is my budget enough?

[Guest]

after mulling over a number of possible replacements for my GTV I am going to go for a boxster, but I am not sure if my current budget will get me trouble or happiness.
I am looking to spend up to £15k currently or I could delay and try to add to the pot.
What are your recommendations for that budget? a particluar variant/age or hold off and add to my pot?
thanks
alex

 

[thboxster]

I guess it depends on what you want the Boxster for. If it's an occasional car then you can pay less, get something older and not worry as much. If on the other hand, like me, you will use it as your main car every day then it would probably be wise to invest a little more and buy something newer.

If you had 20k I think you would probably be in a good position to get a pretty good car of a few years old, depending on mileage, etc and be able to use it frequently without much worry.

 

[chrono]

I have a lovely one for sale that's within your budget.

See the following link.

Reason for sale? Loved the Porsche experience so much but needed four seats (2 children to pick up from school come September) so I upgraded to a 996. Otherwise I'd have kept "kristen" probably for ever...

Feel free to take a look:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=264309

Fifteen grand should get you a really nice one (like mine []). The thing about Porsches is that the sky is literally the limit, but you have the budget I originally started with and believe me, the 2.5 is a cracking little motor for the money! Very reasonable to service and insure too.

On the subject of trouble or happiness, I've just serviced mine and had new brake discs on the front (pads were done last August - only 5k miles ago) and a new MAF (Air Sensor) replaced. The specialist knows it's for sale and ran a full diagnostics check on the engine management and all the systems and everything runs fine - no faults, errors or potential costs. It's a great "every day" car.

Hard sell over. [][]

 

[Guest]

Hi,
I am in the market for a car would like to get a Boxster, the only thing is that I would like to keep my budget fairly low i.e. £10,000-£14000 so that I would have a little extra cash available to allow for any unexpected problems that may arise.

Can anyone reccomend a model to go for? I am not very clued up when it comes to cars, but from looking aroun I am probably going to be looking at a 96-99 model which would either be a 2.5 or 2.7 - preferably the 2.7 as for some reason it is cheaper to insure.

Any advice as to what to look out for other than a good service history would be great.

Many Thanks in advance

Gavin

 

[daro911]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/154367.htm

This one looks too good to be true!!! but it's within your grasp if a genuine pucker example [8D]

 

[Guest]

I have just seen a car at the Hatfield Porsche Center:
£14,900
1997, 2.5, Autonmatic, Blue with Red leather, 50k

Are the automatic's any good? I was thinking about getting a manual.
I am not sure about the red leather, but buying from Porsche would give added piece of mind as you would get warranty, porsche assistance and background checks - but as most garages this maybe over-priced as I remeber seeing it listed on their stock list a couple of months back.

I haven't looked at any Boxsters yet so may have a quick look, especially as I work literlly across the road from them.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: gtuser


Are the automatic's any good? I was thinking about getting a manual.

Personally the Tiptonics, especially on the older models, completely destroy the cars character and performance.

That's my opinion but just take a 30 minutes drive in both and the conclusion for yourself should be crystal clear too []

 

[Rodney Naghar]

Get the car Daro linked u to....seems a bargain!
Try and get the 2.7, the 2.5 is a bit underpowered.

Tip vs manual:- I had a 2.5 tip, and although its nice with a manual overide on the steering wheel, Boxsters have a fantastic manual gearbox, so unless you will be doing lots of driving in traffic, I would get the manual.

 

[Laurence Gibbs]

opposing view. Tiptronic adds to the driving pleasure, especially in real world driving when the traffic jam cometh. And as for ruining the performance well, it takes a second off (big deal!) and i'd defy anyone to shift quicker than it can. It's all a matter of learning to drive the tip properly. Too many take a half hour test drive and think they have the measure of it....WRONG. No doubt for ulimate involvement the manual is the better car but think about how you will really use the car and the tip starts to make a lot of sense. It's not as good as a manual in some ways and it's a lot better in others!

