I was going to make some quip about how the chap must have got a bad one given the reputation of the marque ... then I did some numbers research and was quite surprised (these figure are from a "What Car" magazine survey):
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Porsche
• League position: 14th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 29.6
• Average age (years): 4.16
• Average mileage: 33,333
• Average repair cost: £972
• Average time for repair (hours): 4.9
This is the first time Porsche has been included in our reliability survey and the Boxster (built from 1996 onwards) is its main model on Warranty Direct’s books.
Its cars have the lowest mileages here, but its claims rate is relatively high at 29.6 per 100 vehicles.
As you’d expect, Porsche’s costly average repair bill of nearly £1000 is the highest in this year’s survey. Owners also have the second longest wait – nearly five hours on average – for repairs to be carried out.
Porsche Boxster axles and suspension systems and the engines are the most likely components to need attention, with each accounting for 22% of the claims.
The Boxster sits exactly halfway up the individual model table, in 50th place.
Verdict: *** This performance is not quite what you’d expect from a prestige brand – owning a Boxster can be both expensive and time-consuming.
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So, given the Boxsters problems, it is probably best to get a 'real' Porsche:
http://www.topgear.com/uk/porsche/911/verdict