boxster or z3?
 

I am considering both the boxster and z3 as a daily driver/commuter. I already have a 996, but dont want to put the unnecessary miles (150/day) on it. I would be looking for something under $20K. I dont know much about either car in terms of reliability. Any suggestions? I figured that I would start on the 996 board first to get some unbiased opinions of the z3.

I paid ~20k for an 01 S this summer. however if I already had a 99 996 I would just keep driving that. your 911 is going to depreciate a lot less than 20k no matter how much you drive it. Post this in the Boxster forum too.
you could always buy a 99 996 with high miles for 20k :icon107:

Drive both and your decision will be easy. The Z3 will be cheaper to buy, but it pales in comparison to the Boxster.

Don't take my word for it. Go for a drive.

+1 on the test drive. I would find it hard to believe that you would pick the Z3, but I am not you.

I have had both a Boxster and 996's that I have used on a long daily commute. Other than the fact that the Boxster is a cab and my 996's were coupes they were both quite similar when used that way. The 996 has more power and the bigger cockpit does make you feel more comfortable.

The biggest difference is that the when the top on the Boxster is up your visibility out the back and the sides is not as good as a coupe. On a long commute you really begin to notice that. You would find the same thing with any convertible. You really notice when you pull up to a light and realize just how big a blind spot you have on the rear sides. For that reason alone I would opt for a 996 coupe. Of course if you live in a place you can drive all year top down, that issue goes away.

I drove a Z3 for 7 years. Very different from the P-car, and not as good at many things. But it does have its charms, including being much more easygoing in traffic and much easier to maintain. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions that you don't think would interest the group.

There's no question here--find a decent Boxster S and enjoy. As far as I'm concerned, the Z3 isn't even in the same class.

I have had both as well and I have never been in a Z that impressed me even a little bit.

Do yourself a favor and buy the boxster. Try the 986 forum for more hands on info!

+1 I don't understand the financial logic behind running two sports cars instead of one. If you simply *must* have a commuter car, at least make it economical, comfortable and cheap - I recommend more or less any Japanese four-door. Personally, I use my '02 996 day-in, day-out and I'm pretty sure it's cheaper than running a "weekday" car as well.

+1. If you want a solid DD with a good warranty and nice features for a reasnalbe price, get a Hyunda, Honda, Toyota, etc. If you want to drive a "look at me" car as a DD, just take your lumps with the 996. IMO, having two porsches just to keep the miles down on one isn't a sound financial decision, as BOTH will still depreciate...

-td

Vs a Boxster S, you're absolutely right. Vs a Boxster, the differences start to become a bit more subjective as long as you avoid the 2.3/2.5s. Not advocating for the Bimmer, here. Just saying, horses for courses.

Boxster over the Z3, better all around.
I think it's cool you would buy another Porsche as a second car, makes sense to me.

Fair enough. I do clearly remember the Miata crowd I used to hang with always comparing their cars to the Z3 and S2000, but *never* the Boxster. It was almost like an undrawn line they'd never cross out of respect for the P-car.

It's an interesting tale. BMW never got it quite right, or at least never soon enough. The Z3's rap came from the ridiculous decision to launch the car with a 4-cylinder engine, and all but confess that it saw a market niche for an upscale Miata. The Porsche was not the original target, because it hadn't launched yet. But in branding, it's often very difficult to overcome your first impression, and that dogged the Z3 forever, no matter how much better the later cars got. What should amuse Porsche owners is that every improvement to the Z3 was an effort to catch up to the Boxster, with the ultimate example being the hastily conceived M Roadster, which was the result of the Boxster S giving them heartburn in Munich. When the Z3 was killed after just over 200,000 units built, some automotive journalist described it as a 'secretary's car'. BMW forums were on fire for weeks after that. :crying:

Casualty of bad marketing. The later M54 powered cars were terrific, if very different driving experiences from the Boxster (and never quite the handlers). And the M Roadster, if slightly crude, was a rowdy good time to drive.