Ralphyboy

I think the Vette would be cheaper in the long run too, unless you have a very good warranty.My son has a 2003 Audi A4 3.0 6 spd , and everything is ridiculously expensive. An old girlfriend of mine had a 2000 Boxster, and it was pretty expensive too.HOWEVER, the Audi, and the Boxster are really great cars to drive.The Boxster feels like your a** is glued to the seat, and it handles amazing. The Audi 3.0 has a linear, very smooth powerband, and with the Quatro, it too handles pretty darn well. So does my vette .But, they are real expensive to maintain,even taking into account the "corvette tax", and THEY ARE NOT A CORVETTE. I wouldn't trade mine for either one.

3whit

I have owned several Vettes over the last 20 ears from a 63 to my current C5 . A couple of years ago I had the chance to sell my 99 C5 for more than I had purchased it for ,so I had this Idea to try a Boxster.. The journey began . I found that there was no substitute for good ol raw american horsepower. I installed cold air induction on the Porsche ,then a set of tuned headers, wider tires etc.etc. Still did not have the go power to satisfy me. Then the codes started due to the sensors messing up in the cold weather warm up stuff.. So on to Cars dot com it went , Back to Corvette I went and I am very happy. I feel back home .I am fortunate to have a wife that is very tolerant of these little whims I go thru . I think there will always be a Corvette in my Garage.. I don't think you can match the performance for the cost with anything...

opua

I am a fairly small guy 5'8", so either car is no problem for me. I went to take a look at a local Boxster S for sale. The C5 definitely has more space on the cabin and on the "truck". The seller drove it, gave it a good rev to 5,000 rpm. While it was fast, it did not seem as fast as the C5 Z06 I test drove yesterday. Boxster was fairly quiet thought.

Keep the comparisons coming.

SteveDoten

I heard the Boxster comes with a nice coach bag

996/7 is the ONLY way to go

mneblett

My $0.02 is to:

(1) Assume the costs are the same, go drive both, and see which one calls out to your soul.

(2) Anaylze the *heck* out of the costs to ensure you know what you're getting into.

(3) Go back and buy the car you liked best in (1), and screw the costs.

Life is waaaaay too short to be nickle-dime cheating yourself out of life's experiences and pleasures!

MrEldo

You can't go to Autozone or Advance Auto for Porsche parts!
Get ready to take out a second mortgage for parts and repairs...

Now if you're loaded that doesn't really matter.

C5 is the most cost effective IMO.

peter pan

Get the Vette hands down eaiser and cheaper to maintain, plus more power and better gas mileage

opua

I like this thinking.


BTW, I went to a nearby dealership to test drive the Boxster S. The salesman was very nice and off we went for a test drive. He had selected a route with straights and twisty. Unfortunately, the transmission went bad about 5 minutes into the test drive. While we were able to get it to the dealership, there was no car within my price range left to consider at that dealership. I thought it was pretty ironic that I asked about cost issues and this happened.

Ikester

Im being dead honest here... each year the most I spemd on maintenance is on oil changes. (2x a year) my car just runs strong and reliable no matter how hard I drive it.

Ralphyboy

The original question was about costs to maintain, if I'm not mistaken.The Vette will definitely be cheaper. One member said the Boxster bogs if you lug it in gear, but I found the one I was driving to be very smooth, tight and easy to shift gear box, and extremely forgiving to drive, with virtually no bucking if you ran it at low rpms in a gear.It does rev high, and its performance range is in the upper end of the powerband, but it is a really smooth and easy car to drive.Just bring you IRA account with you when you take it in for service.

sunrise.cm

Words of experience:

Porshe:
step one: remove engine,
step two: repair engine.
Step three: replace engine.

$$$$$$$$$$

ekim7878

Brother used to be a porsche mechanic and then was a chevy mechanic. (now works for VW) I was doing the same comparison a while ago and brought it up to him and he said maintainence costs are about double for the porsche. And the boxster is a girls porsche anyway!

Vetteoholic

Corvette's may not be cheap to work on but, a German car is really expensive to work on. The parts are insane too.

bonnell

The spec sheet for the 2000 3.2 shows 250HP and 261ftlb torque. The low torque probably is the reason for mandatory down shift.

eddy20

I have had two Porsches and now on my forth vette. The Porsches are nice cars and no matter what model you get they are EXPENSIVE to maintain properly and are not that reliable. Sold my Carrera and bought a C5 for partially that reason. Go to the Porsche dealer and pay big bucks or go to the Chevy dealer and pay resonable prices. I would not own another Porsche unless it was under full factory warranty period. By the way P cars are fun, but as they say there is "no replacement for cubic inch displacement"!

Homeboy981

This is an old thread but new to me.

I LOVE how my Boxster handles AND Corvettes DO HANDLE well - but not much can touch the mid-engine handling (including the 911s). Especially in turns. I want a solid car to drive to the track and win!

How about this….a Boxster S with a Corvette LS engine? There are a few companies doing it. No more dreaded IMS, cheap oil changes, raw power and awesome handling. Yes the Box is a little "smaller feeling" but you get 2 trunks! I am 5' 8" so it fits me just fine.

Tires are a concern. I am burning them up every 15,000 miles with less than 300HP….how bad would it get with 100+ more HP? My 'vette ate them too. (HINT: Not in the slow lane much)

With the best of BOTH worlds…is there another reason (aside from getting to the engine) NOT to do it? Porsche car powered by Chevy!

I LOVE 'vettes and have only owned one and one Boxster S - which I still have b/c the cursed IMS died!

Now I am torn on which way to go - dump the German and pay the "Corvette Tax" or slap some reliable American muscle in the car I have now. It will take about $10k to do the swap - or $13k for a used C5….decisions, decisions - insight into that anyone?

Thanks in advance.

Mattie Num Nums

My thought on the Boxster has always been, "So close to a Carrera!"

esemes

Having owned a 996TT, I can say the maintenance is way more expensive for the porsche (300$ oil change on mine @ the dealer).

Transmission was another concern - My second gear was going...... well over 15K to fix.

rbrumm

I had a Porsche 911 that I raced. all replacement parts were high dollars the only part that was in line were the rear axles standard good rotors $400.00 just parts no pads or install, timing chain if needed $2,000-$3,000 for a shop to do tune-up $800-$1000 replacement wheels $750.00 ea . on and on "ouch" I dont want to even think back about all the money that I have spent to keep the car running. the only parts that you could get from the local parts house (O'Rileys etc.) were plugs & filters everything else had to be "ordered" the other parts were from the dealer and holly S&#% on those prices. there nothing better than to walk into a place pick up what you need at a fair price and walk out as well as there are a lot of shops that work on vetts. you may even need to drive out of town to find someone to work on the porsche. I have a Mini cooper (sorry wifes car) there are three dealerships that could work on my car if needed. all are more than 20 miles away from me stay domestic its a lot cheaper and the Corvette forum people are a lot more fun to talk with then them dang Porsche owners ( there kinda stuffy and have names like Biff, Tad , Thurstin, etc. )

Mr.Bill

The easy answer to your question is they..
Price German parts and then price Chevy parts, GM for the win...