98 Porsche Boxster or 98 C5 Corvette?

[MoeMonney]

Hello,

Im in the market for a sports car and want either a targa top or a convertible. I have a Max limit of $17000 that i would like to spend. I am considering a 6spd 98 Corvette or a 5spd Boxster. Its a hard choice and wanted some opinions. Both that im interested in are black and within my price range. I will be buying the car in the US if I decide to buy.

Thanks,
Charles

[Vansquish]

My uncle has a Black 98 C5 he's looking to sell...he's in the Houston area if you're anywhere nearby. Probably reasonably flexible on the price too. I think the car has about 10,000 miles or so on it, if that.

[antonioledesma]

are you kidding??? you have less than 200,000 pesos and want a 98 corvette or boxster??
I was in the buy/sell used car bussiness and... your two options aren't very realistic
where do you plan to buy that car? USA and then bring it to mexico?

lemme grab the bible... mmm, a 1997 boxster is around 250-300 thousand pesos, manual tranny
and a 98 corvette... just to give you an example. A very good friend wanted to sell his 98 corvette, auto tranny, and he was selling it at a terrific price, 290,000 pesos. And this was last month. Excellent car, everything works, etc. Now imagine wanting a convertible

maybe you should look for older corvettes.
or you could go for a very nice equiped peugeot 206CC, leather, cd, around 160-200 depending on the year

EDIT:
I'm checking the used-car bible, and you could get a convertible camaro, 1998 for less than 100,000 pesos.

[MoeMonney]

Antonio,

I stated in my first post that I was going to buy the car in the US. I am an American Citizen and want to buy a car in Texas and bring it to Mexico untill I finish college. Check www.autotrader.com and you will be able to see that a 98 C5 corvette coupe with removable top is indeed within my price range.

Saludos,
Charles



Vansquish,

Is your uncles corvette manual and within my price range?

[antonioledesma]

doouuhh, sorry Moe... the only sentence that I didn't read was the last and more important. :?

*leaves room*

[5vz-fe]

Vansquish, ur uncles car has very little mileage...... :shock: must be in very good condition I assume

[TransAm]

A friend of mine has an 01 Boxster, nice car.

When I first moved to TX I wanted an open-top car. I looked at the Boxster (and the S2000) but I decided on the BMW Z3 3.0i (long story) after a lot of deliberation.

I can't speak for the C5 but I used to have a Trans Am WS6 - similar performance and my TA had the T-Tops. I'd have bought a C5 but the reason I swapped out of the Z3 in the first place was that I got married and needed more than 2 seats. The TA was ideal as it has rear seats (as does the Camaro SS)

You'll have a lot more fun with the V8, but there is no denying that the Porsche is also a very good choice.

The C5 might be cheaper to maintain and run due to the sheer number of them around in the US, plus, much cheaper and easier to modify than the Porsche. Potentially there is much more HP waiting to be unleashed in that 5.7 than you will ever get out of the 2.5/2.7 Porsche. 400hp is easy with bolt-on mods on the LS1.

[sameerrao]

The 98 Boxster is the 2.5l version - wont be very quick. The 2.7 came in mid 99. I am not sure how reliable it will be - I think it was the first edition available in the US. You can get decent 99s for ~22000 (above your budget).

I am shocked that a C5 Convertible is so cheap.

Better spend a few 100 bucks and get the car checked out by a qualified shop - better to be safe than sorry....

[MoeMonney]

The C5 that im interested in is not convertible. Its a TARGA wich means is has a hard roof that comes off. The convertible version has a soft roof.

Its a simple as looking at www.autotrader.com . There are lots of C5´s in my price range. You can buy a C5 very cheap now.

Charles

[Vansquish]

Vansquish, ur uncles car has very little mileage...... :shock: must be in very good condition I assume

Damn straight it's in good condition...he waxed it the day he took delivery of the car and has kept it stored in a garage, with a car cover to ensure that no dust lands on it. When he uses it, sunny days only...the only rain it saw was a sprinkle on the day he bought it...so yeah...definitely in good condition...make that..."like new" actually hehe.


He's got two other "babies" as well. Merkur XR4/Ti's...one in red, and one in black. One of them has less than 5,000 miles on it.

Vansquish,

Is your uncles corvette manual and within my price range?

I imagine it's in the price range, yup, but unfortunately it's an auto...sorry 'bout that...didn't read carefully enough.

[bmwdakias]

The exclusivity factor is very important for me and where i live and come from (Greece) a corvette is a rare sight and this contributes into making it a bit more special. Ofcourse this is not the case in the US. Who can argue that you ll get the same thrills from a boxer engine with just 2.5 or 2.7 litres when you compare it with the massive and brutal 5.7 litre that the corvette has. As far as presence is concerned the corvette definately wins, it has a more exotic and masculine look . The only drawback is the interior which is not bad but its not up to the standards of the whole car. One corvette for me please. 8)

[callen]

Corvette for the following reasons:

1. Easier and less expensive to maintain than the Boxter.
2. You will get a better car (mechanically) at that price if you buy the Vette, not the Porsche.
3. Much easier to tune, with a little effort you are pushing 400 bhp.
4. Sounds meaner.
5. Looks meaner
6. Drives meaner :wink:

Now if you were in the market for a newer Boxter (lets say an 01-02 Boxter S) and a newer Vette (03 or 04) and had a bigger budget I think I would choose the Porsche, but for your needs at ur budget. VETTE is the word. :mrgreen:

[430csjj]

Have you tried them both??

If so, buy the one you preferred. If not, try em both.

[graywolf624]

I have to agree with Callen. Dont underestimate the repair costs. I like porsches but Id almost always choose a vette over a used porsche. The cost of repairs on porsches on this side of the world is rediculous.

[TransAm]

Yep my mate with the 01 Boxster paid something like $200 for an oil change service. In between my giggles and shocked look I told him to bring it round my place next time, use my ramps and save some $. :roll:

[sentra_dude]

I'll go ahead and agree with everyone suggesting the Vette, however, the Boxster is a good choice too.

I had the opportunity to both ride in and drive a 97 Boxster, and it was pretty cool, not slow, but certainly not fast either...although it did tear it up in the twistys. The owner took very good care of it, but still had a few issues with the car, and as I understand it can be very expensive to even have minor work done. I think for that price range you'd have a tough time finding a Boxster in tip-top mechanical shape, which is a lot more crucial than having a Vette in excellent shape, since the Vette is cheap to fix.

I wouldn't completely count out the Boxster, it is definitely more refined than the Vette, and if you are careful you should be able to find an example that won't give you too many problems.

If you haven't driven both of them, you should definitely do that, and then go from there.

[bmagni]

I'd go for the C5, though i acutally dont like it that much, the interiors are horrible, but its better than the Boxster, the Boxster is just a cheap ugly vw beetle shaped porsche IMO, the c5 is more sporty and for the price i guess ull get one in super good conditions