Boxter as a everyday car - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I'd say it would be absolutely fine. My 987.1 Cayman S is a daily driver and I've done 88,000 miles in it - in town, country, motorway and trackdays. If anything the 981 cars are even more everyday-usable as they are quieter and better appointed, and not appreciably bigger or lower.

My 987.2 Cayman is my only car. Certain things to be aware of: lots of parallel parking/manoeuvring and you'd be best with parking sensors. Doors are long so ingress/egress in tight spaces can be a nause. Obviously only one passenger at a time, but the front and rear boots make it surprisingly capacious if you have the right kind of luggage. Oh, and you're driving a Porsche every day, which never fails to put a smile on your face.

How practical is a Porsche Boxster (981) as an everyday city car? Most of my driving are short trips between 3-30 miles in London. Occasionally, I do long drives into the country. I average about 10,000 -15,000 miles a year. Thanks Edited by racingmule on Thursday 17th December 20:54

Thanks for the replies How comfortable are the rides for very long journeys ? I've planned a couple of long road trips which are 500+ miles ? And how low does heavy city traffic fuel economy drop too ?

Absolutely fine as an every day car. Plenty of room for luggage. I owned a Cayman S and Boxster S both for two and a half years each. I averaged over 12000 mile per annum. Both were my everyday rides. I am also a golfer and both had no problem carrying all of my kit. If mostly town driving PDK is better also parking sensors a great help. Highly recommended

racingmule said: Thanks for the replies How comfortable are the rides for very long journeys ? I've planned a couple of long road trips which are 500+ miles ? And how low does heavy city traffic fuel economy drop too ? Seats are great and the 981 is usefully bigger than the 987, which, with a passenger can feel a bit... cosy on a long journey. 981s are geared long, so suit a cruise.

The ride is somewhat dependent on whether you have PASM (improves the ride) and/or smaller wheels (improves the ride). My car is on 18"s and has PASM. It rides really nicely, taut like a drumskin but not overly firm and certainly not harsh. I think you'd probably get about 15-20mpg crawling through town in a 981, and 30-35mpg on a longer run.

Stunters said: The ride is somewhat dependent on whether you have PASM (improves the ride) and/or smaller wheels (improves the ride). My car is on 18"s and has PASM. It rides really nicely, taut like a drumskin but not overly firm and certainly not harsh. I think you'd probably get about 15-20mpg crawling through town in a 981, and 30-35mpg on a longer run. I agree. Ride is very subject to wheel size. The 981 I test drove before ordering mine was on 20" wheels. I also spec'd 20" wheels and the ride is perfectly fine for me. I then drove a 981 on 18" wheels at the PEC, it felt like a Rolls Royce!

wdpor said: Absolutely fine as an every day car. Plenty of room for luggage. I owned a Cayman S and Boxster S both for two and a half years each. I averaged over 12000 mile per annum. Both were my everyday rides. I am also a golfer and both had no problem carrying all of my kit. If mostly town driving PDK is better also parking sensors a great help. Highly recommended How did the Boxter compare with the Cayman ? Thanks for the replies. Seems like the Porsche would be both practical & fun

racingmule said: How did the Boxter compare with the Cayman ? Thanks for the replies. Seems like the Porsche would be both practical & fun Yes. General consensus (backed up by test results) is that Boxster is just as refined as the Cayman. Cayman has a bit more luggage space, better visibility (Boxster hood up) but either is fine as a DD. If you are short (especially) as has been mentioned, access can be compromised by the large doors and more so by sports + or bucket seats.

racingmule said: How practical is a Porsche Boxster (981) as an everyday city car? Most of my driving are short trips between 3-30 miles in London. Occasionally, I do long drives into the country. I average about 10,000 -15,000 miles a year. Thanks Edited by racingmule on Thursday 17th December 20:54 My 2002 Boxster -- with over 296K miles -- has been and still is a great everyday car. 'bout the only thing that gets me out of my Boxster is my 996 Turbo. Boxster rides softer/quieter than the Turbo -- 17" wheels vs. 18" wheels and the Turbo has stiffer suspension. Boxster gets better gas mileage. The Boxster is a bit smaller and thus easier to get into and out tight places. A bit lower and "harder" to get into and out of than the Turbo. That Boxster seat bottom is pretty close to the pavement. The only negative is the view out the Turbo is a bit better. I never drive the Boxster with the top down. The Boxster works for long drives too. I've covered easy 4K to 5K miles to once 8K miles in a week or 9 or 10 driving. Lots of cargo space too. Pretty quick too. I use a radar detector and a hand held CB radio out on the open road to watch for traffic enforcement "traps". Around town I just cool my jets.

