987 owners...no offence
 

Today I parked my white 1998 boxster next to a similar white 2009 987...
more agressive lines, lower, so much sleeker, sexier... the 986, of course :)

I agree.

I think the 986 is the car and the one which in years to come will be the most collectible and sought after.

That said, with it's larger displacement, full vario, and such, I conceed the 987 may be the better car, just not the nicest.

All IMHO of course.

Cheers!

LB, I do hope you are right. This is one of the reasons I'm working hard to keep my 97 look as good as possible. It's a first year Boxster that just might be worth something one day.

Sorry guys! I prefer my 987. I drove a pristine '98 and it just didn't feel as composed. I like the more modern headlights better too.

But there is nothing wrong with 986's at all! I'm just biased I guess. :cool:

I don't hate... I just love what I drive, and drive I do. Besides I gotta stand up for the late-models!

Mine isn't bigger than yours, nor better.
 

Just different.

I'm enjoying mine, hope you have equally good luck and fun with yours...or even better.

I like them both but I'm partial to the 986 as long as the HR Puffinstuff eyes/ headlamps with the hideous orange are swapped for litronics...

i'd take any one of them.

Yea but there aren't that many 987 that blew up...

What I find interesting is how much better the 986 looks have held up than the 996. They have the same face but it's not right on the 911, while it's got alot of character on the Boxster. I think partially I expect a 911 to have flared fenders and the car looks dumpy without them. Both the 993 and 997 look so much better. For some reason, the 986 doesn't need the flared fenders.

no offence taken but isnt gen 1 parking around the servants entrance or dumpster :)

Only if they are equipped with a TIP. ;)

Maybe but wherever she's parked she's sitting "lighter" than the second generation....

PS Never been door dung by a dumpster

people could get confused about where to put the refuse

Yeah because a model year influences that over say excellent care and quality treatment....The problem with your suggested brinksmanship is there is always a richer brinksman looking down on your ride....

987 looks like a modern sports car.

986 looks like a classic sports car.

I like both the 986 and 987. And while the 987 is probably the better car, the 986 is truer to the Boxsters inspiration the 550 Spyder. Every update like the larger vents on the 987 is a departure from that original concept.

If I had to guess, in 20 more years the '03-'04 986 will be the most collectable, followed by the other 986's. And with engine failures affecting the majority of Boxster's (like 99%), the surviving few will be worth a fortune by then. :D

There's a white 987 in the neighbohrhood and from the back its starting to grow on me.

But then from the front its the same deal as the Cayman, I prefer the 1993 Boxster concept car design much more. Why? because NO OTHER car had anything similar. As soon as you see it...you say "PORSCHE".
I don't think that even the older Carreras can say this because its too similar to the VW beetle. Well maybe more so the really old Carreras but still... you can see they are cousins or that the 911 evolved from Herbie the Love Bug.


I sometimes wonder with all the people abusing, crashing, racing, neglecting their Boxsters that some day a well preserved, well optioned 986 will become a rare sighting on the road.

I looked at the 986 and 987 for two years before I made my purchase. Both cars were excelent. For me the refined interior and headlights were the selling point for the 987. And of course not near as many IMS issues!!!

OUCH! :( *running away screaming but not embarass about my TIP Tranny :D

Haha. I was just kiddin. I just knew Extanker had a TIP, so was poking fun at him. It's all good.

LOL..same here..it's all good :D

I do believe the Boxster 986's will be worth money in the next 30 years. Good luck keeping one that long. when I bought mine I was very picky about everything being original and the inside being mint. I will always try to keep all original parts and keeps numbers matching God willing. I am going to have the motor rebuilt at 100k and do any refining and refinishing at that time. By that time I will be able to purchase another without finacing and will go for a much newer model under warranty and I am parking the 986 and saving it for the weekend drives. Funny you guys talking about this because this has been my plan from the beginning. Hopefully one day you will see a 99 boxster with plates that say MAUIBOX selling on Mecums or Barretts for 100k Plus. :cheers: :dance:

By the way if history repeats itself than the original 2000 Boxster S with rare options will most likely be the "car to have"

[QUOTE=Boxtaboy]Haha. I was just kiddin. I just knew Extanker had a TIP, so was poking fun at him. It's all good.[/QUOTEi have the PDK ...i can park in front :cool:

the boxster 986 years 97-2005 are outstanding shape and design.
this was my dream many years ago when I first bought it, a 1998 for £31,400 driving home was something special noone had one :)
now I have a RUF 996 black monster, but still always will keep the boxster the 987 does nothing for me.

I love them both.... they are my favorite and second favorite cars in the world... but I agree the 986 is the purest expression of a roadster.

The Boxster's evolution reminds me of the original Nissan Z. The 986 is a lot like the 240z. It's smaller, lighter, slower, simpler, less refined than the 260z or 280z that followed.... but somehow the 240z is the purest expression of a sports car.

