What did the Porsche forum tell you????????:)

Bang for the Buck the C6 wins hands down.

I looked at the Cayman before I bought the C6, at the time I still had my 2005 350Z, and I could not see spending $60,000+ for basically the same power and performance as a 350Z I had just bought 3 months earlier for $27000.

While I was there I saw the Boxter S.
Too me, the looks of the Boxter don't stir up the same passion as the looks of the C6.

What will really sell you on the C6 is back to back drives in each car, once I went from the GREAT 350Z 6 cylinder to the EFFORTLESS ACCELERATION and Push in the back torque of the C6's V8, I was sold.

I say go C6, even better go C6 Z06 if you can swing it!:thumbs:

Good luck with your choice,

Howard

Park the two cars side by side and look at them. See which makes your heart flutter. It will be obvious.

I had all three on my short list, leaning towards a 911 first, however. Then price entered into it. 911 out. Cayman S is a great car, but you're looking at $60k+. Not a big fan ever of verts, so Boxster S gets pushed down the list--forget the Boxster. Performance-wise--having a 2000 WS6 Trans Am, the Cayman S was the only one that I couldn't dust in most races. Then there is the C6. Fastest, best looking, easiest to maintain and cheapest by far! $43.6 plus tax. Needed immediate improvements: Bullets and Aircharger, another $1150. $15,000 in my pocket and a car I've wanted for a long time. Easy decision. Not knocking Porsches as I have liked them for years--928 was my all time favorite car. But the Vette just wins in any comparison, period. The car mags even picked it over the 911S and that goes for 95 large! End of the day, gut level decision. As I said, mine was easy and I am very happy with it! :cheers:

As lager99 pointed out, there is a lot more to the car experience than raw performance. Having said that, it's hard to imagine any sports car, or any car at all, that would be more comfortable for road trips than our C6. Lots of luggage room in the Coupe version.

When i was doing track weekends in our previous C5 (Z51 but automatic trans) a Boxster was just a speed bump. The Boxster S would take a little longer before I passed him but it always happened sooner rather than later. This is with drivers that seemed to be of equal skill.

I got a big kick out of some of the comments in this thread. First of all, I got out of my three year lease early and dumped my 2004 Boxster. I replaced it with a C6. The Boxster doesn't have 50/50 weight distribution as someone said. It's more like 46/54. The low polar moment of inertia achieved with a mid-engine layout is why the handling is second to none. It is much better mannered on bumpy roads, especially on bumpy curved roads, than the C6. In fact, I'd say it was the best handling car I've ever driven. The brakes were superb too. Now for the bad news. When the car was 18 months old, Porsche replaced the whole engine. The car was back to the dealer for a power steering leak within weeks. A month later, it went back to the dealer for an engine oil leak. Less than a month later, back again for another power steering leak. The radio was replaced once and the top was replaced twice. The thrill was gone. My neighbor has a 2003 911 and Porsche replaced his engine a year or so ago too. The dealer told me that engine failures are running about 5% to 7% of production. Turbo's and GT-3's have a completely different engine and far fewer problems. The first service at the Porsche dealer was $650 and the second one was $850. Most of the comments about the things that happen to a Corvette but don't happen to a Porsche, like flames and Guns and Roses songs, don't happen to Ferrari's or Lamborghini's either.
I test drove a C6 and had a woody for a week so in my garage it sits. My base Boxster was exactly the same price as my C6 with 2LT, Z51 and polished wheels. It's got almost double the horsepower of the Boxster with cheaper insurance and better gas mileage. Biggest no brainer in the history of Earth.

I'm a 1997 Boxster to C6 convert. I'm planning to put a comparison between the two on my blog in the near future, after I've taken the C6 to the track.

