I owned a 1987 944T for 5.5 years, and sold it after I bought my 1992 500E. The guy I sold the 944T to took a look through my maintenance folder and when he was done, looked at me, and said, "Wow, you spent a lot of money on this car."

I paid $10,000 for it and then immediately put $2500 into (probs ID'd from PPI included the usual 944 suspects: water pump, entire front engine seals, all the belts, oil cooler gasket, lower control arms). During the course of ownership, I easily spent another $7000 to $8000 on maintenance over and above the usual oil changes and regular maintenance intervals. It was a great car and fun to drive, but boy, did I take a bath with it (and it wasn't even a bathtub!).

The 500E, on the other hand, has needed only a battery in 2.5 years of ownership, plus a coolant system flush and regular oil changes.

BlackMercedes: On the subject of Boxster quality, take a look at the April 2003 issue of Road & Track. On p. 125, they have an owner survey on the 1997-2001 Boxster, and owner after owner cited poor build quality as one of the Boxster's glaring defects. To quote the article: "Numerous, sometimes persistent, failures and quality lapses came as a rude surprise to some of the owners who had expected better of a car carrying a $40,000-plus price tag and the Porsche name."

Kirk