AR

85...nice!

Lemmy

Buying a 996 or a Boxster is a potential financial liability once they are out of warranty. Accordingly to the 911 specialist who looks after our 964 the engine design of the 996 and Boxster is flawed in that it has a whippy crankshaft which leads to rear main seal oil leaks. Porsche will replace the seal (5-6 hours labour), but this doesn't fix the route cause and the new seal will wear and start leaking again. Many cars have had seals replaced several times. The fault can manifest itself at anytime. There have also been cases of porous cylinder linings. Both faults have led to replacement engines subsidised by Porsche at £8000 a time. I doubt Porsche will agree to replacement engines once a car is out of warranty and has left the dealer network to be serviced by Porsche specialists.

Also there is an article in a Porsche magazine this month about the unavailability of engine and gearbox parts for 996s. So if your 996 requires a partial engine or gearbox rebuild then the only option is a new engine or gearbox. Our 911 friendly specialist confirmed this situation and said that the only 996s he deals with are GT3s and GT2s. Evidently the GT3 engine is different in that it is basically a 993 (air cooled engine) with water jackets added.

I am not sure if the engine in the new Boxster is any better, but at least it would be in warranty for 3 years. Otherwise if you want a 911 buy a 993 or save a bit more for a GT3!

Deep Singh

Type R,'character ' as you describe the Boxster as not having is purely subjective is it not? Some people think that a Morris Minor,Mini etc have character. Its much like the 'sense of occassion' associated with cars that some hacks harp on about. All depends on 'where you're at' From your description it sounds like its a bloddy good car. I'd be interested to know how you rated its power compared to your Type R
ps had a black Type R myself once,defo the car I've enjoyed the most in the last ten years. Engine blew two days after I sold it to a garage!

Type R

Yes agree character is subjective and persona,l for me it didnt have what I wanted in a car.

Type R came from the days when I owned a JDM Civic Type R (1.6), I own an S2 Elise at the moment, havent owned a Scoob.

It is a bloody good car, as said I found it difficult to criticise, power wise it didnt feel that quick, but I was doing over a 100 very quickly it beeps as you hit 100

davyboy

The GT2 and GT3 share the same crankcase as the racing Porsche GT1 which is derived from the 964.

...even has a 964 part number too.

GCollier

Go drive the two cars back to back. The boxster does not "feel" like a truly fast car.

Why the need to post irrelevant details such as the precise details and vintage of your wine delivery? Does it make you feel good advertising that you drink wine that costs a quarter of the average weekly take home wage per bottle? It's smug self-satsifed cr4p like this that gets all porsche drivers - genuine enthusiasts included - branded as w4nkers.

Gary.

NotoriousREV

I haven't driven a 996 but got a drive in a Boxster S around a race track (some airfield near Northampton) and have always considered the Boxster to be a bit "all mouth, no trousers" and never really got the whole 911 thing either.

I loved it, it felt great to drive. Not as fast as my tuned Scooby, but it felt so much better, instant response, pulled like a train to the red line, handling with huge limits but relatively idiot-proof which I proved by lifting off at the apex of a VERY fast corner, which would have had the Impreza sailing backwards through a hedge, the S didn't even twitch, although my **** did. I liked it so much I've stopped calling them hairdressers cars!

Old_Fart

Gary, that stereotype was precisely what I was poking fun at. The fact you took it seriously dissapoints me, but to be honest I don't really give a care what you think, I don't know you from Adam...besides, everyone knows the '85 was average, it's the 61 and the 90 that really impress.
Cman

Gastro

LOL - love it.....

Gastro

slim_boy_fat

All these Porsche drivers probalby think Scooby drivers are Chavs with no taste so i wouldn't worry about it mate..

Gastro

Oh dear --> please, don't tell me that Porsche-Subaru is the north south divide amongst drivers..... You might think the comment was stereotypical of a 'Porsche driver' - what the h*ll are comments like this meant to convey to Porsche drivers ??

Come on - lets be friends

Gastro

Midmotorsteve

I'm sure there are many better cars to spend £38,000 on than a boxter S, doesn't look that nice, common, not that fast, out classed on the road by virtually every 2litre turbo 10 year old Jap motor with a few mods...

Infact on autotrade now for £38,000 is a Aston DB7 volante on a P plate, or for true style and 2K more a 1970 DB6 could be yours.

or going 'sport'

Noble M12 GTO for £37K
1999 911 3.4 carrera 2 cabrio...

lots better than a boxster

Midmotorsteve

or its easier to get a finance deal on a new boxster

slim_boy_fat

I think it was the typical Chav comment. Made by someone who has not idea what class is or want makes a desirable product.

Not really worth bothering about.

Deep Singh

Come on guys c'ant we ever have a discussion here without fighting?
Personally I d'ont think a modded 10 year old jap turbo would out class a new Porker in anyway except all out acceleration,until the engine went bang.
As for a P reg AM,why would I want a 10 year old car that was never that good even when it was new,and has Mondeo switchgear?
Whats better at the price then.?

Gastro

GRANT

Deep,
Please don't listen to the twadle about a hairdressers car .
I had all the remarks when I got the Z4 but after I embarresed the lot of them at Brands Hatch they all shut up.
The Porsche is on another level.The car offers much more than just performance, it is a whole experience from the amazing handling to the quality and the finnish of the car.
Going to Park Lane in the morning to pay remainder of deposit for my new one and to set the final spec. Hope to get delivery in the late spring.
I went for the 'S' with a few extras.

