Want to get info on the BOXSTER

[strosekmega]

Have had an aircooled 911 for about a 1,5 years.... its wonderful, but now I am looking to get eiter a 993 or a Boxster S

Now, I have heard alot of BAAAAAAD stuff about the toyota porsche, but after driving I'm thinking differently. I just dont have enough info on the car, and would like it if some of you fanatics would post some of your knowledge here for me to read.

I want to know which of the "s" models are good, what years to look for, and what the most common errors are, etc etc...

OK, well, I hope someone will tell me about it, all my Porsche buddies own 911's and most of them have the older 993, 964 or 930 body.

Thanks!

[Porsche_Daddy]

If you are looking at a 986 then try to go 03 or newer. By then most of the bugs had been worked out and you get a glove box, rear glass, plus some slight body/hp changes. If you want a 987 then get a 987. Basically, you can't go wrong getting the newest car you can afford. Oh, and get an S. What info did you want to know exactly?

[MysticLlama]

All about budget too sometimes...

I got a 2.5 because I got it for $15k w/70k on it. At that price I don't have to worry so much about putting a lot of miles on it, a paint chip here and there, etc.

[strosekmega]

Hey Mystic, your driving a 911SC from 1980, and you probably have the stock engine, a 3.0? How do you think the SC is compared to the Boxster, I mean, how do they compare in reliability?

[MysticLlama]

Let's see...

As far as reliability, I have only had the Boxster about a month, so I'm not sure just yet. It's a little finicky with a check engine light for the secondary air injection, but it seems to not show up on dry days or when it's had the garage. Maybe condensation or something. Still runs okay, but down on some power since it seems to go into limp home mode when the light is on.

The SC has been awesome for reliability, a couple little things that I've been stuck with, blowing off a hose clamp due to a small backfire, dead starter, things that happen with any car. I've had it for over a year and a half and it was my only car up until I got the Boxster. Stock 3.0, cat-bypass and sport muffler, but no other engine mods.

I've had a couple things break on the 911, a motor mount, a shift bushing, brakes needed replaced, etc. but it's 25 years old. Even the motor mount didn't strand me anywhere, so nothing major. Most of the things I've done were because I wanted to.

Besides the check engine light, the only another annoyance in the Boxster is a leak that is pooling water behind the passenger seat, and the remote keyless is pretty slow to activate which sucks in heavy rain.

To compare the two, the 911 is way more brutal to drive. I didn't drive it for a couple weeks, and when I did it was a shock that I drove it daily for so long without noticing. Still loads of fun, but requires more concentration, makes more noise, rides harsher, etc.

The Boxster wins on gas mileage, I get 25 combined and up to 29/30 on the freeway at times. The 911 gets something like 9-10 around town, 17-18 combined, 25 on a long road trip cruising at 60-70ish.

The Boxster also wins on HVAC, Defrosting, has ABS, has Traction control, you know, all that random stuff that does matter on a daily driver, but doesn't so much on a fun 911.

They are also about the same 0-60 wise I'd guess. The Boxster has a little more power, but my 911 is only around 2500lbs, so it has a 350+lb weight advantage. The Boxster doesn't pull quite as hard, but shifts faster than the 915 without even trying. The Boxster rotates much quicker and a lot differently, and doesn't punish you so much for being off-line like the 911 does.

Hmm, should have just made an SC compared to the Boxster thread eh?