 

[Black80XSA]

Another one on pistonheads - the guy says he'll take offers , so think £12k. This one features the sport design pack, with interior parts in a mix of textured grey paint, part leather and alternative textured door and dashboard panels plus leather sports seats with painted seat backs.


http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/149767.htm

 

[Guest]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice, I have been looking on the pistonheads website, and I am surpised to fine so many Boxsters as I hadn't found many up until now.
I have seen a couple of 's' models, but whilst I was thinkning about looking at these my head has decided that a 2.5/2.7 will be more than enough for me (for now anyway).

From what I can tell the one mentioned above (http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/149767.htm) and http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/132274.htm appear to be the best options. As these are not fairly local to me, could anyone let me know if either appears to be much better than the other or if there is anything that I should look out for i.e. one has had the 'Clutch and Mass air flow sensor' changed - which is probably good as I wouldn't need to do that anytime soon.

I have popped in to my local Porsche dealer who have a '97 tiptronic that I am going to test drive just to see if I like it or not - but for now I'll assume that I am going to get a manual.

Again many thanks for the help & advice.

 

[Black80XSA]

Its unusual for an OPC to have a 10 year old car for sale - it might be on a sale or return basis for a customer, so check that it is under their used car programme. There will be a premium for the OPC sale though, they will be making £2k at least if its being sold for a customer, and £4-5k if it is their own stock.

Private sales will always be a better buy, assuming you get it inspected by a reputable person or OPC and know what needs or may need attention.

The 75k miler has had clear lights fitted all round, a popular upgrade and £650 worth - servicing by Northway will have saved the owner some money over repairs at an OPC,. but Ray will probably have done a more thorough job and will have pointed out anything else amiss - Ray will do an inpsection for you if needed, and is a genuine and knowledgeable guy.

The other car has savannah interior which is a bit love it or loathe it - and can make resale a little more difficult as a result. It appears to be flat black, rather than metallic. Its also got the clear perspex and perforated grilles of the wind deflector missing in the photos.

Whichever car takes your fancy, get the air con checked out, the front rads and condensor are prone to corrosion due to road debris building up in the front air vents - condsor plus rad replacment and a regass is about £1600 []

 

[Guest]

Can anyone tell me what the 'real world' running costs of a Boxster S would be compared to the Boxster?
On paper the combined mgp of the 3.2s is 26.4 to the 2.7's 28.5, and it is ins group 20 to 18.

The only reason I ask is that there is a Boxster S (http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/124630.htm) which I may be able to get for 13k.
Otherwise I am favoring the 2.7 that was reccomended before, only thing is that it's not too local - but 60 miles isn't too bad.

 

[Black80XSA]

Brakes will be about 50% more expensive for an S. 18" tyres 25% dearer than 17s , and more likely to see them on an S than the 2.7. Both may wear out quicker on an S

Clutch more expensive on the S too, but a lot of the cost is labour anyway so final bill won;t be much different.

Exhausts, batteries etc are either the same or close enough not to worry.


The S you referenced has Full leather upholstery.

 

[carreraboy]

A very nice G50 3.2 Carrera Sport Equipment Coupe, owned 7 of these cars they are the most honest 911...15K will get you gem, watch for rust oil leaks, but the modern stuff does that as well![] OOOPS Boxster thread[]

ps. Know of a very nice black/black G50 Coupe....

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice, this has helped alot. I have one or two cars that I might go for but was wondering if I should get an inspection, and if so would a basic RAC thing do and whether I should get some kind of warranty on the car.

As always any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Black80XSA]

If you are paying for an inspections i'd suggest you get one of the Porsche independent garages to do this for you, or someone like Peter Morgan - the RAC inspections are OK, but for the same money you will get better elsewhere, an an insight into the repair costs for anything that needs doing.

Warranty depends on you view of financial risk - the Porsche one is £895pa, and will need an inspection by the delaer £125 and any work rectified (using OE parts but not necessarily at the dealer) before one is granted. This covers most of the expensive mechanical bits, but is not all encompassing. Warranty Direct is another option. Watch for maximum claim limitations or heavy excesses.