Rockster said: I've covered easy 4K to 5K miles to once 8K miles in a week or 9 or 10 driving. Lots of cargo space too. Pretty quick too. I use a radar detector and a hand held CB radio out on the open road to watch for traffic enforcement "traps". Around town I just cool my jets. 8k miles In a week ! Thats impressive. I'm getting sold on the Boxster,

I have used mine more or less daily for 14 years. Never anything less than a pleasure whether on long hoons (750 miles in 24hrs was the record including 4 laps of the Nurburgring), Alpine touring or on the daily schlep (although it helps when you have access to a garage at both ends). Rockster - 300k miles must be in sight now? Can you give us some more info on your recent repairs and maintenance burden? I have done 110k miles (175k kms) in mine and do a fair bit of my own work but I'm about to get a specialist to look at a few niggles... I have some judder in the transmission and suspect that it will be down to the engine mount(s). I had the front mount replaced 5 years ago but the feeling is slightly different this time (and worse). Perhaps all three mounts could do with being replaced this time and these are done, it should be good as new and I won't get a nasty surprise and find out that its clutch/flywheel related. I also have a bad smell on cold start and suspect a vacuum leak somewhere, possibly oil filler tube. I'm still on my original suspension which seems perfectly up to the job and the original clutch, which (engine mount judder aside), shows no slippage but I *think* I can sense that the friction plate material is not as thick as it once was as the feeling through the pedal is similar to the feeling you get from brake pads that are nearing end of life (less resilience).

My Cayman S is my daily, my TVR is my sunny weekend car. The Cayman is a nice car to drive every day, easy to drive, nice stereo, mod cons and usual luxuries found in any other modern car (and lacking in my TVR!). My only gripe is I find it a bit hard, both the seats and the suspension. But then again, the roads round my way aren't great!

My 981 Cayman is a 15k DD. I test drove a Boxster for a day and a bit before deciding which to get. Sideways over the shoulder glance vision was one of the main reasons I preferred the Cayman. Others were the better overall "look" of the Cayman, and I'd had convertibles for 15 years so had "been there, done that". I test drove five Boxster/Cayman all with standard suspension and found them crashy at low speed around town. Happened on a used one with PASM and it is superb even on 20" wheels.

racingmule said: How practical is a Porsche Boxster (981) as an everyday city car? Most of my driving are short trips between 3-30 miles in London. Occasionally, I do long drives into the country. I average about 10,000 -15,000 miles a year. Thanks Edited by racingmule on Thursday 17th December 20:54 Hi racing mule, I ran a manual 987S as my only car in London for 4 or so years and about 30k miles. I loved it, and it's amazing what you can get in the boots of these cars. I missed it when it went. My car had PASM which probably softens the ride a touch, at the expense of disconnecting the driver a few percent from the experience compared to passive dampers. I would try both PASM and passive if you can, to see which you prefer. The sports chassis on the 981 with passive dampers is amazing and the one to go for if you're a keen driver, but it may be a bit much for high miles depending on your tastes. I have a 981 Spyder which only comes with the X73 suspension and I love the feel. The 981 is more refined than the 987 ever was so you'll be fine on long trips. Cracking cars.

Rough idea on maintenance and servicing costs over three years ?

I use my 981 Boxster everyday for work shopping fun and touring. Tracy

my wife has had a Boxster S in all variants as a daily driver for last 15 years. Early days, she was doing 30k miles pa, but now doing only 3k miles pa. Always been very reliable and extremely cheap to run, so would have no hesitation in recommending one as a dd.

Ran a 981 daily for ten months and 24,000 miles. It works really well, into the 40's mpg on a run, spacious, blah blah. Only downside is tyre roar from the rears.

racingmule said: Rough idea on maintenance and servicing costs over three years ? Depends which year you buy - major service is a bit more. But my costs were never more than 1k a year inc tyres. Less I'm sure.

