Want to buy Boxster

Hi all,

quick question if I may. I'd like to buy a boxster (presumably more reliable than older 911) as a reward to myself for putting kids through university. Locally there is a '98 for sale for CDN$33k (about US$26.5k) with 50kkm I remember reading something on this group a while back that it would be worthwhile to spend some extra $ and buy a >'00 or newer Boxster since there were considerable improvements made in 2000 .... have I got this wrong?? Any advice much appreciated

cheers, guenter

Reply to
Guenter Scholz
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"Guenter Scholz" wrote

Might have been me... We bought a (used with 38K miles) 2000 Boxster (from a guy in California - many more down there.) for $30K US, two years ago. So the one you're looking at is too high in price IMO.

The 2000 model saw the 2.7l engine (from 2.5l) and some engineering upgrades to the engine (mostly oil seals - they all leak.) It's been quite reliable (now 56K on it IIRC).

BTW, if you want to see a good selection online, go to autotrader.com or cars.com and search within 100-150 miles of San Jose, CA.

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

Reply to
Chris

thanks for the tips Floyd, much appreciated,

cheers, guenter

ps if I may ask, did you ever consider a 911, possibly a bit older for the same price?

Reply to
Guenter Scholz

"Guenter Scholz" wrote

Not really. We were looking only for convertibles, and there aren't many available and consequently higher-priced. Also, the mellower handling appealed to Judy (it's her car), and Boxsters are in her opinion far better looking than C2/C4 Cabrios (also IMHO!)

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

in 98 when the last 993 ended the air cooled P-cars.

What's better about the air cooled engines, they're simpler?

cp

Reply to
cp

in 98 when the last 993 ended the air cooled P-cars.

The biggest gripe about the new engines is that the air-cooled cars were competition engines made for the street, while the water-cooled cars are built to a price point. They aren't proving as durable as the previous generation, and Porsche used the air-cooled case for the GT3. epbrown

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2003 BMW 325i Black/Black 2003 BMW Z4 Black/Black
Reply to
E Brown

I don't understand, what do you mean by "competition engineers for the street" vs. "to a price point"? Isn't it just a different heat transfer mechanism?

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Reply to
Dan Stephenson

yes and no

An air cooled engine used air and oil. The oil ways would be bigger and once moving air flow was unlikely to disappear unless the engine got totally sealed and isolated.

A water cooled engine has to find space in a similar physical size of unit to fit both oil and liquid coolant. That will mean thinner oil galleries, and the ability to close off some of the air flow so you can sound deaden the engine bay to keep the greenies happy. And unlike an aircooled engine, it is very possible to lose major coolant source at speed (hose pops off/headgasket goes/radiator pops). Combine that with less airflow at speed, and less oil and engines get hurt real quick if it happens when you are seriously playing.

Reply to
NeedforSwede2

Water-cooling v aircooling, yes. And I've got no problem with water-pumpers, having owned 2 Porsches with watercooled engines earlier this year (a 944 and 928). But the change to water-cooling also signified a change at Porsche. Weideking (sp?) changed Porsche's manufacturing philosophy after bringing in consultants from Japanese car companies to streamline the building process. Prior to the changes, I would describe Porsches as over-engineered, while the 996 and Boxster are (as I wrote) engineered to a price point. Rather than spend the money to make the engines the best they could muster, they're now built to be the best Porsche can do - for the money. The previous cars are durable and can rack up 100s of thousands of miles, but the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy on a regular basis. The current cars are faster and more up-to-date and Porsche is now the most profitable car company on the planet Time will tell how durable the 996 and its variants are (I personally think the RMS issue is overstated, but I'm sorry to see Porsche didn't correct it for the 997). Some people see it as significant that for the competition-spec cars, Porsche reverts to the

993 engine case. To me the cars don't seem as solidly built as my old ones. You can find a 996 for less than a 993 with similar miles, and some are as low as a 964 or G50 911. People are less confident in the new cars when out of warranty than the old ones. epbrown

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2003 BMW 325i Black/Black 2003 BMW Z4 Black/Black
Reply to
E Brown

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