Mister Quickie

Now that the early Boxsters can be had for well under $10k, even if the IMS causes CEF, oh well, it's not like you bought a 911T.

Are the Boxsters fairly reliable and easy to work on and parts not too expensive?

Or is a 944 still the best option if you need a Porsche that you can beat the ball off of?

Shawn Stanford

Tough call...

They're both stupid cheap and fun. I sold my 944 turbo to buy the Boxster. I'm driving the hell out of the Boxster, while the 944 sat in the garage a lot of the time.

I guess it depends on they styling you prefer (ultra-80s creased cool vs. 2000s curvy Porsche), and if you'd rather have a convertible or a hatchback.

Mister Quickie

Styling is subjective and I actually don't care much for the Boxster look (with the exception of the 2011-2012 Spyder but that's not a car I'm going to beat the ***** off of.

I also prefer a non-convertible since the mechanism is just one more thing to maintain but I'm seeing enough people remove the mechanism and manually lower the roof so that's fine for me.

The 944 sitting in the garage most of the time is what'll likely tip the scales in favor of the Boxster for me. That and I prefer the mid engine, front engined cars no matter the hp never did it for me.

The 944 isn't particularly difficult to work on but it seems like there's always something breaking on it.

So now the question becomes, buy the base 944 sooner or wait for the S's to come down in price later

Macster

Have no experience with the 944 so I can't comment on that part of your post.

My 2002 Boxster has been reliable. A car doesn't stay around long if it is not relable. I get in a car and it had better start and run and run until I turn the engine off, and repeat this use after use. I'll spend some money to make the car reliable like replacing a battery or the clutch interlock switch but if the car is inherently unreliable away it goes. So far no car I've owned has proved to be unreiiable. Sure, once in a great while a battery fails, or a fuel pump quits, but once the battery is replaced or the fuel pump replaced the car's reliable again.

When I worked on my Boxster it was not too hard to work on. I did bumper cover removal to clean radiator ducts, oil/filter services, brakes, brake fluid/clutch fluid flush/bleed, replaced some O2 sensors.

Had I remained where I lived -- where I had a garage -- I might have done more work: Plugs maybe, water pump, maybe even the fuel pump.

After I moved from where I lived to a different place -- here in CA -- working on cars was forbidden. I still snuck a brake job or two in on a Sunday or an oil change then switched to doing oil changes at the office. But that was a 30 mile drive to the office, work on the car, then a 30 mile drive home. I had to make sure I had everything I needed. I just got tired of the extra effort and had less spare time and started having more work done at the local dealer.

Parts are rather expensive compared to parts for other cars.

Just yesterday ordered a new MAF. List price was $600. My discount brought this down to $400 and change. Still expensive and probably more expensive than what one would pay for a MAF for another brand of car.

One might suggest buying a MAF from some other source. Maybe. My experience has not been that good with non OE parts.

I know how the factory MAF performs and what life expectancy to well, expect. The original MAF has served just fine for 200K+ miles.

The original MAF had a 100K mile "recess" when I misdiagnosed it as bad and replaced it -- with a MAF bought from some other parts supplier -- then when this MAF failed after 100K miles I put the original MAF back in and it worked just fine until recently.

So instead of another OEM MAF I elected to replace the original MAF with one "just lke it". Hopefully it will last as long as the original MAF.

Also, since I bought it from the dealer I'll get a free installation by a tech so I won't have to bother installing it myself. I could but why if a tech will do it?

Anyhow, getting back on the subject: You can buy a "cheap" Boxster and if you buy smart you will get a good one albeit with probably some miles on the car. But you get it for a rather small sum of money.

If you are prepared and able to do some of the work yourself you can keep the Boxster on the road for a reasonable sum of money. What you save by buying a less expensive example you might -- might -- spend this on keeping the car on the road.

But maybe not. Except for the VarioCam solenoid and actuator problem my Boxster engine manifested at oh I believe at least at the 250K mile mark all the car has needed has been wear items replaced -- beyond the normal service stuff.

