Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi folks - please forgive lengthy first post, but I want to set the scene before posing various questions!

As a old git in his late 60s who has been lucky enough to be able to save up a reasonable pile of money and who has no family, I am anxious not to let all my money eventually go to the government or to some care home, and spending it on worthwhile cars seems a good alternative.

I grew up on Triumph TR2s and 3s, have owned a Reliant Scimitar since 1975 and for several years have been unsucessfully seeking a good series 1 E-type roadster. I currently drive a Mk3 MX-5 RC.

The Mazda is a splendid, good-value and incredibly reliable fun car but I would like to own a Boxster for a while, before I get too old to drive it in the way which it deserves and have to move on to more relaxed cars like an SLK350 and then an XKR convertible.

I don't want a Boxster because it is a Porsche, I want one because I want a solidly-built car with superb handling which was designed from the outset as an open car and which doesn't have its engine hung out over the back!

I am thinking of buying a new one (a) because I don't particularly want or need the loads of expensive extras which most second-hand ones seem to have, and which often inflates their prices above the list price of a basic new one, and (b) it is clear that parts and labour, for even the most trivial things on a Porche, cost an absolute arm and leg, so I would like a warranty.

So, to move on to my numerous questions:

- If buying new, where from? I live in Hereford which no-one has ever heard of - it's just to the right of Wales, near the bottom, to the left of Worcester and Gloucester and below Shropshire. There are no local dealers - Hereford has only just discovered the internal combustion engine.

Do you have to go to an official dealer or can you get a new Boxster from an independent?

- Is there ever any flexibilty on prices of new ones? (Me Titus!)

- How come only a 2 year warranty when Mazda and the manufacturers of all sorts of low-cost cars routinely offer three years? Is this telling me something about Porsche reliability?

- I want hardly any of the extras, most of which are grossly overpriced and nearly all of which are purely cosmetic. I want the car for driving, not for posing. But I will be driving on the road, not a track, so I don't want any of the "sport" or comfort-destroying handling packages either.

The claim is that a "bare" Boxster would be difficult to re-sell, but I can't help thinking that only some of the (expensive) extras would be attractive, to only some of the potential buyers. Are there any extras which you think are absolutely essential, the absence of which would make the car completely un-sellable?

- What about colour? I drive round country lanes and would rather have something conspicuous like yellow than a more expensive, classy-looking but near-invisible metallic grey for example. But would a yellow (or perhaps red) Boxster be difficult to re-sell?

- Oddly enough, I might be quite keen to buy an "S". Far more expensive, I know, but it is a clearly defined package and second-hand buyers will know exactly what they are getting - either they will be looking specifically for an "S" or they won't.

As I said, sorry for long post, but I hope some of you may be willing to contribute your ideas, thoughts and advice regarding any of the above points.

Thanks in advance!

A red 3.4s boxster it is then, personally I don't want to stomach the depreciation of a new one so would rather go for a low mileage 2 year old one with one owner and complete history, then trade it in for the SLK (if you must) 18 months later. History suggests that you will have to pay for one service only ( they don't cost that much ) and will have suffered no reliability issues or much wear and tear. Insurance won't cost much either at your age.

Hello Titus

Fancy meeting you here. I've had my Boxster for 5 days now (Gen. II 2.9) and I am smitten. Come on in, the water's lovely.

It has a far more solid and taught feel to it than the Mazda. It's obviously heavier and even on just 18 inch wheels the ride is much firmer - I might go so far as to say jarring - so I'm glad I didn't take the one offered to me with the pretty (and very expensive)19 inch wheels. The standard 17 inch wheels probably give a better ride - I never drove one - but the "Carlos Fandangos" are probably more sought after in the second hand market.

I have the partial leather seats, park assist, heated seats and metallic basalt black paintwork and these are actually worth the money. In this price bracket leather is expected, with the roof up you can't see much at the back and heated seats are great on the cooler days (Mrs 2ndyouth insists). Colour is subjective and I think the guards red actually looks really good on the car - the basalt black looks stunning but it's almost too good because the slightest spec of dust or dead fly sticks out like a sore thumb. I have a couple of other bits and bobs that happened to be on the car - it was in stock - but I could live without them.

Regarding price, at the moment the dealers need the sales so a good deal can be had on a car in stock (I got +£3,000 off a +£38,000 car) but most of those in stock are higher spec.

Go along and have a chat and a drive - I never drove the S as I didn't want to spend that much money and I thought that the 2.9 with 255 BHP was more than entertaining enough.

Good luck

2ndyouth

as a new boxster driver just 1 year this week i can say it is a brilliant drive totally different to the 944s2 i drove for 6 years,you have to get used to the engine being mid and the difference to handling this can make mostly when wet,as my funds were limited when i purchased mine i went for an earlier model 2.5 tiptronic not that many extras less to go wrong,still getting used to the gearbox! my approach to purchasing a car has been buy a decent used one with full service history and one owner only, test drive it for maybe a year if your happy stay with it or take the plunge and go for the new one,that way you have had the best of both worlds.

tiptronic great in town but still miss throwing that stick around

Just to let you know that our son lives in Brecon and my wife's family originated from the Hereford area - Little Dewchurch - so there are others who know there is life out there!

The bare essentials are partial leather and wind deflector.

I'd add a basic hifi sound package to the list, heated seats for those top down days and 18" wheels. 17 wheels look to small to me, and are not that popular for resale.

Yellow is fine, as is red - you'll never recoup the cost of metallic paint come resale, but bear in mind yellow will only attract a few enquiries in a private sale, and red is a bit like marmite, love it or hate it. Silver, grey and black will always sell a lot more easily.

Given how much used prices have fallen i'd suggest you look for a 18 months old 3.4S car, rather than a new facelift. You'll get a much better equipped car for your money, which will depreciate less.

Servicing every 2 years - £500 for 1st service, £1k for the second by the time you add all the extra items like brake fluid, sparks and belt checks. Tyres £850 a set for 17s, £1k for 18s or 19s

measly 2 year warranty, renewal after 2 years for £1150pa, or switch to Tesco for £420 pa.

The new 2.9 engines still have an intermediate shaft so are still prone to engine failures like previous cars (new Boxster S engine doesn't have int shaft anymore) - cases are rare overall, but a search of forums will always through up cases, and a new engine is £11k from Porsche, a rebuilt unit £6k from specialists.

Don't be fooled into thinking Porsche are engineering perfection, your Mazda is probably better engineered, but made from cheaper parts.