Looking for a Boxster, what to buy with my budget?
 

Hi guys, new poster here. I'm a bit early for my mid-life crisis (late 30s), but anyways I seem to have the Porsche bug. I think I got it from my neighbor and his '84 911 Targa.

I've been envious of Boxster drivers for years. I probably can budget $24K-$33K on a Boxster. The upper part of that range is if I sell my current DD (A3 2.0T 6M) , while the lower part of that range I could still use the A3 as my DD. I actually really like my A3, so not selling it is a plus.

I know I definitely want a manual (6 speed preferred). I prefer the 987 body style, especially 987.2. I'm not a drag racer, but I do want to keep up with my neighbor and also don't want to be merged in front of by V6 Accords on greens.

My current thinking is:
05-06 S (20k-30k miles) for mid 20s (keep the A3?)
07-08 S (20k-30k miles) for low 30s (sell the A3)
09 base for low 30s (sell the A3)
09 S with high mileage for ??? (sell the A3)

I'm in a financial position where I can afford proper maintenance for anything other than an engine replacement. I do want to consider maintenance as part of the purchasing decision.

I've never considered salvage title cars before, but I'm wondering if this is also an option with a proper PPI with laser alignment. I've seen some really low prices for beautiful salvage cars that have claims of low-speed impacts repaired with OEM parts.

Thanks! I'd love some good advice from your collective wisdom :cheers:

Something else I should add. I barely put 3K miles a year on my A3. I only have a 4 mile drive to work, and 3-4 days of the week I'll bike. I'm worried having two cars with little driving would turn them both into 'garage queens.' though the A3 might have to park in the driveway :-(

If I sell the A3, then I will likely be subjecting the Boxster to many short trips with only the rare escape for longer rides.

I live in the Sacramento, CA area, so I can mostly drive the Boxster year round (may put the top up on hot summer days).

Welcome to the forum. I have driven my 2001 Boxster base year round for 3 years. I am not sure I want to do another winter in it. You don't say what part of the country you are from. If you are in the snowbelt I would consider keeping your A3 for winter weather. If you are in Texas, Florida or Calif. should be no problem year round.

If it was me I would be interested in latter 09 year S or later to get away from the ims issue. However if $$$ were an issue then get an earlier one.

Cheers, Guy

Wait for the 09 S's to come down in price. They've come off warranty and the ones with moderate mileage will start to dip. Personally I don't think 987.1 are the best value in Boxsters and their prices are still bottoming whereas the 986S's have pretty much gotten there. Bot have fairly similarly engines according to the engine experts. You're paying a premium and not getting it in the engine department. So I would go low mileage 986S or 987.2, one or the other.

p.s.
I also bike 5 days week and leave the Boxster at home. During winter, I picked up studed bike tires but I guess you don't have that issue in Kahleefohnia.

If I budget an IMS retrofit into a 987.1 S, does this help vs. waiting for a 987.2 S to come down in price?

My understanding is, except for a small percentage of the 05 model year, the engine has to be removed and dismantled on the 987.1 models in order to change the IMS. That will be pricey. I like the idea of getting a GOOD 04S and save the $$ for future maintenance/repairs or upgrades.

Tony

I haven't done much research on the 986's. What should I look for? What is the difference between an early 986 S vs a '04?

OK, found there were some significant changes in '03. What would be the noticeable differences in a late 986 S vs a early 987 S?

I don't like the dash at all in the 986.

The 987's got a serious interior quality upgrade and actually, a LOT was changed under the sheet metal. They touted it as an all new Boxster.

I just can't bring myself to think of buying a 987S from the 2005 or 2006 model years when the engine size bumped up so nicely in 2007.

I drove my buddy's 07 S about six months after he bought it and got it broken in and it was impressive. Never should have done that. To this day I still remember how nice it was.

Now here's an odd difference between the 986 and the 987 few will know to tell you:

The 986's have a true temperature gauge that moves as the motor heats and cools off. My buddy's 07S (and all the newer model years, from what I can assume) has a temp gauge that quickly goes to the center position like an idiot light and never moves after that (unless there's an overheating issue of some sort).

I'd buy a early 2000's S for <$15K then enjoy the 10K on gas/DEs/taking your SO to dinners and weekend romance trips -- and still keep the A3 if you really wanted to.

Mike (I daily drove an 00 S for 4 years and now track a different 00 S).

