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Coupes & Convertibles Porsche Boxster & Boxster-S Porsche Boxster or BMW Z4
21 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2009 at 8:15 AM
You are in the Porsche Boxster & Boxster-S Forum. Your Host is claires
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 24, 2006 8:15 am) Neither. You are looking at two $45k +/- sports cars, can't drive a stick, don't care about performance and are concerned about MPG. And you want to know which is the better "value". Re-read that and tell me you don't see some humorous illogic. If you are going through some mid life crisis, be careful. My Porsche sales manager privately refers to Tiptronic versions of the base Boxster and the new base Cayman as "secretary" cars. He's not the most politically correct guy, but probably fairly accurate in his demographic / image assessment. On point, in my opinion, the Boxster is a better sports car than the Z4, and I own a BMW M5, with a 911 Turbo on the way. But adding a tiptronic to the Boxster will sap its performance and your pocketbook to the tune of $3,400. Hardly a good "value" now, and a hindrence to future resale.
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Replying to: spiritinthesky (Aug 25, 2006 2:56 am)  yes, true, it's silly to talk about "value" when comparing cars at the 45k level - no doubt I enjoy driving a stick, but because of a long-time lower back injury I just can't do it on a daily basis, thus the need for an auto. I guess I could go the SMG route, but I've heard too many bad things about it. Aslo, the amount of time I'd get to really "use" the manual tranny is very limited. The SF Bay Area has a lot of congestion, and driving a stick is just silly. I am man enough to handle being made fun of for driving an automatic. I'm buying the car to satisfy my desires, not anybody else's. I've learned not to listen to anything a car sales person says. They are fairly worthlessa as far as I can tell. Even if the Tip/Steptronic decreases performance, I am sure they are still good cars to drive, though not as much fun as the manual. You're making fun of me for considering "value" but you are telling me I should care about resale? That seems inconsistent. I dont' care about resale. I plan to own the car for 10 years, even if I retire it as my daily driver and keep it for the weekend car. I don't need a backseat, anymore. At least not on my daily driver. Why should I lug around a back seat and a large trunk? Just to take an extra person to lunch? They can walk. I'd rather get a few extra mpg by dumping the back seat and trunk. I'd almost consider a Solstice/Sky, but the mpg stinks for that sized car. I never said my logic was perfect.
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 25, 2006 8:29 am) I throw that out because, if you are comparing to the base level Boxster and Z4, the SLK has the most torque and is least adversely affected by an automatic transmission. It's in the same league as the Boxster in price, with both well above the Z4. You can, however, get a 7% discount on the SLK by picking it up in Europe, if you are so inclined. Porsche charges extra for European delivery. Personally, I have never been a fan of the BMW "Z" cars. No sexist remark intended, but my secretary/assistant got a Z4 (2 year old, certified one) and it has been in the shop at least 5 times in the first 6 months. Two power top failures, dead engine (electronics), noticable suspension shimmy (clean car / no accidents), poor fit and finish, etc. That's just one example, but I know of many BMW enthusiasts who would claim the U.S. made Z4 is not up to BMW's European standards. I just never liked the looks and drive, especailly compared to my former Honda S2000. Between the Boxster and SLK, I think the Boxster is clearly the better performing true sports car. But, as spiritinthesky indicated, if it's going to be fitted with an automatic, I think the SLK might be worth consideration, as well. The new design is a vast improvement over the original SLK in every way. Sorry to hear about your back. In March I had right rotator cuff surgery, then tore my right ACL in June and while awaiting surgery broke my left elbow trying to run the bases with my torn ACL. But, thankfully, I can still drive my 911S 6-speed manual. Even if I look at bit like the Black Knight in Monty Python's Holy Grail. 
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Replying to: habitat1 (Aug 25, 2006 1:16 pm) LOL re the Black Knight - he's the one who keeps getting body parts lopped off, correct? It's been hilarious watching my teenage girls get turned on to Monty Python. They keep us in stitches doing "The Penguin on the Tele" skit I prefer the look of the Z4 to the Porsche or the SLK, but that's just me. I was a big Batman fan. I had not heard of the reliability issues with the Z4. I've actually been surprised at how good the reports are, from what I've been reading (doubly surprised, since it is US-assembled) I thought it was the most reliable BMW and the TCO/mile is much lower than anything it compares to plus, I am barely willing to spend 40K, so I can't imagine buying the SLK, even if it is better and I'm not OLD enough to drive an SLK  the fit and finish issues you raise are now giving me pause 
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 25, 2006 1:53 pm) I've previously owned 3 Porsches, and currently own a BMW 325i and Z4 2.5i (both from 2003). I thought about the SLK and Boxster as well as the Z4. The SLK didn't have the sport car handling I'm used to - I think it's beautiful and makes the best daily driver of the trio, and if I were looking for a sports car as my daily driver it's the route I'd have gone. The Boxster has the best handling, but I think the Z4 comes closer than a lot of people give it credit for. Most definitely I preferred the styling of the Z4 to the Boxster, which has bland lines and the fried-egg headlamps that Porsche dropped from the 996 after the facelift. I also feel the Z4 was a better value - the Porsche was a bit better, but not as much as the price different would indicate. Lastly, the Z4 comes with a longer warranty and includes all maintenance and free roadside assistance - more support than the Boxster. As for reliability, my Z4 is essentially the same car as my 325i and both have been reliable as an anvil. I've had one light bulb burn out on each, but other than that only scheduled maintenance. Both the E46 3-series and E85 Z4 are among the most reliable BMWs made recently. I plan on keeping my 325 a few more years, but I'm thinking I will be getting rid of my Z4 sooner - to upgrade to an M Roadster version.
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Replying to: epbronw (Aug 31, 2006 4:03 pm) |
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Replying to: alp8 (Sep 01, 2006 12:58 pm) link title Now I am really leaning towards the Z4. Any comments? Thanks, Chuck
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Replying to: squelch (Sep 05, 2006 12:59 pm) When I was considering a 2005 Boxster S last year before deciding on a 911, I could not find any real concerns other than the "rear main seal" leak, which is often tied to improper break in. Porsche has moved up considerably in the reliability rankings, suggesting to me that the early Boxster issues are behind them. The Z4 engine is about as tried and true as one can get, having been used in everything from the 3 series, 5 series, and X5. Unfortunately, for a sports car / roadster, IMO it is rather low revving and heavy, partly leading to Z4 handling characteristics that are inferior to the Boxster. The Boxster and S2000 are exceptional ground up roadsters, the Z4 is a bit too much like a spare parts project, a similar complaint I have to the 350Z. Just my opinion.
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