I used my GT3 as a DD , now have a 918 Boxster GTS for the same reason and no issues using it for pretty much everything . In town ( London ) its Circa 25 MPG , average singe I have owned it is 30 MPG .

981s daily driver for nearly three years, bloody brilliant.

Not trying to be funny, but 10-15k a year in that London, God that must be depressing. I guess a good stereo must be essential.

Mogul said: Rockster - 300k miles must be in sight now? Can you give us some more info on your recent repairs and maintenance burden? My apologies to the OP for replying here: Just had the car in for a wet passenger door bottom. Tech not sure where water coming from but the door membrane was not sealed very well. He resealed it. Rain is due later today and for the next few days and you can be sure I'll keep an eye out for dampness. A few months ago the original top started leaking and so I had the original top replaced with an aftermarket top. GAHH IIRC. Pretty good quality, can't really tell it from the factory except the factory top not including labor to install cost twice ($3300) what it cost me to have the aftermarket top installed. ($1600 including top and labor.) I opted for the plastic window version. Next service new coils will be installed. They are original but the engine misfires -- once in a blue moon -- upon a cold start in the summer months believe it or not. So far this "winter" with the rain and cold it has not misfired but I know the coils are due to be replaced. The car sits outside year 'round too. Services are every 5K miles: oil/filter and then whatever else needs attention. For instance, the next oil/filter service is when the coils will be replaced. Other services happen when due based on miles or time. These include plugs, tranny/diff fluids. That 2 year brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed service is pretty important. Brakes are unaffected but the clutch became impossible to get the car moving smoothly and the transmission became difficult to shift. But a brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed -- it had been 2.5 years since the last one -- fixed things right up. Besides services I just have things taken care of when they appear. For example, the engine is on its 3rd AOS. Couple of gotchas... The car is on its 2nd oil filler tube cap. The cap leaks after 100K to 150K miles. The 1st time I misdiagnosed this and replaced the MAF. Then the symptoms appeared again and I got wise and replaced the cap. After maybe 80K to 100K miles the replacement MAF went bad and I installed the original MAF and it is still going strong. A while back I was at the rear of the car with the engine warmed up and idling with the rear trunk open and on a hunch checked the oil filler tube cap and sure enough I could move it about a bit and hear it leaking. Replaced the replacement cap. Even before the oil filler tube cap the coolant cap started leaking. I replaced coolant cap. So far the replacement is fine. Gas cap tether broke and the cap fell to the ground when I was refueling the car. Bought a new cap with a new tether. The old cap wasn't leaking but it was not far from it by the way it looked. For things not scheduled for periodic replacement I do not recall the miles now without some thought but there have been besides the AOS's (every 80K to 100K miles), a wheel bearing, some O2 sensors, motor mount, water pump, radiator fan motor, fuel pump, coolant tank, some door lock hardware, window regulators, brake/clutch/light switches, VarioCam solenoid/actuator, spark plug tube o-rings, CV boots. CV bearings fine tech cleaned and repacked them and they are back on the car in service, have been now for over 25K miles. Somewhere in there I had the rear window replaced in the original top. What else? Oh, a converter... One was knocking when cold, buzzing when hot and not working very well. Once in a while the CEL would come on with a P0430 error code. Sourced a couple of used exhaust manifolds -- with no rattles (I shook the heck out of them before I paid for them then treated them like glass afterwards) -- and had these installed. Nice and quiet and no more CEL. 20K+ miles from the rear tires, double that from the fronts. Can't recall the brake mileage but I get good brake life. (My Turbo front brakes lasted 120K miles.) Original clutch. Original IMSB. Early on at around 25K miles with the car still under warranty the RMS was replaced along with the IMS end flange and bolts. The new/improved flange with the better seal. The engine is still oil tight. Original hoses. Original radiators. Well, I hit some road debris years ago and the driver's side is "new" but still has probably over 200K miles on it. I keep the radiator ducts free of trash build up. Body water drain, too. Starter overrun clutch was making some noise last summer but in the colder weather is quiet. Don't know what to make of that. When the time comes, the tech -- at the dealer -- said he can send the starter out to be rebuilt for a fraction of what a new one would cost. Not too many months ago the airbag warning light came on, but with no airbag error codes. Tech tried various things including new control module -- factory's suggestion -- but the light remained on. (The new module was not "assigned" to the car so it cost nothing as it was returned to stock.) Tech borrowed an instrument cluster from another car -- with the other car owner's permission -- and found the light went off. So the problem was diagnosed as an instrument cluster problem. The cluster was sent out and some parts replaced but the light is still on. There is another thing the instrument cluster repair shop can do to address this but I haven't had the time to have this taken care of. In the meantime I taped over the light... Gas mileage is pretty good still, about where it has always been. Oil consumption is a quart. Maybe the oil use is up a skosh from new but not by lots. I tend to drive the car a bit harder than I used to, too, which might account for some increase in oil consumption. Oh, I switched from 0w-40 to 5w-50 oil (not a typo for 15w-50!) not because I felt 0w-40 was inadequate -- I had 0w-40 oil in the engine for thousands of miles some of it in blazing hot weather, like 116F! -- just because where I live and drive it gets darn hot -- 100F+ -- often in the summer (heck one late June of 2009 it was 111F) -- and doesn't get below freezing. (The Turbo has been in 118F with 0w-40 oil and has done just fine but it to now gets filled with 5w-50 oil every 5K miles.) Anyhow, the Boxster has been a pretty darn good car all these years. 'course, what I expected when I decided to buy a Porsche.

Rockster said: My apologies to the OP for replying here: Just had the car in for a wet passenger door bottom. Tech not sure where water coming from but the door membrane was not sealed very well. He resealed it. Rain is due later today and for the next few days and you can be sure I'll keep an eye out for dampness. A few months ago the original top started leaking and so I had the original top replaced with an aftermarket top. GAHH IIRC. Pretty good quality, can't really tell it from the factory except the factory top not including labor to install cost twice ($3300) what it cost me to have the aftermarket top installed. ($1600 including top and labor.) I opted for the plastic window version. Next service new coils will be installed. They are original but the engine misfires -- once in a blue moon -- upon a cold start in the summer months believe it or not. So far this "winter" with the rain and cold it has not misfired but I know the coils are due to be replaced. The car sits outside year 'round too. Services are every 5K miles: oil/filter and then whatever else needs attention. For instance, the next oil/filter service is when the coils will be replaced. Other services happen when due based on miles or time. These include plugs, tranny/diff fluids. That 2 year brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed service is pretty important. Brakes are unaffected but the clutch became impossible to get the car moving smoothly and the transmission became difficult to shift. But a brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed -- it had been 2.5 years since the last one -- fixed things right up. Besides services I just have things taken care of when they appear. For example, the engine is on its 3rd AOS. Couple of gotchas... The car is on its 2nd oil filler tube cap. The cap leaks after 100K to 150K miles. The 1st time I misdiagnosed this and replaced the MAF. Then the symptoms appeared again and I got wise and replaced the cap. After maybe 80K to 100K miles the replacement MAF went bad and I installed the original MAF and it is still going strong. A while back I was at the rear of the car with the engine warmed up and idling with the rear trunk open and on a hunch checked the oil filler tube cap and sure enough I could move it about a bit and hear it leaking. Replaced the replacement cap. Even before the oil filler tube cap the coolant cap started leaking. I replaced coolant cap. So far the replacement is fine. Gas cap tether broke and the cap fell to the ground when I was refueling the car. Bought a new cap with a new tether. The old cap wasn't leaking but it was not far from it by the way it looked. For things not scheduled for periodic replacement I do not recall the miles now without some thought but there have been besides the AOS's (every 80K to 100K miles), a wheel bearing, some O2 sensors, motor mount, water pump, radiator fan motor, fuel pump, coolant tank, some door lock hardware, window regulators, brake/clutch/light switches, VarioCam solenoid/actuator, spark plug tube o-rings, CV boots. CV bearings fine tech cleaned and repacked them and they are back on the car in service, have been now for over 25K miles. Somewhere in there I had the rear window replaced in the original top. What else? Oh, a converter... One was knocking when cold, buzzing when hot and not working very well. Once in a while the CEL would come on with a P0430 error code. Sourced a couple of used exhaust manifolds -- with no rattles (I shook the heck out of them before I paid for them then treated them like glass afterwards) -- and had these installed. Nice and quiet and no more CEL. 20K+ miles from the rear tires, double that from the fronts. Can't recall the brake mileage but I get good brake life. (My Turbo front brakes lasted 120K miles.) Original clutch. Original IMSB. Early on at around 25K miles with the car still under warranty the RMS was replaced along with the IMS end flange and bolts. The new/improved flange with the better seal. The engine is still oil tight. Original hoses. Original radiators. Well, I hit some road debris years ago and the driver's side is "new" but still has probably over 200K miles on it. I keep the radiator ducts free of trash build up. Body water drain, too. Starter overrun clutch was making some noise last summer but in the colder weather is quiet. Don't know what to make of that. When the time comes, the tech -- at the dealer -- said he can send the starter out to be rebuilt for a fraction of what a new one would cost. Not too many months ago the airbag warning light came on, but with no airbag error codes. Tech tried various things including new control module -- factory's suggestion -- but the light remained on. (The new module was not "assigned" to the car so it cost nothing as it was returned to stock.) Tech borrowed an instrument cluster from another car -- with the other car owner's permission -- and found the light went off. So the problem was diagnosed as an instrument cluster problem. The cluster was sent out and some parts replaced but the light is still on. There is another thing the instrument cluster repair shop can do to address this but I haven't had the time to have this taken care of. In the meantime I taped over the light... Gas mileage is pretty good still, about where it has always been. Oil consumption is a quart. Maybe the oil use is up a skosh from new but not by lots. I tend to drive the car a bit harder than I used to, too, which might account for some increase in oil consumption. Oh, I switched from 0w-40 to 5w-50 oil (not a typo for 15w-50!) not because I felt 0w-40 was inadequate -- I had 0w-40 oil in the engine for thousands of miles some of it in blazing hot weather, like 116F! -- just because where I live and drive it gets darn hot -- 100F+ -- often in the summer (heck one late June of 2009 it was 111F) -- and doesn't get below freezing. (The Turbo has been in 118F with 0w-40 oil and has done just fine but it to now gets filled with 5w-50 oil every 5K miles.) Anyhow, the Boxster has been a pretty darn good car all these years. 'course, what I expected when I decided to buy a Porsche. I think the OP is after a 981?

Hardly seems worth it to sit in London traffic!?

DJMC said: I think the OP is after a 981? Did you not read the poster's opening line apologising for posting in this thread?

DJMC said: I think the OP is after a 981? Yes. I was offering up my experience with my 986 Boxster as a way of showing these cars -- and the base models particularly -- are quite capable of serving as a daily driver and with some reasonable servicing and care and luck doing so year after year. At the risk of taking this further off track I so liked my experience with my 2002 Boxster I bought a new 2008 Cayman S in early 2009. Unfortunately barely 4 weeks later the car was a write off as it got hit by another car while I was creeping along in traffic on my way to make a right hand turn. Fortunately the airbags (and seat belts) did their job and both my passenger and I came out of the accident unscathed. But of course, the car as I said was a total loss. Unable to find another Cayman I liked, they were "giving them away" then and all the choices examples were by the time I got the settlement money from the other driver's insurance company were gone. But I ended up with a nice low miles (10K) 2003 996 Turbo. I am half -- well a bit less than half -- in the market for "new" Porsche -- going to keep the Boxster though, not so sure about the Turbo -- and exploring options and was considering a GT3. No turbos. No AWD. No hydraulic spoiler. But the word I get is they are rather a hard riding car -- more so than my Turbo which is hard riding enough -- and now the GT3 is off the table. I am coming around to the point I could consider another Cayman, base or an S I haven't gotten that far in my selection process, for my next Porsche. Which I guess then gets this back on track and I think I'll stop now while I'm if not ahead at least (I hope) even...

It was interesting to read. Ignore those being pedantic / mean spirited! Thanks for posting.

To the OP > 981 Boxster as practical everyday car? Absolutely. I practically got fired for parking my then brand new 986 next to the bosses Sharan every day in 2002 - but I have no doubt that a brand new 981 could have had the same effect! To Rockster > Always interesting to read your updates. You've got me thinking and my juddering feeling when setting off could be down to old clutch fluid so that will be the first job on the list before I go looking at the engine mounts.

I use a 987 as a daily and its fine. It isn't without its negatives, its a pain to get in and out in tight parking spaces. The ride can be a bit hard in the potholes (on 18s) and the road noise takes a bit of getting used to. Puts a smile on my face every single day though ETA - I do have a bangernomics focus I use for tip runs/leave anywhere which I think does make a difference