But as a car gains miles wear items starts to encompass more and more things. Things like water pump, fuel pump, coolant tank, oil filler tube cap, gas cap, brake light switch, clutch interlock switch. Door and window hardware. CV boots. Oxygen sensors. MAF.

In the case of my Boxster's engine, the spark plug tube o-rings.

Even though I never put the top down the top developed a leak and I had it replaced with an aftermarket top. The factory top was just too much money. (Even with a "huge" discount the top would have cost me $2600 before installation cost. The aftermarket top cost me around $1500 including installation.)

New windshield. The replacement is pretty pitted and has a few small star cracks in it but so far has not gotten to the point it needs to be replaced.

Other than the VarioCam solenoid/actuator the engine has needed no other internal work.

The clutch is original. All but one wheel bearing is original. One radiator was replaced years and years ago after I hit some road debris but the replacement and the other side -- factory original -- have been just fine.

Water pump replaced once but hoses are original.

3 AOSs have been needed. AOS lasts about 100K miles for me.

Had a problem with one radiator fan ballast resistor.

The front and rear trunk lid struts have worn out and were replaced. (I did this. Easy peasy.)

Some underbody and even one plastic panel up top -- the cowl panel -- have been replaced. The ones under the car get beat up and when they get loose/cracked/damaged and no longer remain secure to the car I replace or have them replaced. The cowl panel cracked where the bolts fitted and the panel became loose so this was replaced.

A orignal converter started buzzing when hot and towards the end was knocking when cold. It generated a CEL every once in a while. The converter -- the exhaust manifold -- got hit by some road debris and the impact I think knocked the brick loose. I finally got tired of the noise and the CEL showing up once in a while -- not often but often enough -- and bought a pair of used converters and had them installed and the "new" converters are quiet and the car passes emissions tests with ease -- as it did before I might add but I was always afraid the CEL would come on during an emission check/test.

The front bumper cover clear coat is peeling. The bumper cover was replaced with a new one after the Boxster got hit from behind and shoved into a car stopped in front of it. The shop that did the work is out of business so the lifetime warranty on accident repairs here in CA means nothing.

The clear coat on top of the outside mirrors is failing. And there are some signs of some clear coat deterioration on top of the clamshell and the rear trunk lid around the Boxster emblem. No rust or corrosion and I might just live with paint and its condition.

I don't beat on my Boxster. But I do drive it and enjoy it, if you know what I mean and I think you do. The engine sees some high RPMs -- after it is warmed up -- and some hard acceleration sometimes. The engine still runs just fine and the car is still a nice driving car.

With over 315K miles on it the car's worth hard telling how little now but I don't care. I can't replace it with anything comparable without spending thousands of dollars. So a new MAF at $400 or new tires or new brakes while are not cheap are less, way less, than what I'd spend to replace the car.

So based on my experience what you are asking is within the realm of feasible. Find/buy a good used older maybe even high mileage Boxster. Costs you not much to buy if you buy smart.

Then if you are prepared you can keep it in the road. If, big if, the engine blows then you can sell the car on as a roller and recoup some money and not be out too much. If the engine stays together then you just enjoy the car as long as it suits you.

dr914

I think that the Porsche bolster is the best Porsche buy out there, and will continue to be. It probably drives better than any other Porsche of its era or before with light shifting light steering light brake pressure, one pushbutton to lower the top, ice cold air great sounding stereo, 360 degree visibility, light nimble handling, great gas mileage, relatively inexpensive parts and service, and NOW a good inexpensive price (you can purchase a great one for under 8500 dollars. They even look great, and the galvanized bodies will last for a long long time.
I drive one every day (when I am not riding my bmw motorcycle (LOL) and I am a 914 guy!

