What do those "blank" buttons do on console and left center dash (options)

[jnicholson30]

Hi All -- I've been looking at buying my first Boxster and in every one that I've seen there are "blank" buttons, where surely optional features might have been. There are two in the center console and a set along the left side of the center dash to the left of the radio.

I can't seem to find any info online about what these features might have been - are they features that people actually like/enjoy? I'm trying to figure out if I should hold out for a full featured 2001-ish low mileage one. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks everyone.

[Bruce Wayne]

bum warmers or if you are in the states, fanny warmers (which is something else entirely in the UK) on the center console... on the dash.. PSM on mine and the other probably for the IMS guardian

[BYprodriver]

Porsche Stability Management (PSM) became available in 2001, if the car has this the disable button is on the left side. Same for the sport exhaust bypass (PSE)

[woodsman]

hi JN. Definitely hold out for a full load! You will pay similar money as for a less optioned car at non-Porsche dealers as they aren t aware that Porsche offers many, many options on everything they sell! My 2001S was priced the same as a few others in the area which didn t have many options so I scored $24000 in luxuries including factory sport suspension (M030,$3900), full leather ($4000) SPort Design 18 in. wheels ($3900) , litronics (LED headlights $ 1700), super rare, custom-order-only Violia metallic paint $4100 (dark purple to you and me) etc. Knowledge is power and you re in the right place (the accumulated knowledge here is fantastic) and you re asking the right questions! Service records are a huge bonus as Porsches need to be cared for or it will come back to haunt you. HAPPY HUNTING!

[woodsman]

BRUCE WAYNE that picture drives me NUTS! It is proof that a picture is worth a thousand.... I must meet that woman-I m in Canada ... waiting, really, I am waiting for HER!:dance::dance:

[thstone]

I have seen the three switches on the left of the center console control;

1. PSM
2. Sports Exhaust
3. Footwell lights

And yes, Bruce Wayne and Porsche Pete win the avatar contest!

[jnicholson30]

Great feedback everyone - thank you! I'm definitely liking the "fanny warmer" idea. Though it seems those options don't seem to come up much for some reason. Does anyone have a jpg of what the car would appear like if all these options were enabled?

[jnicholson30]

Thanks Woodsman! I'm a chomping at the bit to find a good one with 40-55K mi or so for less than $13Kish so it seems my options are limited. I found a just a few in US that meet these criteria with nice condition. Do you think I should wait it out or are the extras really the real deal worth waiting for and letting these go by?

[Tieniber]

The seat heaters are awesome - definitely wait for those. The switches for those are down near the window switches btw. You can put the top down on a chilly day, turn on the seat heaters and crank the heat - that's living!

As for the other options, PSM is a nice option if you're going to drive the car on anything but a dry warm day. Couldn't tell you about the sport exhaust, and IMO the foot-well light is silly.

My car has PSM, but had 2 blank switches on the upper console. I wired up the 2 blank switches to control the on-board computer and my garage door opener.

[woodsman]

JN, I d say the most important thing is to find a car that has been garaged year-round and never winter driven (as in snow and salt). The elements are what ages a car . Every once an a while I see a version of a car or truck that looks like it s a time machine or something. I love them because they show what that vehicle CAN look like and there is no work involved in getting it there! I ve restored a few vehicles and it taught me what goes wrong with them- what aging really is. Only the glass stays the same . In Seattle , there s a 1999 that has had an engine grenade at 58 000 mi. BUMMER ,especially since the car looks showroom! Clearly, it has been garaged all Its life as it looks like new. This is so hard to replicate. I mean if its going to be a 2001 why not a 2001 that looks like a 2012.
something to think about ...