Faults:

Engine and transmission are solid. The car was bought not as a project but just in average condition. It starts and drives just fine. It has been looked after and garaged, but not used for a while - needs a bit of love and care.

Surprising number of electronic faults - windows, doors, brake switch, etc. I thought there would be more mechanical issues. Either way I will deal with them. The brakes could do with some work however, new disc and pads.

Cosmetically very good for its age, the car was always garaged from new, one owner car.

General Comments:

2000 "X" registration Porsche Boxster - these cars can be had for well under £5000 and make a great practical way to own a sports car bearing a desirable badge.

I am not pretentious however, I have always loved this car and do not care what other people think, positively or negatively. On the positive side, the car gets admiring glances. On the negative side, some idiots still say "You bought that because you cannot afford a new 911 Turbo" Well not true, I bought it because I like it, end of story. But yes - being a more affordable sports car is always an attractive proposition to anyone, regardless of circumstance.

Insurance is expensive as expected but not excessively so if you do low annual mileage or get special classic insurance. Running costs are surprisingly doable for anyone as a second car. Not great on fuel, 24 mpg at best. But with 6.5 seconds to 60 mph and a 155 mph top speed who cares? I drive it how it's meant to be driven.

Grey/black leather interior. Blue exterior and original Porsche wheels, I will be keeping this car original.

An absolute joy to drive as expected. Does not feel like its 25 + years old. The 2.7 petrol engine sounds incredible. Manual box is the one to have, but there is nothing wrong with the tip-tronic auto.

I think I'll be keeping this for a long time, ideal on days like this, rare 30 degrees sunny weather here in the UK. Country roads and days like this is what cars like this were made for.

Faults:

Retractable roof is slow to close. I bought it that way though.

General Comments:

Acceleration is brisk, handling is sharp and the auto tiptronic transmission is a blast to drive. Curves are what this car eats for breakfast.

A Boxster with an active maintenance is crucial before you buy one.

Faults:

At 115 000 km, the convertible top's rear plastic window suffered a 15cm cut. Hint: be very careful, and help to fold the window with your hands when lowering the convertible top. Do not trust the automatic mechanism 100%, especially when the plastic window is old and fragile. There aren't too many places or options to repair plastic windows or whole convertible tops in Finland; costs a lot of money either way you take care of it, but amazingly I managed to patch the cut with strong and transparent packaging tape, from both sides. Endures rain, opening and closing the top, and winter. Some might say the cut is blasphemy, but it doesn't bother me at all, and it can hardly be seen from a small distance. And besides, you cannot see it at all when the top is down.

At 118 000 km, some sort of small iron sound absorber around the exhaust pipe became loose, and made a rattle. Very easy to locate and tighten.

The small black plastic base of the ignition lock cylinder broke down at 120 000 km, and the key was stuck inside for a couple of days. Malfunctioned the central locking, too. You could still start, stop and drive the car though, and lock the doors manually. Very annoying, but fortunately the part was the same as in old German cars like Audi and VW. The part said "Made In West Germany", so similar parts have been around for a while, haha. Cost only 16 eur (the base part) + 1-2 hours work. After the repair, the central locking was OK again.

General Comments:

The summer in Finland can be very warm and beautiful. Had a chance to drive it with the top open almost every day, at least most times of the day.

It's early December now that I'm writing this. I didn't really know what to expect for the Porsche vs the winter in Finland. I had a block heater + interior heater plug installed just recently, which made the driving in the winter just amazing. The car is already warm, both the engine and from the inside, when you start up. The car handles very well in the snow, the traction is good, since the weight of the middle engine is mostly on top of the rear drive wheels, and the wheels/rims are very wide.

Mirror heaters are a bit slow for the winter in Finland, but they work, and that's luxury for me at least.

This Boxster is just fantastic for a 13 year old car. Well of course, the mileage is quite low, it helps. The technics and quality beat all of my previous used cars 10-0. So far, I haven't seen any wear whatsoever. The engine works, the electrics work, everything works. But, you have to study and follow the maintenance program, it's worth it. Take care, and listen to your Porsche.

The best part is the sound of the engine when accelerating, even just a bit, I just love it, everybody seems to.

Dear reader, if you are considering of buying an oldish Boxster, please do not hesitate to ask anything from me. I read carsurvey.org every now and then, let's say, once or twice a month. I'm not an expert on technics, but I have had a lot of used cars in my lifetime.

What more can I say... I drive a Porsche to work every day, the others don't.

No regrets.