I would go with a Base. I would rather have a nicer car with less HP, than stretch my budget and get something in bad condition. Unless you're autocrossing, or racing the Base has plenty of power for daily driving and you'll still be faster than 90% of the cars on the road.
I also like the 986 interior better (although I'm biased). The pre-'03's don't have cup holders but overall I think it flows better. I feel like a lot of the stuff in the 987 is tacked on so Porsche could say it's the new model. The 986 was designed in the image of the 550 Spyder, the 987 strays from that idea, so it can be "new."
Just my opinion.
