To follow on from the 944 thread this is another car on the list for next year.. No not a hairdresser lol but porsche convertible and reasonably pacey at not alot of money.

Anyone have any experience of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-PORSCHE-B...6#ht_714wt_1271

This is one i have seen and like the look of it. Better with clear lenses but looks like a clean car.

Comments please

Cheers Joe there all bias though...

As are we

They're cheap for a reason mate, prices will drop further when winter comes so if you fancy one hold off till December.

Exactly.. coupes goin nowhere still.

Opinions.... Well I have overtake a few in my time when they were trying not to be overtaken. However at that price would be nice for a summer evening with the roof down. Just put the scissors in the glove box.

I'm looking at a boxster as my next fun car also, although the slighter more powerful 3.2s.

There is very little negative I can find on them outside of cosmetics.

of course there is still the view that they are a cheap porsche, not a 'real' one like the 911

if i were to get one, id go with the 911 personally, the boxster is too much of a poncey hairdresser car imo

ok it my opinion and im entitled to it !

Had a 1997 2.5 model, on standard form, it is slightly quicker than the coupe, easier on fuel too.
Car will lock itself after a few days without use, drive really well and much better quailty than the coupe.
Had it for 3 years and didn't cost us anything other than fuel and tyres, but if something gone wrong it will easily cost thousands, try to find one with the hard top(which I had.) as the soft-top can be abit noisy at high speed.

Looked at the Boxster when it came out, deciding between that and my first Coupe. Prices weren't that much apart with the Porsche being a better finish (quite normal, because the Coupe was in its last year and the Boxster in it's 1st or so, so much more modern) but the Coupe came with a better standard spec and - for me - a more exciting power delivery, lovelier engine note and better layout (GT 4 seater). I drove both of them, picked the Coupe and never regretted my choice. But then Fiat made the Coupe especially for me.

The moment I lost any interest in the Boxster was when we went to a twisty track in France - or was it a local farmer that allowed us to race up his forecourt - and my Punto HGT left a standard Boxster in its wake. Completing the test we swapped cars and I was the one who was left behind. Pretty sure 90% of the time it would be the other way round just like when a Puma 1.7 left me for dead when I was in a hopped up 16vt Coupe, but it just killed any interest in me.

They aren't cheap to maintain. Suspension will be tired at this level and a good geo setup will make the difference between a fantastic handling car or one that can be beaten by a Punto. A rebuild plus geo can cost in excess of £3k. Engines are renowned for IMS issues, plus bore scoring and a basic rebuild will rush you £6k. Radiators and condensors are prone to rotting and are £200 each to buy, although fitting isn't beyond the grasp of reasonable home mechanic.

As has been said, they are cheap for a reason, but if you have a good one and are willing to invest to keep it good they are a great steer as long as you can get over the "hairdresser" and "couldn't afford a 911" comments.

That said, I wouldn't have one, but then I'm not a hairdresser and I can afford a 911.

Oh, and as an aside, they don't feel as well made as the earlier cars. A 944 will feel like a solid machine. The quality of feel in a 9*6 is very cheap and flimsy by comparison. It was the major reason I couldn't live with my 996 C4S and have returned to air-cooled until I get into a 997 Turbo.

You're not serious? 18.0 seconds to 100mph, it's not as fast as a 16vT.

My mate owned a Boxster for around a year. He found it quite pricey to maintain, needing a clutch during his ownership.

He sold it due to the running costs, and was going to get an MX-5, but he's now working further away so is looking at either getting a diesel or moving.

To follow on from Brewsters comments... the rear main oil seal is one of the major issues with the earlier Boxsters (and 911's). Looking at £1000-£1500 all in to resolve and once its gone once you'll keep replacing them every 2-3 years.

Yeah, I left that point out as they rarely p!ss oil out, usually just a weep and they tend to get replaced at clutch change time. The cost is almost entirely labour to split the engine and box to get access.

My brother has a 987 MY 2005 with the 2.7L engine.

Not massively fast but with the roof down its fun to pootle around in it. He hasn't had any problems with it other than the air-con didn't work properly when he bought it (fixed by dealer). Tyres are expensive but you'd expect that for large profile Michelins. I've serviced it a few times and its not super hard to do - although haven't done the plugs yet.

Seems these earlier ones can be high maintance then.quickly searching the net you don't see too much against reliability. Suppose the next thread is going to be 330 and m3 thread. Lol..

It's a 15 year old Porsche, what did you expect? Specialists exist, but they certainly aren't at FIAT Coupé price schedules. Expecting to buy one for £5k and run it on £1k a year maintenance for 12k miles a year is unrealistic I'm afraid.

As above Brewster I read a few websites last nite stating reliability is generally good with usual high expenditures. Clutches,servicing etc. Hence asking spittle more info.12k a year doesn't even come into it as the coupes proberbly done 1500 in the past year and this would do similar if a little more

Glad you made it to the thread being a previous porka owner. Any experiences are valued. It's the bigger issue of engine failure that are.more concerning.

All speculative atm of course until I do something and buy something on a whim which unfortunately seems to be a family trait.

^^

Reubs - friend of mine had one for a few years when I had my Barchetta. Personally, I preferred the Barchetta (as did most).

£5k would get your choice of Barchetta in tip top shape. £5k will most likely buy a tired boxster at most.

Get yourself a 330

Personally, I would go S2000 over a Boxster anyday.

From memory the 986 & 987 3.2's have a 6 speed box which has a habit of popping out of 2nd gear, and they also have the potential for IMS failure.

If you are still interested sign up to Boxa.net and read this Reliability Survey.


From that thread and originally posted by Maxxsirrah on 23 Jan 2012:

A further update purely looking at IMS failure bringing this to current:

Total cars covered: 172
Total IMS failures: 12
%age IMS failure: 7.0%

Incidents of failure:
986 3.2: 6
986 2.7: 4
986 2.5: 1
987 3.2: 1
987 2.7: 0
987 3.4: 0

Not only the "you couldn't afford a 911" but also "you couldn't afford to the 3.2S"

Good luck, nice enough cars.

I'm serious, either it was a very good boxster or my current 20vt is a bad one.

I'd be getting your coupe checked over. The standard 2.5 variant is poorly powered, my barchetta felt far peppier!

I've had a 3.2S. 4 years old when I bought it. Lost a lot of money on it when I sold it, not as reliable as people would have you beleive. In my opinion not as much fun as a modified coupe.

I don't need to, I know both cars are (was) on good condition, the fact is, the boxster is quicker, simple as that.
People say that they don't feel the boxster was quick enough, they expected it would be quicker or it wasn't much quicker than my car.... The thing they need to remember is, they know their cars, they know what their cars (or themselves) capable for in that car, and they spend 20mins in a boxster (or any other cars) and expect to drive the boxster as quick (or as well) as they did in a car which they drive day-in, day-out?

So more fun than a standard Coupe then?

My neighbour has changed from a WRX thingy to a 3.2 Boxster. He maintains the problem with it is that it is so smooth it doesn't feel fast. I've been in it, and it definitely shifts. Not having a drive of it, I still got out wanting one, and would change the Coupe tomorrow if I could justify it. Whether the love would last is another thing.

As for poor man's Porker, if I was buying a performance Italian car, with no budget, the Coupe wouldn't be on the list.

Try it. If you like it, buy it!

Sadly it's like anything it's a 318 ci to an m3, a c180 to a c55 ( i wont do the 16vt to a 20vt ). Plus they seem to scream mid life crisis. Save up for a proper one or find a different direction, you'll always find yourself thinking i wish i'd got a 911, when i had a E46 328ci it's all i thought - should have waited and got the m3....