Hi Guys,
this is my first post but I've been trolling for the past couple of weeks trying to learn as much as I can about the spyder. I never thought I'd be interested in a boxster but the spyder is one sexy car.
I currently have an IS-F as my DD. It's an all around fantastic car, but I drive solo 95% of the time and i genuinely miss having a mid engine car on the street. My questions are, how is the spyder on a long road trip (like a cruise the beach)? And aside from the tent, what are any little short comings? Also I'm 6'4". I've sat in both the sport and bucket seats. The bucket seats were more of a hassle to get in and out of but they seemed to sit lower, is this accurate?

on a side note, do all the porsche dealers suck or just the ones around me? lol, maybe it's 'cause I'm only 26 but I can tell you it was no Lexus experience

TIA for your feedback,

-B

 

IMHO if you fit into the sport buckets, they are the best choice. I love mine!
Check out my registry for more info: www.dspyda.com

 

I am 21 and the dealership I bought it from was brilliant!! The dealership I have it serviced at is equally brilliant. They are also a high end performance car dealership(i.e lamborghini, ferrari, bugatti) and they treat me just as well as they would a middle aged bloak buying a mercedes sls.

As far as getting the boxster spyder goes...I am quite short but a bit wide, and have the S. If I were you I would go with the power seats even though it adds weight because the sport seats get cramped for big guys as time goes on.

From experience, in my opinion, I can tell you that even though the 911 is more luxurious in many aspects and more well behaved in traffic , the mid engines are a hell of a lot more fun to drive. They are fizzing to perform constantly...the every day track car if you will!
Hope this helps

 

Thanks navanod, I've been drooling over the pics on your site for a while


What dealerships do you use? The first one I went to told me "we don't test drive the spyders" ...so you want me to drop $80k on a car I can't drive?? And the second dealer tried charging me $8k more for a car than it was listed for on autotrader, lol.

That silliness aside I still want a spyder, unfortunately I've only been able to test drive the PDK and I think I want the 6 speed. Also, is it possible to hook up XM to either the nav or non nav audio units?

Does anyone know if the 'porsche' decal along the door sills is available aftermarket? Also I've seen some rear badges that just had 'spyder' and it was centered. How was that done? will I need to buy a new spyder badge or can I just remove the boxster portion and recenter the spyder?

 

The power seats are not available on the Spyder.

 

You can get factory XM, requires Nav. There are some aftermarket options, I'm not familiar with them. You can hook up a portable XM using the universal audio interface, have to route the antenna somehow though.

 

I bought it at Newark, DE Porsche, and I get it serviced at Porsche of Huntington New York.

You can get xm, with nav. You can get alot of decals after market and that is definitely one of them. As for seats you can only get the backrest with the electric function...which is more the sufficient. I will tell you right now, unless you have the reaction times of a fighter pilot the pdk will get you from 0-60 faster, and the sport plus mode is brilliant...do not bother opting for the porsche oem sport exhaust. Go with a lightweight after-market set up from a vendor like fabspeed. If you do order a new car and get the pdk...get the three spoke wheel with paddle shifters...the buttons get in the way when drifting. Also, if you are a fan of Alcantara the wheel/shifter are brilliant under heavy usage.

hope my long winded two pence helps

 

Hey, first off the Spyder is an absolutely amazing car. I was tentative on how much i would drive it due to the roof, sport buckets, etc. especially since I have an e55 to DD. But wow in socal the top isn't an issue, even for daily use. I am 6'3 205 lbs. and the sport buckets are amazing for me. As far as ride quality and such pertaining to DD'ing the car, you feel everything the car feels, but in an enjoyable communicative way. It's never jarring, never harsh, but if the car dampens a bump, you know. Mine is a 6spd, PDK was never an option for me. This car deserves the manual IMO. It is a brilliant car, pull the trigger!!!

 

I agree 100%!!!

 

One thing you might want to consider is the lack of a spare tire. If you get a flat there is a good chance you’re looking at a ride on a flat bed truck to the nearest dealer or your house. This happened to me in Beverly Hills last week. I hit a pothole in traffic, which instantaneously flattened the right front tire. The sidewall had a small tear so the "tire repair kit" in the trunk was useless. I called every local Porsche and Tire store within reasonable distance and no one had the correct size tire. They all said it was a very unique size, which they don't keep in stock so they would have to order it. Which could take 2 days. I could've had Porsche roadside assistance tow it to the nearest dealer but then my car would have to sit there until the tire came in from Tire Rack. Plus I had to get back to Temecula so I opted to have it towed myself. $450.00 later my car is sitting in my garage until I can get time to get the new tire installed. I had planned on taking this car up to Napa this summer along the coast through Big Sir but will think twice after this experience. Imagine if I would've gotten the flat in some remote location along the coast where there is no cell service.
I checked into getting the collapsible spare but unfortunately it’s not compatible with PCCB’s. Also, I wasn’t thrilled about loosing trunk space and the added weight. Runflats are also not a consideration. So at least for me, if I plan on a long trip I will likely take a different car. I didn’t buy this as a daily driver. If this was going to be my only car I would strongly suggest you look at something else.
I suspect long road trips would also get old after a few hours because there is significantly more noise inside even with the top up. The ride is also a little rough on less than perfect freeways, which seems to be the norm here in southern California.
For trips all around southern California I wouldn’t hesitate taking the Spyder even with the risk of another flat. But for long road trips up north or out of state I’ll be taking another car.
This is an awesome car but there are some compromises made, for the sake of performance, which make it a less than ideal daily driver.

 

Get the sport buckets. If you end up not liking them, I will buy them off of you and give you my sport heated.

 

well I pulled the trigger guys. The car is arriving today and depending on the time I'll be taking delivery this evening or tomorrow. I can't wait!!!!!

 

So far I'm loving this car It has every option I wanted except for a few styling issues (I wanted the spyder wheels in black, but the red is growing on me) and the HID cornering lights. I might keep the wheels but I will def change the lights out soon..cant stand the halogens. Anyway here's a quick pic, I'll try to get a few better ones soon. Also, the sport exhaust note is sublime

 

Congrats!!!!
I love the red wheels. Makes it unique.
Remember to register your new baby on www.dspyda.com
Cheers,
Donavan

 

Chosen wisely, you have!