Take it for a drive along a nice twisting route and enjoy it's handling and any gear low down torque.

Grant

Gastro

Couldn't agree with this statement more.
The 'S' is awesome - my old (!) P1 was a match but not any ordinary Scoob - sorry to pop the bubble - but to chav is to accelerate in a straight line only

Gastro

PS - pipe and smoke it comes to mind Drive a Boxster and you'll be mighty surprised.................................

DocJock

To all the "my Scoob is faster" comments...

My much modded Scoob has to work quite hard to keep up with a standard boxsterS around the Nurburgring.. Even with over 100bhp less it still pulls away slightly above 120mph.

Following at speed is very interesting. You can see the fantastic suspension control, evidenced by the lack of roll (very low CoG) and total lack of dive (great weight distribution).

You drive one (on track) and several things are immediately obvious

It feels like it is made out of one huge chunk of metal. The build/design quality is great.
The power delivery is seamless through the gears, not lag, never off boost.
The suspension control/weight distribution mean that the brakes work awesomely.

AS an aside, a gent I know who keeps a GT3 at the Ring drives a BoxsterS at home and reckons it is the better chassis, with less understeer.

Midmotorsteve

pmsl oh my god you think a boxster has class LOL

what footballers wives 'class'

LOL

NotoriousREV

When I drove one at the track the Mrs said "what was it like" and my reply was "it drives exactly how you imagine a Porsche drives"

I hope people aren't reading my "not as fast as my tuned Scooby comment" earlier as meaning it's better than the Porsche, it simply isn't. In a straight line drag, the Scooby would well have it up to about 100 but in the oh-so-infamous twisties I wouldn't see which way it went and if I did it wouldn't feel as good as the Boxster.

It comes down to that old good handling vs good grip argument.

Gastro

fair comment - but class is a relative thing - and indeed what is the comparison ?

Gastro

billythekid

There are only 2 cars that are worth buying at the moment, the Boxster (any model >2002) or a Mini Cooper S.

Deep Singh

Hi Grant. Good luck with the car,I'm sure you'll enjoy it. What colour and did you go for the chrono and/or the sport pack?

P1Fanatic

I must admit I didnt think much of the boxster until a mate took me out in his Y reg S and I was totally converted. It ripped the **** outta my standard Uk turbo (X reg) and the handling was awesome. The brakes were astonishing, I honestly thought we were going to overshoot a roundabout at one point.

The problem with their image is that you dont see enough of them driven like they should be.

If I had the money I would deffo buy one. As someone else said its the complete package not just some rice rocket that can race to 60mph off the lights.

Whoever compared a boxster to a P reg Aston needs their head read.

Simon.

Midmotorsteve

Park a P reg DB7 next to a new boxster and watch where people look, they won't even notice the boxsters there, they lack the 'something special' that 911s, Astons etc have and are as common as 3 series bmws. I see about 8 or 9 boxsters a day here in Oxford and they are all driven by middleaged women. Sure they may handle well etc but how many are actually ever driven hard? 99% will only go shopping.

I haven't called them a hairdressers car, indeed my car suffers that same comment, but the Poster of this thread asked are they hairdresser? I'm just adding my opinion, If the buyers the sort of guy to rag a car round a track, he should (in my opinion) buy a Noble, if he wants to criuse about looking cool (with proper class) he sould get a couple of year old 911 or something like an Aston, just my opinion.

Why on earth people are saying my comments are Chav? I'm probably one of the few people on here whos car has absolutely no body/ external mods at all (its gained 100bhp and 130lbs of torque since being in my possession mind.. ) also doubt many chavs work in cutting edge medical research grow up people.

GRANT

[QUOTE=

I haven't called them a hairdressers car, indeed my car suffers that same comment, but the Poster of this thread asked are they hairdresser? I'm just adding my opinion, If the buyers the sort of guy to rag a car round a track, he should (in my opinion) buy a Noble, if he wants to criuse about looking cool (with proper class) he sould get a couple of year old 911 or something like an Aston, just my opinion.
.[/QUOTE]

There is a very good reason for not buying the Noble.
I cover around 35,000 miles a year in my car which I don't think a Noble would stand up to so well.
I also do between 10 -12 track days a year time depending.
For me the Porsche is a great compromise in having a great chassis, brakes etc to have great fun on the track and yet still be comfortable enough to use day in day out up and down the motorway.

Deep,
I wend for Basalt Black and no chrono pack as it may me removed from the U.K market.There is alot of talk about the fact that the stop watch,lap timer on the dashboard breaks numerous U.K road traffic laws.Apart from which when I test drove it last week I though the benifits of the sport button were not worth it.It comes into its own mainly on the Tiptronic gearbox.

Deep Singh

Steve, the Noble has dubious reliabilty,resale, only 1 year warranty and limited dealers. Also looks like an airfix model.
As for the P reg AM,people may stop and look and think I'm really cool,but I know I'm cool(LOL). I would'nt feel cool knowing that I've bought a car that is technologically prehistoric and not a classic either. I take the point about a couple of year old 911 instead,thats why I posed the question.

Grant, car sounds gorgeous!

On a slightly different note I noticed on a rerun of Topgear that the 996 Turbo time on Stig board is quite poor compared to other cars. Any ideas why?

Sub69

I would love to own a Porsche Boxster. I wouldn't consider spending the money on any of the so-called alternatives because in terms of quality, style and performance they don't compare.



Good Luck to anyone who has worked hard enough to afford one.