a full set of 18`s for c£600.

The most I`ve managed out of a set of boots was 14K (and they were complete kojaks)and the least 6K (aargh!)

[Don]

ettore said:

You lot seem to be spending a lot on tyres - micheldever will do a full set of 18`s for c£600.

Whaat? What sort of boots are you using. Best offer I've had from Micheldever is £790 ish for four 18" Michelin Pilot Sport.

I'm considering Pilot Sport Cup tyres for the summer...the track day season should see them knackered and ready for replacement with all-weather tyres by autumn..

[ettore]

Pirellis - just over £600 for all four including fitting plus free geometry check.

I`m currently running Michelin Pilots but have to say I prefer the Pirellis.

[rumbletumble]

I got a full set of Pirellis for about £550 fitted, from Bracknell Tyres in December.

I agree on the old S v 2.7 argument. I love my S, alas I have to let her go cause I will soon need the extra 2 seats..........

Check out the classifieds on PH (lapis blue S)and make me an offer..........

[Don]

ettore said:

Pirellis - just over £600 for all four including fitting plus free geometry check. I`m currently running Michelin Pilots but have to say I prefer the Pirellis.

Interesting. Used to have Pirellis on my last S - came on the car. This one came with Michelin's and I much prefer them...