any boxster people?

Had one for just over a year now and I love it. I drove just about everything else in the range, and for me the Boxster came out on top. It's not really the best at any one particular thing, but pretty damn good across the board.

 

I've got an 01 Boxster. Lapis blue with a grey interior. I've got 37,000+ miles on mine and it's been great. I drove the S and I chose the base regular Boxster. I liked the 5 speed better than 6 speed and the extra hp wasn't that noticeable to me. With Porsches EVERYTHING is an option so look closely when looking at a used one. My Boxster is loaded and stickered for more than many S models.

The handling is great as is any mid-engined car. There have been three engines since 97 in the model range. 97-99 is 2.5, 00-04 is 2.7 and the S is 3.2 Each has a little different feel, drive at least one of each and spend some time feeling the differences. The 2.7 is 217hp and IMO is a perfect fit with the 5-speed.

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:


-Known issues are few, but the big one is RMS. The rear main seal is infamous for leaking. You can read hundreds of horror stories about it, but I and many, many other I know have never had a problem with it. If you are under warranty, no biggie, if not you're looking at a right around $1000 to fix it. If you do have to do the RMS think long and hard about whether your clutch needs replaced as that is the ideal time to do it.

-Look over the top carefully as they are a one-piece unit and are a couple grand to replace.

-Drive one that has power seats(rake and height) and drive one that has power rake only. I chose power rake only because it lowered the overall seat height about an inch. With the full power seats and the top up the car felt a little "tight". I'm 6'1" and 215lbs.

-drive one with 18 inch wheels and one with the 17's . I went with the 17 inch wheels. Drive em both and see what works best for you. They have a very different feel.

-If you like Litronic(xenon) lights you'll have to get a 2.7 car as I don't believe they were available earlier.

-Like any car, records and condition are king. Don't discount a car in your search purely on mileage. I've seen many 60,000+ mile Boxsters that are far nicer and better cars than ultra-low mile examples.

-PPI,PPI,PPI.

-Check prices for services at multiple dealers as prices can vary widely. The Boxster is VERY DIY friendly for things such as brake pads, rotors, oil changes and small issues. If you have the time and inclination you can save significant time doing these things yourself.

The Boxster is an excellent daily driver. I use mine rain, shine, and snow. I drive the hell out of mine and it has given me NO problems. It handles great and is a great top down or top up cruiser on the highway or in town. I've taken mine on 1400 mile roadtrips and it's a great car for that. With two large storage trunks(front and back) it is a very, very practical convertible. I drive hard and still get 17-18 MPG in town and 29 MPG on the highway.

Be VERY wary of opinions on this car from anyone that hasn't owned one. Also, take web resources with a grain of salt. www.ppbb.com is a great source of info and IMO the best Boxster board, but for a newbie the stories there can seem a bit daunting. Remember that most people post problems and gripes on internet car boards. It's the nature of the internet car boards, people go searching for information about a problem and they post looking for a solution. You will rarely see someone post, "50,000 miles and not a single problem, complaint or gripe!" on a Porsche board, this board or any other.

Go drive a few! After a bit of seat time you'll know if it's the car for you. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to share the little knowledge I have.

 

I had an 01 S that I bought mainly for being able to give my 3 year old Daughter rides in it. I had a Honda S2000 and she would cry because I could not take her out in it so traded for the Boxster and I had them put their special seat in that comes with a special attachment to shut of bag when being used. I did find that the S2000 was more fun than the Porsche. Maybe you should check one of them out. Now have a Maserati Spyder and am in the process of having a shut off switch put in

 

try
www.ppbb.com
Great resource for Boxsters. I have an 01 S with 63k miles on ot. It has been a great car to own. As for the child seat, the Porsche seat has a special bar the attaches under the seat and deactivates the air bag. You can get them on Ebay but try the PPBB classifieds, there is a ton of things for sale. Good luck.

 

Hi there:

I drive a Box S, with the 6 speed. I been a life long car nut, and as my first sports car, it has been great. I hate the "dot.com yuppie car" image, but I was able to get over it.

Only thing that I was slightly disappointed was the fact that puttering around town, it can feel a bit ordinary, though this maybe an asset if you are planning to use it as a daily driver (mine is a weekend car, so something more extreme would have been OK). Until I got it, I thought the car looked ugly, but having owned it, I now think it is one of the best looking P-cars. (yep, biased!)

As folks already chimed in, www.ppbb.com is a great board with great people.