Quadcammer

car is cheap, parts not so much. engine failure is a real possibility and a bummer. Those are dollars you'll never get back.

mikefocke

How are you going to be driving it? Who will repair it? What are you willing to do? What is the maintenance status of the one you'll be buying?

Any car of the era you are talking of is now at a point where things break because of age. Suspensions need a refresh, plastic cracks, engine mounts deteriorate, etc. Porsche is pretty good at keeping parts available but they do come at a price. But then even Honda parts cost (an O2 sensor for my Honda cost more than one for my Boxster).

Owned two Boxsters. Once I had invested to bring them up to my standards where I knew the maintenance was up to date, they were more reliable than other cars of the same era. Could that not have been the case? Sure. Stuff happens.

993GT

best cheap P-car... arguably one of the most fun, period.

Schnell Gelb

The challenge is to avoid the Boxsters with lots of deferred repairs and a sloppy maintenance history .The factory recommended oil change interval is an engine killer.
The problem is not so much the parts prices,it is access and knowledge.

Mister Quickie

Very helpful post, I'm thinking this may be the car for me.



I bought my '04 R1150r for $3500 and the only thing I've had to do is change fluids. This is why I've put off buying another P-car as long as I have if I get one at all. More fun, less money, and I can take the express lanes to work.



I'm not going to track it so let's just say it'll be used for "spirited street driving". I'll repair as much as I can which is pretty much everything given enough time. I have a truck as a backup if a job takes a long time. The maintenance status is where I'm not sure about paying more for someone who's kept records or pay less and take a chance. If the IMSB causes CEF, oh well, time for the Renegade upgrade.



I would likely tell the guy at the Indy shop I sometimes take my cars to to be on the lookout for a customer looking to sell their Boxster. This way at least he knows the car somewhat.

dr914

I wholeheartedly agree, when a Porsche becomes cheap to buy like many Boxsters, many wannabes purchase them with their last dollar but have no money left over for maintenance an repairs. The result is a car that is unreliable with everything wrong with it and usually kept very dirty. We have seen to many roll into the shop after they finally failed by this abuse.

RJ80

Both 944s and Boxsters will bleed you dry in maintenance if you don't buy a good one. Having owned a 944 S2 and having driven Boxsters extensively, the Boxster is going to be more of a sports car -- more engaging to drive, sharper, quicker, better sounding engine, but less practical and comfortable than a 944. 944s are great sporty coupes, but drive larger and have more body roll than Boxsters do. They're excellent grand-touring cars, eat up highway miles effortlessly and the rear seats and large cargo area make them very practical.

For my wants, I'd be looking at Boxsters or 914s if I were to get back into the Porsche fray.

Shawn Stanford

I found my 944 turbo to be completely unsuitable to long-distance driving. Anything more than a couple of hours and I'd feel pretty beat up when I got there. The same is true of the Boxster.

The 928 is Porsche's grand tourer; that's what it was designed to be. It's a lovely long-distance car.

dr914

I just got back from the Hilton Head concours and the kids did not want to go so just the two of us took our 2004 Boxster, like you say Shawn, all interstate, even at high speeds, the wind noise and road roughness because of the car being relative light sort of beat us up. We usually drive our Cayenne, which is quiet, heavy and perfect for interstates. ON THE OTHER HAND: When we drove up to Asheville via the mountain roads, the Boxster was PERFECT!
Boxster, for a Porsche sports car, is again, in my opinion, the best Porsche buy. (and we drive and work on all of them here at our shop!)

Macster

My 2002 Boxster is a very nice GT. The car is pretty quiet with the lined top (up). I never drive on the highway with the windows down but rely upon the car's excellent ventilation heater/AC system to keep the cabin air fresh and if heating/cooling necessary at a comfortable temperature.

So with the windows up wind noise is not bad -- less then my 996 Turbo -- and the ride with 17" wheels/tires is great. I have covered hundreds of miles -- over 700 some days -- per day in the car and while my eyes are tired and a bit bleery I feel otherwise pretty darn good.