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Why did you choose a Boxster over a Cayman?

37K views 92 replies 61 participants last post by  whiteboxter s 
#1 ·
I am warming up to a Boxster GTS after my wife remarked that the Miami Blue and Lava Orange look better on the Boxster than the Cayman. Both are beautiful cars.

Did most of you buy the Boxster because you're convertible fans? I have a Miata soft-top and enjoy open top motoring. But I do live in Texas, so there are a lot of months where the top will be up.
I worry a bit about visibility. Is visibility (with top up) in traffic okay or challenging?
 
#35 ·
I didn't choose a Boxster over a Cayman, I chose the Cayman =) I personally like having a fixed roof. I still have a 987.2 Boxster I bought with my brother, years back. He's finally ready to sell it. The Boxster is an excellent roadster, if you're a top-down kinda person. I live in the Arizona desert and the summers are extremely hot! That being said, the Boxster let's in more hot air. Aside from that, I'm not a fan of the noticeable amount of flexing that a cab has over a fixed roof. I would compromise by adding a moonroof (which is obviously not an option for our cars), but not by having a complete drop-top. Same in a 911, I would personally opt for a fixed roof over a cab. The one massive compromise I would actually pay for (if I were in the financial league), would be a Targa! I think it's a stunning design! It's also noticeably heavier in the worst spot possible, but it looks so good, I would potentially look past the handicap.
 
#46 ·
My Mazda was a first-gen RX7, so long ago.

Never had a true convertible prior to my 987 Boxster, but experienced a taste of open-air motoring with removed T-top (Trans-Am) and targa panel (Ferrari 328 GTS). Was into my second 911 when I realized the cars had gotten too fast relative to the feeling of speed, which was at its peak (for me) with tops removed.
 
#48 · (Edited)
Oh man i love that i got back to Boxster!


White landscape, temp hovering around freezing point, top down. :)


Life is Good!


I know it's come up before, but certainly in that respect we're very much alike. I've already done the Cayman thing & it wasn't for me. I'd have a Cayman as well, but instead of a Boxster? Nah, no chance. If it isn't raining, the top is down on with me. Maybe the similarity of thought is partly down to the fact I originated very close to York, which was considered quite the tourist destination with some of you Nordic types back in the middle ages. :D

Unfortunately I couldn't drive for a large part of last year due to surgery that ended up being somewhat more problematic than originally anticipated (It's all good). Anyway, it resulted in a miserably low 900 miles or so racked up in a whole year & the bulk of those were in the last month or so. :(. Anyhow, I'm back in the car again, it feels like I only just bought it & I really don't give a monkeys about the weather. Roof is down & I'm loving it. :)
 
#51 ·
I found this thread while doing research into hopefully rejoining the 718 family. I have previously sworn off convertibles, since I owned a 2000 Audi TT roadster. However I am warming up to the idea of a Boxster ( had a 718 Cayman GTS ), since my hard top Porsche will be my Carrera T. I feel like it would be nice to have an entirely different driving experience than the Carrera. I would even consider a PDK.

I have always felt that the lines of the Cayman are beautiful and starting to feel the same way about the Boxster, just different, but definitely not worse like some coupe to soft top renditions of other cars. The Boxster looks nicer than a Carrera soft top, in my opinion.

I’ll keep you all updated when I find something.
 
#54 ·
I am not interested in convertibles. Long time ago I spent April in the San Diego area with a convertible rental. I wasn't moved by the experience...

We haven't used the sunroof we got stuck with in any of the BMWs (a long string of CPOs) we owned. I guess we don't like the top down approach.
 
#55 ·
Wanted a drop top roadster and the Boxster is the standard bearer in the segment in my opinion. There are others, but the Boxster is now the king of the hill based on power output, speed, handling and good looks. I also already have a coupe in the stable. If the Cayman had a sunroof or targa top, it would have been a consideration.
 
#62 ·
I am warming up to a Boxster GTS after my wife remarked that the Miami Blue and Lava Orange look better on the Boxster than the Cayman. Both are beautiful cars.

Did most of you buy the Boxster because you're convertible fans? I have a Miata soft-top and enjoy open top motoring. But I do live in Texas, so there are a lot of months where the top will be up.
I worry a bit about visibility. Is visibility (with top up) in traffic okay or challenging?
I too owned and thoroughly enjoyed my Mazda Roadster, as they’re known in Japan. But when NB repair parts availability became an issue, I used it as a convenient excuse to make the leap to the Boxster. Even with the weather in Japan as lousy as it is 69.99% of the time, I wouldn’t have it any other way unless it suddenly became safe to ride a motorcycle in traffic here...or anywhere for that matter. You gotta be able to put the top down and feel the wind in your face once in awhile, you know!?
 
#63 ·
I have a boxster, but I was initially searching for a Cayman. I was buying a used car, so just using the popular online used car site in Australia (carsales). I am not sure why, but equivalent spec Boxsters were significantly cheaper than Caymans (around AU$10k). So I opened my search criteria to include Boxsters. I was searching for an S in either Cayman or Boxster with a preference to have PDK, SC and PASM. The cheapest Cayman S started at around AU$120k with a few kms on it. For reference, a new S with typical options is normally around AU$160-180k driveaway in Australia. One day a MY17 Boxster S popped up in a colour I liked with the options I liked in "as new" condition with 8500kms and a year of factory warranty left on it with a price just under AU$100k. I estimate a typical Cayman S of same spec would have been in the $120-125k range normally (and no bargains came up in several months of searching). So I went out to drive the Boxster that day and loved it so purchased.

So the reason I am in a Boxster is because it saved me $20-25k. Since I got the car (2 months ago), it is winter, but I have still only driven it a hand full of times with the roof up. I am enjoying the open top experience so much that I enjoy rugging up (with seat/steering warmers on) with the top down more than top up. Also, unlike many convertibles, it does not feel like you lose anything dynamically in the Boxster. I do think the Cayman looks better than a Boxster with roof up... but prefer Boxster with roof down over Cayman. I am slowly getting used to the fact that it is hard to be anonymous with the roof down as you are very visible which is not really my thing... but I am learning to embrace it!
 
#80 ·
Hi,

I am also looking for a Cayman or Boxter in Australia at the moment and am wondering if they are overpriced due covid. I have my eyes on a 2017 Boxter 2.0 with 30,000 kms priced at $106,500. It is optioned with Sports Chrono and PDK and in perfect condition.

Considering you say you bought an S with 8500 kms for under $100,000 it seems prices between then and now have gone through the roof. I was wondering if I could have your thoughts ?
 
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