[QUOTE=extanker] LOL. In front of the dumpster? :D

and i treat it like a dumpster...i was taking a nap [old people do this] and my wife woke me up to find my keys because it was starting to rain and my windows are just about always down ...she says never mind ...she rembered i leave the keys on the floor

Hey, at least she was watchin after ya. You have a good wife Tanker. ;)

While I'm glad many of you are so fond of your cars, I can't say I'm in the same boat. Don't get me wrong, I really do like my Boxster. Great car. Not really much to criticize. Porsche did a lot right with it.
That said, I don't think I would call it "classic" or think it will ever be collectible. The performance is nothing crazy, either. I do think it's got a great fun factor, but c'mon guys, it's not like a supercar or something. Aren't new Camrys as fast in a straight line? And it's not like they're rare or something.
I don't mean to rain on your parade. Like I said, I love my car and I'm glad you all love yours. But tossing around words like classic and collectible is a bit of a stretch IMO.
Cheers! :cheers:

I spent over 2 years shopping, testing, driving and weighing all the options, FOR ME, and I must say there is not a single point of the 986 I prefered.
I would rather have had (and almost did) a standard 987 over a 986 S. It is a superior car, again, in my opinion. The 987 is so much more sophisticated in every category, it made the 986 feel dated and cramped in the interior.
Coming from the performance mid-engined cars I raced for years, I feel I have a bit of "expertise" in mid-engine balance, and again, I prefered the 987.
When it comes to you youngsters talking about the 986 headlights looking "more Porsche" I have to roll on the floor laughing.
My first Porsche was a '64 356 Cabrio and I had several 911's in between (as well as pop-up lights 914s, and a 944) and I have to tell you, those "sat on by the singing fat lady" 986/996 headlights took me a LONG time to accept.
987 headlights look like REAL Porsches! :D

A Boxster isn't going to sell at a car auction for millions of dollars. But just like the 914, people like them and will want to buy them in future. A nice 914 will sell for about $10+k today, they cost about $2500 new.

I have a 02 S. I got rid of the amber all around and put the VarioCam Plus motor (3.4L) in it, so I think I have the best of both worlds. :)

what you say is true to an extent. but an example would be like a 356. not fast by any means but yet very collectible. as far as the amount produced yes there are alot. but then again corvettes fetch some very high amounts at auctions and they too are very common.


now im not saying the 986 will be like the 356 or a classic vette. but what I am saying is that it isnt always about performance or amount originally produced. :cheers:

thats what peole said about the Shelby Cobra....By the way SuperCars start off high and go lower typically. The cars that go up in value are the ones that typically start off relatively low and become collectable by a love of them....hmmmm I love mine what about you guys?

Exactly. I think Boxsters that were sold new for 40-50k will fetch 100k in 20-30 years for the "good" ones.

Admittedly, trying to pick future collectables is like trying to read Tea Leaves.

But, there are several good indicators such as Brand, Convertibles, 1st Gen (Think Pontiac Tempest/GTO, '64,'65 Mustangs, early vs. late BMW 2002's, etc.). Low production - Lotus Elans now in the mid-$20's and Elites in the $75-$90k range. And then there is the unknown factor - who would ever have thought that VW Beetles would go in the $30-$40k range, or that Ramblers would ever see the far side of $20k?

But, there are also two distinct types of collectibles; Investment potential (which are few) and collectible drivers for the masses (think Mustangs, MGB's, Triumphs, assorted muscle, original Mini's, etc.).

In most cars with potential, there comes a point where the depreciation bottoms out, and after a few years, the good original examples and those which are restored tend to start to climb in value.

Investment? Well not in the true sense because even if you sell for more than you paid, what would have been the return if that money were placed in other intsruments for the same period of time? Again, a bit of Tea Leaf reading here too.

But, imagine all the things you own and use and being able to sell them later for more than you paid? You'd have essentially gotten their use for free.

The early Boxsters have to be at or near the bottom of their depreciation curve - the right time to buy. Then, imagine that VW/Audi/Porsche decides to kill production in 2016 as has been mentioned - even in Panorama, not at all an unreal scenario given the 914, 924, 944 and 928. Now Boxsters are available only in limited numbers. Now suppose something like a popular movie incorporates one or it appears in some other aspect of future Popular Culture. This would also fuel demand and raise prices.

I'm not saying to liquidate your retirement savings and fill a warehouse with 1st Gen Boxsters now that they are on the cheap. But, one of the guys interested in my Boxster describes his use as a sunny sunday driver w/ less than 2k mi./yr. Given it's curent shape and low miles, if that guy maintains it and decides to sell it in 10 yrs. or so, I'm certain he'll make out pretty well. I too have considered simply retiring it, properly mothballing it and waiting 10 yrs. or so. But, my main issue is one of space which I am now out of. Were I to pay to store it, any future appreciation would be gobbled up by the storage charges. But for the right buyer, it's a pretty safe bet they'll get their money back in future years and have a nice Sunday droptop to play with in the meantime.

Cheers!

Yes, those headlamps are terrible :D

LOL - Let me know how that works out for ya.

Until then I'll take either Boxster to drive and enjoy as often as I can and not worry about what it might sell for, for someone else a long time from now.

Or, who knows, maybe some decade from now I'll buy your "good" one to help me re-live memories I'm creating today. Please keep up w/ the maintenance for me will ya? ;)

I think, and certainly hope, that we're now seeing the floor for strong running and mechanically sound 986 Boxsters. They are out of production and replaced by a superior successor, the 987 (at least on paper). The fleet is aging, but not so aged that these are starting to become scarce, so I really think this is the absolute floor for these cars. Any car produced that has a Porsche badge on it will be considering collectible or at least "a nice car" as long as combustion engines are still on the road and not perceived as antiquated junk (think how many horse buggy shows are there?). Anyone picking up a nice, clean, mechanically sound 986 for 10k-14k or less only takes on the risk that they will have to replace the motor. With a brand new motor, you should be able to get most of that money back either with increased car lifespan or by reselling. The prices on the 986s can't go down any more because there is just simply too much fun to be had and too much in the box to watch the price go down any more. Collectible? Probably not in the sense of the other big names, but if you catch one in the sweet spot of the depreciation curve, you have very decent odds of breaking even in the short-term and possibly coming out ahead in the long term. Which is so much more than you can say about 95% of the other cars on the road.

For me, I'll drive and fix it until I get bored. If/when that happens if it's not worth selling, I'll cover it and remember the good times.