Make sure there are no water leaks letting water inside. Feel the padding behind the seats...

Wow, those are two completely different cars. You need to drive both to make that determination.

You asked, so I’ll give you my opinion.

Buy the Boxster.

An air cooled 911 takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to get healthy and keep healthy on the road. You need either great DIY skills or a decent money tree. Both would be ideal. A great classic Porsche, and very rewarding. But for a first time Porsche owner, I’d recommend something newer.

For every $1,000 I spend on the Boxster, I spend $5,000 on the 1997 993 Turbo. That’s the price of admission, and the ride is sweet.

I went with the 2005 Boxster S. Should be picking it up Thursday. I'll post pics once I get the car.

Look forward to seeing you on the road.

Les

I still don't get the fascination with the air cooled 911's. We had one for many years, and it wasn't that great, it overheated in stop and go traffic. It also had no air conditioning (well, barely) and the torque was meh. I think it's some kind of nostalgia for people that just haven't owned one.

Good choice going with the boxster.

I completed the purchase and took delivery this morning. I am now officially a Porsche owner. The car is pretty loaded, with Bose stereo, PSM, PASM, Sport Chrono package, leather seats, 19" wheels, PCM, and nav package. I can't find the sticker with all the options printed on it. I will have to call a dealer and pay for a VIN lookup.

I was worried that I would like driving my Mini better than the Boxster. Well I think that won't be a problem. The noise and the driving experience are completely different. With the Mini, I am usually in 5th gear at 70. The Porsche is better at 3rd or 4th. I wonder if I'll ever use 6th in the Box.

I'll also give the Magnaflo exhaust a chance to grow on me. Except for the drone at 2k - 3k rpms, it makes an awesome sound. Drving on the freeway next to the jersey barriers was great as the engine noise reflected right back to me. What a sound! Oh, and I found out I have a Sport button! I can feel the suspension stiffen up, the throttle response quicken, and the exhaust note gets a little more throaty. I will have to experiment with this.

I'll post pics later once I take some snaps with my phone and get them uploaded.

Congrats on the car, and welcome to the club.

6th gear comes in handy for maximizing fuel mileage on highway cruising trips.
or at the track at very high speed.

Its surprisingly responsive even at 60mph in 6th.

I was getting 28 mpg cruising down the 15 to SanDiego, even with the hills, in 6th.

congrats on your dream coming true! Sounds like you've got an excellent example of the breed as well. Welcome to the club Les!:cheers:

Yes, congrats and welcome to the club. The Mini is a cool little sedan, to be sure, but there is nothing like a mid-engined Porsche to get the blood boiling!

Brad

Here are a few photos of the new box:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96358668@N05/9034904303/" title="IMG_20130613_130507_524 by les_murray2000, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/9034904303_dcca230179_n.jpg" width="320" height="180" alt="IMG_20130613_130507_524"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96358668@N05/9034905663/" title="IMG_20130613_130250_732 by les_murray2000, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5494/9034905663_e3ec5f6b51_n.jpg" width="320" height="180" alt="IMG_20130613_130250_732"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96358668@N05/9037128676/" title="IMG_20130613_130316_964 by les_murray2000, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/9037128676_a27e0d5df1_n.jpg" width="320" height="180" alt="IMG_20130613_130316_964"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96358668@N05/9034904583/" title="IMG_20130613_130446_496 by les_murray2000, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/9034904583_060b644bfd_n.jpg" width="320" height="180" alt="IMG_20130613_130446_496"></a>

And a beauty she is....congrats!!

If its the Boxster, I would look for something with less miles if possible. Nothing wrong with high miles, its just with lower mileage cars its less expensive to maintain and a more enjoyable ownership experience due to not constantly being in the shop needing this or that. The Carrera is a great car and values are going up due to it becoming a classic and its the 50th anniversary of the 911. IMHO for either car, be prepared to pay to play, especially with >100k in mileage, alot of things needing replacement. Having bought over 28 cars thru the years from Beemers to Benz and Porsches to Ferraris, I would say buy the best example of the car you can afford. Looks like you already made up your mind on the 987 ! Congrats, it does look good!

btw, carfax report of this car: http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=LMN_0&vin=WP0CB29815U732049

Cheers and drive in good heath!

Powerful statement Soucorp!

The guy has bought his dream machine! Wish him luck. It wasn't a 'shall I, shan't I' post!

Come on man be positive for a fellow P car owner!!

Whatever that Carrera is selling for, it will be worth more next year and still more five years from now. If I had the cash I would by them by the dozen. Not that they are so great to drive and so reliable, they just built so few of them.

Meanwhile any Carrera since 1999 (except for the GT variants) is a lead balloon on value. Ditto for any Boxster or Cayman (except for SPyder and R variants). Cars that will be worth half their sticker prices by the time the factory warranty expires. Which stings because they are the faster, better handling, more precise and easier to maintain cars.


p.s.
If you do look into an old Carrera as your 2nd Porsche, make sure that leaky antique checks out mechanically. Major engine maintenance (that you never have to do on a water-cooled Porsche) on those relics can run $7K and as high as $12K for the turbos. But the cars will easily recoupe that in higher and higher asking prices.

Not everything in life should be evaluated in terms of monetary value.

If I had followed that strict logic, I wouldn't have experienced most of the most "valuable" things in life.

But then again, that's me, and I'm just sayin'..............

TO

Congrats!

Don't let the milage weenies get you down. Drive it! Those with twice the miles have half the problems. :D

Congrats on your new baby! :cheers:

I know the feeling of realizing your dream car!

And oh yes the Sport button!!!! Welcome :cheers: