To keep or not to keep my 986 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

My 99 is getting old.... went over to BMW this afternoon, looked at the new 3 series sedan, sat in one, the interior felt so good..... more updated atleast... my car has 43k on it.. not alot...equiped with factory aero 1, added litronics, clear amber tails, and 18"wheels, but some how I am not feeling very confident going past 70k... the car fells tired and hesitate to go, gear box chokes when released throttle.... So I asked BMW for a trade-in price, and they offered me ca$33k at whole sell .... tempted to trade it in since I put alot of milage in this past year(new job), and just lease a car. Maybe also the fact that I am getting old, where sedan comes in handy.... I want the comfort and not worrying where I park, or getting smoked by doors and carts.... I will miss the head-turns and the engine sound, but its time to make this painful decision.

The 3 series are great cars I had 2 325i's with no problems, especially BMW's 4 year maintenance warranty... you can't beat that. As for your Boxster, I just got an 97, where everyone on the forum to stay away from. Knock on wood things seems to be good so far. I got a great deal on it and I'll take care of her hoping she'll do the same for me. If you decide on trading in your car maybe we can swap out the Litronics. I'll pay you some cash and send you mine? You can't go wrong with BMW, I was at the BMW drive last week and got to drive the new 325i... nice. So much more features and feels really solid. It even has the angel eyes. I ended up selling my 325i and stepped up to a 745i. It's sad to see the Boxster go, but it seems like she's taken cared of you for some time and maybe it's time to pass or on to someone. Good luck.

thats a great trade in price. I had an 2001 330ci with only minor problems almost all cars go through. Other then that, it was a blast to drive and very commuter friendly.

I've had 2 325i's, and my girlfriend of 2.5 years drove a 325i at the same time, so I'm pretty familiar with them, and I can say the same that everyone else is saying -- no problems, bulletproof cars, go for it! I understand the need for a sedan. I have gone back and forth between convertibles and sedans since I was 16, and I'm sure the trend will continue when I sell the Boxster at some point and replace it with a sedan.

How much is 33K canadian in US dollars right now?

$26.38k Us

I don't know Canadian resale values but in the US, that number would be WAY TOO HIGH!

Tech986art, I say that if you want a more comfortable sedan, but want performance, a BMW would certainly be the way to go. And if that dealer is truly willing to give you 33K Canadian for your Boxster, you should probably take them up on it before they change their mind! Let us know what you decide. If it were me, I'd keep the Boxster and buy the BMW to drive every day. But your situation may be very different than mine... I have room for 5 cars on my property and don't have a house payment or car payments.

Just keep in mind that if you're buying a sedan because of practicality reasons, the 3-series is not the way to go. Hell, even the 5-series feels like a torture chamber when you're sitting in the back.

Yeah, at 33k it's considered average as a trade in whole sell price in Canada, I have seen retail usually go for about 35k to 41k. I do admit the BMW 3 and 5 is more of a "driver's car" at the back they positioned the seats too vertical, but then again, the C-class isn't any better either, although I love the new C55!!!! What kinda miles do you guys put on daily? or weekly for some of you? I do about 80kms a day back and forth from work.... about 25k a year. Thats too much for a P-car to handle right? Are there any Pcars that went over 100k without major repairs? I don't want to dump 10k next year for a engine rebuilt....

Wow, a 99 Boxster for CA$33k & US$26K At the moment, the resale value on my 98 2.5 Boxster is AU$55,000, which is about US$41,250!!! Might have to come and work in the US for a while, then the dream of a 2005 Boxster S may come a little closer!!!!

When properly maintained, there is no reason why a Boxster engine and trans can't run well over 100K and much more. If it were me, I would swap in Amsoil synthetic fluids all around (engine, trans/diff) and use high efficiency filters in air and oil. This will actually help increase gas mileage too! Also, I would likely swap out the fluids at 12.5 miles or about a half a years driving for you!

Sure, there are stories of the Porsche lasting 100k miles, but those stories seem to be pretty elusive. Everyone has heard them, but no one on here saying "I have 165,000 miles on my Boxster" On the contrary, get on a BMW forum and you will hear plenty of first-hand stories of 325is and 320is with 400k miles on them. So maybe it's not fair to compare a 1982 320i to a 1998 Boxster, but does anyone even know of stories of older Porsches -- 944, 928, 914, with 200, 300, 400k miles on them?

I know of a couple high-mileage 924 and 944s, and also some 911s. Like any car with that many miles on the clock, some run good, some are money pits.

Keep in mind that the box has only been around since 1997. At 20K per year, that would be 160K. I just did a sort on Auto Trader. They have 10 Boxes listed with over 100K. The top is 127K and by the pictures provided, looks OK. There are plenty of older Porsches with over 200K miles but that tells you little I think.

Yeah, unfortunately, it's so hard to judge because a Porsche's lifecycle tends to be restricted to a certain type of owner who owns his car a certain length of time and drives and maintains it a certain way, whereas BMW's end up in the hands of people in all walks of life. ANyway, this mileage issue has been something that has bothered me about the Boxster for some time. Although, like Brucelee said, it's so new that it's hard to compare. The ones with >150k are cars that are driven ALL THE TIME. Anyway, BMW or Porsche -- if you maintain it right, you should definitely get a lot of mileage out of it! You can't go wrong with either.

"Anyway, BMW or Porsche -- if you maintain it right, you should definitely get a lot of mileage out of it! You can't go wrong with either." I agree. As I said, if I was the one maintaining the car, I would have no issue holding onto a Box or 911 for 200K or so. It is so much tied to how the car is treated and maintained.