15 year old considering 986 boxster S as a first car, Need opinions?

[KevinH1990]

What are your long-term goals? If you are planning to attend college away from home, you will need to find a mechanic who can work on the car at your school and budget money to pay for the work. Working on a Porsche yourself in a dorm or apartment complex parking lot will be challenging. I suggest that you also obtain an estimate for car insurance. Young males usually experience higher rates. A Porsche may cause that cost to go even higher.

I think I understand your motivation. I wanted to buy a 1959 Porsche Convertible D when I was 18. If I recall correctly, the price was around $1800. My Dad suggested to me that it would interfere with college and career development. At the time, my assessment of the trade-offs was that I wanted to buy the car. In retrospect, that would have been a poor decision for me.

[husker boxster]

Agree with everything that's been said. I would add if you have a $20K budget, look for a well sorted 986 S in the $13-14K range and keep the rest of your budget for repairs. The repair budget should last you a cpl yrs. The 1st yr will prob be exp as you uncover any deferred maint that needs addressing.

Look for 986s that have lots of maint receipts and has a good oil change history. This will be your best bet vs a 'cat in the sack' at the local used car dealer on the corner lot. Be willing to drive a fair amt to buy a nice one.

And remember: The cheapest Porsche you buy will be the most expensive Porsche you own.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

I think I understand your motivation. I wanted to buy a 1959 Porsche Convertible D when I was 18. If I recall correctly, the price was around $1800. My Dad suggested to me that it would interfere with college and career development. At the time, my assessment of the trade-offs was that I wanted to buy the car. In retrospect, that would have been a poor decision for me.

...unless, of course, you held onto it and kept it in really good shape for 35 or 40 years!

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by Frodo

...unless, of course, you held onto it and kept it in really good shape for 35 or 40 years!

The only way that would have happened is if I didn’t do a lot of the things I enjoyed in my life. It is one thing to wrench on a car when everything is shut down during Covid. It’s quite a different thing to give up the experiences you have available when you are 16-25 and relatively unencumbered.

I’m not the greatest mechanic, but my skills today are at a much higher level than they were when I was 18. In addition, there are many more sources of help such as YouTube and the forums. Of course a 356 is a less complicated vehicle and I probably would have figured it out.

That said, when I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkpjSOMhZj8 I couldn’t help but think of what might have been.