First of all, ignore all these anti-boxster comments. I've been looking after my mate's boxster S for the past few weeks, and it's simply the best handling car I've ever driven. The combination of handling and open-air motoring also provides an exploitable dimension to driving enjoyment, in a world where proliferation of anti-speeding measures is making (bragging rights aside) out and out performance largely irrelevant. If you have kids who like cars, it may also give you an excuse for little trips out - my eldest is constantly nagging me to take him out in the porsche :)

Anyway, financials/sensible head on. If it *really* does mean forgoing holidays, skiing and house improvements then it's not worth it. But assuming you could add the cost onto your mortgage I doubt it would cost you more than about £90 month in interest payments (wouldn't normally advocate this for car purchase, but with a 40% discount you'll get your money back on the car after 4 years anyway and repay the capital). Servicing on new boxsters is also 20k miles or 2 years, so won't break the bank either, and insurance (at least for me) is very cheap.

Regards,

Gary.

Mate of mines a car valeter at a car sales fairly local-ish to me-to say he loves cars would be an understatement-would be fair to say he`s struggled to afford several of his cars and hardly used a few other than taking them to shows and the odd day out when its dry.

I think you need a really understanding missus who`s really into cars and can appreciate the expense/sacrifice for something you really love but then would it feel a bit selfish of you from a family point of view??

Likes already been said theres plenty of fun to be had with other cars that are less expensive.

Johns first "fun" car from a few yr ago now.

scoobymad/johns sierra cosworth - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

next

scoobymad/johns escort cosworth - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

He always wanted a porsche too (993 turbo 4)
scoobymad/johns porsche 993 turbo 4 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Funding buying this meant cashing in some savings accounts his dad had set up for him when he were a kid selling the cossie, lots of saving by him,girlfriend going bk home from rented house she were in an putting the money which would have bin the rent to one side-dad lent him the balance(werent much extra)

Can appreciate anyone who wants anything bad enough to struggle to get it difference here were john bought a porsche that were goin up in value an lost nothing on it over the 2yr maybe 3 he owned it (were £40K They`re rare)Think car were a 1996 model.

Recently sold the porsche to get a sensible car and put the money towards a house as his missus has just had a baby.............The sensible car-Audi RS4 estate-had to laugh when he told me, Said its only an old one..£25k still though :wonder: ,i really did think he were getting something cheap and practical...........still no house....yet.(no pics of the audi yet)

£25k car and no house for the baby?????

Clever.

It's still a small sportscar with great handling.Still don't understand gay/car thing (guess who has one :p )

I really really think that there are just so many fantastic cars new and second hand ,well priced that would get you salivating at the thought of the weekend coming and you could get the toy out for a blast.

The bottom line is,you can't properly afford the car (not being funny) but then again nor can a lot of people.To think about slapping a car on your mortgage is just scary

(I would have had an elise but I need my car to get to work)

Personally, I wouldn't buy the car if it's a stretch to make the financial commitment over 4 years and there are other things I could do with the money such as home improvements.
I wasn't too happy with one of our cars that we bought, nowhere near in the same league as a Porsche, but when it cost a substantial amount to rectify a fault which could have bought / installed a new kitchen that we also wanted, it did cause problems.

There you go Brendan, the Boxster could be back on!

Don't do it Brendan.

I know this is not in the same league financially, but I spent a fortune on my 205 in both time and cash and it now sits in the garage unused - I've done 15 miles in it since an Oulton trackday last November. :(

And it breaks my heart when I look at it in the garage knowing how much time and effort I put into it, but as a growing family its just not practical for me to use ever, even at the weekend so I'll be getting rid soon.

For those of you concerned about the state of my marriage, I told my wife about this thread last night, and the almost unanimous conclusion that it was a bad idea to buy a car I'd almost never drive.

There was an instant reaction. "You'd never drive? You selfish ba5tard, I have swimming lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, language classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, sewing club on Thursdays..."

I always thought that giving her the trackday voucher for the two Lambos last September was a shrewd investment.... :D :eek:

What's wrong with going to work in an Elise?

Actually getting there and also staying dry:D

I actually get to work and stay dry every day - regardless of weather :p

I had my Elise in the months of Feb, March, April, May and June last year. Most of my driving was up and down a motorway commuting in all weathers. I never got wet either. Show me a Porsche that does 49 mpg, looks as nice, handles better or depreciates less for £7k or less :)

LOL :lol1: It sounds like she wants it as much as you do, if not more. Buy it for her, you know she's worth it :thumb:

If your wife goes out and gets a job, you can put all that money towards the repayments.

Job done.

@ Brun & Scoobynutta

I'm desperate for one so pack it in!

It's what Brendan should be looking at despite the post about it being too dangerous

There's no point putting yourself into relative financial hardship just for the sake of car-park kudos.

Brendan, unfortunately he's correct. The problem you'll find is the level of sacrifice will outweigh the benefits of owning the car in the first place. Living in a tatty house without decent holiday with a wife festering with resentment wouldn't be a nice way to live.

And once the honeymoon period is over, she will resent it. The problem you've got is that you can't put too many miles on it without the whole project becoming a financial millstone. I've got a similar problem at present, with my car having sat on the driveway for the best part of winter so that I can get some decent driving in over the summer months, mainly due to the requirement for keeping the miles off it - its sat there and its pissing me off.

I was looking at a Gallardo the other day which are just starting to look affordable but there's no way I can put 20k a year on it (to get a decent return, enjoyment wise) without scalping myself. So, I'd be making a sacrifice to buy the thing and then sacrificing my enjoyment of it by using it less than I'd like.

