Help me Decide

[Ghostrider 310]

An engine is not the only consideration in mileage, every other component has wear. In general I'd look for the car in the best documented condition, that may not always be the one with the lowest odometer but often is. Regarding base versus S, you can get plenty of tickets and already have a powerful Porsche car offered in a base. To me the true difference is acceleration and a wider power band with the S. If you keep the RPM's up and run a 986 hard you can carry plenty of speed and pace. With an S it's easier to execute "get away from me" acceleration at anytime, you don't need a track to feel a huge difference. You will be far less tempted to go on the "aftermarket search for the holy grail of additional hp" a trip that IMO will cost more over time than just getting the S up front, of course putting all that stuff on can be fun too. As others have said, with the S it may be more desirable to the next owner when you decide it's time to sell.

PS If it's important to you I think the base drinks less fuel even driven hard, although the Spyder was around 32 mpg on the highway and traffic was running "brisk" to say the least.