Buy 2008 Boxster S or 2014 BRZ limited?

[Icanfaptothis86]

WHile the BRZ is the most expensive purchase ive ever made and I am kind of frugal its not really expensive car in the grand scheme of things.

If I was looser with my money I probably would have got an M3 or Lotus Elise and those will probably be the next purchase down the line.

But for right now the BRZ is great value for my income and my frugality.

Its a great tuning base that can be upgraded easily and I think that was Subaru/Toyotas plan all along by making it underpowered with Prius tires and some clearly bullshit parts.

The chance that your average buyer is going to upgrade rims almost immediately is really high so why put good ones on there? Save money and spend it on a good LSD to offer the car at a cheaper entry point.

And the engine bay. There is tons of room in their for bolt ons and engine swaps. I think its a pretty clear signal that they didnt expect many of these to remain stock.

[donoman]

How much do YOU make?

[Braces]

Originally Posted by humdizzle

do you like drifting? ... buy a BRZ

do you like men? ... buy a boxster

That's funny. I used to own a few 911s and back then ... 911 owners typically referred to the Boxsters as a Secretary's car. But .... the new Boxsters actually look pretty good and I don't like men.

[Drakelee117]

Do you want a new car or a used car, simple as that. Boxster vs BRZ, Boxster is probably the better choice for most people. But with a 2008 model you are looking at no latest technology (Usb for music which I care a lot about) very likely no Sat NAV, and more maintenance expenses, plus I would imagine the insurance to be higher.

[220volt]

Originally Posted by Drakelee117

Do you want a new car or a used car, simple as that. Boxster vs BRZ, Boxster is probably the better choice for most people. But with a 2008 model you are looking at no latest technology (Usb for music which I care a lot about) very likely no Sat NAV, and more maintenance expenses, plus I would imagine the insurance to be higher.

Yeah this Boxter is pretty much bare bones. Very driver focused. No heated seats, NAV, USB or even Aux or MP3 support. It does have Bose sound system with single CD player only. And that's about it. But what it does have is the sound of a 3.4 flat 6

[Drakelee117]

Originally Posted by 220volt

Yeah this Boxter is pretty much bare bones. Very driver focused. No heated seats, NAV, USB or even Aux or MP3 support. It does have Bose sound system with single CD player only. And that's about it. But what it does have is the sound of a 3.4 flat 6

True. So the real question is, is OP going to use the car besides having fun.

[Ganthrithor]

Voted for the Boxster because it sounds like you're totally happy with the idea of living with a two seater.

If you don't want the rear seatlets and trunk space of the BRZ, there's almost zero reason to choose it over a used Porsche IMHO. If I hadn't wanted the practicality, I'd probably be driving a 987 around. I still think I made the right choice though: there's a lot of stuff I've done with my BRZ that I wouldn't have been able to do with a Cayman.

Side note: have 997's crept down into new BRZ territory yet? Because if they have, oh man...

[220volt]

Originally Posted by Drakelee117

True. So the real question is, is OP going to use the car besides having fun.

Well, I'm OP

Yes, it will be my daily driver.

[220volt]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

Voted for the Boxster because it sounds like you're totally happy with the idea of living with a two seater.

If you don't want the rear seatlets and trunk space of the BRZ, there's almost zero reason to choose it over a used Porsche IMHO. If I hadn't wanted the practicality, I'd probably be driving a 987 around. I still think I made the right choice though: there's a lot of stuff I've done with my BRZ that I wouldn't have been able to do with a Cayman.

Side note: have 997's crept down into new BRZ territory yet? Because if they have, oh man...

It's just me and wife. I also work from home, so practicality is not that important. We have Ford Fusion for long trips or if we need to haul stuff.

[devtec]

As has been mentioned, do your research on the IMS bearing issue before the DFI engines came out.

There have been a significant enough number of failures to make this a legitimate concern. I researched this heavily, as I was deciding among a Boxster, 911, and BRZ. If you cannot afford a $25k engine replacement, I would not go with this generation of Porsches. Same issue with the 997.1 and likely the 997.2 as they age (even with the updated bearing). Even the aftermarket replacement bearings have failed, and the latest thought is it may be due to the engine blocks being out of true, so in the end it does not really matter which bearing is there--in certain blocks, it's only a matter of time.

Although I love Porsche, I went with the BRZ for this reason, and am very happy. The BRZ comes very close to the Porsche driving experience. Even without the same power, it puts a smile on your face. With a supercharger down the road, you reach similar hp to weight ratio, making it even closer to a Porsche--for a lot less money, and a much more reliable car with modern features/safety.

[brzaapi]

Some important questions to ask yourself.




