[CookieTT]

Hi everyone
Time to be looking at the field regards next car. Obvious choice for me is another TT, yes it has to be a Roadster.
However also time to be getting some test drives - but not much takes my fancy at similar price and love my TT
Considering a new order but for same price in Boxster territory albeit 3 to 4 years old, but tempted to have a drive anyway.

Any views on Porsche Boxster, preferrably constructive from previous owners experiences? [smiley=gossip.gif]

Thanks

 

[wja96]

The Boxster is a great car, but if you think the TT gets attention (good and bad) the Boxster is 100x worse. Add in all the "couldn't afford a 911 then?" jibes and the outrageous dealer pricing for everything and I'm afraid I'd be in a TTRS roadster every time.

 

[RockKramer]

All the reviews tell it like it is... It's a more involving car, more feel and feedback than you'll get from a TT but as wja says running costs. Personally the 'couldn't afford a 911' jib wouldn't bother me anymore than TT's being a hairdressers car/only a Golf does. Take a spin in a Boxster, see what you think, then you'll know.

 

[moro anis]

I had a 2008 Mk2 roadster and when it was time for a change, 9 months ago, I was considering a Boxster. I spent 2-3 months on various Boxster forums and couldn't believe all the problems they had, leaking oil seals, bearing failures (taking outthe whole engine), engine failures, clutch failures, hood life expectancy seemed short.
Earlier models had a plastic rear window. The list was endless. Couldn't believe it and really don't know how the got their sort after reputation. There were also the jibes and one incident where a chap had bought one and his family stopped talking to him.
The handling may be better being rwd but a few owners got caught out by this and wrote their cars off.
Servicing costs were double the TT and virtually double M3 servicing costs. Why?
The interior is back in 1998 when the car was launched.
I decided to stick with Audi and bought a TTS roadster which I'm loving to bits. Haven't regretted not buying a Porsche for 1 second but each to their own. Have a test drive. The choice is yours.

 

[jezzerboo]

I had a 2005 Boxster 2.7 for about a year a few years ago.

As other have said a lovely car to drive, very balanced and precise and flatters the driver.
They have a slightly more cramped cabin than the TT and not such nice perceived quality in some respects. Mine had an oil leak, which was fixed under warranty happily. However they only had a 2 year warranty at that time (i think they make a compulsory charge for the third year now?) and the work was about £1000 at a Porsche centre if out of warranty.

The engine made a nice noise but lacked the urge of my TTS (unmodded) quite noticeably.

Overall they are terrific cars but operate at a price level a little higher than almost all TT's, largely because of the running costs more than the purchase price. They also make Audi look like amateurs when it comes to options, which is some feat!
Obviously going out of the network can reduce costs but the same can be done with Audi and its only really viable on older cars for resale reasons.

 

[igotone]

No 2 son has just bought a 3.2 Boxster S. Its about 6 years old, immaculate, fully loaded with every extra, and he's bought it for a weekend toy for £13K. I've spent a bit of time behind the wheel and the engine note is glorious. The steering feel and feedback is in another league to the TTS, in fact I'd consider it a true sports car, whereas I consider the TTS a sporty GT coupe. You need to buy one of these out of warranty very carefully and with your eyes wide open as to future running and possible maintenance costs.

Performance is pretty much identical to the TTS although the top end isn't limited being good for over 170 mph. I very much doubt you'd be able to row through the gears in a manual 3.2 Boxster fast enough to keep up with a DSG TTS though.

I love the Boxster but wouldn't swap my TTS for one, certainly not as a daily driver in all conditions - the TTS is a more forgiving inherently much safer car. whereas the Boxster will be less forgiving of driver errors and be more likely to bite your arse when you get it wrong.

Have a look on the Boxster owners boards where there are some horror stories of maintenance and repair costs. You can probably read similar stories right here on this board and any other car board for that matter, but do your research before you jump in, and buy an older car very carefully.

 

[wja96]

Many of the maladies reported on the Boxster forums are due to people not looking after the cars properly. if you only ever run the car on a Sunday, and when you do run it, you do 20 miles in it, revving the nuts off it, before putting it back in the garage then you shouldn't be surprised when it fails.

I did 80,000 miles over 4 years in my two Boxsters (both 2.7s) and neither missed a beat. If you drive them hard only after they are warmed through properly (and it takes at least 20 miles just to warm it up properly) and you get them OPC serviced to schedule then they'll last forever.