|
Joe, I own an 03 S that I bought new. At the time I bought it, dealers still had unsold 02 S's in stock at bigger discounts, but not with the options I wanted, PSM, cruise control and heated seats, and I really wanted the glass rear window and glove box. I have to say that I like the lines of the 02 and earlier Boxsters better - the front and rear bumpers are much cleaner, and when the top is up on the earlier years, it looks cleaner with less bows and a more raked rear window! I have a friend in California who bought a non S manual car last year and I got to drive it a bit out there. If you're going to buy a manual car, and don't mind doing more shifting to stay within the power band, I think the non S is fine. I call myself a "lazy" manual driver in that I like to stay in the same gear over a wider speed range, cruising around town in 3rd gear, and able to still accelerate on the highway in 5th or 6th gear. That is where the S makes a difference for me on the street. I've done 2 HPDE events now with my S, and I'm sure I could soil my pants in the base car too on the track! Enjoy the search, that is a lot of the fun. Take a look at the Boxsters that are listed for sale in the online classifieds of the Porsche Club of America website and the online classifieds of Excellence Magazine in addition to all the other places you're shopping.
|