cja

Guys, previously, I bought a lemon R171 and in my thread R171 Woes had already described my situation.

Now I am faced with an issue which I though some of you maybe able to advise me on.

My car is as of today out of service STILL since 8/31/05 and I had not driven it since then. It is still with my dealer ZUNG FU no report issued. Strange.

I am offered a choice of trading it in with my Extended Warranty renewed for another 3 years (I paid for it when I first bought the car anyway). However, only problem is that I have no choice in colour except a BLACK on RED interior if I want Jan 06 delivery. My original colour was Silver with Black.

Now I am considering given all the bad tastes, maybe I should try the 987 Boxster. However, on plain paper, the Boxster looks grossly underpowered compared to my 350 but the salesman said that it would perform as good as the 350 because it is built based on balance and not power. He said on plain paper, the 350 looked excellent but on track it would handle only at best on par with the boxster. He said numerous tests on Nubering had already showed that the Boxster S and Cayman S could do better than even the 55 AMG.

I only wanna ask because if I am dissing some money out for this situation, I may consider buying the Boxster for a change given the bad experience. However, I truly have no idea how the Boxster would drive like compared to the SLK. The salesman only had me test out the boxster S and surely, the boxster s was powerful with a great engine sound... however, the interior is a bit plastic-KY and cramped... frankly speaking, it is not as spacious and the retractable softtop is a bit of a turnoff... I will have to pay double the amount of what I diss out on the SLK (for mercedes, I have to put in 150,000 and for porsche, I have to put in 300,000 if I can successfully get rid of my SLK).

Any vote? I am leaning towards Porsche but my father said I should stick with Mercedes... cos he said they would wanna take extra care of me now that they had caused so much trouble to a customer... no idea on my side.

urxtream

Pay more at Merc and get SLK55. How much extra is that?

cja

They are taking in my car for 530,000 HKD so it would be 400K in total more in HKD.

If it's a boxster, I would have to sell my car for 500k (kindda risky... considering that it is still not fixed and fully functional... might have to ask zung fu to pay me a cheque but I doubt that they would do me a good price now that I am moving over to Porsche... ) and put in 300k more... for a boxster s it would be 85k or so... so 350k more.

Either way, only the boxster would make economical sense and the most logical choice would be 150k to get a mercedes again praying that nothing will happen to this one... I doubt that my next mercedes would be a lemon any way cos you see so many SLKs around so they must be selling like hotcakes... just me.

So I ain't worried... just bad taste moving me over... plus if I have to pay ANYTHING for a new car... why not try something new right? I already owned my lemon for 8 months so I did drive it for 3 months... though quite short. Cos it was in the shop most of the times and it had been there now for an additional 4 weeks after the 5th fixing...

urxtream

What happens if you tell Zung Fu you don't have $150k? Are they still gonna try and fix your car? So trading in is your only option now?

SLK55AMG

Personally I would never give a dealer a second chance...... if I ever get a lemon I would push for as much compensation as possible and then take my custom elsewhere.

As a Boxster S owner I would happily recommend one but it really depends what sort of driving you do....... if you want an automatic the SLK 7G is MUCH much better than the rubbish Porsche Tiptronic auto, however if you prefer a manual the Boxster gearbox is slightly better that the SLK stick shift.

Also if you get your kicks racing between traffic lights the SLK350 will be quicker than the 2.7 Boxster however as the porsche dealer pointed out the Boxster is all about balance so its quite a bit better when it comes to handling twisty country roads.

cja

I agree for sure about the track deal. There isn't one in HK. I live in HONG KONG, hilly billy and loads of lights and traffic jam. That's also why you never see many manual boxster in Tokyo... just ain't practical. In the states, you spend an hour and you can drive off to ski. In HK, you drive an hour and you are still stuck in traffic moving 10 km from home.

I hadn't heard much positive or negative about it. If I am trading it in, it's only going to be a BOXSTER without S because with the S, it puts you up to and above 820,000 HKD (100,000 USD). For that amount on a brand new Boxster S, I might as well save up for a few years for a Carrera. Boxster is really an entry level porsche and there's no reason to get the S. I never doubt that many truly like the Boxster's look but there is always this image that any boxster owner would take the carrera in a minute if not for the budget. Hence, a few friends of mine said you simply would buy boxster for the damn PLAQUE and it would never give you the real bread and butter of a RR car.