Why not look at one of the fractional ownership schemes if you really want to play with some tasty kit, without commiting financial suicide?

Just for lozgti :thumb: :p ;)

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.brunskill1/Elise1.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.brunskill1/Elise3.JPG

Stunning mate:thumb: swine.At least my mx is that colour if nothing else:D

Its the sort of decision that only you can make of course. Its all down to how much you want one and how accommodating Mrs Brendan is over it all of course.

I loved my Scooby but it was not practical and although Mrs Leslie never gave me a hard time over it, she did not like it very much.

These days with all the traffic you just cannot enjoy a bit of a fun drive any more unfortunately. My good friend who lives in Hampton Wick very rarely gets his STi out of 2nd or third gear these days. Very frustrating!

If you really want to jump at the chance and you are in a position to do it then you should do so. Certainly a lovely car and I would love to have one myself. Maybe you would have to go out in the middle of the night to get some fun out of it. I wish you luck, and if you get it, don't forget to tell us about it.

Les :)

Well, as I logged on after finding my thread from 4 years ago that answered a problem I had again yesterday, I thought I should at least wrap this thread up.

Eventually, I never hired or test-drove a Boxster. I never even sat in a Boxster. As a humble, unassuming, modest person, I flew to Germany and picked up one of these.














http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/39393.jpg

It was two years old when I bought it, half the new price, so no financial ructions after all, bought it with “rainy day” cash. Previous owner one Porsche Weissach. It has about 10% more weight and 50% more power (3.4 “S”) than my old scoob. I’ve done about 10 000 km in 3 years since then, mainly commuting to work once a week or taking my daughter to Saturday school, 8 miles each way, just to stop the seals drying out if nothing else. The financial crisis and the increased fuel price have hit the locals hard, so the commute is not the clutch-pumper it used to be. I have taken it further afield, but after being fined for a snail under 200km/h coming back from the Algarve, I’m a bit calmer. The roof is up when it’s parked, garaged or raining, that’s it. It has a Sport button, that makes the exhaust louder and the throttle more impatient. Everyone should have one of these; just when you feel the car is getting a little boring, press the button and it livens up again. Maybe it’s like a switchable turbo map, but I’m happy with my natural aspiration.

It has indeed caused problems in the family. My two daughters actually fight over who gets to passenger in it, and my wife recently punched me after mis-hearing and thinking I’d said I was going to sell it. The only reason I’ll sell this is to get a 981 (the new Boxster) or an old and creaky Gallardo Spyder, and neither are on the cards right now. This car is FUN. I don’t give a damn about the image or the fact that it’s slower than some other cars, my grin is wider and that’s all that I want from it. We don’t go on fancy holidays, last year was Center Parcs and this year will be Butlins, but all the girls want is a waterslide, they don’t care if it’s Bali or Bognor. And all the parents want is uncomplaining toddlers :)

For myself, I’m still in the same place, a bit older, greyer and heavier, and still can’t drive for toffee :( but I’m hoping Don Palmer can teach me something in August. Since leaving scoobynet my work output picked up dramatically :D. I’d wondered sometimes about a PhD, but doing a night-time module of an MBA for six months with full-time work and a young family nearly killed me so I can forget that.

It’s funny to come back here and have a read-around. I go onto the front page of NSR, and we have pslewis berating “tottoo’s”, TelBoy and Bubba po correcting spelling and punctuation, Spoon stirring, Devildog talking about his tats under his suit, Markus updating everyone on mac news [in Computing], salsa-king ogling women, boxst posting pervy links, and a mod scolding everyone to keep debates about certain topics (shall we call them Current World Events? ;)) civil. Man, it’s like I’d never been away!

Hello everyone and best wishes to all my old “friends”, I sincerely hope you’re all keeping well :)

Brendan

The Hughes is back! Welcome. :thumb:


Or he was. :Suspiciou

Very very very nice car, best of luck to you :thumb: :D

If you cannot pay cash for a car don't buy it IMO. Even of you do have the cash think first about what else you can do with it, buy a BTL flat, go on a brilliant holiday climb Everest or what ever. Cars are not the be all and end all of a happy life, for starters they all feel slow compared to a sports bike.

4 year old thread resurrection!

I like that colour Boxster, never seen one in that Orange.

Have you seen how the new model's power train decouples on flat and downhill stretches.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=26078

I was lead here under false pretences!

The title said "Great Car" and not Orange Porsche Boxter that has been ragged round the Weissach test track numerous times :D

Welcome back! Lovely car.
I have looked a left hookers before (they can be cheap) but always thought it would be too frustrating to use day-to-day.How are you getting on with yours?

Nice car.

Although I can never understand how families manage when one of the cars is a 2 seater.

The op used to (not sure if he still does) live in Portugal

Ola a todos :) Hello Mr D, yes I'm still here.

Wurzel :p Hey, since I wrote the title there's been a financial crisis, we all have to downsize! I found that Chinese translation your colleagues did for me recently, thought I'd lost it when a HDD collapsed. Really important to us, thanks again.

Leggy - easy for me, I live in left-hooker land :)

Edd - when you think about it, with a family of four, how many times does one need two cars that have at least three seats each? It might arise as some odd permutation of multi-drop requirements, but I've no interest in buying a car based on what might happen one day and prove to be a minor inconvenience. For that I'll pay a taxi fare on the day and have my toy for the rest of the year :) And the difference between this and most 2-seaters is it has incredible luggage space even with the roof down.

You're unlikely to see a Boxster in this orange in the UK, they were a Limited Edition for the US market. I know of one that drives around west London though, owned by a Brit who was working in the States and brought it back when he finished.