My Dad is retiring and thinking about getting a sportscar. He likes the Boxster. He is looking at used ones. I do not know much about them from a reliability perspective.

If my Father were to get a Boxster, which year/model would you recommend? He wants a tiptronic, so please let me know your thoughts about that too. Once he retires, I would expect that he would put less than 4K miles on the car per year.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Get the 2.7L regular Boxster or an S.

The early 2.5 Boxsters had some engine problems.


Triptronics are fine!

He should get the Boxster that waves at 914s, or get's run off the road.


M

I read review in Excelence I think of a Boxter S with a Tiptronic, they gushed about how great a car it was. I'm sorry but I don't know the year but I think it was around 2000.
Neal

Tiptronics are fer weasels......real men get a stick.

The S is the one....buy the newest you can afford. You can prolly get one with a transferable warrenty.

The newest Tiptronics are very nice.

An article in Excellence about a year ago compared the 911 Turbo triptronic with a 911 Turno manual driven by a skilled Porsche racer. The general concensus was that the computer in the triptronic shifted better than the skilled racer. Times were almost dead equal.

I think they also "learn" about how you drive and change their shifting according to your driving requirements.

I have never driven tiptronic in a Boxster, but I liked that best about the 2002 911 I drove..

They use radiators now.



M

Gotta brag about my Pop. He's wanted a sports car all his life but never let himself be that impractical. I helped him talk himself into it finally last year. He's in his early 60's and wanted something sporty, yet not too uncomfortable for an old man to take on long trips. He didn't want to spend more than about $12k on his "toy car", so I helped him pick out a decent mid-90's 300zx (short wb). Holy crap! He's had it less than a year and he's put 34,000 miles on it! He loves it and it's nice to see him having some fun.
-Ben M.

The 76 I drive now is the one my Dad bought new when he was 60,I remember stopping by their house and my Mom saying 'your father just bought a porsche' and I just about s*it my pants !, my dad was a pretty meat and potatos guy. I hope this Boxter lasts your dad as long as our 914 has. P.S Tiptronics are not for wimps and shifting is overrated. I think this is to cool !
Neal

I think this is just the market Porsche is going for these days- and older guy, retiring or about to retire with some money. If you had seen the crowd at the PCA Parade this you you would think the next model they come out with will have three wheels and an electiric motor. OK so it will have AWD, ABS, and a carbon seat. You get the point.


Paul

99 and up Boxster. Get him a TIP. They typically go for a little less than the 5 speed or the 6 speed (S)

If he has the bank for it.. buy him a TIP S.

Sitting in Bay Area traffic SUCKS in a 6 speed or standard car.. the TIP takes all that away.


B

Thanks for the help guys, a few more questions:

Ok, what year did the switch to the 2.7 from the 2.5 as the base engine?
How long are the warranties?
Anything else to lookout for?

As much as I would prefer he get a manual, he wants an automatic (tip). He also wants A/C in what ever he gets, so an older car is generally out of the question.

Thanks for the help, and you can be damn sure he'll wave to 914s.

- Joe

Late 99 they went to the 2.7 liter engine. The TIP will surprise you when you drive it.

Look for typical crap: nasty back window (they went to glass..finally)

MAF sensors are going out..

B

The tip from the turbo is quite different from the tip's on other p-cars
The box itself is actually from Mercedes.

cheers,

Jeroen

I would look at low mileage 2001 2.7. They sorted out most of the problems by then. He is going to want some warrantly left on the car. As with all Porsches make sure its been well maintained.

I think the Tips from the 986 and 996 are Audi sourced.