Opinions on buying this 981
 

It is a 2013 Boxster S with 4k miles. I'd say it was a custom order with the red interior (maybe not). It has almost every option I want for a 981 Boxster. It is at a carmax in Ft. Myers. I could have it transferred here for $600.

They are asking 59k for it. Here is the catch.. collision on the carfax.. listed as minor rear quarter panel damage. But I like it so much!

PS if I don't go with a boxster(981), then I will go with a Cayman (981) in Riviera Blue.

Thanks for the input!

Just looked on Cars.com and it seems you can get a 2013 S without any prior damage in the low to mid 50's. Didn't see any with the red interior / exterior though.

That car is very red.

If you do make an offer, go much lower than you are comfortable going. With that color mix, a blemished history and a near $60K price tag, the pool of bidders is going to be shallow.

CarMax is a no haggle pricing lot. Don't know how much if any wiggle room there will be.

If your willing to wait and risk losing the car Carmax does drop prices on cars that don't sell. That color combo is not going to be for everyone so it may take some time to sell. If you can't live without the car then the price is pretty much it. Good luck.

Take a look at this one: Cars for Sale: 2013 Porsche Boxster S in Oklahoma City, OK 73120: Convertible Details - 380472732 - AutoTrader.com

Its from a private seller in Oklahoma City and I bet you can haggle the price down a bit. Also doesn't sound like it had any prior damage.

Thanks for the input. Thinking more about it, 60k is a bit much for a p car with prior damage. And whoa that's a good find davids!! I'm going to inquire about that today!

What are your opinions on going to a cayman? Maybe even a GT4? I'll be keeping my 986, so I will still have a top down weather car. I live about 2 hours from hallet motor raceway and would only be doing about 20 track days a year, is all of the extra money worth it to get a gt4?

Go for the Caymen just for something different especially since your keeping the 986 and using it at the track (hard top is safer and stiffer). The GT4 is an awesome car with a long waiting list. Understandable as it's $300 more then the base Carrera but you get the 3.8 motor, the GT3 suspension plus whole bunch of other extra goodies.

The 1600 GT4 slots are probably long gone. You could probably make a good deal on a Cayman GTS since the bloom is off that rose. 40 HP less than a GT4 but 90+ more than your 986.

Yeah I doubt I'd be able to get a GT4 this MY. I've considered the GTS, but for the money, after I add options I am in GT4 territory. Bah! Decisions, decisions.. I do know, if I get a cayman, I'm going to attempt to order in Riviera blue, or I will have it wrapped. I can't get that color out of my brain.

Always best to sit out the first year of a new model. Just ask the 991 GT3 owners carrying around fire extinguishers.

As far as smiles/per miles, the most fun in opinion would be a Boxster GT4. If Porsche won't make it companies like BGB will. It will be faster than the Cayman GT4 if both have the same options and tires, easier to drive at the limit, and frankly more of "connected" feeling for most because of the lower center of gravity/more grip. 385 HP is a serious bump up in quickness when you also have a wider front plant.

I can only imagine how much fun a Boxster GT4 would be if the Boxster Spyder was this good:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onaez6jCzNU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

PL - thanks for the video. I LOVE that track. I don't know if I'll ever get back there again, but I dream all the time about driving there. Doing the Parade DE last June at Laguna Seca was bucket list stuff.

Now back to the matter at hand... There are pics of a Spyder GT4 on the net out testing (with a bit of cammo). Not sure if Porsche will continue their practice of making the Boxster 15hp less than a Cayman, but 370 would be tastey in a Spyder. The Cayman was introduced with 15 more hp back in 06, which I guess was the reason for the higher price than a Boxster. That hp difference went away for many yrs but Porsche's gone back to that practice with the Boxster GTS being 330hp and the Cayman GTS at 345.

RB - Riv blue is a great color but I think it would be PTS on the 981. You're correct the list price of a GT4 is pretty close to a GTS, but I'm sure the dealers will be getting at least sticker for their allotment slot, if not more. I've already seen someone offering their build slot for sale at 20% of sticker (or roughly $20K). If you find a GTS already on the lot with the options you like, chances are you could get a normal or better than normal discount on it. And then you could get it wrapped.

Here's a cpl pics of a Riv blue 991 that was at Parade. Just want to make you drool.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01/ad91426208248.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01/ae11426208287.jpg

PL -ah yeah good point on the first MY. Err almost forgot about the recent fiasco. And awesome video!

HB- first, thanks for the pics! Awesome! I hadn't given the GTS a lot of thought but you do make an excellent point about availability and possible discounts.

Okay, I have an appointment tomorrow, I do plan on test driving a GTS and they have a very nicely optioned 14 MY Boxster im going to look at. So maybe I'll have a new one soon :D

Okay one last question.. Opinions on PDK. My 986 is a manual. From what I've read, the PDK is amazing. I could go either way. I do love being able to control my shifts and be one with the car. But sometimes in heavy traffic it does stink. Especially when people don't give you any roll back room on inclines.

So, PDK? And how awesome would a 981 spyder be!?

First enjoy the shopping process. I love the hunt. PDK or manual. The PDK transmission is awesome so you can't really go wrong with it. My previous car was a dual clutch trans which I choose over a manual trans was great fun initially because it was something different but I eventually got bored with it. For me a real sports cars is about driver envolvement so for me a Boxster/Cayman has to have a manual trans.

Did you have paddle shifters? If so, how often did you use them?

It did. While some fun its like a video game paddle and not nearly as engaging as a clutch pedal and shifter. Throttle blips are always perfect but it just isn't the same as executing it yourself. You should drive both and see what you like and go with that. I did and was glad at first with my choice but after 6 months lost interest. It just became a really good automatic.

I won't swear on a stack of Bibles, but I believe the GTS manual comes std with the blipshift. My friend in St Joe who bought a Cayman GTS said his has it.

Honestly a 10-15 HP advantage for the Cayman GT4 over a Boxster GT4 would not really be felt. For one thing, the Cayman typically gets those extra ponies to mitigate the lower center of gravity advantage of the Boxster. Which leads me to believe that Porsche spent some time testing both to arrive at this number and not say 20 hp, 30 hp, etc. They don't want the Boxster to be quicker but at the same time they want to keep the power gap to the base 911 as wide as possible. If all three are on equal power, the Boxster is quickest, then the Cayman and then the 911.
And If hypothetically speaking they were to make an effort to race a Boxster GT4 (with safety issues addressed) in a new series, perhaps openly competing against other brands for a few seasons, the Boxster, regardless of 991S power or not, would make a huge step forward on performance. Decades of racing driver feed back and data logging from racing the 911 can't be duplicated on the PC. But the difference for a Boxster GT4 would be that it's inherently suited for racing because the quickest racing cars are always the ones with the least amount of weight on top, the engines in the middle, with as short a wheelbase as safety can permit. The Boxster checks all three boxes. Now is any of this going to ever happen? of course not... because it makes too much sense.

Also, the word on the street is the 981 Spyder (with camping poles and tent top again... hello Miata manual top?) will not be getting the 991S engine or any of the GT3 department trinkets they granted the Cayman GT4.
But that's where the the RUFs and BGB's of the world come in. Money on the table to do what they already know well.

When in sport mode I am pretty sure the porsche 7 speed does this.

Yes. Redbox was asking about PDK and Porsche9 mentioned the blipshift for it. I was just chiming in that you can get the blipshift with a manual now. I test drove a 991 6spd with blipshift and I loved it, but not enough to bite on the salesman's offer to trade almost even up for my LE + CSS. He covets my CSS. :D He offered to trade me even up for a Boxster or Cayman GTS too.