Potential new owner

[Guest]

Hi

This is my first post (I registered yesterday). I currently own an Audi TT 225 coupe (52 reg.) and I like the car very much despite all the hairdresser's jokes I have to face Having said that I've always known that one day I'll be moving to a Porsche (in fact I've been eyeing the Boxster for a good few years now).
I'm thinking about getting a new Boxster (either 2.7 or 3.4) under a 3-year PCP deal with a part-exchange for my TT.

The options I'm interested in are:

 Meteor or Atlas Grey Metallic paint (£570)
 Cabriolet roof in Stone grey (£0)
 Door entry guard in stainless steel (£198)
 Top tinted windscreen (£68)
 Heated seats (£269)
 Park Assist (£325)
 Wind Deflector (£217)
 BOSE Sound System (£859)
 6 disc CD autochanger (£348)
 18" Boxster S wheel (£717)
 Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (£427)
 Sports package (6 speed gearbox + PASM) (£1426)
 Sport shifter (£380)
 PCM (£1921)

The 2.7 would come at £40,827 and the 3.4 at £46,394 (quite a bit of dosh...)

1) Does the above options make sense? Any comments on the sports package? Tyre pressure monitoring? Sport shifter? PCM? (The Porsche dealership I visited almost makes the PCM a mandatory option as far as the resale value is concerned).

2) Has anyone dealt with Broker4Cars before?
Would anyone recommend a particular broker?

3) What should considered the normal cost for yearly maintenance (not planning for track time and such)?

4) I have found out yesterday that Porsche will refresh the Boxster in time for the '08 model so I suspect that the value of my brand new spanking '07 model would take a nose dive somehow so maybe it makes more sense to wait until the '08 model is out (8 months?)?

I'm going to test drive a 2.7 later today.

Beginners questions I know but any insight into the world of Boxster ownership most welcome

Ta.

 

[gdavison]

Colours are a personal choice so I'll not comment (however the choice is a good one)

I'd skip the 6 stack CD - All Porsches with PCM now play MP3 CD's so 150 tracks is not an issue on one CD and you can have album to folder and track name tagging .. Also IPOD interface is rumoured to be later this year
Tyre monitoring - skip - even dealers reckon they are a PITA .. always going wrong
Heated seats - YES
Park Assist _ after having put park assist on teh Cayenen we spec'd it on the new S due in May
Wind Deflector - YES
BOSE Sound System - I like it .. others dont like the "sound", The prodigy sound really good on it
PCM - YES
Sports package (6 speed gearbox + PASM) - our current S has PASM and we didn't spec it on the new one .. IMHO the normal Suspension is enought for us

Sports Shifter - depends .. I have driven cars both with and without ..
what you planning to do with the car . track days or short commutes ..
if the former yes maybe do short shift .. if the later dont as they are stiff when cold ...
if its long motorway commutes, no need either as your not changing gear that much

 

[Guest]

I'd skip the 6 stack CD - All Porsches with PCM now play MP3 CD's so 150 tracks is not an issue on one CD and you can have album to folder and track name tagging .. Also IPOD interface is rumoured to be later this year

Ok that's great. I have an iPod interface on the TT and the CD changer hasn't been used for a long time so it's off my list now as I'll probably install the iPod in it.

Type monitoring - skip - even dealers reckon they are a PITA .. always going wrong

Thx for the heads up.

Sports package (6 speed gearbox + PASM) - our current S has PASM and we didn't spec it on the new one .. IMHO the normal Suspension is enought for us

Do you find there's a big difference between PASM and no PASM? Or is it just something that really matters on a track?

Sports Shifter - depends .. I have driven cars both with and without ..
what you planning to do with the car . track days or short commutes ..
if the former yes maybe do short shift .. if the later dont as they are stiff when cold ...
if its long motorway commutes, no need either as your not changing gear that much

Doing mostly short commutes and motorway occasionaly.

