looking at 98 base with 120k,

[Perfectlap]

I agree the price is too close to a 2.7 or 3.2 for that kind of mileage. If you intend to only drive the car at the track or autocross the 2.5 is plenty of power for that curb weight. But if you intend to drive mostly on the street, you should not pass up the S model if you can swing the extra price. The extra power is extremely useful in highway merging and overtaking minivans/pick-ups hogging up the passing lane. Those cars now have decent sized engines, powerful sedans are much more common today than they were in 1998. You don't want to be the guy in a Porsche getting passed by a Soccer mom with a lead foot. The 3.2 cylinders also elminate D-chunk failures, one of the failure modes for Boxster engine, even better in that respect than the 3.4 Carrera engine.