Looking to buy a 986, price check pls.

[jvmoney]

tracke30m3 - how did your car search go? I would recommend waiting until you find one exactly or as close as you can to your liking. Dont limit yourself to just your local area either. I originally was going to buy a 99 base boxster just bc I fell in love with it during the first test drive for about $16,500, but things fell through (Thankfully).

I'm glad I didn't rush it bc I ended up test driving about 5 more and ended up buying an immaculate 02 "S" this past March with a lot more options (xenons, color, rear speaker/bose set up, heated seats, 18in sport classic II wheels, etc) for $21,900. It did have higher miles (61K), but was driven regularly by an older gentleman who traded it in for a new 911, so it had all its service records. I had a friend get a PPI on it just in case, and once confirmed clean, flew to Boston to pick it up. I'm sure you don't need the power, but getting the S does give you some nice added features like the white dials, 6 gears, nicer brakes, etc. These and the other options I mentioned have been upgraded by other people on their own which can definitely add up. You are doing the right thing by asking this board, I've learned so much lurking here and I'm so glad to officially be part of the club!

Good Luck on your search and do keep us posted!

[KevinH1990]

I agree with JVMoney that this board was a great help when making a purchase decision. I must have posted 25 times before I bought a car and all my questions were answered politely and intelligently.

Concerning the S vs non-S decision. I also went through that consideration process. At the time I bought my car the premium for an S seemed to be $8-10k over a non-S in similar condition. It appears that prices on 986's have softened considerably in the past year and I'm now seeing asking prices for low-mileage S's in the low to mid $20k range. For example, there is an 01 S with 43k on the Washington, DC Craigslist for $23,500. (I paid $21,250 for my 00 with 30k on it in April 2006.) Of course I haven't seen the car in person, but it looks good in pictures and the seller claims to have had it serviced by the dealer.

Now that the price differential between the S and non-S has narrowed, the only downside I see to the S is the lower fuel economy. I drive my Boxster about 10k miles a year and average 28 mpg. While it isn't exactly an economy car, I think it is respectable. If I was just driving the car on weekends, the S would be my choice.

Good luck with your search.