As a commuter, you might want to consider test driving the two extremes wrt to suspension setup: the S model with 18" wheels and the base model with 16" wheels. On earlier Boxsters, I understand that the S suspension is much more sporting/stiffer than the base. I drove the base with 16" wheels as a loaner once, and the ride was much much smoother than my S/18” setup. Also, the loaner had Yoko tires which some like for smoothness, and other dislike for having sidewalls too soft. Although it doesn’t bother me too much, the S/18” combo on my car was way too bumpy and harsh for a Lexus driving friend.

Also, you might want to take note of the tires fitted to the car: P-zeros and S-03 have been known to last as little as 10-15,000 miles on the rear, which might get too annoying for a daily driver. I heard the OE Yokos and the Contis can last longer, though driving habits would dictate the actual wear more than anything else.

You also might want to investigate on getting a car with the hardtop. I think the car looks great with it, and you can eliminate the rubbing noise/chatter in the convertible top, which might be an issue as a daily driver. I am sure your alfa was dead quiet! (hehe)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Some find the stock Boxster headlights pretty dreadful. If you drive a lot at night, you might want to test drive the car at night, or find a car with Litronic lights (xenon) as I heard they were better.

-art

 

I have a 2000 Boxster S with the Tiptronic that I got for my wife in February. Car has not quite 60K miles on it now. I had the car inspected and it needed the RMS so had that done as part of my deal. Got it here to California and the "brain" was acting up so have replace that on my nickel (not cheap but compared to the repairs on my 380SL it seemed cheap). Original brain was P/N ...01, current brain is P/N ...06 so they have upgraded 5 times since it came out. First replacement brain made the car run right but the Tip didn't work - had to order another one and this one works.

My wife loves this car - I find it a bit boring. But it is fast if not the quickest low in the revs. If I did it again (probably will in a couple years) we will get the 6-speed as even my wife thinks the Tip is boring!

Excellence Magazine recently had a cover article on the new limited edition Boxster S but also drove an original 2.5 to see how the car has changed over time, and they basically seemed to be still pretty jazzed on the original. Apparently you've just got to keep it up in the revs a bit but they are fun in the twisties. All in all we like ours enough that I will likely upgrade to a newer one for her down the track. My mechanic hates it - keeps telling me to buy a 993.

Cheers
Kevin

 

had a 99 in mellow yellow with blue top and interior for 3 year lease. was perfect car only changed oil, brakes, tires. used every day all weather and about 15 track days. was a perfect car that looked great in unusual color

 

I had one. It had a RMS issue that couldn't be fixed. For a while, Porsche was swapping engines since they couldn't fix the RMS issue. If you're looking for an older, out of warranty car, either pass on one that leaks, or make the purchase subject to the car not leaking with a new RMS.

Also, look for top cable upgrades on older models. If they break, it will screw up your top as well as the lid. Expensive to fix if they break.

Also, make sure the rear window is still supple. It's about $500 to have a new window sewn in. They crack.

It helps if you have a good independent P mechanic. I always felt like I was a P stepchild owning a Boxster and going to the dealer.

They handle great. Are fun to drive. Are relatively inexpensive. You can find them with very low miles. Are relatively reliable.

As others have posted, PPBB is a great resource. As with any car, a good PPI can save you a lot in the future.

Good luck!

 

The price on the 2000 is sky high unless it's an S model. A friend sold his 2000 black/black with 18" technology wheels, partial leather, 19,000 miles and all books and records for $25,000 last month. I've seen 2001's with mileage in the 30s selling for mid to high twenties. Remember it's a buyers market. These things aren't flying off the shelves no matter what anyone tells you.

Glad you enjoyed them! They really are great little cars!

 

I auto-x an '03 Boxster S and I love it! Its such a fun well balanced car that you can drive everyday and then tear up some cones on the weekends. Great, great car.

 

I had an 02 Boxster for a year. I was very bored with it. Maybe I would have liked an S better.

 

nota good looking car really

 

LOL Kind of like the Enzo, some think it's ugly and some think it's gorgeous but as with anything to do with attractiveness it's subjective. Personally I find the boxster shape to be the prettiest of any current Porsche.

 

Ask NNO what he thinks about them

 

Not a Boxster person.....

 

i'm DEFINITELY a fan; one day, i'd like to own a Boxster S... i think they're cool-looking cars and fun to drive (even though i only drove one for 10 or 15 minutes...)