Just coming back from a 45mins test drive of a 2.7 and I liked it a lot. Stability, the grunt of the engine, throwing the car around roundabouts is brilliant! This thing just sticks to the road perfectly. The gearbox is smoother on the TT as in changing gear seems more precise, going from 2nd to 3rd on the Boxster was not as nice (although I'm used to the TT and not to the Boxster so I don't read too much into it) also one of the advantage of the TT is the kick you get from the turbo... but the TT is not a Boxster

The only question marks for me now are whether I go for the Sport Package, the finance deal (Porsche PCP is not very competitive compared to what I found on the net)... Oh and 2.7 or 3.4

The downside of having test driven it is that I want one!!! badly

 

[marlin]

The S, The S, The S[][][]

 

[gdavison]

ORIGINAL: fps

Sports package (6 speed gearbox + PASM) - our current S has PASM and we didn't spec it on the new one .. IMHO the normal Suspension is enought for us

Do you find there's a big difference between PASM and no PASM? Or is it just something that really matters on a track?

There is a huge difference in the car with PASM switched on versus it switched off .. The pretty much zero body roll in a Boxster becomes zero (well at the cornering speeds I give up at), The Sports pack remaps the throttle so max throttle is achieved at only 75% travel much more responsive (ours is manual, however if it was a tip the tip system also gets reprogrammed by the Sport button)..

The suspension is rock solid with PASM on and thats IMHO the problem for road use .. UK roads are a mess of holes seemingly joined by the occasional bit of tramac .. The ride borders on uncomfortable (especially on the 19inch Carrera rims) on UK country roads .. So for UK Motorway and UK A & B roads I prefer a none PASM ride in a Boxster ..

However I am sure others will pipe up with thoughts ..

Glad you enjoyed the test drive

 

[Glyn]

Id go pretty much with everything gdavison has said including the options except PASM, dont have the sports suspension but do have PASM, the ride is softer with this and only stiffens up as PASM is activated, try one before you decide.

 

[Dylan1]

atlas grey i think is great obviously!!
parkassist is useful prob cos i havent had a car without it for a while now...!
main point from me is definately the s-i tried the cayman back to back with the s and the difference is stunning-right up there in 997 territory and faster i felt than the 996 c4 i had previously

 

[gdavison]

ORIGINAL: dyllan

....right up there in 997 territory and faster i felt than the 996 c4 i had previously

When The Cayenne was in for service last week I was lucky enought to borrow a 911 C4 S Targa as the loan car .. And I am with dyllan ... A to B a Boxster S is as quick and the lid comes down .. the Targa was nice lid up but glass down it was neither a cab or a coupe..

I had the Targa on Thursday so drove back from the Reading OPC in SNOW .. and then get caught on telephone calls all afternoon until nearly 6 and then had to blast down the M4 to get it back as agreed .. So not really a solid test ..

I should not say this as I live the I am a lowly V6 Cayenne driver and its not and S and its not a Turbo and its not Turbo S .... :[] However if you can go for the Boxster S .. Do the S ... To be honest its one of the reasons I have the V6 Cayenne .. B Coz we have the Boxster S to go for a blast, we are happy with a high spec V6 Cayenne for the shopping and tip runs

 

[Guest]

Thx for all the answers it's great.

Anyone has a picture of an altlas or meteor grey boxster with stone grey rooftop?

 

[okellyt]

ORIGINAL: fps

The options I'm interested in are:

 Meteor or Atlas Grey Metallic paint (£570) - Had Seal Grey now replaced by Meteor V nice[:D]
 Cabriolet roof in Stone grey (£0) - Go balck its nicer[&:]
 Door entry guard in stainless steel (£198) - save your cash![:@]
 Top tinted windscreen (£68) - Standard UK Spec so you'll end up paying for it anyway
 Heated seats (£269) - Yes, yes, Yes [:D]
 Park Assist (£325) - Oh yes[:D]
 Wind Deflector (£217) - Absolute must have either on its own or part of a package [IMG]http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/micons/m6.gif[/IMG]
 BOSE Sound System (£859)  Absolute must have either on its own or part of a package [IMG]http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/micons/m6.gif[/IMG]
 6 disc CD autochanger (£348) - Yes
 18" Boxster S wheel (£717) - Buy the Boxster S, get the wheels free [sm=lol.gif]
 Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (£427) - If you want it get it
 Sports package (6 speed gearbox + PASM) (£1426) - Buy the Boxster S get PASM and six speed gearbox, did so with last Boxster - great!
 Sport shifter (£380) - Yes, unless you do a lot of short stop start journies, then its a bit of a pig.
 PCM (£1921) - Neutral but the Sat Nav is good.