IMO, the Boxster still does a few things better, as from my first autocross. At half the power of the C6, it probably could have gone just as fast around that autocross course. And it's a more enjoyable car to drive on the back roads thanks to the superior steering feel, sharper turn in. There's a greater sense of immediacy in the Porsche from its more compact dimensions, snugger fitting cockpit, and snugger seats.

http://wheeltalk.fancal.net/?p=671

And the 993 review I have highlights what I think to be the best about Porsche, that it captures the essense of the sports car so well, in an efficient, and practical package.

http://wheeltalk.fancal.net/?p=730

OTOH, I love the C6 as well. It's hard to argue against the power. It is a very capable and good handling car in its own right when put on more wide open roads, or wide open autocross courses. It's clearly superior as a grand tourer. The attributes that make the Porsche great for back road driving - firm seats, tight interior, become a greater liability for long distance cruising.

And for me, Corvettes are rarer in my neck of the woods, whereas Porsches are a dime a dozen. So that factors as well. That and the fact that I have my 3LT coupe with nav for probably the
discounted price I can get for a basic Boxster S.

But for those arguments about Porsche reliability, my 1997 Boxster had been more reliable than both my 2002 Subaru and 1996 BMW. It had been quite bullet proof. Porsches are expensive to maintain but are very well made.

Velocity Steve is right on.
 

:iagree:
As his post says, Porsche has many quality control problems these days. Friends of mine with 996 and Boxter models have had similiar experiences with coolant leaks, oil leaks, and P steering leaks. Trouble is, after the warranty you are on your own. That is one big reason depreciation has been so steep with their water cooled cars.

"If it doesn't leak it isn't a Porsche" is a well worn phrase in the Porsche community. I for one, lament they gave up dry sump and went with the "cheap" motors for production cars. Used to be every 911 had the heart of a race motor. GT2, GT3 and Turbo still do, but at a big cost. Attention Porsche! See dry sump Corvette ZO6

Weight distribution is an interesting topic. The 911 has a huge rear weight bias. Boxter and Cayman are better but still far short of the Corvette C6 at near 50/50. The difference is in lightness of the front end which translates to nimbleness. Arguably, that lightness equates to a go-cart like feel. However, physics will tell the truth every time.
A Porsche 944 turbo (near 50/50) or a C6 will out corner the mid/rear engined Porsche in steady state cornering- Until power is applied. Then, the rear weight bias design will put power down a little more effectively. Overall, the 50/50 design will corner faster, assuming braking equality. (another whole issue)
Personally, I always felt insecure driving the 911 and 914/6 on track because of the oversteer feel. A 944 Turbo inspires great confidence because of the better weight distribution.
The C6 is that much better yet!! The Corvette design team did a great job!!

#'s 1-10 (all of the above) are what led Tony Soprano's cousin Ralph Cipparetto to declare... "The Boxter is a Porsche with panties.". :lol:

Man, 99% of Boxturds are drive by WOMEN,.................... or men that want to be women!!! :willy: :willy: :willy:

i have owened both brands and loved them both. the vette has much more power and torque. great handling but not as sharp as porsche. style is clear winner for vette. interior fit and finish goes to porsche.

regular maintenance on porsche is much more expensive that vette--everything--oil changes, air filters, tune ups, breaks.

this is a matter of taste--you will be happy with either one. however, nothing like being pinned in your seat with 400 pounds of torque.

The C6 is world class. Buy America's sports car...The Corvette! :flag:

:iagree: :flag: :party:
http://jimbillups.com/vette_1.jpg

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: I was just waiting for the girlie car comment, but the second part this is a good laugh as well.

That only leaves 1% for the Euro Snobs? You're gonna hurt their feelings...

Porsche does not do it for me, nice car but I would take a '73 Camaro over the Porsche.

I will take any Vette. You now know where the passion lies...:D

Corvettes are rarer in my neck of the woods, whereas Porsches are a dime a dozen. So that factors as well.

:iagree: Porsches are still very good cars, but where I live I see so many old men smoking cigars in them on way to Starbucks it's sort of laughable. I have had many people in 911s, 6 series verts, MB SL 500s and others stop me to talk about my car. A vette is still special.

