[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

On point #1, where are you getting you data? There is no data which suggests this. Boxster Production peaked in these years, so there may be some merit as the workers were more in the groove . Another factor is that the older cars are just that - older. Issues quite naturally do increase as a Car ages.

Point #2, that's debatable and a matter of taste. Porsche designed the Boxster to use the 201bhp in the original 2.5l. They may have purposely emasculated it in relation to the 911, but it's still got a lot (some may say adequate) pep to it.

Point #3, just silly, the 2.5 has no trouble whatever either merging into traffic, or passing other traffic. It has a greater power/weight ratio than the 550 Spyder afterall, and no one ever accused that car of being a dog.

Point #4, true, the market is not predictable, and an S may sell for more than a base in a couple years, but you are forgetting that it also takes more to get into an S in the first place, so it's likely to be same-same in the end. I have not seen anything which suggests that the S depreciates at a lesser rate than the base.

Point #5, ???? I don't get the reasonong here at all. Unless you are going to make the car perfect and throw a blanket over it for 50 years, it's most likely that you will sell the car for less than you paid, whether it's a Base or an S. If one were to invest the difference in price of the S over the base for the number of years you owned the car, you would make some money or limit your cost of ownership, otherwise, the Car is going to cost you - the cost of having it and using it for the years owned be it an S or Base model. But, the Brake Pads, clutch and insurance will all be higher with the S, so this car could actually cost you more money than the Base.

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

1-somene posted on here that the Consumer Reports folks reported that drivetrain issues were fewest with the 2.7 and 3.2's from 2000-2002. The 03 and 04 featured some redesign of the drive shaft? that's starting to report problems in increasing numbers with no real problems in this area being reported by earlier models. Before 2000 of course there were the porosity issues with the engine block on the 2.5's, tons of cases to report on that front which surely had to be a factor in redesigning the engine and introducing the 2.7 and 3.2


2-I never said the 2.5 doesn't have pep. But if you have driven both you see that though the cars may be similar in weight the seat of the pants feel very different coming out of corners and coming off braking with the substantial increase in torque from the 3.2. (why would anyone pass this up if its in their budget??)
The more power you add to the Boxster the more the excellent handling/balance is magnified well except for that moment of polar inertia when the car breaks away like no other and you're just a passenger. But no car is perfect.

3-Again no one ever said you can't adequately merge on traffic and overtkae slower cars in a 2.5 BUT if you have driven a 3.2 you will see how much easier of an effort it is, particularly higher up on the power band.

4-The Boxster market varies greatly. You might be able to get a 3.2 in one part of the country for the same amount of money that it would cost you for 2.7 (with both having the same mileage,condition etc.) in another area. If you are willing to buy with just an independent inspection report sight unseen you could get into an S for the same amount of money as a 2.7. Its not always signficantly more or more at all. Like I said this a very good time to be 986 buyer, lots of fluctuation in prices and choices by region.

5-I'ts not a given that the S depreciates at a lower rate but the rules of supply and demmand are often a factor. There are 150 Boxsters for sale on Ebay right now and only 50 of them are S models. Allot of people are locating (not always buying) through online trading sites like Ebay. You very well could end up selling to this pool or making your Boxster known to this segment of buyers who rely on the internet only. If the trend in this buying pool shifts towards more buyers wanting 3.2's and willing to pay more for an S model then obviously there will be fewer S models to choose from (and even fewer well preserved ones) and the 2.7's(in similar mileage,condition etc.) WILL have to be lowered in price to entice a potential 2nd hand buyer away from a 3.2. This lowering could be at a increasingly faster rate given the ever growing numbers of Boxsters coming off leases every day.

I did say it could not it will cost you money. Its hard to show this statiscally because no one really tracks resale values this closely. It's no different than with the Carreras. Relative to overall production of the 996, the C4S was small in production and the market is very good for that car thus its still quiet expensive to get into one. Supply and demmand. The pool of buyers for Boxsters is going to grow 10 fold as people look to get a piece of the Porsche brand for little money and a very good track record of reliability. This hasn't really happened much in the past with this brand.
There's no way to say now whether the demmand for S models will be greater but the fact that there are fewer to choose from makes it a strong possibility that like the C4S the BoxsterS will be more desireable in the 2nd hand market and a lower depreciation rate could be the result. It's as likely as it is unlikely. If I'm a buyer and can get into the rarer model for not much more money its a no brainer.