2003s
 

I own a 2003S Box and by far is the sweetest driving machine I've ever had. Your query is very astute and reasonable. Similarities in body styling is a given and are looks are pretty much the same. The features that would sway me to the 2003S are the : the brakes, and the engine. In the S you get the brakes of the 911 which are fantastic and the engine is more powerful developing 260 hp. Being in the forum here has illustrated to me the cost of each hp you add to the car and it always seems to be outrageous. Therefore get the more powerful engine with the much better brakes.
Of course this goes without saying all things being equal. Cars of comparable wear and tear and similar condition. In any event good luck in your quest and welcome to our Group in the future. :cheers:

Regarding the Bose system, I have one in my '05 987S. I am also a home theater junkie and have pretty nice gear in the basement. My goal in a car is to have a system that is good enough, and the Bose system is good enough.

As with most Bose products I've heard, there are some really bizarre gaps and hotspots in the frequency response. Specifically, the bass response of this system is odd. While the upper range and extreme lower range of the bass is a bit weak, there is a lower to mid part of the bass range that is overemphasized (driven by the subwoofer, I assume). I find that I have to mess with the bass level a lot (anywhere from +1 to +8) depending on the song.

Likewise, the treble comes off a bit hot in parts of the range, and it sounds a bit tinny. I rarely turn the treble level above zero and sometimes back it off a bit.

Those limitations aside, the system has a reasonably good front image (I fade to the rear by about three clicks for the best overall image) and it gets reasonably loud without distorting. On the whole it is better than the stock system in a few other cars I've owned, and given that I have the radio off over half the time anyway, it isn't worth a lot of money and tearing into the car to make it better.

Welcome to the forum and I agree with Mikefocke on his options list as well. I would almost make litronics and PSM a must have though on my list as the litronics are an expensive retrofit and the PSM can't be added on after the purchase. When my frined bought his first Boxster S I told him to buy one with PSM. Unfortunatey he found a good deal on a mint car without the PSM option. Took him about a month before he totalled the car. Took him 3 weeks to buy another with the PSM option. These cars are good, and most likely performs beyond most of our abilities. Having the PSM can be a life and insurance saver.

I have a 97 and am very happy with its performance and reliability. I have driven many S models as well and usually find that in the city the performance difference is not that much. I must say that I do always "want" a S and people always ask me if I own a "S" though and it does bother me. I always want but I know I don't need. At least not at the price that it will cost me in order to sell my base model to upgrade to a newer model 986 S. I will hold on to my base 986 until I can afford to make the jump from it to a 987 S.

Good luck with the search

Good enough is good enough for me as to Bose
 

Thanks Hops - that's just the kind of practical info. I was looking for. I'll also probably spend much of my time listening to the motor and not the stereo, so the 'good enough' Bose system will most likely suffice for me. I'll pay extra attention to it this weekend when I look at the 2003 S that has it (the guy with the 2004 will be in CA this weekend, so I'll have to wait to see that one).

Pilot - I'm a big fan of great brakes, and will confess to also loving the appearance of the drilled rotors and red calipers of the "S", so another point in the "S" column.

PSM & litronics
 

Angman - I am finding very few used 986S' with PSM, so as much as I agree with your assessment, and as much as I would like to have it, I am coming to recognize that if I am only willing to buy a car with everything that I want, my search that has already been going on in earnest for about 9 months could just keep on going with no end in sight.

Unfortunately, I'm seeing litronics even less frequently than PSM. I know this will sound funny to many of you, but Fort Lauderdale (and almost all of South Florida, for that matter) is so built-up, and the area so light polluted, I don't think I can recall the last time I had to drive on a truly dark road. Accordingly, as much as I would like to have litronics, I don't think it should qualify as a 'must have' for me.

Note - the one and only 986S that I have found with almost all of the options that are being urged here is listed for $40k, and does not have the one option that I may move in to the 'must have' category, Tiptronic. I think fatmike is got the only one that fits the bill, and he says even $35k is too much to spend ...

There is a great Boxster 2005 base with a pile of options on cars.com. 9K miles. The seller is a kinda high-end dealer. I spoke to him on the phone and he seems cool and reliable. The seller in in VA but the car is in a garage in FL.

