MilkBone

As I stated in a previous post, I really have no preference roadster or SUV. I like the Boxster S and FX equally, and I would be happy with either.

I was intrigued by the price that I could purchase the Boxster S from my colleague for, which is under the dealer retail of $45k (according to kbb.com). Trade-in value is $36k and private party is $40k. I think $38k is not bad, although I think he may be willing to come down to $37k.

My plan was to drive the Boxster S for about 18 months and sell it/trade it for something else. This way, I can enjoy it for a bit and not loose too much money to further depreciation.

bigman

sonor kid i hear you about the fit and finish, but around my way, no one respects the boxter. Most people feel its the poor mans 911. I love the car, but would rather buy a new s2000 which has awesome fit and finish and throw a supercharger, body kit, wheels and suspension and still have change left over when compared to the boxter s.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

MikeBone,

I have similar experience. I have a CLS and bought a Boxster as a 2nd car six months ago. Unlike your situation, I always wanted a convertible but don't think I can live with it as the only car so I kept my CL as well. The Boxster is not very quick but as someone alluded to, quarter mile comes up in the mid 14 sec, so it's not slow. And I feel you don't have to drive fast to enjoy it. The handling is just superb and I don't necessary understand why people don't consider it a "true" Porsche. It has the Porsche flax six (as in a 911) and it's mid-engined which generally handles better than front or rear engine cars (911).

I think 38k with 7500 miles is a great deal on a Boxster S. But 'm not sure how you can pick between the Boxster and the FX since they're totally different things. I can tell you that driving with the top down is a really cool feeling that you won't get in an FX. And it's not about getting respect. It's downright fun to drive the curves with open top.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

MikeBone,

Also not to sound vain, you do get a lot of people looking at the Boxster even though it's been out for a long time. It's just a timeless design. - If you're looking for stuff like that.

Gilgamesh

Um, not quite...

The FX is one of the best handling SUV's out there. There is no way a Corolla will out slamom the car. It readily outhandles many family sedans.

gto2050

Boxter S is pseudo Porsche. 911 is THE Porsche. No real Porsche fan would be caught dead in one! I'd rather have a new S2000 than one of those and yes, I'm serious. Sorry if this offends those who own one. It's my nickel!

dacura

iTrader: (1)

Personally I do not like the look of the 911. Don't like the rear end. And most importantly I cannot afford one.

gto2050

I can, but I would rather own my 2 Harley's, 96 Ford Exploder, 03 G35C and my 68 LeMans conv and keep the rest of the money in the bank.

heyitsme

I agree, the boxster doesn't really interest me and I doubt someone in a boxster would be 'picking up' more than someone in most other 38k cars, a lame reason to buy any car.

I'd look at an elise if you can find one.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

"a lame reason to buy any car"

I agree. But to others looking at it, they don't know the person bought it used at 38K. They will think that it's a 60K car. So that may mean something to some people.

Either way, that's not important to me.

hemants

Reality check on SUV handling vs Car handling

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/compa...2/page019.html

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/compa...7/page011.html

A corolla out slaloms a BMW X5 and an FX35.

As I said, they handle great AS FAR AS SUV's go.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

I think hemants is right

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...uv/index7.html

sonor kid

I agree with you on the S2000 along with the mods, especially if it were my money but the Boxter S is no pussy car and how a $60,000.00 car doesn't garner respect is beyond me.
My brother loves it more than I do but I've driven it around town here in Vegas since I've been here and it really is a nice car, not to mention the attention I get when driving it.
It's not the same when I drive my cousin's 350Z, which is also a great car but not a Porshe.

heyitsme

Because I think people here and on most enthusiast boards like to respect performance cars based on specs, not price tags and the boxster is 60k because its overpriced, not because its 60k worth of car. I remember a comparo between the S, m3 and zo6, all pretty much the same price and the porsche obviously should have stayed home, because it had no place being in the comparo.

Chief F1 Fan

Check this sonor:
3rd place for Boxster:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=4

Z: Second place:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=5

I'll save the 20K difference for negligible performance gains (.1 to 60, .2 to 1/4 mile). If you buy a car hoping that pussy will come your way as a result of your unquestionable ability to buy a car based on the differences you perceive between the 2, you must be clairvoyant.

SilverCL225hp

I don't know about other people, but I don't even pay attention to a Boxster when I see one, many cars attract my attention more than a Boxster, and many look better. Some examples? Mazda RX-8, Infiniti G35 coupe, Acura TL, Acura TSX, BMW M3, Mitsubishi Evo, Subie STI, etc.......Boxster looks ugly when the soft top is closed, and looks okay when the top is off, S2000 looks ten times better.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

"but I don't even pay attention to a Boxster when I see one, many cars attract my attention more than a Boxster, and many look better. Some examples? Mazda RX-8, Infiniti G35 coupe, Acura TL, Acura TSX, BMW M3, Mitsubishi Evo, Subie STI, etc.......Boxster looks ugly when the soft top is closed, and looks okay when the top is off, S2000 looks ten times better."