The other 2 concerns on a Boxster is that (fine, I don't mind simply driving it for the look...) it is a soft top. Soft top is always less durable and less comfy. Finally, a few others had truly commented on the antiquated technology of the porsche's tiptronic system which was developed back in the early 90s... sure it was a big hit in the early 90s but this is 2005 and Porsche HAD NOT spent any money and R&D into developing a system comparable to Mercedes' 7 G tronic or BMW's SMG. Rumour had it that Porsche will simply adopt's VW's DSG in the future but 5 speed automatic is sortta quite an antiquated system. Even the Jags are coming out with 6 speed steptronic. It is not moving fast enough. This is odd thought because these days, you see plenty of ladies pushing past you in a DAMN TURBO which once could only be driven by a man due to the heavy clutch. If you take a look around, you see more tiptronic porsche around town simply for practicality/daily use/easy to drive purpose. Hence, I still can't get over the fact that the newly developed 998 and 987 are still using the same old tiptronic developed back in the 90s.

Hence, I like the look but I don't like the tiptronic system and the soft top. I like the SLK but I had a real bad taste last time with my lemon which was still in the shop as of today. Status quo is "unfixed and unexplained and pending (since 8/31/05)." I am sure it is an isolated incident and there are many happy owners. The market these days are dominated only by 3 types of cars in HK, Mercedes, BMW and Toyota. They sell the most with BMW and Mercedes head on this year with cumulative sales figures up to 1 mil. Porsche could not compare in terms of selling cars like hotcakes and hence I would imagine that it just couldn't pour as much into playing with the technology.

Here are my choices:

Porsche Boxster (no choice in colour for Jan delivery, only in metallic grey thought I prefer the silver)

SLK 350 (no choice in colour except for BLACK AND WHITE thought I still like silver)

The one good thing about Boxster is that it looks longer and the SLK seems a bit short because I am 6"3.

Or I could simply wait and wait and wait for all the new cars to come out in 2006... AUDI TT... but there is no better times to buy cars than NOW because so many firms are doing their new line ups just like when the SLK first came out in 97... you wanna buy it back then... and not the R170 in year 2000 or 2003.

cja

One more comment about quality... a few friends of mine said BMW and Porsche still made better cars... I wonder if it is true that the MB's quality has degraded so much to be so far behind... I thought I had an isolated incident... but of course I had read numerous reports on MB's quality in JD Power and found them to be making new low ever year. Damn a few reports had it below buick and ford. I wouldn't be so pissed if I had paid 50K on this car but I would be pissed if I had paid 500,000 HKD on it. That's all... it's a matter of expectation.

Then again, I ain't sure about BMW either... cos BMW had already set up factories in China and a few said that the 3 series (though the dealer in HK claimed otherwise) in HK (new ones) were partly assembled in CHINA. Just like C is made in South Africa (Also A) and ML is made in MEXICO. It is hard to keep cost down. Afterall, these companies need to make a profit and DCAG is busy pleasing the shareholders and churning out cars. When you mass produce, there are bound to be problems but the company must strike a balance.

Take a look... if it weren't for AUDI, Lymboghini would have gone BANKRUPT eons ago... the fact that it is now selling over 3000 GALLARDOs meant that even true breeds of die hard sports cars must evolve to survive. Only a few cars can claim to stray away from this globalisation trend like Ferrari. Even Porsche must work with VW hence upsetting many shareholders and true fans because many felt that Porsche has completely strayed away from the legacy by producing derivatives such as Cayman and Cayenne. Everyone knows that the Cayenne V6 is simply a VW Toureg and heck, it even uses the same engine and technology so there ya go... you are really driving simply a plaque. But Porsche has no choice but to work with VW cos it has to survive as well. 5 years ago, Porsche was losing so much money that it just had to make that decision.

