go ricer or not, looking at a new daily driver Options

[d914]

Ok clearing out the stable and getting new, "used" , cars for the driveway..

Know a local dealership so "borrowed" a couple of cars for the weekend..

'03 miata BTDT nice but no HP

'03 S2000.....now that was fun... high reving, good street handling, cabin a bit small but I'm 5'8'' so no issues.. vtech kicks in around 6000 rpm, rumor has it , and 90 at 9000 in 3rd... rumor has it!!?? push button start and electric top.....

or

Boxster 2.7... drove one while ago with a tip, nice car, larger, more truck room, more cabin space, handled great..

So questions who has one of the above. What are the gotcha's on the boxster, maintaince costs??? to be driven only 10-15k per year.

[grantsfo]

Hard to go wrong with a 2.7 Boxster. Very reliable, fairly cheap to work on and maintain. My Boxster has been perfect for 4 years and 35,000 miles with exception of an oil leak that was fixed under warranty. Boxster's do burn through rear tires in about 10,000 to 15,000 miles depending on your driving habits. Some cars have leaking rear main seals - make sure to check maintance records for that issue. Probably better to avoid a car with a leaking issue as they tend to reoccur.. Some Boxsters had problems with AC drains leaking into the passenger side floor - I'd want to check to make sure everything is clean there. I have heard of oil pump failures and blown engines, but they are rare. Note Boxster probably isnt a good car to track with r compound tires as Porsche warns against that practice . Porsche beats out Honda and Toyota in new car reliability now if your considering a new car.

I test drove the new S2000 last week as I was considering a new daily driver too. I hated the S2000 car compared to my 2.7 Boxster. Honda has no low end power, you need to rev the crap out of it to get power, hardly daily driver material (great car for the track!) The Honda has no trunk space, manual top, manual seats that are uncomfortable compared to the boxster. Ride in the Honda is jittery again not daily driver freindly. The low production numbers on the s2000 has kept the used prices artificially high. While the vast numbers of Boxsters have helped drive used prices artificially low for the value you get in that Porsche.

Have you thought about waiting until the new Pontiac Solstice comes out? I think it would make a great daily driver. Big torquey four cylinder matched to a tranny that is made by the same supplier who makes the one in the S2000.

Mini is an expensive toy, but would make a good daily driver. The new Miata looks like a great car as well.