Opinions on 987 Boxter vs Jag XK

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Reggie-rock

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Next year I will be selling my lovely low mileage CLK 350 convertible which provokes the thought to what I will replace her with.
At the moment with a £9-10,000 budget I will have I'm thinking a 2.7 Porsche 987 Boxter or a Jaguar XK or maybe keep to Mercedes.

Any thoughts please.
 
Next year I will be selling my lovely low mileage CLK 350 convertible which provokes the thought to what I will replace her with.
At the moment with a £9-10,000 budget I will have I'm thinking a 2.7 Porsche 987 Boxter or a Jaguar XK or maybe keep to Mercedes.

Any thoughts please.

I owned a Boxster S for just over a year. It wasn't that reliable or that quick, parts cost a fortune and frankly I found it rather dull. Yes it was capable handling wise, but as a place to be and an experience it was highly overrated IMO! Once you got past the Porsche badge and the handling it was boring! I chopped it in for a Honda S2000....I had that for 5 years and 140K trouble free miles... I think that says it all!

The XK won't handle as well as the Boxster, but on every other metric I reckon it will be a better car. Stylish, luxurious, rides beautifully and you get more car for your money. I haven't owned one (yet), but have driven a few and they are the antithesis of the Porsche for me... very underrated!

PS I owned an XJ8 Sport and it was just a fantastic car!
 
I've recently sold my Boxster, as a rule I keep my cars about a year then sell them and get something else the Boxster broke that rule. Admittedly mine was a very high spec Boxster S in the form of an RS60 it had active suspension carbon ceramic brakes etc. I love mid engines cars and have had quite a few but the Boxster was the best point and squirt car I've had to date.
There are some issues with IMS bearings and bore scoring but mine had neither, there is a very helpful forum called Boxa.net with loads of people who know these cars inside out.
Apart from a few stupid people who seem to hate Porsche's, owning one is, if it has no issues is fun. The road holding is precise and on the average A road it takes a really good car to beat it for the money.
Get a good one you will love it unlike my past Lotus cars I could thrash its backside evertytime I took it out and nothing would fall off or I didn't catch a rumble or rattle that hadn't been there before.
I kept mine three years which is longer than any other car I've ever owned try a good one and you are bound to like it.
 
Reggie i don't think you can compare them like for like with the Boxster a sports car and the Jaguar a GT.
I will have a similar decision to make all be it not next year but at the moment i have narrowed my choices down to r172 55 if i can convince SWMBO 2 seats will suffice or a sneaky XKR or M3 cab's (only really 2 seaters realistically)
Out of your choice i would take the Jaguar as said above you get a lot for your money and i think they look special where as earlier Boxsters IMO look like toy 911's.
Good luck in your search.

Tony.
 
Any thoughts please.

Two completely different cars.

You need to drive them both and see.
 
I've ridden in an older (2002) Boxter and the handling felt great. However, the interior had all the ambience of a late 90s VW Golf 1.6.

I've driven the X100 Jaguar that will be within your budget and as others have said it's a very different animal to the Porsche. It was a 4.0 soft top which had lots of power but was very refined and more of a cruiser than a sports car. The interior had lots of old-school wood veneer and was a very nice place to be although perhaps didn't feel as robust as the austere, functional Porsche.

I don't know much about Boxter prices but I have noticed that quite a number of dealers (and a few private sellers) are trying to buck the market and ramp up the price of X100 Jaguars, especially later supercharged ones. Production only ended ten years ago and prices are still on a downward trajectory so don't be tempted to pay over the odds for one - the X100's styling is a bit dated now and rather 1990s and yet I've seen traders asking more for a late X100 than the current market rate for an equivalent X150.

And if you do buy a Porsche please don't refer to it as a "Porker" !
 
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If an XK, I would either spend £5k on an X100 XKR or get into an early X150....

Jaguar XK 4.2 2dr
 
Low MPG is no problem whatever car I settle for but the XK with the aluminium body I am little concerned with paint defects which was the main reason I sold my last car, a 2006 Jaguar XJ Sovereign (X350) last year with 57,000 miles on it.
I was also worried should the air suspension ever fail it would be expensive to correct.
 
I've had an XKR convertible for over 10 years and it's 14 years old now. Like any car, there are issues to consider. It's a luxury cruiser but will do 0-60 in 5 seconds if you need to. A lot of XKRs have the CATS suspension and are surprisingly agile for a big car.

The early Boxsters have a reputation for poor engine reliability and expensive repair costs.

They are chalk and cheese. Early and well cared for XKs are edging up in value slightly. All cars are talked up, but the movement is noticeable and understandable, You need to get the right car, though - there are a lot of abused examples out there.

For the Jag, have a look at the owners' club: XK8/XKR ENTHUSIASTS CLUB (XKEC)

Personally I wouldn't touch an early Boxster, but can understand the appeal.

Hope that helps,

Stuart
 
I understand the 987 Boxster is more reliable than the previous 986 which has piston liner issues I think which is why I would not go for the older model.
 
From Sept 2008 production it starts to have less issues.
 
I've had 2 986 and still got one. Between them they've done 190k, not all in my ownership. If you are used to the CLK and what a similar drive then get the Jag. If you want something much more nimble and feel some get the Porsche. If it's a second car and you have a regular car for normal duties then get the Porsche. I've got a C55 and it would not know which way my Boxster went on a twisty road. The internet hype about Porsche and Boxster and 996 is way over blown. A lot is just repeated fears from people who haven't owned one.
 
I had both a 986 and 987 Boxster S, both from new. Wonderful cars to drive, cornered on a rail, glorious engines and soundtrack and oozed quality. That was new, I'd certainly chose carefully buying either secondhand.

The only thing I noted about the Jaguar XK that a friend ran, it was the very sports oriented one with huge black wheels, was how tiny the boot was.

Personally if you like them, go and drive them. Both are very different beasts.
 

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