300SL-24 Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 Looking for my first Boxster ideally an "S" and I need some advise. Looking for something under 8 grand to buy and have seen quite a few advertised. When I started looking I dismissed the tiptronic gearbox ones. However I have seen a few nice cars that are tiptronic, they seem to be a little cheaper or better value. Would you recommend me one for my budget or should I hold out for a manual? One car I was interested in had a IMS guard. A button on the dash. and a light and buzzer warning that lets you know if the oil has metal filings in it, has anyone got any info on these, do they actually work?'' Thanks for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmanB Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 That's a good budget for a 986S, happy hunting, albeit not the best time of year to buy. Honestly in my experience the tiptronics sell for a little more than manuals, but that is just eyeballing autotrader. They certainly cost more for the the tip box when new. They are nice, take a little getting used to, but are great fun. No need to worry about a thrashed engine or changing the clutch. Budget for an oil change if there is no history of one being carried out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300SL-24 Posted June 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 27 minutes ago, GmanB said: That's a good budget for a 986S, happy hunting, albeit not the best time of year to buy. Honestly in my experience the tiptronics sell for a little more than manuals, but that is just eyeballing autotrader. They certainly cost more for the the tip box when new. They are nice, take a little getting used to, but are great fun. No need to worry about a thrashed engine or changing the clutch. Budget for an oil change if there is no history of one being carried out. Thanks for your reply, I assume that the oil change that you mention is for the auto box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 There is the traditional claim that “a sports car must be manual”, but several here have tips and are content with them, it’s rare to see someone say theirs is rubbish. It’s an option, and a good one if you hit traffic jams daily. You can also convert them to flappy paddle changing for relatively cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 welcome. Drive a few. See what you like. Nothing wrong with the tip box just it doesn’t suit everyone. General advice is bit on condition and history not miles. Look for money having been spent on suspension, brakes, a/c components and coolant pipes. these cars don’t like deferred maintenance much so look for something with evidence of consistent spend. Doesn’t have to be lots of money but same advisories year after year on an mot or “just enough to get through” are telling. check the carpets under the seats and the bottom of the door cards for any signs of water or dampness. Especially the carpet foam rather than just the surface. Fixable if they are wet but there are expensive electronics under there. check all the keys work all the locks and that all they keys work the remote central locking and that they all start the car. If someone says “oh it just needs reprogramming” it probably doesn’t. It needs a new key and that’s 300 quid. Ims guard. Never seen one but my gut says snake oil. If it works then by the time it notices metal in the oil it’s likely aleady too late. certainly it’s not something that everyone rushes to fit. Read carefully about ims failures. They of course can occur but there seems to be a feeling that if it was going to happen then it would have …. Make your own mind up. Feel fret I lost links to anything you find - we love picking the bones out of ads and we are fantastic at spending other peoples money. Generally. There are no silly questions and folks on here want to help so good luck with the search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 1 hour ago, 300SL-24 said: Looking for my first Boxster ideally an "S" and I need some advise. Looking for something under 8 grand to buy and have seen quite a few advertised. When I started looking I dismissed the tiptronic gearbox ones. However I have seen a few nice cars that are tiptronic, they seem to be a little cheaper or better value. Would you recommend me one for my budget or should I hold out for a manual? One car I was interested in had a IMS guard. A button on the dash. and a light and buzzer warning that lets you know if the oil has metal filings in it, has anyone got any info on these, do they actually work?'' Thanks for any advice. I was looking for a manual as I’d never owned an auto before, but a nice tip came up and I bought it. Never regretted it. Mine is a weekend car and I’ve fitted flappy paddles to it which I find great for enthusiast driving in ‘manual’ mode. If I’m going through town I just put it in auto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjk1978 Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 I had the same questions prior to buying and read a lot about the tip gearbox, some good, some bad. I've enjoyed every minute of ownership, I bought a 2008 tip and can confirm I'm still happy several years