best option for my first porsche - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

the wife and i both really fancy buying our first porsche in the next year (used) neither of us has ever driven one or been in one and the thought was buy something cheap and try it and see how we get on and then swap it out for something better if we like it so where would your money go?

Obvious question is ‘budget’ ? Buying ‘cheap’ may not give you the best experience, from which to judge.

I would get the opportunity to try a few different examples. Depending on what you have driven before & what you are expecting you may be in for a surprise. The 1st Porsche I drove was a 911 Turbo. I was underwhelmed. Not so much by the pace but the feel. The 2nd Porsche I drove was a GT3. This was what I expected. I bought it. Buying cheap may sour the experience unless you get lucky so don't assume this is the way to go

A nice, good condition boxter is probably the cheapest entry to Porsche without buying a absolute dog.

Hard to advise given little info re use etc but assuming it’s not your only car probably best to try Boxster or Cayman. Then again you may have kids to take with you…

budget not much to start with maybe 10-15k if we get on with that then maybe 40-50 as long as they are more comfortable than an elise then i should be ok

Trustmeimadoctor said: budget not much to start with maybe 10-15k if we get on with that then maybe 40-50 as long as they are more comfortable than an elise then i should be ok Then you are in Boxster territory & yes they will be a lot more comfortable than an Elise.

Trustmeimadoctor said: budget not much to start with maybe 10-15k if we get on with that then maybe 40-50 as long as they are more comfortable than an elise then i should be ok Depends on the model and the version. Some are track biased race car replica's (GT3's, RS's but your in the £100k region with these), some Porsches are comfort orientated tourers (911 Turbo, you know its true !) and anything in between. But for your budget a 6 cylinder 2.7 or 3.2 boxter from about 2006 with about 30K miles is about 15K and a lot more comfortable than any Elise Edited by Gary C on Thursday 5th October 12:51

No such thing as a cheap Porsche, as they say

Trustmeimadoctor said: budget not much to start with maybe 10-15k if we get on with that then maybe 40-50 as long as they are more comfortable than an elise then i should be ok A 987.1 Boxster with 2.7 engine (lower end of your budget) or 987.2 Boxster with 2.9 engine (upper end of budget) would be my starting points. I have a GT3 and would buy either of them in a flash for a fun 'other' car. The 2.9 Boxster with manual gearbox in particular is underrated within the Porsche lineage IMO. Great engine and prices were closer to £20k during Covid madness but £5k less now.. Edited by Andyoz on Thursday 5th October 13:28

987.2 Cayman S £20-25k Good spec Cannot go wrong.

cheers i know i haven't given much to go on but its a seed of a plan im trying to figure out to get passed the cfo its just a secondary car that will be used for fun and maybe swapped to everyday car at some point on the later car i quite possibly could go higher depending on finance options available

Weather forecast looking good for this weekend, I see your in Yorkshire, why not take a look at this if close enough, dealer has good rep........... I know it's a bit above your budget but it'll give a really good idea what your dealing with...........

mm tempting, i suppose i need to at least try one

No better time than the present.............

Trustmeimadoctor said: budget not much to start with maybe 10-15k if we get on with that then maybe 40-50 as long as they are more comfortable than an elise then i should be ok Get a nice Cayenne for that. Much more comfortable than an Elise.

And don't buy the first one you test drive, well try not to anyway.

Won’t disagree with a 2.9 boxster. Love mine! Had it for almost 5 years now and only gets better. A few choice mods to make it your own and it’s a real joy to hoon about and nice and small for b roads!

Trustmeimadoctor said: mm tempting, i suppose i need to at least try one I've had my 987.1 3.2 Boxster S with a TPC racing turbo conversion for just over 10 years and still love it. The prices compared to 911s, and even Caymans, makes them great value. If you want a weekend car, and aren't going to track it regularly, then I'd take a sports car over a coupe any day of the week. Edited by VladD on Thursday 5th October 21:49

Trustmeimadoctor said: mm tempting, i suppose i need to at least try one Better still the lads at RPM are top and you would be buying well from them. Boxsters really are great.

OP - Are you ok with running costs (car bills not insurance / RFL) of circa £650 to £1k pa I fear this is the territory to stay with OPC or specialists versus home spannering

Maintenance costs are no more than our merc so that's fine

Why buy twice? If you're budgeting say £15k on a whim, and would then potentially upgrade, you'd need to spend say £30k plus on the upgrade, so why not just spend £40-45k in the first instance. Or is that total man maths??? Just take plenty of test drives across all the potential interests and go with the one that fits your requirements the best. Don't hesitate to ask dealers for test drives, and don't just go out for 5 minutes... There's certainly peace of mind buying something with original warranty (<3 years old) or from OPC.

I can also recommend doing business with RPM. Great bunch, helpful and knowledgeable. Can’t quite understand your man maths, but I’d be tempted to split the difference of the first and next purchase, and look in the 30s for a 981. Box or Cayman. But, if you can get into a 987.2 (high teens I think) you’re getting a great car minus its predecessor’s gremlins.

its just about available funds at the time thats all

Fnumber1user said: Why buy twice? If you're budgeting say £15k on a whim, and would then potentially upgrade, you'd need to spend say £30k plus on the upgrade, so why not just spend £40-45k in the first instance. Or is that total man maths??? Just take plenty of test drives across all the potential interests and go with the one that fits your requirements the best. Don't hesitate to ask dealers for test drives, and don't just go out for 5 minutes... There's certainly peace of mind buying something with original warranty (<3 years old) or from OPC. This. x1000. If you buy a £15k car, you won't get £15k back when you sell / px on something more expensive. It's false economy. Personally, I'd buy the best 997.2 I could with the funds available, to the point of a GT Car if funds are that good.

I bought a Boxster S 987.2 last summer and it hasn't disappointed. Its the last of the hydraulic power steering and its the later 3.4 engine out of the 911 so clear of "those" problems. We originally had a very early 2.5 Boxster and that was great but screaming out for more power. This one with 6-speed manual is the sweet spot for me. The backroad handling is sublime and the engine just keeps on revving. I paid closer to £25k for a 2-owner low miles one with the right colour spec for me. Suspect it'll have dropped in value since then as it was a bit toppy at the start of last summer but I got overs for the 335d I was selling. I didn't drive the 2.9 but hear good things about it. Suspect I may have been slightly frustrated on the power though. Edited by Speed 3 on Friday 6th October 14:17

Buying a car from a well-known Porsche specialist is a good route. Your choice on models will come down to either: - higher mileage, older 911 - or lower mileage, newer Cayman/Boxster Both are very different cars. But if you have an Elise then Cayman/Boxster will be similar in that they are both mid-engined. As always, buy on condition. But for cars 12+ years old then check they have the service history. PDK cars require an oil/transmission change at 12 years which combined with the major service + spark plugs is an expensive job.

cheers everyone. like i say we need to try some to see if they are even a option or i get rid of the e class and go panamera as i need 4 doors for car allowance reasons

2.9 Cayman/Boxster with carnewal exhaust.