[QUOTE=seeker97,Sep 26 2008, 05:41 PM] The closest car I

 

If it was a Cayman S, the driver wasn't racing - he was probably laughing at the Honda owner who doesn't have the maturity to take it to the track.

 

excellent information, thank you.

 

[QUOTE=Chris S,Oct 12 2008, 04:54 AM] If it was a Cayman S, the driver wasn't racing - he was probably laughing at the Honda owner who doesn't have the maturity to take it to the track.

 

Chris_S, whatever floats your boat. Like I said, I absolutely loved driving my Boxster, it was owning it that wasn't as satisfying. Porsche's are fantastic to drive, just not as much fun to own. As you pointed out, JD Powers is initial quality. That's no big deal - even Ford and GM can equal Toyota in "initial" quality. That is only a measure of how many problems a buyer reports in the first (30 or 90, I forget) days after picking up their car. The real test is what happens 4 or 5 years down the road, not 3 months.

One small suggestion, IMHO, if you plan on keeping your Cayman for a long time, you might want to consider changing the oil more often than every 20k miles. The 20k "service interval" is part of Porsche's brilliant marketing, part of the pitch that you pay more up front for the car, but less for maintenance. Bull (IMHO, of course).

Even a company that builds engines as finely as Porsche cannot repeal the laws of physics and metallurgy. While synthetic oils certainly last longer than conventional, this is partially offset by the higher operating temperatures and other stresses on the engine used by Porsche to extract better efficiency and more hp

 

I changed my oil @ less than 9K, and I'm about to get it changed a year later @ 13K. I wouldn't go over 10K miles or 1 year, whichever comes first, but I trust the extra oil capacity and better filtration justifies longer than industry std. intervals.

I hear you re: cars of the past. I just bought an old Miata for a track car, and while not fast, it's rawness and light weight make it quite fun.

 

I'm the owner of a 2005 Boxster S and just joined this board after reading seeker97's very interesting comments. I share a lot of his thoughts, especially my feeling that the test drive was a lot better than the ownership experience. My car is out of warranty next year and I'm worried about all the engine failures. (Go to ppbb.org and type in "IMS" and you'll see that the number of reported failures is growing, even in 2005-and-up models.) I'm also really put off by Porsche's inability to admit the design defects and the way it cheats customers with exorbitant prices for options and service.

I may go and test-drive an S, but I have some questions for seeker97 and others, who may want to chime in. First, I assume you bought the Boxster new. How did you reconcile yourself to the stratospheric depreciation? That's a main stumbling block for me in switching cars.

Also, I'm wondering how safe the S2000 is. Porsche touts high-strength steel throughout and I've read accounts of Boxster owners surviving bad accidents because of the car's strength. I see little or nothing about S2000 safety or strength. Also, I notice the S2000 appears to have fewer airbags than the Porsche. (With all of this said, I'm not sure how concerned one can be about safety in a small two-seater if you collide with, say, an SUV or a truck.)

Finally, I'm seeing news of an S2000 replacement and am wondering if I should wait. I'd rather not wait long enough to see the engine fail on my Boxster, especially after it's out of warranty.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[QUOTE=seeker97,Oct 14 2008, 02:48 PM] While synthetic oils certainly last longer than conventional, this is partially offset by the higher operating temperatures and other stresses on the engine used by Porsche to extract better efficiency and more hp

 

welcome aboard enjoy the s

 

I am sure the S is just as safe as the boxster, and every bit as stout.

the little things even got a 5 star side impact rating, and the frame is almost as stiff as it gets.