So , these Boxsters... any good or what?

[punkassmofo]

Hi guys,
Recently sold my 944, and have been considering buying a boxster.
My brother had a 2.5 a couple of years ago, which was nice, but Ive been offered the oppurtunity to buy a 3.2s on a 99 plate for what seems a reasonable price.

So the questions are -
What IS a reasonable price for a 99 3.2s (recent new clutch, suspension and tyres)

Are they a reliable every day motorway runner? - Ill be doing 120+ miles per day in it.

Any particular problems I should look out for?


thanks again guys!

 

[bdheng]

I think Boxsters are very good

I bought a 2000 - 3.2S in May, do 75 miles a day mainly motorway (steady-ish driving), and get around 30mpg

Price depends on what extras you're getting, e.g. heated seats, cruise control, climate control, 6-change CD, etc., so difficualt to guide, but probably anywhere between £9k to £13k.

At the end of the day, it's worth what you're prepared to pay

 

[sbloxxy]

Obviously I'm biased but yes they are phenomenally good to drive. I get to drive lots of different cars (I'm in the motor trade) and thats a good way of reminding myself just how good a Boxster is.
Don't forget however, that buying one is the easy bit -its actually running it where it can get expensive. Everything, tyres, servicing and most repairs, is going to be more expensive than a standard family saloon.
Still a great drive though.

 

[Black80XSA]

ORIGINAL: punkassmofo

Hi guys,
Recently sold my 944, and have been considering buying a boxster.
My brother had a 2.5 a couple of years ago, which was nice, but Ive been offered the oppurtunity to buy a 3.2s on a 99 plate for what seems a reasonable price.

So the questions are -
What IS a reasonable price for a 99 3.2s (recent new clutch, suspension and tyres)

Are they a reliable every day motorway runner? - Ill be doing 120+ miles per day in it.

Any particular problems I should look out for?


thanks again guys!

The weakensses and faults of the Boxster are well documented in this forum, just alter the display at the top right to a time period longer than 30days. Engine failures are rare, but get documented to a level you'd think they were frequent - expensive if it happens to you mind.

Overall condition, hood operation, service history, non corroded brakes, matching N rated tyres are all good things to check. Recent clutch is good sign, especially if there is record of an RMS or IMS seal replacement at the same time (one less thing to worry about!)

Given your daily mileage you should look at fuel costs though - you'll be at a filling station every 3 days and a tank full is around £70. 600 miles a week in a Boxster might also be a bit tiring with tyre/wind/road noise being higher than a mundane rep mobile !

 

[punkassmofo]

Well I bought the boxster I mentioned above yesterday - what a car. Only had chance to do about 5 miles in it so far, but very impressed!

 

[punkassmofo]

Well , update as requested!
Ive now done over 1000 miles in it since buying it. Been an absolute delight every single mile! Only problem ive had is that the gears are really stiff and hard to select in the mornings. Seems to be a common feature on the 3.2's and something that hopefully the gearbox oil change sheduled for this weekend should help with.
Motorway cruising is a delight - although you have to watch the speed, it only takes a little press for the car to stretch from 70mph to 100+mph!
MPG is also surprisingly good - over my full 120 miles per day journey Ive been averaging 36mph! More than I was getting in my v6 peugeot 407!
Hard to fault it so far really - loved every minute of every journey.
My advice - get one! Best car Ive ever owned...

 

[punkassmofo]

i wouldnt worry about mileage if its been well looked after. I beleive that eventually there are many things that will need replacing on a car, and with a high mileage one, most of those things may have been replaced already!
Mine has 130k! and drives perfectly. In the last couple of years its had new clutch, new brakes all round, new suspension and even new engine 30k ago so the mileage doesnt bother me in the slightest. Id probably prefer a high mileage one thats been looked after than a low mileage one thats not been driven further than the shops and back....

 

[sbloxxy]

Totally agree with the high mileage comment: mine has around 108k and drives beautifully. More importantly, it had a very good, thorough service history and I really think that makes a huge difference. You just wouldn't want to buy a low mileage car with little service history, would you?