1. Do you like to mod, to what end and to what level?
2. Do you enjoy working on your car yourself, or prefer technicians do it?
3. Is interior important? Is technology important?(nav,usb,iphone)
4. Do you track or autocross your vehicle (ahem, you should)
5. do you give a damn about status?
6. Is a warranty important and to what level?


Those are just some practical questions and they are not really yes and no. You should ask them on a slider scale or 1 to 10.


After all practical concerns, which vehicle are you more passionate about. If you say I like both, and would like to own both in my lifetime. I would suggest buy the BRZ first. Good used Porsches are always available and in a few more years you may be able to find a 2009+ 987 Boxster Cayman within your budget, or maybe even better. 2009+ 987is a much better vehicle than the 06 to 08MY. But if you are more passionate about the Boxster and don't mind higher costs for maintenance and mods. Then go for it.
I have owned 2 BRZ's and 3 Boxster/Caymans. I love both cars. Sure the Porsche is superior (even if only a little) in about every way. I actually prefer the rawness of the BRZ, and the seating position just a smidgeon more than the 987s. My 981( 2013+ Boxster/Cayman) however is fantastic. But I love to work on my car. I don't do as much with the Porsches. You can't really. But I can do about anything with my BRZs. So ask yourself those questions, mix that with whatever emotion you feel for each car and hopefully you come down on one side more than the other. There is no wrong answer. That's why I have owned both, and I don't regret a second of the experience I have had.

[220volt]

Originally Posted by devtec

As has been mentioned, do your research on the IMS bearing issue before the DFI engines came out.

There have been a significant enough number of failures to make this a legitimate concern. I researched this heavily, as I was deciding among a Boxster, 911, and BRZ. If you cannot afford a $25k engine replacement, I would not go with this generation of Porsches. Same issue with the 997.1 and likely the 997.2 as they age (even with the updated bearing). Even the aftermarket replacement bearings have failed, and the latest thought is it may be due to the engine blocks being out of true, so in the end it does not really matter which bearing is there--in certain blocks, it's only a matter of time.

Although I love Porsche, I went with the BRZ for this reason, and am very happy. The BRZ comes very close to the Porsche driving experience. Even without the same power, it puts a smile on your face. With a supercharger down the road, you reach similar hp to weight ratio, making it even closer to a Porsche--for a lot less money, and a much more reliable car with modern features/safety.

I did my "extensive" research on IMS, talked to some shops and mechanics as well as Porsche forums. 987 later model (late 2006 - 2008) failure is very rare since they upgraded to a larger bearings. Failures are likley less than 1 %, and actually 987 2008 models have been one of the most reliable Porsche to date. So it is not exactly " buy it and roll the dice" thing.
Nonetheless, failures can still occur, and that is why if I do buy this one, I am also buying Carmax warranty which covers pretty much all larger (and lot of smaller) components. Will also do PPI just for the piece of mind.

[220volt]

Originally Posted by brzaapi

Some important questions to ask yourself.

1. Do you like to mod, to what end and to what level?
2. Do you enjoy working on your car yourself, or prefer technicians do it?
3. Is interior important? Is technology important?(nav,usb,iphone)
4. Do you track or autocross your vehicle (ahem, you should)
5. do you give a damn about status?
6. Is a warranty important and to what level?


Those are just some practical questions and they are not really yes and no. You should ask them on a slider scale or 1 to 10.


After all practical concerns, which vehicle are you more passionate about. If you say I like both, and would like to own both in my lifetime. I would suggest buy the BRZ first. Good used Porsches are always available and in a few more years you may be able to find a 2009+ 987 Boxster Cayman within your budget, or maybe even better. 2009+ 987is a much better vehicle than the 06 to 08MY. But if you are more passionate about the Boxster and don't mind higher costs for maintenance and mods. Then go for it.
I have owned 2 BRZ's and 3 Boxster/Caymans. I love both cars. Sure the Porsche is superior (even if only a little) in about every way. I actually prefer the rawness of the BRZ, and the seating position just a smidgeon more than the 987s. My 981( 2013+ Boxster/Cayman) however is fantastic. But I love to work on my car. I don't do as much with the Porsches. You can't really. But I can do about anything with my BRZs. So ask yourself those questions, mix that with whatever emotion you feel for each car and hopefully you come down on one side more than the other. There is no wrong answer. That's why I have owned both, and I don't regret a second of the experience I have had.

That's pretty good advice. I asked most of those questions of course, but decided to keep it very simple:

If I'm split 50/50 between the two, or even if the Boxster wins by a hair, I am going with the BRZ.
If Boxster simply wows me big time, then I'm going with the Boxster.

[brzaapi]

Then the only question left to ask is, when do you go for some test drives?