[jwade]

I know I'm late to the thread, but I would go for an S variant because the '00 to '04's basically have all the 911 goodies of the era installed minus the larger 3.4 or 3.6 engines.

Porsche specifically left the larger displacement engines out of the boxster platform due to it becoming a 911 killer. The 3.2 is no slouch in stock format and if you did put some tasteful mods on it like I have, I promise you will love it even more.

I do not mind my plastic back window on my '01 at all. Sure it can be a little bit of a pain to lower the top when the car is a bit cold in the spring or late fall, but once the plastic has become warm after sitting in the sun, I have no worries allowing the top to drop without the infamous "chop" routine...A while ago, I purchased a Smartop device and it was one of the best purchases ever. This allows you to "one touch" the button and the top drops or raises without having to keep the button depressed manually the whole time. Buy a can of Plexus and your golden for keeping the plastic virtually new.

As far as good cars out there, I wouldn't go for a car with high mileage at all....Why, you just don't know how the car's been treated and you face a much more worn out interior / exterior parts.

Call me crazy, but I like pristine models that are as close to perfect as can be with low mileage and not much wear. Mine has just over 20k on it now and I can attest that if I ever sold it, the next Owner would get one hell of a deal.

One discussion on this site you will see over and over is the dreaded engine failure issue known as the IMS. For under 4000, you can have this completely remedied or you can take your chances like me.

My car is a 3rd car toy and only driven on awesome days / nights. If my engine blows, I will put in a larger displacement engine from one of the site sponsors down in Georgia. It's an expensive proposition at around 20k, but I plan on keeping the car for a long time unless some great deal falls in my lap on a new one....and then I still may keep my S due to shear fun factor..

Honestly, I look at my car everyday and even though it's basically 10 years old, its lines still are fresh and appealing. I think the 986 models are extremely clean looking and super agile on the road. Who knows what values they may bring in the long term, but whether it's zero or not, I have more fun on back country roads in this car than I have in any other machine I've driven...And I've driven alot of them.

And by the way....an S model has alot more room than an S2000 Honda, plus it will walk all over it!