Boxster 2.5 is a bad Porsche, is that just a beat up?

[JWM]

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-Boxster-2000/SSE-AD-4503378

Got bored with Sunday night TV so applied myself to the task to buying a Boxster. Reckon this is the pick of the bunch. Right colour, well looked after, all the big things attended to. Yes it's $10k over the cheapest but you get what you pay for and it's only $25k FFS. Can't think why you'd need a more modern and expensive one. I'd buy this and try and make the interior less miserable and just enjoy.

For some reason I like the look of the white cheapy too.

My 2c.

I did the same exercise a couple weeks ago and came to the same conclusion on that yellow one. 

I like that white one too, dunno why, maybe it's just the wheels. It looks like it has a different shade of white to suit everyone across the different panels too... ?

[Spectre]

 

Even the earlier cars .. had two , feels very sure footed…great gymkhana car in manual...

Good go to the shops car 

The manual will tow a horse float?

[XLR8]

Not a 850-T-R by any chance.  Didn't Porsche do a secondment of some under utilised design staff to assist with the development of that particular Volvo which co-incidentally are going for around 15k as well.  Staring into the interior would have you thinking the seats are very 911 turbo ish of that era

My understanding is that Porsche had a hand in the head design of the Volvo I5T engines (which also ended up in a few Fords in recent years).

I owned a '98 V70 Turbo wagon for about five years, and (with some suspension mods) it was the best touring car I have owned. A lovely engine, and beautiful exhaust note. Alas the interior and paint fell apart at the 15 year old mark. 

[XLR8]

Good luck with that -- the problem is that if the previous owners have let the cosmetic side of things turn to sh*t, the mechanical side of things has been almost certainly neglected as well. You want a good mechanical car, look first and foremost at a car with previous owners that have shown pride of ownership.

Recently I was placed in a position to buy a new sports car and the early Boxster was top of the list (accompanied by a 85.5+ 944). My experience was that the early 2.5s have suffered a similar fate to 944s and 924s - being purchased as a "cheap Porsche" and treated as such by owners who are more interested in having the badge on the bonnet, than the entire ownership experience (and we can all read between the gaps on what that means).

Good ones are out there, but they require diligence and patience to find one that's been looked after. I'd suggest $15k+ is about where one of those could be found - then there's a lot of fun for the $$$. That said, they're much less of a lottery than 944s ... which all seems to come with baggage by now.

But remember, mid engined cars are never cheap to maintain. They are just hard to get at the oily bits. Oh, and the IMS issue really only affects (greatly) a couple of years IIRC.

In closing, these are (at least now) a daily driver, not an investment. Like the MX5 - too many were made, so they are not rare. Also, no racing heritage ... but, like the MX5 (and 924 and 944) the fun is in the driving, not the trill of a 0-100 time. 

That's why many of us are here, aren't we?

I bought a mint '90 MX5 for half my budget. I'm happy and it's a great car. Still on the lookout for a 944 though ...

[D2000]

Like the look of this red s.  Not the price, though.

https://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Porsche-Boxster-2001/OAG-AD-14560162/?Cr=3