03 Boxster 4S *NM*

Hi All-- I'm in the market for a second car-- to drive in the winter when salt on the ground. Here are some requirements:

1) Convertible
2) Safe (my kid will get behind the wheel at some point)
3) Stick
4) Decent in the snow
5) Used-- about $25K

Anybody have any suggestions??

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

Naaa- I live in DC and want the top down in the spring. One of the things I've learned-- I am NOT a coupe person.

Are there convertibles that would do well in the snow?

Also, in DC, you can get ocassionally get 60 or 70 degree days in the winter. Some winters no, but I've done some winter top-down driving in DC over the years. It's a great feeling to be able to do so. The newer BMW 3-Series convertible a hardtop, and it comes with their AWD option (it comes with an X in the series name, such as 345 ix), but not sure if used ones are under the $25K mark yet. Volvo also has a hardtop droptop, and again, I believe AWD option, but don't think they have sticks.

I lived in Oakton and took the Boxster 10 miles to work any time the temp was 40+ as it had only summer tires. Bought it covered with salt and snow.

To make it an all season car I'd have had to have wheels and winter or at least all season tires but, since our family could have an extra car, I never got it snow ready. There were days when I'd brush 8 inches of snow off the car cover just so I could be sure it was ready to go the next day. And I used to snow-blow the street to the main road long before the county plow just so the Boxster could get out. But I bought a CRV 4WD just so I could have the Boxster and still earn a living on the few days where the Boxster is impractical. It does have low clearance and wide tires, neither is best. I have seen drifts over my house on a rare occasion in the DC area.

If I had to have one every day in every weather in DC car, I'd probably end up with a RAV4 FWD with aggressive all-season tires. You pay a noise price for such tires, however.

These meet your requirements:



"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

Don't see a car

Saab 9-3 or VW New Beetle? Saabs are great in winter. Convertibles with stick shifts are hard to find, but both of these were at least offered with manuals.

We have a Jeep Wrangler. It's way different from any other vehicle. Fine in town, not so much on the highway. The top takes at least 15 minutes to take down and store, but it's a real blast when the top is off, in more ways than one. It's in its element off road. Probably does not meet your criterion of safe, either.