New to me Boxster S SR20 Post!!

"Biapilotaceman" (Biapilotaceman)
12/15/2013 at 18:14 • Filed to: porsche, boxster, biapilotaceman, photography, cars of oppo, mine, sr20

I made a post a couple of days ago about my crazy drive to Texas to pick a 2000 Boxster S. I drove 8.5 hours from New Orleans to just west of Dallas to this new dealership called Auto America.

A little bit of background for those who don't know or don't remember: I had previously owned a 2001 Boxster S... which caught fire. We never really determined the exact cause, but I suspect an IMS Bearing failure had something to do with it. Anyway— after that, I was a bit wary of getting back into a Boxster again, so I went with something familiar: a 2007 Ford Mustang GT.

I had owned a 2008 Bullitt Mustang before the Boxster and really loved it, so these seemed like a safe bet. (The Bullitt was also destroyed, but in an accident. I was t-boned by an suv and there was frame damage, engine damage, so much that it was totalled. Yes, I have *horrible* luck with cars.)

I enjoyed driving this Mustang, but it never felt as natural and pleasurable as the Boxster had.

I took it to a High Performance Driver's Education day at NOLA Motorsports Park, and that made me like it a bit more— at least as a track vehicle, but it still didn't feel quite right during day to day driving.

After a few months of ownership, I found myself thinking more and more about what the Boxster felt like. I started scouring ads on Craiglist, Ebay, Porsche Club listings— and started seeing what I could get for the blue book value of my Mustang.

And then I found it. Silver, the same color as my previous Boxster— and more importantly, an S model. It had all of the most desirable options: a manual transmission, a hardtop, even the fancy Litronic HID headlights! AND it was listed for *under the blue book value of my car.* The ad even stated that they also buy cars and would do appraisals by phone. I realized I could actually do it. I sent an email, and prepared to call the dealership the next morning.

I was too excited. Like omglisdgiuhoansrhpiHSENRH I'MGONNAGETABOXSTER excited!

A week later (thanks to the snowstorm that hit Dallas), I found myself packing up for the long drive. I was going to make the drive to Texas in the Mustang, have them appraise it, and hopefully the Boxster would meet all the requirements and they would give me enough money at the least for an even trade (although I was really hoping to receive a large check as well.) My dad volunteered to come with me, and we both carefully packed only as much as we could fit in the Boxster if things worked out the way we hoped.

The drive itself was... well, horrible. Not at first. But the last three hours or so were pure torture. I was mentally exhausted from a day of driving, and my upper right leg was incredibly sore. It was tough, but we made it. We got to Auto America, and we could hardly believe what we were seeing. "THIS is a CAR DEALERSHIP?!" It looked like some kind of fancy campus. I was excited. I walked inside. I was even more excited. There was every kind of awesome car you could imagine on the show floor (and I wish now that I had brought my camera along.) There was a Ferrari F430, what looked like a Testarossa, a Cayman, a last gen Viper and a new Viper, tons of M BMW's, a new Corvette Stingray, a Camaro Z28, a Hennesey Camaro, a new Boss 302 and a previous gen GT500. It was like walking into my dream garage. After gawking at all of these cars for a minute, we were greeted and started the process.

Long story short, I bought the Boxster, made money on the trade, pay less for insurance now (SOMEHOW?!) and drove the 500 miles back home quite comfortably. And I couldn't be happier. Now for what you REALLY came for, some car porn:

(couldn't resist playing with the saturation on this one— We have christmas lights up and the long exposure cast a weird blue glow over the front that I didn't like.)

The blue glow looks really nice here though.

A pretty present from myself to put under the tree this year.

Fancy Litronic lights— but wait, what's that in the corner?

It has freaking headlight washers !? Alrighty then!

Artsy fartsy shot. As indicated by the intake, the engine is in the correct position. Not like those silly 911's.

Another thing about all of the cars at that dealership— they were all impossibly clean. Even after the trip home, this car is still super shiny. Kudos to them.

Probably the only part that isn't clean. Those big brakes dust like crazy, but they feel so good.

Mmm, three-spoke.

Some people think the interior of this car is ugly, but I think it's beautifully simple. I love it.

It's dwarfed in comparison to my dad's challenger.

I suppose his car is nice, too. :P

I'm in love again.

Edit: Some of my photos appear to have been Kinja'd, so !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! a link to the gallery on Flickr.

DISCUSSION (25)

Slow4o > Biapilotaceman
12/15/2013 at 19:41

Congrats on the new car! Who did you do the NOLA DE event with? Did NOLA put it on? I did an HPDE with NASA there in July. A very kick ass track and I'm glad I finally got on it after all the times autocrossing there and just watching people race around haha.

Biapilotaceman > Slow4o
12/15/2013 at 20:16

Thanks! I've done two HPDE events there and they were both with the local Porsche Club. It's a pretty awesome track, and I hope to get out there more in the future.

