What Is This Car Worth?

[LightngSVT]

Actually the S I drove spoke to me and I would have loved to take it home, thats what got me started on thinking of S model. It was its price of $58k that didnt do much speaking, actually it kind of quietly whimpered. Id love the performance, warranty and "new car smell" of a new Boxster S but that is just a crap load of cash!

So M96 is the better engine to have? I thought I had heard 911 guys talking about the M97 being more reliable? So the M96 can be upgraded to prevent the IMS failure where as the M97 you just have to cross your fingers and hope you have a good one?

I really have no issues with buying a local car from Michigan, Ohio, etc. As was mentioned with our winters most people put their good cars away for the winter. The only reason all the cars Im looking at are mainly in the south is because there just arent many around here and when they do pop up they're gone quick (usually). For example local Porsche dealer had an 08 they put on Autotrader before they actually had the car on hand (lease turn in) and it sold before the car even was technically available. Though there is an 08 and an 09 about 30 minutes away that Im going to check out today.

I got a call yesterday from a dealer in Fl with an 08 base yellow car I contacted them about around a month ago. They sent me a ton of pics, car seems mint, 32k miles, average options and CPO'd until 2015 for $32k including shipping to MI (or free flight to go get the car). If they'd go $31k it would almost be to good to pass up. Another monkey wrench in the plan...

[sgt brad]

okay you seem like the kind of guy who would be unhappy buying a lesser performance model if you knew 1 was out there that had more horsepower and better performance. just stop looking at standard models and wait for the right car to come along. if you don't, you will always be sorry that you didn't buy the better model. this takes nothing away from a standard model or the people that own them. It's just that some people will not be happy knowing that there is something better out there

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by LightngSVT

So M96 is the better engine to have? I thought I had heard 911 guys talking about the M97 being more reliable? So the M96 can be upgraded to prevent the IMS failure where as the M97 you just have to cross your fingers and hope you have a good one?

You've answered your own question. You have to decide what "better" means for you. The M96 can have the IMS replaced for $2K. The M97 design is much better from the factory but not infallible. To change the IMS on an M97, the engine needs to be removed and the case split in half. Very expensive, so most M97 owners don't do it. The IMS failure rate is significantly less on an M97 engine, but that's based on owners reporting to forums like this one and Planet-9. No one knows the actual numbers besides Porsche.

Planet-9 has more 987 owners than here and there's way less chatter about IMS on that forum. Lots of M96 failures reported here. I own two M97 engined vehicles and while I'd like to upgrade the IMS, I'm not going to spend that kind of coin. I still sleep well at night.

Don't obsess over this issue in your search. If you buy an M96, assume another $2K on an IMS upgrade. If you purchase an M97, check the oil change intervals of the previous owner and go from there (more frequent changes are believed to be better for IMS longevity). 5-8K mi or once a yr is considered ideal.

[Johnny Danger]

Lightng SVT,

Another word of advice, regardless of what the current owner or dealership might say, never rely solely on their word, and purchase an expensive vehicle sight unseen. People's assessment of a vehicle relative to it's condition and mechanical well being can be extremely subjective. And, if you're any sort of a perfectionist, you'll invariably be disappointed by the opinion of someone who is not. You really need to closely scrutinize each and every vehicle that you're considering, or have someone that you can trust do it .