Slightly used gen 1 S, or new gen 2 non-S?
 

That is the question. Opinion: experts??

You need to narrow your question down a tad, no?

Here is a general answer to a general question. I would not consider a non-S period, ever! I feel they are both underpowered so the non-S would be a dog for my liking.

Other than that do what makes you happy. :)

If I was torn between the two I would take myself up to the dealership, test drive both, and then decide and make a purchase. Seems like the most logical thing in my book. Just my 02

I drive a standard '03 Boxster and it is definitely not a dog. I drove the standard and S version before deciding on the standard. I did not feel the slight performance gain in the S was worth an extra 10 grand for my purposes. I sold my 350Z to get into a Boxster. Neither the standard or the S has that kick in the paints feel you get when you punch the throttle on a Z. But the Boxster is a better balanced, more fun to drive car than the Z ever was. Power isn't everything.

Adam is right. Go to dealer and drive both. Then decide for yourself. You can't go wrong with either model as far as I am concerned.

ON a used S, you can get a lot of car for relatively little money. The first two years depreciation on a new S will kill you!

Even brand new 04 S's can be had in the upper 40k range. I know what I'd do.

S is the answerr
 

I would opt for the S rather than the regular. Has more standard options: better brakes, more horses are the main reasons. Neither are dogs and both are quick and handle super great. I would favor it more for the brakes which are the 911 brakes stops you and a dime.

the new box s is faster and feels faster than the 350z to all speeds....i did a same day back to back test drive and the car magazines confirm my seat of the pants impressions

If you are asking about buying a 986 S (3.2L) vs. 987 (2.7L)
I would say don't buy a 987 they have ugly headlights.

seriously, it would depend on how much you can get the 986S for.
If its not a serious mark down I would go for the newer car. I would look at
the likely depreciation of the two. My take is that you take less of a hit with a very popular used car. The pool of buyers is inevitably larger for people looking to spend 25-35K than those looking to spend 35-45K.
I got my 2000S for 30K with 10,000 miles last fall. Its my hope that it will be quiet some time before it get down to $20K. Historically I've never put more than 10K miles a year on my cars so hopefully that will help out over the next four years.

From a performance standpoint the power of the new Boxster is close to the old S model so you won't be making a huge swing either way in that department.
And I strongly feel that neither the S or the standard are underpowered.
Take both to a Porsche driving school and when you set the absolute quickets lap possible in either, then tell me you need more power. The Boxster is sportscar not a drag strip car, there is more than enough power to get you into trouble.
A friend of mine used to race junior formulas with a current f1 driver and he recently told me that this professional driver sent his father a new Mercedez compliments of the team. After driving it he STRONGLY noted that its 500+HP should not be sold to the general public. Even if you are only intending to drive in straight lines you need to master the power you have before you complain about not having enough ooomph.

You might also want to consider the type of driving you do. I went with the standard (non-S) for a lot of the reasons that have already been mentioned. I also drive far too much of the time in urban traffic so the base 5-speed made more sense to me than the six-speed due to the ratios. Some people disagree with this assessment, arguing the S is better for the greater torque at low rpms. Drive both and see what you think.

You can't go wrong either way, but I think you could save a lot of $ in both initial cost and depreciation if you went slightly used (S or non-S). Personally I never put much stock in the "only buy a S" argument. I think it all depends on your driving. The base car is slower below 3000RPM, but after that I think it's harder to tell the difference (several car magazines have also stated this, Road & Track, Excellence, etc.).

Since this ramble is all over the map, let me try to wrap this up. It's all about what you value:

1) If you value having the best available- buy a S model- otherwise you'll never be satisfied
2) If you value refinement more than anything else, buy the newer 987
3) If you want to limit your depreciation loss and initial investment, buy a used base or S (in my opinion, there are great deals on Certified 03 and 04 models right now-- with 2.9% financing too from PCNA). The Certified means your warranty will likely be the same or better than buying new.
4) The type of drving you do and whether or not the car will be a daily driver are other important factors.

Good Luck. You can't really go wrong.

03 Daily Driver

The Z may feel faster than a S because it has alot of tq, but it's also a tank compared to the boxster. We all know the S is faster.