I do prefer the 07's of course, but there are significant pricing differences on resale (around $4-5K for 15 ponies).

Just be sure to take that car for a drive longer than that once in a while....not getting an engine up to full temp isn't the best for it as moisture won't be expelled from the system.

I would defiantly keep the a3 and if you want a 987 I would make sure it's 09.... However little internally is diffrent from the 986 and early 987s.... For 20 you can get a really clean fairly low mile 03 or 04 986 S and that's including an ims retrofit budgeted in.

Anybody have an IMS retrofit (including install) estimate for a 986S and a 987S?

Good Question; everyone will have their preferences. Here were mine:

1. Decide on color combination that you like. I had to have Artic White with Savannah interior.

2. Find an original owner, dealers sell cars they bought at auctions. Original owners babied their Boxster AND they will show you all their receipts

3. Look closely at milage, the prime original owners were NOT salemen putting on company milage. The Boxster I bought was 11 years old and had 38K

4. Don't rush it; I spent 3 years looking. The hunt is the best part.

Lastly, IMS retrofits are controversial. I've taked to over 100 Boxster owners that have not had IMS problems; and the two that I know who did the retrofits found they were not warranted. I would not suspect an IMS issue from a low milage original owners Boxster. Having said that, talk to other Boxster owners on their IMS thinking. Try not to be influenced by just what you read on the internet.

And, Boxster prices have taken a real hit. You can get terrific deals pricewise. This drop reminds me of when the 356's sold on the low side; i.e a primo 356 C could be had for $5K back in the 70's

Good luck, enjoy the hunt.

get an 03 or 04 986S. They have a bunch of upgrades over the earlier ones

There was an 04 Special Edition not long back. Sweet 986 S.

As as I know..

1997-2004 IMS
$650 for the LNE bearing, or $100 if you go for the Pelican. $950 for labor, figure 10 hours at $95 per hour
And be ready for a new flywheel $600 if its moderate to high mileage. And 2001-2004 bearings need to be replaced again with each clutch change, they dont have the longevity of dual row bearing (1997-1999/ some 2000).

987.1 (2005-2008) IMS? I've heard $4-5k.

987.2 (2009-20012) IMS? $0. No more IMS

I found a 2010 S within my price range. The car was in an accident. The owner rear ended another car, but it doesn't have a salvaged title. Other than that, it looks good. It is one owner, from a dry climate, and has all service records.

What do you think? I can talk to his dealer to find out more about the car. Otherwise, The only way I can get into a 987.2 would be a base model.

As the above Perfectlap says take your time. I would not look at a car that had a serious accident. Don't forget that if you bought it and later tried to sell it then the accident history does not bode well for resale. For me no.

There should be others out there that are accident free. Take your time. PPI etc.

Cheers, Guy.

That all depends on what resale means to you.

Good point. I don't plan on selling any time soon, but you never know. In any case, I found a 2010 S I could stretch to purchase. Is a 2010 (<20K miles) worth $10K more than a 2007 S (<40K miles)?

I'd much rather get the 2007 to save the $10K, but it's hard for me to follow the IMS issues. How big of a risk is a 2007 S?

A 2010 does not have the ims but a 2007 does. Is it worth $10k more? I would say so but if money is an issue then the 2007 makes sense. Any which way you look at it it is still a Porsche and you will still likely have niggling problems as I do with my 2001 Box base but I would think the newer the better.

For me I plan on $2k a year for repairs done by my indy shop.

Cheers, Guy.

Ims Is fairly unlikely on 05 and newer cars, however the 09 is worth more based on the better engine and such, outside of ims the 09 is just a better car. But I would highly suggest an S regardless and personally would get a really low mile clean 04 or 03 S, budget for the ims and the car will depreciate much less than a newer one.

I understand the 09-11 are nicer, but the 2007 is nice enough for me :-) The conversation will go a lot easier with 'the boss' if I keep it under $30K. You have to love those psychological barriers. I drove a local 2007 S from an independent dealer yesterday. I loved it, but the dealer was not flexible at all on price. He wanted $37K for a 2007 S with 67K miles.

If the consensus is that the IMS is low risk on the 2007, I'll be looking to pick up a <40K mile 2007 for ~$30K. 2009-2010's are around $40K.

IMHO the IMS is a low risk in older 986's as well. Don't lose sleep over it.
Yes, there are some that are all doom and gloom, but the vast majority of M96 engines had had no IMS issue. They are probably more with over 100K without any IMS issue than the total that have had IMS issues.