on. People complain about shifting lag, I'm not a fast enough race driver to really notice the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 The key with shift lag is to anticipate it, AIUI. Shift half a second before needed. Then it’s fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryg Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 8 hours ago, Nobbie said: I was looking for a manual as I’d never owned an auto before, but a nice tip came up and I bought it. Never regretted it. Mine is a weekend car and I’ve fitted flappy paddles to it which I find great for enthusiast driving in ‘manual’ mode. If I’m going through town I just put it in auto. What happened to that car Nobbie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 I guess to get on with a Tip you need to want an auto or at least to like auto boxes. If you are using it as a daily in traffic I can see a strong argument, however I have a SEAT with DSG as a daily and even at times this double clutch system frustrates me and some on here think even the far superior Porsche PDK on later cars is not as engaging as a manual. I bought a Boxster for fun and to me a manual is part of that, others will have a different view. The 3.2 has a lot of torque for a n/a motor and you can be quite lazy with manual changes if touring but equally you can switch it up and stir the box as much as you want if you are 'making good progress'. Drive one is my advice and find somewhere to push on and see if it does what you would want it to and also somewhere to let it do its stuff just cruising, not just 5 minutes round the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
map Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 @300SL-24 The auto in a 986 is - I think - a Mercedes Benz derived unit. You may be more familiar with how to get the best from it than you realise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmanB Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 11 hours ago, 300SL-24 said: Thanks for your reply, I assume that the oil change that you mention is for the auto box? Yes indeed. Not overly expensive and well worth having done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROOPER88 Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 12 hours ago, 300SL-24 said: Looking for my first Boxster ideally an "S" and I need some advise. Looking for something under 8 grand to buy and have seen quite a few advertised. When I started looking I dismissed the tiptronic gearbox ones. However I have seen a few nice cars that are tiptronic, they seem to be a little cheaper or better value. Would you recommend me one for my budget or should I hold out for a manual? One car I was interested in had a IMS guard. A button on the dash. and a light and buzzer warning that lets you know if the oil has metal filings in it, has anyone got any info on these, do they actually work?'' Thanks for any advice. I am not a fan of the tip's but ok if someone has a knee issue for example and struggles with a manual. What ever floats your boat though. The car you reference with the button, I know the car and the owner (I am a 986 specialist) Shout if I can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Remember also a Tip is 5 speed (manual is 6 speed) and 0.7 seconds slower 0-60. I chose a manual but live in town and often wish I had an auto for those occasions. However, as I didn't buy it for town driving, I find a manual more engaging. Good luck with the hunt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daboy3000 Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 Daily driver in town = Tiptronic Weekend/fun car = Manual I've had two manual Boxsters and a tip 996. The Tiptronic box is good but isn't always great at selecting the gear you might want to be in, but as it was a commuting car into a busy city, it saved my left leg from falling off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmr2 Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 I have a tiptronic Boxster S and absolutely love it I also fitted the Mercedes paddles to the steering wheel and to me it transformed the car. I mostly drive in manual mode and shift with the paddles but if I am in traffic I let the box do it’s own thing in auto mode which in my eyes gives you the best of both worlds. I have also owned a manual Boxster S and a manual Cayman S and to be honest I prefer my current Tiptronic Boxster but then I am in my sixties now so don’t know if that has anything to do with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 i'm with Daboy3000, tiptronic for daily driving in town, manual for weekends/track days. my boxster is in the latter, so has to be a manual for me. nothing beats the feeling of a well executed heel and toe downshift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Shatterhand Posted June 16, 2022 Report Share Posted June 16, 2022 I have a manual 3.2 S. I drive it enthusiastically on winding roads in the Peak District on weekends and use it as a daily commuter across town on weekdays. Even though I enjoy a good heel-and-toe downshift (something I only really learned how to do in this car and one of the reasons I bought it in the first place), and I have upgraded the