928 and 912E vs. Boxster

wrote

A very strange comparison, IMO. A 40 year old design vs. a 25 year vs. a 10 year... All modern cars are much more reliable than older designs. My wife's '00 Boxster has never had any engine problems other than oil leaks, now has 55K miles on it. It's quite comfortable - CA and back to WA, I5 or CA 1 or 101 no problem.

Floyd

OOO, I don't know about that one, my '62 scout is *much* more reliable than my '84 928

Bernard

Sorry, what is a scout; is it a Porsche?

A joke, Bill. Bernard is comparing his 1962 International Scout to his

The question put to you seems to be: Why the wide range in auto choices?

The 986 (Boxster), the 928 and finally the 912E are worlds apart. All fun worlds, to be sure.

What do you want out of your automobile? The 986 is a roadster and will be a fun ride. The 928 is a grand touring car and will have plenty of mid-range power and good comfort for long trips. While the 912E is about the most basic and simplified Porsche you can get and will probably sip the least amount of fuel. (Others will have more opinions, assuredly.)

If cared for, all should be reliable, though the Boxster is newer and has an edge in this department. I have heard stories about expensive repairs on 928s, but then I hear directly from 928 owners how these stories are not well founded.

Pick whichever one suits your purpose and have fun! (The Scout is much slower, BTW.)

DS

Oh ho, my bad.

No doubt, Boxsters are good looking cars and are more modern than what I have. I was just wondering if I should replace one or all of them with a Boxster, but didn't want to end up with something less than any one of them. The biggest concern is the reliability I guess, even though it would be a weekend car and an occasional trip car.

I agree that reliability depends on how well a car is maintained. On the other hand, I remember a saying that goes along the line "My axe is twenty years old, with the handle replaced 10 times and the blade five times."

To put it in perspective, I don't mind keeping it well maintained, as I do with the cars that I have, but I don't want to have to carry camping and towing gear just to drive to a town a few hours away.

On the 928 though, I guess they are on the moderate to heavy maintenance side, and I hear that they can get expensive if you use it anymore than as a weekend driver. From my experience, I think you end up paying more for cutting corners in the first place. It had happened to me a few times, and since then I try to stick to the OEM parts to the extent possible, down to the hoses of a prticular length and shape, bulbs of the exact specifications, and the correct torques etc..

Cheers ...