An option to consider is a new '04 S. I bought one in Feb. '05, and found that dealers were desperate to get rid of them. I paid $46k, with numerous options (18", carrera whls, bose, xenon, tiptronic, and more).

Very nice buy^. Good job.

indeed.
I just paid $4K for Litronics, Carreras(w/ Toyo racing tires). And another $3500 for an aero kit and GT3 Seats.
It adds up fast.

Faced just this problem yesterday.
 

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but also new to boxster ownership. My buying decision came down to either a new 987 Boxster with a sticker of 49k, a new 986 Boxster with a sticker of $49k that the dealer was offering to sell for 40k (I believe I could have gotten 39k or maybe even 38k), or an '03 Boxster S with 17k miles for 40k (ended up paying 39k).

I had the opportunity to drive all 3 back to back and I ended up buying the Boxster S, nicely optioned with 18" carrera wheels, heated seats, Digital Hi-Fi Sound, Cruise, Wheel Caps with Color Crest, remote, windblocker, Porsche approved.

My driving impressions were that there is very little power difference between the new Boxster and the old Boxster S. I blieve that Onad's message was that the ratios in the 5-speed made more torque available for around town driving, and I definitely agree with that. The 6-speed in the S required more shifting and spreads the torque around; I don't plan to do any in-town driving with this car so the 6-speed made sense for me.

The '05 987 Boxster felt like it had a tighter suspension than the S, though this could have something to do with the fact that the S had some miles on it and the '05 Boxster was new. The steering on the new Boxster was more direct and seemed to be quicker, but I preferred the feel of the S. The transmission in the '05 Boxster was stiffer and more precise; it also had shorter throws.

In the end, it was a very close call for me. I did like the 6-speed for driving fun, but I believe the transmission in the new Boxter was better overall. I decided on the S because it came in about 7-8k less than the new Boxster similarly equipped (without the 6-speed in the new Boxter); and it came with a Porsche approved extended warranty to 6 years/100,000 miles total.

Definitely drive both; I was very impressed with the improvements in the new 987 Boxster.

Just curious, did you give both cars a fairly good flogging or was it more of a easy cruise?

I did get a chance to drive them both pretty hard. The only thing was, after we (me and the salesman) got going on the Boxster S, I noticed that the fuel light was on and I was worring that we would run out so I ended up driving it for less than 10 minutes.

The biggest advantage that the Boxster S has is that the power band is linear and it keeps building almost up to red line. The new Boxster utilizes the power that it has well and the 5-speed seems to take best advantage of the available power, but it did run out of breath as the RPMs starting pushing past 5500. The Boxster S seems to pull smoothly all the way to red line; if you don't have to deal with traffic and mostly drive on open roads, then this trait is very nice. If you drive in traffic a lot, the regular Boxster with the 5-speed might be a better choice because it's less of a chore to access the available power.

Stryke hit the nail on the head.

I tested both the base and S when I got my car and there is a noticeable difference. This can be objectively measured and cannot be argued. Whether you can feel the difference or not is subjective and depends on you and your driving traits. I know a Corvette owner...his car is an automatic and he drives slower than a snail. He wouldn't notice the difference between his car and a Camry.

The S might initially cost more but will sell for more used. So the $ difference between the base and S is not what it initially seems unless you plan on never selling the car. Matter of fact, the cost might be close to the same over a course of 3 years.

About the base being better in traffic: that's BS. Each gear sees the same amount of torque from the engine. It's not "spread around" between 5 or 6 gears. The S simply has more torque and better gear spacing (talking strictly 986). Check my link here breaking down the transmission ratios on post #10: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/1234-6th-gear.html

Everyone has a right to subjectively quantify things but let's keep objective facts well...objective. :cheers:

BTW, interstingly I can't find any tranny ratio info on the 987. It's not on Porsche's website (?).

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HP & 0-60 time
 

All this discussion got me curious and I looked up some specs. 987 has 240 HP w/ 0-60 of 5.9 sec. 986 S has 258 HP (but about 100 lbs heavier) w/ 0-60 of 5.7 sec. 987 does seem to have more standard features.