looking at 98 base with 120k,
 

new clutch and ims bearing 9k ago.9000$.one owner,records,have not seen yet.do 98 base have enough power for fun.should mileage scare me.?i has an 03 s,will this be a big let down in comparison?

I would highly recommend driving both a base and an S. Only you can decide if the base is powerful enough or if you really want the S model. The S definitely feels more powerful but a lot of owners find the base 2.5L engine more than enough for lots o' fun!

I bought a 2000 S in December with 103K miles on it, after driving both a 98 and a 2001 base. The 98 felt underpowered (and had a lot of things wrong with it, and I think around 80k miles), and the 2001 base felt about as powerful as the 2000 S I ended up getting (but it had a lot of things wrong with it too, and has 120k miles). Both of these cars were in the $9,000 range. (and both were pretty ragged out in the interior, ac worked on neither one, the back window was terrible, etc...)

The one I ended up getting was used as a daily driver by the previous owner and when things broke he fixed them the right way. I paid 12,000 for it and then another 1,350 right away to have the LN Bearing retrofit completed (previous owner had done new clutch but elected not to do the bearing)

For me it was worth the extra $$$ for a better example and for the bigger brakes, the 3 spoke wheel, the 6 speed, and the extra HP of the S.

New clutch and new IMS bearing would be a good selling point and could be an indicator that the previous owner took good car of the car and made the necessary repairs and maintenance. It sounds like there may be some service records but you haven't gotten a copy yet?

Also it says you have an 03 S already?

Did you get a chance to drive it? The 2001 base I drove was so much more powerful than the 98 that I think the 98 was just not performing well...

Good luck!

Steve

That's too much money, in my opinion, for a 2.5. Spent a little more for a 2.7, they fixed several issues with those cars (heavier though). Or get the one you're looking for at a lower price...

I love my base model 2.5.

However... some is good more is better, and too much is just enough.

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.

thanks for the responses,ill keep looking.recently sold my 03 s,having regrets and just looking around againt for another

Good timing. Winter is coming, and the 987.2 09's are coming off warranty now which means more cars will be up for sale soon and 986/987.1 owners will be lowering asking prices.

Unless you want to drag race in a straight line all day, and you have over 2000 hours track time, the 201 hp of the 986, if running properly, is plenty. These are built for the twisties, and 3rd gear at 5000 rpm in a curve with 200 ponies is crazy fun.
I did the 100K tune up at 77K. Night and day....

I disagree with some of the comments on here.
I own a 1998 2.5L and I can tell you it has more than enough power for the roads so much so that I struggle to keep it under the street limits and that's just in 2nd gear. To be honest if I owned a S model I'm sure I would have lost my license a long time ago.

lol you and I both!!!

I was looking for the wording to best describe the behaviors of the 2.5 on public roads. And then you reply above :cheers:

I owned a Miata so yes on the local roads 150-200 hp can get you into trouble indeed.
My comment about the 3.2 being better for street use was more about highway driving. Like it or not people have become really freakin rude in these significantly more powerful SUVs, minivans, sedans, etc. There's one particular highway entrance nearest to my home where you merge uphill and the cars are carrying speed from going down a hill. There's no dedicated merging lane and no one gives you any mercy. Even in that situation I feel like the 3.2 is just barely enough to slot in and it still requires a big gap between the car that just passed and the one coming up the hill at you.
And I don't need to go into the left lane jerks who speed up when they see a Porsche trying to move into the passing lane. It's like their mission not to have the Porsche get in front of them in the fast lane.