To 'S' or not to 'S' - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

01-29-2008, 05:29 AM

Tough decision, there is a great article about this very question on the commentary page of the February Excellence. The article opens with the sentence, "the most thrilling Porsche is not always the sweetest Porsche". I have always wanted the S, bigger brakes and a sixth gear would be nice. However, driven with spirit, my 2.5 will get you a ticket on every outing. Unless you are going to track the car the issue will be how fast do you want to be driving illegally. As someone else noted, when buying used, condition, warranty, options and mileage are more important factors.

baseball · 01-29-2008, 06:22 AM

Although this is a review of the 987/987S, it may give you some more insight:

http://www.windingroad.com/reviews-page/porsche-boxster-and-boxster-s/

"Over the road, it’s clear the bog-standard Boxster paired with the regular five-speed and seventeen-inch wheels is the enthusiast’s best buy. Not only does the optional six-speed Tiptronic S transmission cost $3210, it also occasionally second-guesses its driver. It’s not that the uplevel S is unreasonably priced—it’s just that standard model’s intrinsic goodness is so total that it’s obviously the best value. In most situations, the S’s horsepower simply isn’t missed, and the base model feels a bit lighter on its feet to boot. Just make sure to go for the DIY cogswapper."

Good luck with whatever you decide.

dcporsche99 · 01-29-2008, 06:35 AM

Either an "S" or "non-S", whichever one you choose I'm quite certain you'll have a "perma-grin"

in either case!

Good luck with your choice!

Flyer · 01-29-2008, 07:02 AM

Great info guys.

Seeing cars like Gary in BR and Randalls make me feel comfortable that a well maintained 986 will make it past 150k

This purchase is for a 3rd car in the family (along with a Ducati Monster) that I expect that will see approx 7k miles a year. I also plan on keeping it till it disolves (LOL) so resale value is not big to me.

I will start a new thread so as not to hijack this one. I am curious about your thoughts on this particular 01'-S

RandallNeighbour · 01-29-2008, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyer

Seeing cars like Gary in BR and Randalls make me feel comfortable that a well maintained 986 will make it past 150k

Me thinks you spoke too soon. Seen my thread about stripped out caliper bolt heads?

I wonder what my car would look like today if I had owned it brand new and kept it for ten years. A LOT better than it is today, that's for sure!

BTW, mine had a new engine put in it at 80k, just before I bought it. No idea why it was replaced, but it was brand new.

PS - GET AN S.

Perfectlap · 01-29-2008, 07:11 AM

ignore the "unles you are going to drive on the track" talk.
The extra oomph of the 3.2 comes in very handy in daily driving like when passing cars, merging on highway ramps and I'm a big proponent of having the best brakes available (that don't cost $10K to replace).

I could have bought a brand new 986S and a few higher mileage one or two year old S models when I was shopping around, but when I found an extremely low mileage 2000 S that was fresh out of warranty I thought this was a perfect match.
I'm a propenent of getting the lowest mileage S model that has a full service history and ideally one that comes with an extended engine/trans warranty.

tboyer · 01-29-2008, 07:39 AM

My first p-car was a non S, within three months I sold the non S and picked up an S. IMO, night and day between the two (power, interior upgrades, bigger brakes, suspension). Plus, car searches for used Boxster's seem to return many more non S's, so, from a resale perspective, the S is the way to go. Either way, you will love your Box, good luck!

Topless · 01-29-2008, 07:44 AM

You gotta get what you want.

From my perspective, I originally went shopping for a 2001 S. I drove several S and base models. All the S models I drove were pretty thrashed or had a bunch of cheesy boyracer mods. Then I found this car: older than I wanted but a pristine, one owner 98 base model. It had flawless service records and was garaged at home and at work. I have not been disappointed. For me car condition was more important than HP. If I found an S in such good condition I would have bought it though.

Side note: I do regularly track my car and have no trouble running right with the S models or 996's for that matter. The fastest 986 times are still being laid by a pair of stock base Boxsters in our area.

bmx672 · 01-29-2008, 08:15 AM

I test drove both... and wound up with a 2000 non-S. I liked the previous owner and the history (that had everything to do with my purchase) I'm not a horsepower guy, I just wanted a third car for top down weekend drives on the country roads. I'm completely happy with it! I figured if I ever wanted a really fast car I'd look at a Corvette etc... I feel guilty though for only driving it 2000 miles it's first year. I need to correct that this summer!

steve00s · 01-29-2008, 09:14 AM

It really depends on your driving habits and what it is you enjoy. The first Boxster I drove was a 2.5l tiptronic and it just didn't do anything for me. The S put me back in the seat a bit and was like wow. With a few mods its like really wow. But I am more of a g-force junkie. I like the feel of acceleration and the S does that while doing everything else right.

mn box s · 02-01-2008, 01:19 AM

what really matters is the 6 speed and the brakes. Figure how much a six speed swap would be then the s-brakes and that alone will make you decide what way to go not to mention the 3.2 over 2.7. as said before no offense but I wouldnt wast my time with the non, but the ones I have driven were nice.

Topless · 02-01-2008, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn box s

what really matters is the 6 speed and the brakes. Figure how much a six speed swap would be then the s-brakes and that alone will make you decide what way to go not to mention the 3.2 over 2.7. as said before no offense but I wouldnt wast my time with the non, but the ones I have driven were nice.

mn box s is probably right,

A base 986 Boxster is just a slow worthless POS and a total waste of time.

But wait! Before we jump to conclusions perhaps we should compare recent run times from some of best drivers in the country. Compare the best Base Boxsters with the best Boxster S, Cayman S, GT3, and TT's. The results may surprise you: http://www.pcasdr.org/parade/results/ParadeAX.htm

At speeds over 120mph the more powerful cars have a decided advantage. At real world speeds (less than 100mph) the Base Boxster is hard to beat.

blue2000s · 02-01-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn box s

what really matters is the 6 speed and the brakes. Figure how much a six speed swap would be then the s-brakes and that alone will make you decide what way to go not to mention the 3.2 over 2.7. as said before no offense but I wouldnt wast my time with the non, but the ones I have driven were nice.

I find my 6-speed to be one gear too many. It's a marketing upgrade more than a performance one. You're not missing anything there.

On the brakes, they are fantastic, but from what I've seen of the 2.5/2.7L brakes, they're great too.

I actually like to push my sports cars and the more power, the more restrained you have to be with your driving. I find the S to be a constant exercise in constantly holding back. I can't imagine what the guys driving Vipers must go through. For day to day, the non-S is probably more rewarding.

jvmoney · 02-18-2008, 12:28 PM

I went through this same decision a year ago. I test drove regular boxsters in my price range but I ended up coming across an 02 S a few states away. After the PPI, that decision was easy. I would recommend the S bc of many of the same reasons the others have stated...you're going to get the better suspension, the better brakes, the "S" emblem, and more power.

But overall, some other things to consider are things like does it have the right options; Litronics, upgraded sound system, etc. These are all costly things to upgrade if you decide to do it later so try to find one with as many of the options as possible. Whatever you end up with, i'm sure you'll be happy!

Just make sure to have some money left over in case of emergency repairs.

c4s · 02-18-2008, 03:24 PM

I've owned the box, box s 02 & 05, 911's, 99-996 (dog), 04 C4S rag top... Currently race a Box... single seat to spec... have the C4S... and the 05 BoxS...

By far the most fun car to drive is the Box S... handling, wind up & speed and no bad behavior... The C4S is a great car... but it's twice the price and half the fun... it will be gone soon... maybe a GT3 next... hopefully the same wife...