shifter to eliminate most of the slop (still, it will never match an MX-5 or S2000 in this respect), I am coming round to the idea that tiptronic cars are pretty good fun in their own right, if you fit the flappy paddles. I don't have a DSG frame of reference, but I think a manually commanded tip gearchange can still be satisfying and mostly slicker than rowing through the gears on a stick. And the 0.7 sec deficit in the 0-60 sprint time has no significance in the real world (I suspect it also makes very little difference in lap times on a track), unless you race between traffic lights, in which case a Boxster is not for you. I am thankfully young and healthy enough not to have to worry about knee problems yet, but the clutch pedal is heavy on most cars including mine, though that might be solvable by replacing the helper spring. The big killer is clutch/flywheel wear if you drive a manual in uphill stop-start traffic on the daily commute, like I do, and the associated maintenance costs. If I was buying a car now I would not discount tiptronic cars from my search. If you can, test drive a manual and a tip, and ignore the forum jockeys and automotive journalists who claim the tip is not a real driver's car. Usually they're the same ones who claim the Boxster is not a real Porsche, so what do they know? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300SL-24 Posted June 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2022 Thanks for all your comments, very much appreciated. I have a little Panda 100HP for my 30 mile a day commute which is mainly B roads, so the Boxster would be mainly used for pleasure at weekends etc. Without offending anyone I don't want silver if possible. Also I like a contrast, light interior with dark exterior. The caramel colour interior with Black, Navy dark red or Green would be nice if I could choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted June 17, 2022 Report Share Posted June 17, 2022 Hi, again suggest drive a few and see what you like. Buy on condition, not mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cchrysos Posted June 27, 2022 Report Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/15/2022 at 8:49 PM, 300SL-24 said: Looking for my first Boxster ideally an "S" and I need some advise. Looking for something under 8 grand to buy and have seen quite a few advertised. When I started looking I dismissed the tiptronic gearbox ones. However I have seen a few nice cars that are tiptronic, they seem to be a little cheaper or better value. Would you recommend me one for my budget or should I hold out for a manual? One car I was interested in had a IMS guard. A button on the dash. and a light and buzzer warning that lets you know if the oil has metal filings in it, has anyone got any info on these, do they actually work?'' Thanks for any advice. Hi There, Was the one with the IMS guard you refer to a green on in London? If so, i bought it last week and I have to say, i am really impressed with the tiptronic. I have owned over 100 cars and driven many hundreds. I used to work in the automotive industry ( Ford, BMW, Volvo and many others) in design and program management so have driven more cars than i can count. The tiptronic boxster has really impressed me. The gearbox adapts and learns very quickly so can change characteristics in minutes rather than several drive cycles. Try a tiptronic and you may love it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted June 27, 2022 Report Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/17/2022 at 8:26 PM, 300SL-24 said: Thanks for all your comments, very much appreciated. I have a little Panda 100HP for my 30 mile a day commute which is mainly B roads, so the Boxster would be mainly used for pleasure at weekends etc. Without offending anyone I don't want silver if possible. Also I like a contrast, light interior with dark exterior. The caramel colour interior with Black, Navy dark red or Green would be nice if I could choose. I don't think anyone will take offence with preference - my previous boxster was silver, probably my 2nd least favoured colour ( 2nd only to black ), only because it was the 4 successive car in versions of silver ut it fitted what I was looking for - I absolutely get light interior - love it - but my advice ( worth less than 2p - its an internet forum after all) - draw up a list of must have, like to have, don't care, no and **** no and then compare any potentials against that list - you likely will have to compromise - but it helps adjust the mind set . I got lucky - found, for me , a "unicorn" of spec, model, mileage and condition - but it took a while, and it came along while I wasn't looking....... 30 mile commute over B roads - sounds like a boxster sweet spot to me - give yourself a treat a few times a week ...... Otherwise - as others have said - history and condition beats miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted June 27, 2022 Report Share Posted June 27, 2022 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Paul P said: it came along while I wasn't looking....... It came along whilst I was looking for you 🦄 Edited June 27, 2022 by iborguk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.