What to Buy???

[husker boxster]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You have some interesting choices. Since I don't know about the other makes, I give you my $.02 on the Porsches.

Here are some things to consider:
- the 08 LE has 245 HP while the 06S has 280 (07S and newer have 295). If HP is important, don't buy the 08 if you will be craving more HP later. And going aftermarket to add an extra 100 HP isn't possible w/o spending a pile of $$$. You're already spending a lot of money - be sure you get what you want from the start.

- you don't mention what the 06S has for miles and options. Unless it has some high $$$ options like nav and tip trans, $49K would be a good starting point.

- the 08 LE will have 4yrs of warranty while the 06S will be somewhere around 2 yrs. The 987 model seems to have fewer problems than the 986, but maybe the problems with the 987 haven't surfaced yet. Long warranties are good to have.

- the 08 LEs are not stealth. The Intl Space Station can clearly see them.

Some new / additional options:
Before I purchased my 08S LE, I did a nation wide search for left over new 06Ss. There are a couple still available in states not too far from you. They could be bought for probably $51-52K. The speed yellow one has some sporty options while the midnight blue one is a great color. Here are the links:

http://holbert.porschedealer.com/new_cars/info.php?inventoryid=185270

http://bert-wolfe.porschedealer.com/new_cars/info.php?inventoryid=182067

Good luck with your decision. Have fun deciding what to buy.

[cfurman]

Thank you for all the great input!

This is the 06 S that I am looking at...

ebay auction link

Now... since I live in Michigan and we don't always have the best weather, another consideration was the Audi 3.2 TT Quattro... I must say that it is the roomiest out of all of them and also handles fantastic. Instead of spinning the tires, it basically feels like you are being "launched."

Any thoughts on the new TTs?

I an get away with one of those with the DSG tranny for around $49k OTD.

[Adam]

I'm with Jeph, I like the M coupe. Those are nice little cars and they look great. I need to take one for a test drive. I was all about getting a convertible back in the day, but now the novelty of it has worn off and I drive with the top up most of the time now. Caymans are overpriced; maybe I just need to get a hardtop. Back to the topic, I would take a look at the 06 S and the Z4M, particulary if you are into high performance driving or autocross/track days. The Audi and the base boxster are great cars, but those other two have a higher performance pedigree. I think the Audi is definately the "softest" car in the group and better suited for boulevard cruising than high performance driving. My .o2