Help! Stop me from buying a 911!

[surf40]

OK, like many of you older guys, I first fell in love with Porsches as a teenager, and it was a 911. I’ve always wanted a Porsche, which meant a 911. Well now that I’m older and wiser, with some disposable income, I’ve been looking to buy a 2001-2004 Boxster S, and I’m looking to spend around $15-20k. I’ve been reading this forum for 6 months, and know all in the ins and outs of getting a good Boxster.
But then I made a mistake. While on Craigs list, I typed in Porsche instead of Boxster just to see what was out there, and I started to see that for the same $15-20k, I could get a 1980’s 911 like I’ve always wanted. Like the one I found today below:
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1984 Porsche 911 with 62K Original Mi. $17,000
The car is in perfect mechanical shape. It shifts like butter, drives smooth, and hauls ass.
The dash is in perfect condition, no rips or tears on the seats, no accidents or rust.
The Fuchs were taken off and restored they look brand new, 4 new tires put on.
New Clutch, clutch cable, and a couple of more things.
Comes with the original toolkit, spare.
Original Blaupunkt Radio
Its got original paint, but the clear coat is going on the roof / hood.
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The attached photo is of the car listed above.
So, tell me why the Boxster is the best choice for my first Porsche!

[blue2000s]

Drive them both. See which you like better.

I'd prefer the 911 personally, more of a driver's car. But the engine in the back and trailing arms to support it are offensive to my engineering sensibilities. So I have a Boxster.

[Johnny Danger]

It's perfect for the summer . Seriously, if you were to drive both vehicles back to back, you'd find the 911 felt quite a bit dated and sluggish on the handling as compared to a boxster.

[jmatta]

I've always been a 911 guy and the eighties Carreras are great cars. A properly adjusted 915 trans will shift smoothly, but not like the cable shifter; there's also the classic air cooled sound. Like others have mentioned, this is not a modern car, but will hold it's value far greater than a Boxster. Only you can drive each and weigh their merits against what you are looking for. I enjoy each for what they are; truly apples to oranges.

Have a PPI done on the 911, as many replacement parts can be quite expensive; also check for worn valve guides. Good news is the 3.2 engines are pretty bullet proof and don't have issues like leaking RMS and an IMS bearing. Also check to see if the tail is factory, as I can see the front spoiler is missing and should always be there as a pair.

[j.fro]

I caught a rerun of TopGear last night and they were comparing a 60's Jag XKE, an Aston DB 5 and a 200? 4 door Honda Accord. Except for style, the Honda beat both of the other cars in all performance categories.
Comparing the 986 and the 911 SC, I think you will find similar results... don't even think about throwing a new Honda accord into the mix!

[Perfectlap]

My mechanic called, he said he loves the idea of people buying old Porsches.

Porsches 2000-2011 are not as driver oriented as older Porsches but they are also in another stratoshphere of maintenance and reliablity repair costs.
If your Boxster throws a bad IMS you can get a crate motor and be back on the road . If your air-cooled Porsche needs some engine major work....

Also, post 2000 Carreras and Boxsters (maybe a little earlier too) are numb and somewhat disconnected but they also don't rattle and leak under constant use.

I guess it depends if this car is just a Sunday driver or if you actually plan to rack up some mileage.

[ekam]

Originally Posted by j.fro

I caught a rerun of TopGear last night and they were comparing a 60's Jag XKE, an Aston DB 5 and a 200? 4 door Honda Accord. Except for style, the Honda beat both of the other cars in all performance categories.
Comparing the 986 and the 911 SC, I think you will find similar results... don't even think about throwing a new Honda accord into the mix!

That's the trouble, people just read numbers nowadays.

Perhaps it's nostalgia, but some of us prefer to feel the rawness of an old car with the lack of computers, 10 airbags, and a fancy screen telling you it's time to do oil change.

I still want my 356 Speedster, wearing my 1960s JLC handwind mechanical watch packing a 1911 commander in .45.

[IMG]http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/****************_the_future.jpg[/IMG]

[brp987]

Nice looking car. The downside is tending to the paint properly could cost half the price of the car. Also, and this is just my opinion, while the 80's 911s are good cars, they're not modern enough to be modern, and not old enough to be classics like the early longhoods. Also, I believe the performance of the early 3.2 would be comparable to a 986 base.

I have a '70s 911 for which I'm building a 3.4. It should be similar performance-wise to my 986S, but even those aren't considered fast anymore. I really don't care though as long as it's not blown off by minivans.

If you were going to keep it for a few years as a weekend car maybe that would work, but if you're going to put this car into daily service be prepared to get your hands dirty.

[Topless]

I love 80s Carreras but... the motor will always be in the wrong place and I like a real A/C unit. An 80s Carrera A/C always works best when it is below 60F outside. It does give you a bit of defog capability on rainy days though.

[kabel]

I think one big question to ask is will it be your main/only car?

[ekam]

I do like those 911s. Get it if that's what you dream of getting growing up, although they're not daily driver like boxsters.

[99 Boxcutter]

Hell, I want a 911... Doesn't mean you have to give up your Boxster.
You want convertible or not?