Calling for input on new 987 purchase - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

1JB · 02-20-2007, 06:16 AM

My 2 cents worth. This is what I would do. I respect everyone elses comments as well so please don't think I'm trying to come off as a know it all.

Go into this thinking clean, pure sports car. Performance and practicality.

Get the S before you add a single option to a base Boxster. Noticeable difference between power and brakes of the two cars and if you are keeping the car 8+ years I guarantee that you will have buyers remorse about not getting the S. With the options you're adding you can get an S.

Forget about PASM. Not needed because I also say go with the 18s. Only advantage of 19s are looks. I ride bumpy roads and the ride with the 18s is perfect. If you get 19s with the lower side walls now you're getting sucked into PASM. Also if you're driving in Canadian conditions think about the winter. You'll end up with 18s or 17s but no way 19s.

Forget about full leather. Very nice but of no practical consequence. The smile on your face when you drive the car will be every bit as big without full leather. That being said if there was one thing I could have added to my car by ordering it this would have been it. So if you can spring for it on an S get this over 19s, PASM and so forth. It's really, really gorgeous but I also store my car in the winter so I'm not worried about crud on the interior.

Get the sound Bose plus. It adds a wind deflector which you should also get (very noticeable difference without it on the highway) and auto increase and decrease of the sound. It's a nice system and as well as you're going to do in a tin box with the top down or a ragtop up.

You're in Canada so get the heated seats, heated headlamp washers and bi xenon lights. Also get the stainless stell entry guards (getting in and out of the car with muck and boots is a bear and you scrape up the guards. SS has polished right up for me). Get rubber floor mats for the winter and get the liners for the front and rear trunks. Silver is a good color for crud on the car.

If you're driving it year round get the hard top and a set of winter tires and rims.

I built and rebuilt the car for months with all kinds of colors and options and ended up buying an S with the essential options I wanted because it was not spoken for and on the boat with the exact color combo I wanted. I don't miss any of things I thought were must haves which included the same options your talking about adding.

Once you get the car even though you are absolutely certain you never will, you are going to become infected with Porsche madness. You will long for some more power in the back of your mind. I'm already thinking about a RUF upgrade when my warranty expires in 3 years and when I got the S I was certain it was more than I could ever handle. Go with a base S and the essential options and you will have no regrets.

drburton · 02-20-2007, 07:42 AM

In my opinion:

Must Have:
Bose
Windstop
Xenon Lights
Heated Seats
Go for the 'S' Model

Don't Need:
Full Leather
PASM

Wheels are really a matter of personal taste. I have the 18" S wheels and they are a pain to clean. I also like the look of the 19" wheel better, so I will likely be upgrading next year to the 19' Carrera Classics.

Also, my car is silver and I went with the blue interior and top. Actually looks pretty slick. If you want pics let me know. I think Arctic Silver will be around for awhile too.

02-20-2007, 08:16 AM

You don't need a hard top, since you are storing for the winter.

I love my full leather and 19" Carrera Classic Wheels.

Windstop is a must.

philpots · 02-20-2007, 06:14 PM

Thanks everyone for all the responses. Can't tell you how thankful I was over the number of replies in just 1 day.

Appreciate the pics also. Will let you know what I end up with and will post pics.

Bavarian Motorist · 02-20-2007, 08:16 AM

He said he doesn't drive fast. Why would he need the S model?

02-20-2007, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

He said he doesn't drive fast. Why would he need the S model?

Driving fast is different than driving quickly.

z12358 · 02-20-2007, 09:14 AM

You will make the largest mistake if you don't get the 3.4L S engine. That "option" will affect the car the most in terms of performance, no matter how/where you drive it. The near 300hp and 3.4L bring you into 996/997 power territory in a mid-engine roadster for $30k less than a 997 convertible! If you have ONE option to pick, choose this one.

I too didn't plan to drive fast, and didn't think I would go to the track (DE). Allow yourself to change your mind after you get to know the car better and start enjoying it to the latest drop. The PCA community is also very inviting.

Keep it simple on everything else. The standard 18" S wheels are great. No need for 19" on your roads. No need for PASM. No need for full leather. No need for xenons. No need for hardtop. It's a toy joy-car and 90% of time you will be driving it with the top down. The soft-top is plenty insulated for highway jaunts and for rain.

Get the Bose. I have it and I can hear it -- it also adds a nice bass. Though you'll drive without music 90% of the time, so no big deal if you don't get it. Get the windstop -- it helps. Get heated seats -- to increase the number of top-down rides, especially in Canada. The windstoop and the heated seats will also keep the lady happy (hair not messed up, and butt warm) which will allow for enjoying the car together more often -- hence, a toy for everyone. I think all these come in a preferred package.

Get white or yellow color (if you don't like black) and avoid paying extra for metallic. They all look gorgeous.

With discounts, the car described above can be had new for mid $50k (US) -- the best deal in the roadster universe, bar none.

Hope this helped.

Z.

jinijazz · 02-20-2007, 10:32 AM

This thread is turning into "must-have" options or "S vs Base".

If it's all about "must-have",
Forget 18/19, 17 is fine. Forget Bose, Xenon, Full Leather, PASM. Forget S too.
There is no such a thing like "must-have".
Base Boxster with no options is the best value.

If it is about "recommendations",
No doubt I'd get PASM & Sport Chrono over 19".

I just saw eslai's post below, very good reviewer on options.
Check out his other thread about options too.

aren040 · 02-20-2007, 10:04 AM

Were here goes my opinion.

I have the Base 987 with Heated Seats, the non-Bose premium audio system, and the 19 Carrera S wheels.

I also live in sunny southern California so I don't worry about snow and so on.

19's: All in all, I like the 19's but if you drive on bad roads regularly then I would not go for them.

PASM: I would have liked to have but I don't so I can not speak about it.

Brakes: The brakes on the Base model are good enough for the streets as far as I am concerned.

Bose: Well I have the mid range "premium" audio system which for me does just fine. I used to be an audiophile but have since stopped caring about perfect sound. The unit I have also does the volume control based on speed and so on.

Full leather: I have not had any issues with it. I do not have it nor do I wish I had it.

S vs. Base: I would say opt out for the S if you can have it. I am a little bit of a conservative and did not want to go for the S at this time. So I went with the base model. Next time around though I will probably go with the S if I have a choice.