What do you guys think?

cja

if I don't have 150k , they will keep fixing it... and they still haven't successfully fixed it... that was all. They already replaced the whole rear axle, hub and brake discs. They still could not get rid of the noise. They had spent upwards of 100,000 on the car. They must keep fixing. I wouldn't want it anymore with a car being in the shop for 3 months.

so slk55 amg, you are lucky to own 987s and in the future amg... you can compare the 2.

as to your comment on tiptronic S... it was hip in the 90s but now we are in 2006... why hasn't porsche developed a good system like 7G or SMG or DSG?
I tell ya... most cars sold in HK are all tiptronic S including the turbo and 998... so what's in the head of Porsche? Cayman is still with the 5 speed tiptronic S... it's a bit ridiculous... I suspect that they will be coming out with a 7 speed in 3 years on all its line up as an improvement upgrade.

Maverick

Be sure to sit in that Porsche before you make your decision. I found the Boxster remakably uncomfortable, so I never even drove one. Now matter how it handles, you have to sit in it every day, and if you commute, it can be a pain.

Also, my wife rides in her friend's Boxster all the time, and she says with the top down, you cannot carry on a conversation. At 90 mph in the SLK with the top down, we are able to chat in a normal voice without raising our voices at all.

Gonzo

Where is it legal to drive 90?

Maverick

France & Germany: European delivery.

Well, it may not be legal in France. I think maximum was 130 Km/hr, which translates to around 78 Mph. But it turns out they really don't patrol much. I asked friends in Paris, and they said they just radar you automatically from overpasses, take a picture, and based on your license plate send you a ticket in the mail. Drove in April. Still no tickets have arrived in Seattle.

Gonzo

I can vouch for the France driving. My ex-fiance's sister's boyfriend had a 2000 Porsche Carrera 4, we took it on some of the toll highways outside of Paris; at 170 MPH the world certainly goes by quick

cja

Maverick thanks... that's a good point.

I have no clue... I am 6"3 and considered to be a bit more on the taller side... nonetheless, I find the TT to be extremely uncomfy and cramped...

THE SLK on the other hand is very very spacious...

The boxster I have no clue but because is MR and the engine in the middle tends to take up some passenger space and since you are sitting very close to it... it is gonna be louder.

Have you heard much about complaints on the leg room of boxster? It's definitely smaller compared to SLK.

The only attraction to me on the boxster besides the plaque is definitely a longer wheelbase/length.

To be honest, I like the shape and look of the boxster and honestly speaking dislike the original 997's look... the hunchback. Boxster is great looking and quite balanced. However, I find the SLK (even my mother feels the same)... to be a bit short on the back and overall... looks very very tiny. It would be great for my gf I feel (though she seems to like the mini)... On the other hand, the SL is too long and looks very weird. The Boxster is the only one (compared to Z4, SLK, AUDI TT) that has the right length to me. Honestly speaking... the softtop and the lack of power and small interior is kindda turning me off. Hence it's a matter of how I place my priorities...

SLK55AMG

CJA,

The opinion that the Boxster isn't a proper Porsche is usually held by people that either have very little idea about cars or are badge snobs. The new Boxster S now has performance that is practically the same as the new Carrera 997...... in fact several high profile tests have shown that the Boxster performs BETTER than the base Carrera. When you have the option to have almost the same level of perfoamnce as the 997 while saving $30k USD why would anyone consider that a bad thing? Also Porsche engineers themselves admit that the Boxster has a far superior chassis and engine layout, the 997 would be much better if it had a mid engine design.

Also I'm not sure why you'd say there is no reason to buy a Boxster S when the Boxster S is the model that is closest to the 997 Carrera......?

The softtop is not as good as the SLK hardtop but it is very well lined (triple lined) so its more refined than most other softtops on the market now...... it also has the benefit that it can be dropped or raised at speeds upto 30mph.

In terms of interior space I found the SLK to be a little smaller and leg room in the Boxster is good for most people...... a friend of mine also has a 987S and he is around 6'4" tall.

As much as I'm trying to point out that the Boxster may not be as bad as you suspect you should not order one if you need an automatic..... the tiptronic ruins the car (it ruins the 997 as well so I wouldn't advise you save up for one of those either!). The SLK sounds more suited to your needs and is almost certainly better than the new TT will be..... but you'll have to wait quite a long time before knowing how good the Audi will be so are you willing to wait?