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Originally Posted by David N.
Sales may be equal, but it sure doesn't seem like used car availability is, especially for equivalent pricing. When I was hunting autotrader and craigslist I'd usually see 3-4 regular Boxsters for every S, and the S's would always be at a premium.
Horsepower aside, you might also want to check out the low end torque difference between the S and non-S engines you're looking at. Having that extra workhorse grunt to get around the city really made a difference to me when I was testing different cars (sorry Honda!).
-David N.
2000 Ocean Blue S
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Hi,
Your contribution is interesting. Could be that 'S' owners hand onto them longer, or that 'S's have a shorter turnover time once up for resale. But, it's more probable that it's simply the fact that since '96, when the Boxster was 1st introduced overseas, the Base model outproduced the 'S' model 107,802 to 52,198 total units, or more than 2-to-1 (because the Base was issued for 4 model years before the 'S' was introduced and so there are so many more around).
I'm not sure what you mean when you say that the 'S' would always be at a premium. Do you mean that it simply sells for more than the Base? That would figure since it's original MSRP is higher. Do you mean that they sell for more than Edmunds or Kelley state are the used values of the 'S'? If so, and all things being
absolutely equal (same miles, color, options, zip code) then that would indicate a lower than anticipated depreciation, and would truly be a premium. There are Base models which sell for more than some 'S' models, and if one is looking for a used car, they should probably go for the most car for the money, Base or 'S'.
True the 'S' has a better torque curve and outright more power. But, almost 35% (55,604) of all Boxsters sold were the Base model before the 'S' was introduced. Consider that Boxster production was 50/50% Base/'S' since 2000, and so since then, 52,198 of each model have been produced. (source Porsche Group Annual Report).
But, if people weren't overwhelmingly satisfied with the Base, the production of the 'S' model would never have occured. It wasn't introduced due to lagging sales, all units produced, Base and 'S', were sold in 2000, 2001, 2002. Sales didn't start to lag until the '03 model year and have been doing so ever since.
I drive a '99. It's not a Base, because there was no 'S' available to choose from - it's a pre-'S'. For two seasons now I have driven it and I have also driven several 'S' models. While the 'S' does have more bottom-end, it doesn't have that much more and while it's got more power, again, not appreciably so. I can honestly say that for what I use the car for, my Pre- 'S' is perfect and the additional price and maintenance costs of the 'S' (Headers, Exhaust, Brakes all more expensive), it would be a waste. I could trade it for an 'S' today if I wanted to, but I don't.
Some people drive it harder, or Track the car and for this, the 'S' would be an improvement (albeit slight). And for some, they just have to run in the
Big Dog pack (no value judgement, some simply do), and so nothing but the 'S' will satisfy (for these people, if an
RS model were produced, they'd ditch their 'S' in favor of the
RS in a heartbeat). Also, recently it seems, we're experiencing a large influx from the Ricer Crowd as Boxsters become more affordable. This is evidenced by the numerous Header, Intake, Forced Aspiration, Spoiler threads we've seen in the past few months. That's OK, but it's certainly influenced the traditional overall view of the
Finesse over Power debate.
But, you get 99.9% of the Boxster experience in the Pre- 'S' or Base model, and this is something which is rarely communicated to prospective buyers. You can get into it for thousands less and for the most part, unless you belong to one of the aforementioned groups, you'll be very satisfied.
For the most part, virtually all Sports Cars (MGs, Triumphs, Lotus, Porsche (save a few special models), Austin-Healeys and such) were traditionally underpowered, especially when compared with their American contemporaries. But, they offered styling, handling, lightness, close-quarter fit like a glove, which attracted people in droves. The Boxster nestles neatly into this tradition
People looking to buy a used Boxster should truly drive both models. If done unbiasedly, I suspect many people won't see the physical advantages of the 'S' worth the additional cost (I'm not accounting for Bling or Bragging Rights). Some will, to be sure, but I believe that many won't...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99