If I hadn't just ordered an '08 I would have bought this car. It's listed for 38.5K but its been there for a while so you might be able to do better.

I am unrelated to the seller or owner and have no stake in the sale. Here are details from cars.com:

Selling Points: "Seal Grey" Metallic with black interior, Adaptive Sport Seats, 18" Boxster 'S' wheels, Sport pacakge with 6-speed and PASM, Bi-xenon lights, Sport shifter, Sound Package Plus, climate control, coco mats. Factory Warranty until March 2010 or 50,000 miles. Always garaged. Original M.S.R.P.: $57,570. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, DC and Dulles International Airport.
About the Seller
David Olimpi
540-729-0354 (Daytime)
540-687-3777 (Evening)
Vehicle Location: Middleburg, VA

Good luck,
Alan

Sloan -- I sent you a PM. My car isn't a Tip though.

I wonder if Tiptronic changes the "market dynamics" on the Boxster S. You gotta think that most of the cars built are 6 speed. That said, I wonder if a private seller who has a Tiptronic to sell would be "frustrated" because every potential buyer gets bummed out because its not a 6 speed?

Anyway, keep the faith. You'll find that car, and if you end up if with a 986S or a 987 its all good.

Mike




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Something else to consider...
 

the resale value of the Speed Yellow color of the car you are purchasing. It isn't generally thought to add to the resale value though with the year you are buying (and say you keep it a couple of years) the target buyer for your SY car may just be the younger type who likes that color.

My preference for your location would be tan interior, white exterior. With Arctic Silver being the next choice.

Look at the currently popular colors for cars (survey came out about a week ago with white the most popular taking over from silver). When you buy an unpopular color, you pay at resale time both in the price you get for it and in difficulty of selling. The difference can be over 20% between white or silver and green. I forget where yellow is but that would be good to know as it is an unusual color and might be far down on the list.

color choices & resale
 

mike - Do you know something I don't about my plans for the yellow 2003 S I am planning to look at this weekend? I did not say 'buy' - the plan is just to look / drive. I am taking a friend who is a Porsche fanatic (on his third now) to keep me in check, and from rushing in to a purchase. (and also because even though he does not own a Boxster, I'm sure he'll still have a better idea of what to look for than I do).

I had a white BMW for many years, and I think that will be my last white car - I love silver (particularly the GT Silver Metallic of the 550 Spyder special edition), and its on par with the Speed Yellow as my first choice. While I appreciate that the color choice will likely effect resale value, I am not so concerned about that as 1) I will keep the car a long time, so making sure I like it is my biggest concern and, 2) since I'm buying used, any impact in the color on the price should be built-in to what I pay, right?

renzop - thanks for that lead - I think I saw that car listed, but did not give it a lot of thought because the price seemed a bit high for a non-S, and because it does not have Tiptronic which, while not essential, is preferred. I will take another look though.

purchased 986S, can't stop smiling
 

Just had champagne toast to the new Speed Yellow beauty - details and photos to follow soon. :)

Good for you Sloan :cheers:

I know you have been looking for a long, long time now. It must be nice to finally sit back and admire your Boxster in your garage.

Unlike me, you will be able to take your ride out and set her loose. I am still waiting for the warm weather to arrive in Chicago before I can take her out or even take some decent pics.

Have fun,

I just went through the exercise you are describing. I chose the 03 S for a few reasons. This is may be incredibly silly, but the S sounded better from inside the car at acceleration...I mean way better! The handling seemed more crisp than in any of the non-S versions. Plus, in my area the S seems to be an easier car to sell. Either way you can't go too wrong.

Green
 

Dark Teal, NICE. (Any car with a little green in it, my feeling!)

:cheers:

Since we are resurrecting decades old threads I'll add my two cents.

I faced the same dilemma, only with new cars, in February 2005. The 987 had just come out and I had been waiting to see if I liked it better. My dealer had one 986s left over, well-optioned and in Guards Red, for the same price as a 987 2.7. I drove both repeatedly for a week, decided on the S.

Luckily, at that same time my search for an 04 SE 550 yielded a two- month old model with 192 miles on the clock for less than either of the others (plus private party sale in GA means no 7% tax). So that's what I ended up with. Torque, baby. That's why the S feels so much better.