I understand beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but saying the Boxster is ugly in the company of EVOs and STIs is taking it to the extremes. You may not notice the Boxster because it's been out for years or you may notice the other cars more because they're newer/fresher or they've been getting more press attention. But that does not take away from the Boxster.

I am a Honda fan and i own a CL-S but to me, the S2000 does not look better than the Boxster but i certainly wouldn't say it looks 10x worse than the Boxster either.

bzzcls

I was actually looking at a used boxster before i bought my cls last month. But for the price i paid for the cls i would have only been able to buy a 97 98ish boxster. I figure in the next 3-4 years i drive the cls i will be able to save up and buy my penis car. So i would get the boxster. Just my 2 cents....

rezurex

you can only really get the most out of roadsters while you're young... dont hesitate to get one when you're goin through mid life crisis. its too late then

you can always drive an suv whenever. IMO i thinkt its really weird that you get into a situation where u have to choose over an SUV and a performance roadster. they really are on the opposite ends of the spectrum...


$.02

cmark

you guys have to take into account that the deal he'd be getting on the Boxster S is awesome....$38G for a 2001 with less than 8000 miles....including the hardtop

and be careful when you guys compare the Boxster to the Z and S2000. we're talking about the Boxster S and not the regular Boxster...i'm no expert but i do know that the S performs better than the regular one

looks are totally subjective but to say the Boxster looks ugly next to a WRX or Evo???

sure the thing may not look great with the soft top up but that's when you put on the hardtop


good luck on your decision

Guru

The boxster is a great deal but it is automatic which really kills its performance/appeal. A boxster S will beat an S2000 but not a auto Boxter S. Boxster's do look common as so many people have them around here, but boxster S stand out a bit more. I like blue ones with the 5 spoke wheels and red calipars

You have a CL-S as a daily driver so I would want a manual as a second car. Get a new s2000 and drop $5k for a comptech s/c with aftercooler or a hardtop and some nice wheels. You could also save your money and wait for an ELISE!!! (I had to say that cuz Elise's are soo sweet)

chungkopi

i hate boxsters. how about a used M3?

chungkopi

even though i hate boxsters, there is no way s2000 looks ten times better than boxster. boxster is a good looking car IMO.

rezurex

yea i would get a used M3 with SMG if possible... but then again its no roadster.

SC430? hard top convertible, seats 4, and it has a powerful engine

Gilgamesh

Link 2 has no data for an FX35, thank you.

As for what can be seen from C/D tests...I could not find slalom data archived, I will have to dig through back issues, BUT, lets take a look at the skidpad numbers

Corolla LE (tested 11/02)
It pulled 0.74g

Infiniti FX35/45 (Tested 8/03 and 11/03 respectively)
They pulled 0.80 and 0.85g on the pads.

A Celica GT-S tested by C/D (5/02) pulled 0.80g.

The Corolla may outslalom the FX, but they can hold the road with a higher g load limit.

heyitsme

http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/...y/index13.html
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/seda...cc/index1.html

Here, corolla:56.4, civic:62.6, fx45:62.5

Gilgamesh

And they tested the "sporty" Corolla S.

hemants

1. skidpad has more to do with tires than handling characteristics of the vehicle

2. it appears that motortrend doesn't know how to drive a corolla :-) but the fx35 and fx45 are still slower than a stock honda civic...

So without getting into knitpicking over one test vs the other, the best handling SUV still falls well short of a sports car.

Motor trend had the Corvette Z06 and M3 at about 69mph in their slalom.

MilkBone

Wow, I didn't know I could start a thread that people got passionate about.

This is exactly the Boxster my colleague is offering me. It's still a tempting offer...

I am really torn between the Boxster S and the FX35, even though they are at opposite ends of the vehicle type spectrum. I keep swaying back and forth between the two...

I would definitley consider a used E46 M3 but the price is still out of my budget -- or at least from what I have seen in the local market.

(Sorry, I hope I am not gloating or anything. I've been working my but off and saving since I moved here to the Bay Area, and I feel like I need to reward myself.)

heyitsme

Buy the boxster, and trade it in on an fx35 in 2 yrs.

dacura

iTrader: (1)

MikeBone,

From my similar experience, you can't go wrong with the roadster especially the S (I wish I had such a deal with an S.) I think it's a great combination of cars (CL and the Boxster). If you want a comfortable commute, you take the CL, if you want to have fun, you take the Boxster. Unless you really need the utility of the SUV. Like someone else said earlier, you should enjoy a roadster while you're young. (Not sure how old you are though).

I like the M3s but they're somewhat similar in nature (much better performance of course) to our CL, so do you really want another performance coupe ?