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I had pretty much decided that sometime later this year, I'd replace my dirt-cheap e36 with a low mileage 3 series BMW somewhere in the neighborhood of $15-17k. Think 2002 330ci as an example.
Now I'm seeing 2000 Boxster S examples with under 50,000 miles in that price range and early cars under $10k
Tell me horror stories about exploding engines and $800 oil changes please? Steer me back on course.
In reply to bludroptop:
Sorry, lost my charts long ago.
A later Boxster S, for that money is kind of a no brainer if you ask me 
I think it was the pre-'99s that had the catastrophic failures, and not the S versions.
If you want something really classy, I'm planning to sell my M Coupe before too much longer. 
Yeah, there are some deals out there in Boxsterland.
David S. Wallens wrote:Yeah, there are some deals out there in Boxsterland.
Any chance of an upcoming feature on the Spec Boxster series?
You know you want one...even S models are getting within reach...
You know that there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche.....even though I bought one. Sorry, no help here. Our 911 has been awesome and it's 27 years old.
Every time I see a Boxter, I think to myself, "If you're gonna get a Porsche, why wouldn't you get a real Porsche?".
For the money, there are much better cars.
I'd rather go for the hardtop model aka Cayman
ReverendDexter wrote:For the money, there are much better cars.
Such as? I'm genuinely curious, since I'm sorta shopping in the same market.
As far as Corvettes go (which I've been looking at), similar money still will only get you a nice C4 with lower miles, or an early C5 with more miles. I recently saw a '99 C5 for $11.9k with 88k on it and a 6-speed - which didn't seem too bad to me.
I don't even know what else I'd consider. An NSX is way more, so is an early Z06. And 03-04 Cobras. You could get a WRX or something, but...that's totally apples and oranges, if you ask me.
Get the December issue of Excellence magazine and read the outstanding article on the M96 engine series by the late Jim Pasha. It's the most complete and informative article I've found on the subject of Boxster engines.
I chose to avoid the temptation of the bargain Boxster. Of course, early Boxster S's are still about $20k around here.
In reply to ReverendDexter:
well... with a little bit of work.. the "fake" porsche can show the 911 it's shapely fanny in almost any venue it cares to play in.
There is a reason porsche does not put the bigger engine into the Boxster
bludroptop wrote:Tell me horror stories about exploding engines and $800 oil changes please? Steer me back on course.
The top mechanism uses a single centrally mounted motor and uses a giant speedometer cable to send motion to the top's linkage on the side.
The top is actually beautiful to watch work. There's no reversal of motion, it goes in one direction to go up, and then the mechanism goes in the same direction to go back down.
When (not if) one of the giant speedometer cables breaks, the top gets stuck. Because it's a one-direction setup, you can't just try to put it back the other way. It usually breaks the linkage. Sometimes it also bends the crap out of the inner fender, for which there is no easy fix.
There is a good reason why I like to say that Porsche fixed the problems with the Boxster top by introducing the Cayman.
On the other hand, they are nice to drive, and they do have the same suspension parts front and rear, which is interesting, I guess.
Woody wrote:Get the December issue of Excellence magazine and read the outstanding article on the M96 engine series by the late Jim Pasha. It's the most complete and informative article I've found on the subject of Boxster engines.
I chose to avoid the temptation of the bargain Boxster. Of course, early Boxster S's are still about $20k around here.
I miss Jim, he was a great guy and a wealth of information, not to mention he was always willing to listen to my stupid questions and answer them patiently without making me feel like a dope after i realized how idiotic some those questions actually were...
As for Boxters, unless its extraordinarily low mileage, chances are any issues have already been addressed by now in most of them in the used market. Ive never been of fan of them, but they handle well and for the prices now id even consider one. But never without a proper pre purchase inspection. you can spend as much for a m96 replacement engine as you can for a whole car at today's prices, and their not an easy rebuild, and not usually even rebuildable due to the types of failures. BUT theres also a strong aftermarket beginning to really kick in gear now for them, with some really promising developments and improvements coming out.