Can there be a problem, sure. Will it happen on all engines, NO, even a large percentage, probably not.

You can always have it replaced when the clutch is done and then it is a much lower cost as you have to pull the tranny to replace the IMS, same as doing the clutch.

I have an 04 with 60k and will I replace the IMS, most likely when I do the clutch. I drive the car, it is not a garage queen and I drive some back roads at least once a week giving it some high revs. As my DD, I keep it below 3k until its warmed up and then it gets higher revs as well. Its a lot of fun doing freeway ramps and shifting at 6-7k. Top of the ramp in 3rd near triple digits.

Find a car you like and enjoy it. If you are going to worry about what could/might happen and servicing the car and maybe spending a few $$ annually, buy a S2000 or 370z

All valid points from Jay. I had been thinking about selling my 2001 Box base but I believe that I would miss it so am thinking of keeping it and getting a small suv. I think that it is important for me to not overextend myself financially so will keep the old Box and have the suv for winter. As opposed to having a newer Box/Cayman and driving it year round.

The other thing is I did not notice much performance difference between my 2001 and a 2007 Boxster base. 217 hp vs 240.
Cheers, Guy.

If you like the 987 I say go for it. Bothered about the ixx which is better but hard to change, go with a early 05 or 04 model. You will be buying a much more improved car the newer you get.

Most Porsche pundits, and even Excellence magazine recommends that you purchase the newest Porsche you can afford.

Your cost cap gives you a lot of choices; and an affordable, low mileage 987 is one of them.

If you're that stressed about the IMS issue, you may want to consider one with a Certified Porsche warranty. Here's a very clean one below your cost cap:

Porsche Boxster Base Convertible 2 Door | eBay

Please note that this Boxster is being offered by a Porsche dealer, has less than 40K miles, and comes with a Certified Porsche warranty for two years or 50K miles. I believe this is different than a CPO, as my understanding is that Porsches more than 6 years old do not qualify for CPO status. If you pursue this, you may want to clarify with the dealer that the warranty covers an IMS failure.

Just a thought...........

TO

If you really have your heart set on a 2007 model, the same dealer has one of those also:

2007 Porsche Boxster, $30,993 - Cars.com

TO

Thanks for the links, but I really have my heart set on an S :-)

'07S, less than 40K miles. Gonna be tough to find at ~ $30K.

TO

They are out there (don't want a tiptronic though): Porsche Boxster S | eBay

If you want a bullet proof motor and high resale value in 10 years:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNj...Tn1ev/$_57.JPG

Porsche 911 Turbo | eBay

I'm looking at a 2006 S with a build date of 09/2005. Will this have the upgraded IMS bearing?

I've decided I'm willing to take my chances with the upgraded IMS. I've never been one to buy extended warranties, so if the risk is 1-5% I think I can live with that. I don't want to risk the older IMS, and I'm not convinced any retrofit will help my chances.

Got my 2010 Boxster S (manual) about 2 weeks ago. I had a great time driving it across the Sierras. Pardon the bugs which were along for the ride on my front bumper until I got home :D

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...dBoxster-1.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...dBoxster-2.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...dBoxster-3.jpg

Looking for a Boxster, what to buy with my budget?
 

Great color and nice wheels!

i have a 2001 Base. Really like it.

But if I were in your position (i assume you dont have kids or dont plan to have kids in the near future), I would get the 09 S. The boxster is a great car, easy to drive fast, looks cool and happy to be driven daily. I use it as my DD.

Having had the 2001 base for a while now, ive found that small bits and pieces are starting to break due to wear and tear. I've done the IMS, RMS, I did the suspension overhaul, AOS, stereo etc. I dont mind the maintenance.. .as i expect it for a 13 year old car. Dont get me wrong, i love my car. the engine is strong ... the suspension is great (now) .....but i can start to feel the bits an pieces of the car getting tired.

I know you are not considering the 986 ... but my learning here is .. in the future, i'll get a much newer one, so less wear and tear. So i encourage you to get the newest one you can afford. If no kids on the horizon ... just use it exclusively as your DD and sell the A3.

Also, the 09 ... ive seen some really cool looking ones with minor exterior mods. u'll be happy driving it for the next 10 years.

Hell yes! Great looking car, congrats :)

Beautiful!:cheers: