986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Poll: What to do with my '99 986: Upgrade, Modify, or get a 911?

RaisedOnPorsches · 11-25-2013, 01:55 PM

Perfectlap, you make some excellent points regarding the air-cooled/waterc-cooled resale divide. I agree the production numbers are simply too high for all of the water-cooled models to make them worth much 5-10 years from now or beyond. This is part of why I keep looking at the SE550, but it will probably be the 986 that depreciates the least overtime. That said, beyond the cosmetic details, there is little different between a SE550 and a 2004 S. The limited production models that are actually worth something more than the standard variety are the ones that have significant performance advantages or some especially quirky history.

The SE550 that I mentioned earlier with 110k miles is selling for $15k, which is a mighty fine price. Still I wonder after financing its purchase, selling my '99, getting iPhone functionality setup on the SE550 BOSE system, and whatever other hidden repairs there might be, if I'd come out ahead. Would I just be better off putting the money into new/performance upgrades on the '99. At this point, I've replaced so many of the 'aging' components. With that SE550 there is little in repair records for me to inform my decision by.

The 996 Turbos are beautiful cars, but I think with their maintenance, tire costs, and fuel economy, they'd have to be relegated to Sunday driver/garage queen status as well. The non-Turbo 996s just don't do it for me. I don't know that I'd feel much of a performance gain over my 986, even if I am driving the runt of the litter engine-displacement-wise.

All this continues to make my head spin.

One last thought/question. One aspect that I really have enjoyed about my '99 986 is how easy it has been for me to do my own repair work (not all the time, but as I like). Being a mid-engine Porsche I initially expect my Boxster to be near impossible for me to work on without a proper mechanics shop.

I wonder how much of this would hold true with the various models being discussed here. Are 993s, 996s, 996TTs, or even '80s Carreras considerably harder or easier to work on than a 986? How do costs of repairs compare? I'll have to chat with my mechanic more on this too.

11-25-2013, 01:55 PM	#3
RaisedOnPorsches Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Marin, California Posts: 243	Perfectlap, you make some excellent points regarding the air-cooled/waterc-cooled resale divide. I agree the production numbers are simply too high for all of the water-cooled models to make them worth much 5-10 years from now or beyond. This is part of why I keep looking at the SE550, but it will probably be the 986 that depreciates the least overtime. That said, beyond the cosmetic details, there is little different between a SE550 and a 2004 S. The limited production models that are actually worth something more than the standard variety are the ones that have significant performance advantages or some especially quirky history. The SE550 that I mentioned earlier with 110k miles is selling for $15k, which is a mighty fine price. Still I wonder after financing its purchase, selling my '99, getting iPhone functionality setup on the SE550 BOSE system, and whatever other hidden repairs there might be, if I'd come out ahead. Would I just be better off putting the money into new/performance upgrades on the '99. At this point, I've replaced so many of the 'aging' components. With that SE550 there is little in repair records for me to inform my decision by. The 996 Turbos are beautiful cars, but I think with their maintenance, tire costs, and fuel economy, they'd have to be relegated to Sunday driver/garage queen status as well. The non-Turbo 996s just don't do it for me. I don't know that I'd feel much of a performance gain over my 986, even if I am driving the runt of the litter engine-displacement-wise. All this continues to make my head spin. One last thought/question. One aspect that I really have enjoyed about my '99 986 is how easy it has been for me to do my own repair work (not all the time, but as I like). Being a mid-engine Porsche I initially expect my Boxster to be near impossible for me to work on without a proper mechanics shop. I wonder how much of this would hold true with the various models being discussed here. Are 993s, 996s, 996TTs, or even '80s Carreras considerably harder or easier to work on than a 986? How do costs of repairs compare? I'll have to chat with my mechanic more on this too. Last edited by RaisedOnPorsches; 11-25-2013 at 02:01 PM.