I'm still waiting for Wayne Dempsey's Boxster book, coming in 2008.
ReverendDexter wrote: ...For the money, there are much better cars.
That depends on one's definition of "better". What's yours?
I had and drove one of those Boxsters that ya'll keep saying had catestrophic failures for 70K miles. In that time, I had a $32 failure of a part on the top.
The oil change could not be easier. Jack up the driver side rear, drain the oil (one plug), remove the filter cannister and dump out the filter, clean the filter cannister, reverse the process and fill the oil. $35 bucks if I recall correctly.
Parts can be expensive, but if you are a Porsche Club member most dealerships give you the PRO price so about 20% off.
I'd say go for it. Buy an S as the base model can quickly feel underpowered as the chassis is so good. If you can, buy the later S with a glass rear window or budget for a $700 window repair every 5 years.
The Cayman is a much better chassis but there is no denying the appeal of Boxsters under $20K. I plan on finding a Tiptronic S with a glass window for my wife.
minimac wrote:You know that there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche.....even though I bought one. Sorry, no help here. Our 911 has been awesome and it's 27 years old.
I hear that... the 964 I bought in July has 10k on it and a trip to the track from me already...(even though I had a perfectly good race car). I know this road ends in green tears but I can honestly say its the most intoxicating car I've ever had. I can find myself driving 100 miles thru the mountains just to get washer fluid.
The post here a while ago about how happy someone was with their new boxster, then on the next line how they had spent $4500 to replace the engine that blew during the first track day they took it to, was enough to keep me from ever having any desire to own one.
But that can happen with any car... 
I wish you guys hadn't told me that Boxster Ss can be had for cheap...
conedodger wrote:I had and drove one of those Boxsters that ya'll keep saying had catestrophic failures for 70K miles. In that time, I had a $32 failure of a part on the top.
The oil change could not be easier. Jack up the driver side rear, drain the oil (one plug), remove the filter cannister and dump out the filter, clean the filter cannister, reverse the process and fill the oil. $35 bucks if I recall correctly.
You were very lucky with the top. Usually repairs run into the four figures.
As for the oil change... where were you getting 9 quarts of synthetic, plus a filter, for $35? I bet I know where the catch was...
I overheated a rotary and detonated the crap out of it and it lasted over 60k of MY abuse, not counting the previous 150k or so. This is definitely not the norm...
These are great cars. I have had 15 911 cras a 912 and a 930 and I think that the boxster s is the best driving porche I have ever owned. I had a 2000 Boxster S that had 90k when I bought it. It had received a factory replacement engine at 42k miles. After talking to friends at excellence magazine I learned that they had heard of no instances where replacement engines had any issues. Some of the Boxster engines have had issues and others have gone well over 100k miles with no issues. Look for service records. It seems that if problems are going to develop they usually do in the first 50k miles. The tiptronic equipped ones have fewer RMS issues then the manual gearbox models. The people who say buy a real Porsche seem to have not ever driven the S model and many have never driven any Boxster. I have owned one of every model Porsche has built except for the 928 and 944 and the Boxster is great. Finally like any used sports car be sure to get a pre-purchase inspection by a porsche dealer. Also know if the service recods are missing it is worth checking with a dealer and seeing hat they have records for as Porsche dealers work with a national database.
I miss my Porsche, no matter how much it cost to keep it.
Every Boxster I've driven has been a pure joy, and to be truthful, I don't find 911's to be any more fun than they are. Some have been a lot faster, but also haven't given the same kind of feedback the Boxster seems to be able to. And I can tell you from trying to follow a RUF prepped Boxster around a track, that they can be made to go VERY fast indeed. Id still prefer a Cayman, but the hardtops on a Boxster look pretty good.
My buddy kept his Boxter when he got a 911 Targa because he liked it so much. Could have traded it in or sold it for some $$$, but decided it was too good to let go of. He got it when they hit $20,000.