Go for the new 3.4 S - no brainer, personally I'd go for that over any option. Other one I'd consider if you are keeping it longer term are:

• Full leather interior, it just makes it that bit more luxurious inside
• Full cliamate control - a must if you are going to use this for work and travell any distances (Summers and Winters, in stationary traffic in a suit!!!)

 

[Irish944Turbo]

I've just taken ownership of an 06 Boxster S and i agree after you test drive it you just need to have one!! My spec is similar to yours but for a few track day options. If it were me i'd drop the TPSM and the park assist. I had a Mk V Golf Gti with the TPSM and in the 2 years i had it, it only ever alerted me once. It seems a lot for something you could do yourslef when cleaning the car, and trust me you'll want to keep it looking good, especially those sweeping curves. I'm sure you know, but the park assist is only on the rear, it's not like Mercedes who have it front and rear. Anyway with the roof down, you pretty much have a 360 degree view!! I have the full leather and do agree it adds that little something, but i'm sure come resale i won't get a penny back for it. Hope this helps

Gareth

 

[chrisbradley]

I was the first at my OPC to specify Atlas Grey with Met blue roof and upholstery - it looks superb - check it out . Atlas Grey is more blue than grey when you see it in the sunshine !

Chris

 

[Guest]

I was the first at my OPC to specify Atlas Grey with Met blue roof and upholstery - it looks superb - check it out . Atlas Grey is more blue than grey when you see it in the sunshine !

The problem with the colors is most OPC have a poor choice, I've seen mostly artic silver, slate grey. So it's kind of difficult to imagine how it'd look like when you add in the mix the rooftop color and the seats!
Any picture welcome though

 

[Dapster]

1) Does the above options make sense? Any comments on the sports package? Tyre pressure monitoring? Sport shifter? PCM? (The Porsche dealership I visited almost makes the PCM a mandatory option as far as the resale value is concerned).

Don't listen to your dealer! It's your car, so you get what you want/need/dream of.

By way of some fact behind that, Glass's guide for an 05 Boxster S values a PCM car at £1,500 more than one without it. If it cost you £1,900 to put it in there, then you have lost £400 quid on it over 2 years. An all singing and dancing Tom Tom installation will cost you £300-£400, so you have to consider the value of a (really rather welll) integrated screen and the "feel good" factor of it. Remember that £46k is a LOT of money so you want the car to be ABSOLUTELY perfect - you do not want to drive it thinking "if only I had spend an extra few quid a month on x or y"....

My view is that if I were to spec another new Boxster (or another Porsche) it would have to have:

1) 3 spoke sports steering wheel - better than the ships wheel fitted as standard
2) Sports seats - stops you sliding about on the leather if you are of a slim build
3) Xenons - good for out of city driving, and looks the biz

Not sure about the Bose - lots of cash for not much of a result.

Oh, and try the sports exhaust....

 

[Guest]

I think I'm going to go with these options on a new Boxster S.

Porsche Active Suspension Management £1,030.00
Rear Park assist £325.00
PCM 2.1 + DVD navigation £1,921.00
BOSE sound system £859.00
Deletion of standard designation £0.00
Wind deflector £217.00
Climate control £308.00
3 spoke leather sports steering wheel £142.00
Porsche metallic - Meteor grey £570.00
Black Hood

Only remaining point is the exterior color... Fancying meteor grey right now but Atlas grey in the back of my mind! Will most likely stick with black hood and black interior.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Doesn't the Bose option include the wind deflector? Always used to...

Can I suggest that, unless you intend to only ever drive it in town centres, the Litronic (Xenon - whatever..) headlights should perhaps make it on to your list?

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: Mark Bennett

Doesn't the Bose option include the wind deflector? Always used to...

Can I suggest that, unless you intend to only ever drive it in town centres, the Litronic (Xenon - whatever..) headlights should perhaps make it on to your list?

I feel obliged to point out that there is nothing wrong with the standard lights.

 

[Guest]

Doesn't the Bose option include the wind deflector? Always used to...

My understanding is: if you select the wind deflector you have to have either the storage box or the BOSE option. Must double-check.

 

[Peter Anthony]

I believe fps is correct. It is option 551 in the price list and is in conjunction with 584, storage box, or 680 Bose with no storage box.

 

[Guest]

It is option 551 in the price list and is in conjunction with 584, storage box, or 680 Bose with no storage box.

... and I don't really understand the technical reasons for that [8|]