I HAD THE SAME CHOICE OF CARS AND THESE WERE ALL THE REASONS I WENT FOR THE VETTE. BESIDES THE ONE THING THAT BOTHERED ME MOST WAS TOO MANY CHICKS DRIVE BOXSTERS AND EVEN PORSCHE LOVERS KINDA LOOK DOWN ON THE BOXSTER AS A SUBPAR SUBSTITUTE. PERSONALLY I LIKE THE CAYMAN, BUT LIKE YOU SAID YOU GOTTA GET THE "S" TO FEEL THE PERFORMANCE. GL :thumbs:

I owned 2 Boxsters including the S and when they became so common and most were driven by women I got rid of it and bought the Vette. I would have had to buy the 911 to get away from that "chick car" thing which for some reason just bugged me even though it is a terrific car. By the way I did all my own oil changes on the Porsche; it's not hard when you figure out the system. The Vette drives nicer on the freeway and sounds better and obviously has more power. I wasn't overwhelmed by the build quality of the Porsche; I remember all the Boxster owners complaining about the crappy upgraded radio-sound familiar! I drove used 911's prior to buying my new Vette and even the used ones were about $10 to 20,000 more than the Vette. I just couldn't justify it and I didn't think it performed any better on back-to- back test drives. If I could have afforded a used 911 turbo in good shape I would have bought that.

Why I bought a Boxster
 

I own an '06 Boxster and I love it. Before I go further, let me tell you that I think the C6 Corvette is an amazing piece of work and for the money practically supernatural. In the image department, the Vette is an edgy, masculine car; the Boxster, like all Porsches since 1948, has rounded, feminine lines. The Vette makes powerful American hot rod sounds; the Porsche has more of a wail. Floor it and the Vette will pin you to your seat; the Boxster absolutely will not (although it's no slug). The Vette will never be called "cute." My car gets called "cute" all the time. What's interesting is that I don't care. This car is nothing but fun.

I'm a grown man married to the same girl for 31 years; I'm neither a chick nor gay. James Dean and Steve McQueen were both Porsche pilots, and they weren't chicks or gay, either.

But I didn't buy it for what others think of it or me. I bought it because I like driving it. What I like most about it -- and this may sound funny -- is that you don't have to be going fast to have fun. It's a pleasure at every speed, from crawling at 6 mph through side streets in seaside towns to screaming along at 130. Vettes put up fantastic numbers in road tests and on race tracks. But the average, everyday, real-world speed that you and I actually drive is about 28 mph. The occasional stomp on the on-ramp is about the only rush we can reasonably get on the street, and in the Vette, the fun's over in about three seconds. (Great three seconds, but really brief.)

The Boxster, on the other hand, is fun on the complete drive. It handles like a fish darting through water. It changes direction better than any car on the planet except another Porsche. It is incredibly balanced, has super-communicative steering, a buttery clutch and shifter, and simply the world's best brakes. With the top down (the only way to drive), it offers huge visibility in every direction. Although it has nearly the same physical dimensions as the Vette, the sensation is very different; those feminine "hips" slope out of your line of sight, where the Vette's remain visible and make the car feel bigger and more "present." The Boxster tends to disappear beneath you.

Thing is, the Boxster's qualities are not speed dependent; they are in play and enjoyable on literally every drive. The Boxster's skid-pad numbers are above 1.0 -- even better than the Corvette's -- but like all the other numbers, this is academic; on the street, neither you nor I will ever see those numbers. And that 180-mph top speed is academic, too, as is the Boxster's 160-mph ceiling. We just never go there.

So I like the Boxster because it's so much fun where we actually live and drive -- on real streets at real speeds with as many romps around mountain roads as we can fit in.

So that's why I bought the Boxster.

And PS: If you're Porsche shopping, skip the options list. I bought my car brand-new off the lot for $45,365. No HUD, no bi-xenon lights, just a simple, classic sports car. And did I mention that it's fun?