FormulaRX

I was the typical Porsche guy...either 911 all the way or go home. No other P-car was worth it in my opinion. When the Boxster came out initially, I never thought twice about owning it. Too much money for the car, ugly, and "wannbe" 911 were a few of the things I thought and still did about the Boxster ..... until today. I came out to the parking lot from work and parked right next to me was a brand new bright yellow Boxster, not S, just the standard Boxster but man I almost pissed my pants. It looked that good...to me anyway. The girl driving it wasn't that bad either ... so I talked to her for a little bit and looked briefly inside the car before she put the top up. Nice interior! Looks like good fit and finish overall! The new Boxster looked absolutely beautiful! So awesome in fact that I started looking around at ones online when I got home and even priced one with options from the Porsche website. I was a hardcore 911 fan and I never would have ever thought I would like the Boxster but the one today opened up my eyes. Just wanted to say to you all that you have one nice Porsche! I just never realized it or cared until today. Now I gotta go test drive one and see for myself. Hey if it drives like it looks, I might really consider one (next to my 911 of course)!

ELUSIVE

It's an absolute blast to drive. No doubt in my mind that you will love it.
the only people that don't like boxsters are ones that have never driven one.

FormulaRX

haha pretty much like me but I'll drive it sometime in the next week or so, but I don't know if it will make me like it better than the 997...at least the 25 grand difference between the two helps

pcar964

Sounds to me like your interest was gained by the attractive owner, not just the car Boxsters have a good chassis, but just like most pcars since the 996, the quality is lacking. We had a 2000 Boxster S, had to sell it after a few months because was afraid of owning it out of warranty, that thing was falling apart with regular track use.

Now, your original post here makes an important distinction... these new pcars are like any other semi-disposable car, in that they're great fun for street cars, grocery getters (case in point with the woman driving the yellow car), or weekend cruisers. But for track use or the like, the car's mass-produced underpinnings start to show their weakness.

And not that you should buy your car for image or anything,.... but when you pick up your date in a boxster you just dropped $55k for, and she says "oh, that's such a cute car, my best girlfriend has a red one," haha I hope you bought the car to drive, and not to impress anyone else!

That all being said, yeah the chassis is great fun, and brakes on the S were quite good. Just understand that it's a street cruiser and nothing more, and you'll be very happy with the experience...

FormulaRX

well if that's how it is, then I think I will get more driving fun out of a Honda S2000. I'm not looking for a cruiser...I'm looking for a well balanced car that can be a daily driver and kick butt on the track when I feel like it. I'll have to test drive it to see for myself.

pcar964

You can kick butt on the track with either, provided you're capable enough behind the wheel.. I can't speak for durability of the Honda, but in my experience the boxster is only in its element on the street. Can be quick at the track, but I wouldn't dream of tracking one without a full warranty. Even then, you may find yourself driving a courtesy car more often than your boxster....

If you look at why Porsche has designed the boxster/996/997 like this, it's simple - nowadays their customers are mostly looking for afun GT car to drive on the street and show off the badge on the hood. I don't think that's a valid excuse for them to compromise quality the way they have, but that's obviously their reasoning.

ELUSIVE

no offense to pcar964, but I disagree with just about everything that he said in both of his posts...

pcar964

No offense taken, as I'm just sharing my experiences with the boxster S and those of a few people I know. If you have a different experience, please share it. Just make sure you're talking about track use, because durability on the street means absolutely nothing.

The reason I would never own one out of warranty, is that no parts on the new pcars are made to be fixed or replaced in part. If something in the engine goes wrong, you need a new engine. If something in the transmission goes wrong, you need a new transmission. That's the approach of Porsche AG and PCNA, and that can get pretty expensive when you start pushing it at the track, and things start breaking.

Please let us know how your experiences have differed - if you've been tracking your boxster with no problems whatsoever, that's great - I wouldn't wish the problems we had with our boxster S on anyone!

Palting

Pcar964 is part of the old guard. New things can never better than the old things .

Since Pcar964 has seen fit to lump the 986/996/996 together, let me share some things. I have been tracking the 987S since it's been broken in, and will continue to do so in years to come. I have been tracking the 996 C4S since new. You could say the C4S and I have matured together from D group to the A group in DE's over these last 3 years. We gone through 5 sets of tires, 3 sets of brake pads and rotors, and gallons upon gallons of gas. No reliability issues whatsoever, just tons of fun!! I've tracked with 996's and 986's, all driven by happy and contented owners. There have been a few "problem cars", but no more than simillar 993 or 964 tales of woe that I've heard and seen.

Pre-996 and pre-986 cars had less amenities and creature comforts. Starting with the 986 Boxsters, Porsche decided to add more creature comforts. For some strange reason, diehards seemed to think it lessened the performance or durability of the cars. I guess adding cup holders slows down the car and makes it fall apart easier when driven hard. On the contrary, almost every new evolution of Porsche has been faster and better than the last one. Excellence magazine has just stated that the engine block of the 996 is stronger than the 993's, RMS notwithstanding.

986/987/996/997 as track cars? Absolutely! Thats the main reason I bought the 987S. Keep them beyond the warranty? Most certainly!! That's when I start putting in more track ready components. Anyone out there with a GT3 crate engine? Or maybe start saving for some racing suspension. I'm sure Stacey will have a long laundry list of goodies I can look at when the time comes

FormulaRX

I don't know if this is really the case but for some reason I feel as though the watercooled Porsches are not as reliable/dependable as the older aircooled ones. It seems as though the 996 and Boxsters and even some of the Cayennes are constantly in and out of the dealer on warranty work, yet the 911s, 964s, and 993s some with even 150K miles are still running like clock work. I'm NOT GENERALIZING ... just basing it on what I see and a few of my friends who have Boxsters and 996s. Maybe they just bought a bad car I don't know. I don't know if it's because of the watercooled design or if it's just that as cars get newer and technology becomes more advanced that there's more changes of electrical problems and stuff like that. Makes it tough and takes the fun out of working on a car for the average "home mechanic" when you can't really do much by yourself anymore unless you have diagnostic computers and stuff. But anyway, enough rambling. I myself would personally not want to own a Porsche off of warranty since I can only imagine the cost of fixing stuff on it...that in itself would probably take all the fun out of owning it.

autobahnNY

Nothing new with pcar964. Not only are his comments negative in regard to the Boxster (or most new Porsches), but offensive.

Moogle

love my boxster S, surprises me how good it is every time i drive it

pcar964

Yeah well if you find me stating my opinion about an automobile "offensive," I can't imagine what happens when something really bad happens in your life - are you serious?

In any case, I'm not some guy sitting in my chair bashing these cars because I think my car is better, after all I'VE OWNED A BOXSTER S. I have friends who have owned a variety of newer pcars also - And the opinions I share are based on OUR EXPERIENCES with the cars. If you can't handle that, I'm afraid you need some therapy.

pcar964

If you believe the quality of the new cars is better than the old cars, fine... and I'm glad you've had no problems with your cars, it's great you've been able to enjoy the track, that's the way it should be!

If you want the real scoop on quality, I would recommend talking to an experienced Porsche mechanic - I am friends with several, and they all say the same thing, they don't make em like they used to.

Palting

What makes you think I don't talk to experienced P-car mechanics? The good one's will be the first to admit that the P-car is continuing to evolve, and that they have to undergo additional training to learn all about the newer things being done by Porsche. They come back from training not only with a new understanding but also with praise for the innovations.