S2000 Vs. Porsche Boxter

[kmajid]

I'm looking at buying a used car so i came across a 2000 Honda S2000 with 20000 miles on it for $19500 and a 1998 Porsche Boxter with 58000 miles on it for $18600.

Just curious what you guys think of the two and which i should go for. The honda is certified used and comes with a 7 year 100k warranty while the porsche does not.

How much would it cost to maintain the porsche compared to the honda? How easy is it to upgrade either cars with a turbo etc...

Any advice would be great and if you know of any other cars in a similar price range any ideas are welcome, thanks a lot....

[ghetto7o2azn]

i would go with the s2000... for one its a newer car and has less miles... the s2000 also puts out the most power n/a for the amout of displacement... (2.0L 240hp) well i can imagine that the honda has better reliabuility than the porshe... and then you cant just get a porshe serviced anywhere... it may be easier than a lambo or a ferrari but a LOT harder than a honda... also the honda comes with a huge after market basis... a lot of people supe up their s2000's... carbon fiber hoods/trunks, air intakes, body kits, rims, exhaust, turbos, super chargers, ect... honda uses the s2000 to race... porshe doesnt use the boxter for races that often... think of it... why would they when they have the gt1, gt2, gt3, 911 turbo, ect... the boxter is the lowest porshe there is there fore its aftermarket is nowhere near the s2000's... and then there is always the fact that if you got the boxter people would call you a kind of "wanna be" porshe owner... the fact is that i hear it all the time... a lot of people think that the boxter isnt a "real" porsche... thats my belief

[chicago_guy]

The porsche would perform better, although you are talking about a regular boxster, not an S, so Im not sure. And you are right, an oil change for my stepdads S costs something like $120, due to its having a mid-engine. And you do bring up a good point, on a hp basis the S2000 wins....but it has no torque whatsoever....I believe its 160 something. IMO nothing beats german engineering (except of course for the italian super cars). But since your looking at cost, go with the S2000. You will be happy with it.

[MexSiR]

According to car and driver an other very reliable sources the s2000 beats the boxter in 0-60 mph acceleration, quarter mile, and going around a track.
Your call.

[kmajid]

Thanks a lot guys for the awesome feedback. I think i might be going with the S2000 because of all the reasons you guys listed. I am checking one out on Friday so i might be coming home with it on Friday...the weather's been great in Baltimore, MD (unusual) so hopefully the weekend will be the same although with my luck, it will probably snow....thanks again.

[chicago_guy]

Originally Posted by MexSiR

According to car and driver an other very reliable sources the s2000 beats the boxter in 0-60 mph acceleration, quarter mile, and going around a track.
Your call.

If you were referring to me saying that the boxster would perform better, then whatever. I dont know much about the regular boxster, considering Im used to the S model...which by the way, does out-perform the S2000 (but not by much).

[OoNismoO]

ive seen boxster s performance numbers, and 0-60 was around 5.7-5.9, 1/4 mile was around 14 sec. ive seen the s2000 put up similar numbers. i wonder how the 2.2 liter version of the s2000 would do against the boxster s.

[Jimster]

Bullshit you can Turbo an S2000 out of the box- the Compression is far too high......


Get a Boxster- he S2000 has a snappy chassis- that will get away on you if you catch it off guard- and is no more or less reliable than the Boxster- the Boxster is more maintenence free- such as no coolant changes- ever and a lower compression ratio.

the F20C is a good engine- but good luck finding some low down torque!