Slow4o > Biapilotaceman
12/15/2013 at 20:52

Cool. Its a longer drive for me now that I'm not at LSU anymore but now I get to make a weekend out of it! I was planning on going to drift this weekend there but my parents are coming to Houston for Christmas so no French Quarter for me haha.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Biapilotaceman
12/15/2013 at 23:18

Epic. Awesome find dude.

Boxster insurance is also ridiculously for some reason. When I first got my license, my dad listed me as the main driver of his 99 track prepped, stripped out, Boxster because it was cheapest by far to insure me on.

Enjoy it.

Stef Schrader > Biapilotaceman
12/16/2013 at 00:43

Nice find...congrats!

Jayhawk Jake > Biapilotaceman
12/16/2013 at 08:48

Looks fantastic! I'd love to own a Boxster someday

Biapilotaceman > Jayhawk Jake
12/16/2013 at 17:27

They're delightful. :3

Jayhawk Jake > Biapilotaceman
12/16/2013 at 17:37

I know, I've driven one! One of the best all around driving cars I've driven

mmmmmbeer > Biapilotaceman
12/18/2013 at 01:57

Atta boy! Way to get yourself back in the P-Car fold. I drive one of those engine-in-the-wrong-place Porsches, but Boxsters are way cool too! Even if they're not air cooled. :-)

Yours is beautiful. May you have many trouble free miles with it!

Biapilotaceman > mmmmmbeer
12/18/2013 at 02:51

Thank you! Which air-cooled Porsche do you drive? I'd love to see it.

mmmmmbeer > Biapilotaceman
12/18/2013 at 10:08

Kinja'd!!!

Let's see if I can make this picture attachment thing work...

PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol) > mmmmmbeer
12/18/2013 at 14:16

s t u n n n i n g.
Is that a 3.2? What year?

PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol) > Biapilotaceman
12/18/2013 at 14:17

Great purchase. There's no better color for a Boxster and no, I will not entertain any dissenters.
Happy motoring!

4thwall > Biapilotaceman
12/18/2013 at 18:48

Congratulations on a beautiful beast!
Lovely photos and an entertaining write up.
I'm green with envy that you are one of those people who can do this sort of thing, but am stoked to just enjoy it vicariously!
Enjoy, drive safe, and have a great christmas!

Biapilotaceman > 4thwall
12/18/2013 at 21:42

Thank you so much! I'm so excited about havinh it that it was a blast to write about. I'm sure there will be more posts in the future to suit all of your vicarious living needs. :D

Biapilotaceman > mmmmmbeer
12/18/2013 at 21:44

Oh wow! She's a real beauty. I'm sure I don't just speak for myself when I say that Oppo (and pretty much the whole world) is in love with air-cooled 911's.

Biapilotaceman > PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol)
12/18/2013 at 21:47

Thanks! I agree, at least with first gen Boxsters. The more recent ones have some other pretty fantastic colors, like the metallic brown (and I think there's even a dark green.)

mmmmmbeer > PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol)
12/19/2013 at 02:39

It's an '86, and thanks for the compliment!

mmmmmbeer > Biapilotaceman
12/19/2013 at 02:40

Everyone, save for Jeremy Clarkson, loves old 911s. I still can't believe I own one. Puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it!

But hey, this thread is about your beautiful Boxster S!

PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol) > Biapilotaceman
12/19/2013 at 17:27

What part of "I will not entertain any dissenters" don't you get? :) Honestly though, what's it like not being able to see or work on the engine from above? That's the only thing that makes me hesitant about Boxsters.

PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol) > mmmmmbeer
12/19/2013 at 17:29

That is the perfect year. I'm not a fan of the G50's hydraulic clutch, but the 1986 got some minor suspension upgrades that the previous years didn't have. Fantastic car. Happy motoring to you.

Biapilotaceman > PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol)
12/20/2013 at 01:30

I haven't done any engine work yet, but I've peeked around on the previous Boxster I owned. There are actually several ways to access the engine. One way is from above. What you have to do is partially raise the convertible top into what's called the service position, basically raising it enough so that the painted clamshell is out of the way. Then there's a hatch that gives you direct access to the top of the engine.

Kinja'd!!!

Aside from that, there's also an access hatch behind the seats that gives direct access to all of the drive belts and pulleys, etc. I think there may also be a hatch in the trunk. Honestly, there's probably more direct access available to the engine than in other cars, you just have to take away the access hatches.

PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol) > Biapilotaceman
12/20/2013 at 11:48

What the absolute heck. This changes everything.

Kinja'd!!!

Seriously the best thing I've seen all day, and I've seen some magnificent things. Thank you for sharing this!!

Biapilotaceman > PhiLOL (slowcarSLOW-MPGlol)
12/20/2013 at 15:02

My pleasure! Go forth and acquire a Boxster! ;D

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Biapilotaceman
12/22/2013 at 14:24

Man, I'm jealous! But congrats on your new-to-you 986!