Thinking about getting a Boxster... any input?

Roger that! I was not sure on the um budget..

 

My son has a Cayman—he got it used, super low mileage, about 10 years old, 6 cylinder. That car rocks, it handles like a race car, high cornering limit, very predictable, lots of feedback. It makes my Subaru STi feel like a buckboard. He spent some money on tires and wheels, but it’s otherwise stock.

All the race car stuff I’ve done, I never had one I instantly liked as much as this Cayman or thought handled as well.

I don’t know about, or pay any attention to, Porsche status and where this car is on that basis, I just know it’s a hell of a fun and fine car to drive quickly.

 

IMS BEARING !!! FINAL WORD . DO YOUR RESEARCH!!

As far a girls car, that ridiculous.
Same mentality that a Sportster is not a Harley , it's a manhood syndrome
Boneheads are paying 20-30 k for VW /Porsche 914s that make 80 h.p..
Buy a Boxster, they look better, handle better, are far more reliable and 3x more powerful for less $$$.

They handle better than many 911s, are sporty and fun and if your a top down group they fit the bill.

When the right color, lowered there a damn sharp looking car.
I'd get a S..as the Xtra power is welcomed. No there not fast..but that's all relative. You can have more fun in it than most other cars, as they handle awesome.
On a twisty road..you WILL keep up with anything. Guaranteed..anything!
And if your in front Nothing is gonna pass you..that's guaranteed.

 

My buddy has a 2016ish Boxster Spyder. We did a drive swap one day and took a spirited run around our area. It was ... nice. Makes good noises. The aggressive rev match was slick, especially because the pedals weren't aligned well for heel-toe. I thought it was pretty nice but not $75k-of-my-money-nice. I know they are technically better than 911s but it feels like the 911s have more character.

Another guy was in my car for that drive. He just bought this '08 911 Cab for $33k: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet-16/. Threw in a low bid and was surprised he won it. Stole it if it's as clean as it presents. He's getting rid of a Cayman. Randomly, he ALSO just went in with his dad on a 360 convertible (https://www.millermotorcars.com/2001-ferrari-360-spider-c-6666/). They traded a PF90 because (and this is something you won't hear so often) his dad said "whenever I walk out to the garage, I always get in the 812 and the 90 just sits. It's just not as exciting"

 

F’k it…GT3…RS

 

I had one, an '02S (first year of the S). Very low maintenance car. I drove the shit out of it and I think the only thing it needed at the very end was CV joint boots. I've also owned 944's, and 2 911's, and I think the Boxster was the best driving car out of all of them. I got sick of the convertible part pretty quickly, for my money I would get a Cayman. They have gotten faster and faster over the years and will kick most of the previous gen 911's asses on the track.

The older 911's can be a deal, it's a lot of car for the money, but if you're going to track it, you never know what that rear end is going to do until..... Cayman / Boxster is much more neutral and intuitive handling.

 

They're fun to drive, but so is a Miata.


Get a Cayman.

 

I can't recommend against it but I am a hard top guy. I had a Boxter S as a loaner for the day while the GT4 was being serviced. Top stayed down for exactly one traffic light. Then it went back up. This is going to sound weird but you'll get a lot more for your money in a Boxster if you look at the turbo 4 variant. They plummeted in value for not have 6 cylinder noises but that's a bad ass around town setup.

Everyone has their preferences. I have zero interest in owning a 911. I specifically wanted the GT4. It to me is like the VFr400...it's not the fastest thing around but it is just so well behaved and balanced that I don't feel the need for more or that it is missing something.

 

You'll see a theme here on vehicles that depreciated the least

https://jalopnik.com/the-cars-that-have-depreciated-the-least-over-five-year-1851055028/slides/3

 

I’ve been pretty horny for a 987.2 Cayman lately. Still dumping money into the motorbike love affair for now, but hope to get into one in the next couple of years.

 

Funny to read all the haters. I bought a 2001 S model about 7 weeks ago. Previous owner is a friend of mine and heavily into autocross. Car had only 61k miles on it and never parked outside by the 1st owner or my friend. I freakin love the car. Until anyone drives one they should just STFU. It's a drivers car for sure. Mine has no nanny aids like traction control. Previous owner put Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, steel brake lines, Eibach sway bars, 74mm throttle body, IPD intake. Cat delete headers, Porsche Performance Exhaust, intake snorkle removed and ECU tune. Output is up to about 275 rwhp. Not huge but certainly plenty to have a lot of fun in an extremely well balanced car. The flat 6 engine sounds glorious at anything about 3k rpm. I no longer use the stereo because it sounds so sweet. Previous owner also took care of all the potential failure items even though they are very reliable cars. Everyone talks about the IMS bearing but failure rate is only about 1% in reality. Seems like the ones that are driven harder have the best reliability. Sounds crazy but it's true. I sold my mint 2008 Mazda Miata with PRHT and only had to add $2150 extra to get into the Porsche. No brainer there. The Miata was a great car and fun to drive but the extra power and sound of the flat 6 are what really made me buy it. I do miss the PRHT on the Miata versus the soft top on the Boxster. That's about all I miss.

 

A MINI is a money pit. That is one car you need to dump before the warranty expires. I have never had a harmonic balancer let go before. Worst car ever maintenance wise. It was fun to drive though. Except for the throttle lag...

 

My daughter let me take this Cayman out for an afternoon. It was one hell of a lot nicer than I expected it to be.

 

You did a pretty good job lining the car up with that arrow. Congrats.

 

You guys with your "I think the Cayman looks better" and "I'd rather have the Cayman" Congrats! You're not blind.

 

Posted today in a 986 Boxster group I'm in.

 

Was over today getting some Audi work done and there was an og S cayman and a ttrs next to each other. I kept looking at them while I was waiting when the service manager (known him for almost a decade) came out and we spoke. “Wanna try them? They’re trade ins and we can’t get them in to service them.”
So, the Porsche was fun, needed more brakes and the manual gear box was nice and you could feel and hang the rear. The TT RS was much smaller, felt faster, the gear box felt tighter and I felt if I got it to step out at anything above aggressive street speeds I might be going into the rhubarb.

Both were stupid fun, wish the tt was DSG. I’d take either in a second.

 

Serious question because it fascinates me....how is the car's lower controls configured to work for you in your unique situation?

 

Same as every other car I drive. Hand controls. There are many systems out there. I prefer Sure Grip push/rock hand controls.

 

Our 2005 Mini Cooper S is approaching 250k miles…. overall it’s been fine for maintenance. The harmonic balancer did let go about 10 years ago…. and we did do a clutch. A few other things but nothing crazy. We have Konis in it and solid motor mounts, beefed up sway bars…. it’s a hoot to drive. Did have to do the front a arm bushings a couple years ago…. those were a bitch. I’m pretty sure they built the car around those.

Got a ‘99 Miata too…. those things are bullet proof, cheap and fun. I really don’t care that I look like a gay hairdresser driving it….