The Boxster is just far more sorted than an S2000 definately the Porsche

[crayzayjay]

I agree with Jimster that the Boxster is a more 'sorted' car and would much prefer to own one than an S2000. The difference in mileage is something to think about but Boxsters have an excellent reliability record so dont let it put you off too much. I'd go for the Boxster

[Neutrino]

Finally i can see some people that backed up the boxter.....


while the S2000 its a very good car....the boxter would make a better daily driver plus its a much more classy loking car...

this honda legend its getting out of hand here in the US....while they are very good cars....its ridiculous how high on a pedestal they are put in the States....they are considered as being better than even that porsche...IMO that is ridiculous

[ghetto7o2azn]

i still think that the s2000 is a better car... and yes you can turbo charge it... why is the boxter a better daily driver? also the s2000 may have a younger look than the "classy" boxter but i think that the boxter looks like one of those fished that sucks on the glass from the back because of the big eshaust in the middle.. of course there will be people who like the boxter and those who like the s2000... i think he should just test drive them to see what he thinks

[Neutrino]

we put the boxter as better daily driver mainly due to its better powerband

and looks as you said of course are subjective

[Mr Payne]

Originally Posted by Jimster

Bullshit you can Turbo an S2000 out of the box- the Compression is far too high......


Get a Boxster- he S2000 has a snappy chassis- that will get away on you if you catch it off guard- and is no more or less reliable than the Boxster- the Boxster is more maintenence free- such as no coolant changes- ever and a lower compression ratio.

the F20C is a good engine- but good luck finding some low down torque!

The Boxster is just far more sorted than an S2000 definately the Porsche

On s2ki.com there is a substantial amount of stock engined supercharged and turbocharged S2000s. Are their even supercharger or turbo kits for the Boxster?

Boxsters are maintenance free? I've heard the first couple years for Boxsters were HORRIBLE as far as reliability is concerned, recently they've been quite good though.

Given completely different engine architectures, why higher/lower compression even be a factor? I can give a few examples of crappy low compression engines.

And on the track, the S2K completely owns the Boxster. Now, the Boxster S is a different story (they are very closely matched).

[OoNismoO]

well i think its better if we all test drove both cars at the same time(i wish) some article did state that the s2000 takes top honors in its class, which means that it beat the boxster s, but that was for like 2000 i think, and the newest boxster s has like a little more power, something like 8 more horses? anyways i think that newer boxster s should be compared to the 2.2 s2000.

[Jimster]

Originally Posted by Mr Payne

On s2ki.com there is a substantial amount of stock engined supercharged and turbocharged S2000s. Are their even supercharger or turbo kits for the Boxster?

Boxsters are maintenance free? I've heard the first couple years for Boxsters were HORRIBLE as far as reliability is concerned, recently they've been quite good though.

Given completely different engine architectures, why higher/lower compression even be a factor? I can give a few examples of crappy low compression engines.

And on the track, the S2K completely owns the Boxster. Now, the Boxster S is a different story (they are very closely matched).

Sorry, but you'll have to get me up PRETTY early in the morning to convince me that there are Unreliable Porsches, and if there were reliability problems there is no possible way that Porsche would let it continue for a few years- I don't know where you heard it from- but you should get a new source- JD Power UK and US will support my views here............Or the Driver power Survey 2001 (Or 2002- I can't remember- but the cars were 2 years old minimum) in the UK- where the Boxster (Which were 1996-1999 models) scored number one position overall- and in the top ten 10% for reliability and build quality. Case two would be looking at the April 2001 Edition of Top Gear magazine- with JD Power UK- the Boxster scores a perfect 5 in every aspect of reliability.

As for tuning kits for the Boxster.........Are you stupid??? Or simply ignorant ever heard of RUF, or Gemballa- RUF offer a stroked version of the 3.2 engine- which will destroy a Supercharged S2000- to a bloody Sushi pulp- the aftermarket for Porsches is endless- there is a HUGE market for Porsche tuning here in Europe- even Hamman seem to be in on the action.............It's kind of like the market for Ricing Civics and Sentras in the States, almost...........

My point with compression is that the higher the Compression, then 1. The worse it will run on Lower-Octane US fuel (EVEN 91- I wouldn't dream of anything short of 98 RON full stop), 2. The more prone to wear it will be and 3. The sooner it will blow up on the addition of Forced Induction.