What option would you not skimp out on?
 

As I'm looking for used Boxsters as a first-time buyer, I come across some that have Bixenon lights, some that don't, some that have windstops, some that don't. Bose, power seats, S vs. Base, the exterior color I love versus one I can live with, and so on.

What has mattered a lot, or least, to you in your Boxster ownership?

personally, i like the tees option the best.

One with a top that has a glass rear window with defrost. S over the base was a must for me too.

If I was to buy another Boxster I would go with an S model for sure. The wind stop is useless in my opinion, but many people seem to like them. Glass window top is another nice option. Full leather interior makes for a nice upgrade as well. Good luck in your search.

If I could go back in time.. I'd spring for an S. But, sometimes less is more :)

For me the options of value are the M030 suspension and it has to be an S. If you can get the hardtop with the car that's nice option. Buying it separately is pricey as they are uncommon.

Yellow stitching and supple leather!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...8837fa58db.jpg

Kidding aside, litronics really do make a huge difference, slightly morbid but they will really help out on totaling out your car in the case of an accident, preventing you from having to drive around a half done rebuilt boxster.

Depends a lot on how/where you will be driving it. Me, I only drive it on days I can put the top down, so the glass/plastic window makes no difference.
Yes, the S has more power - but the base still has tons, don't let anyone tell you different.
For me - having the BOSE upgraded system is key. I hear lots of complaints about the stereo, but the BOSE surround and amp is a very good system. Cruising around with the top down and the music up is awesome.
Oh - and the Windstop that Nine8six makes is amazing and a must for the cool factor alone! But that's an aftermarket upgrade.

Litronics since halogens that are not yellowed / burned are hard to find, and they look way better.

Sport Design interior looks quite a bit nicer and more modern than base in the earlier cars

Get the S, everything else will fall into place.

1. S model
2. Cruise control
3. Hard top
4. Litronic headlights

no need for power seats

After more than 2 years of looking into the idea (studying the market and local availability for the S model 2000-2004), I decided to take the plunge and go ahead and buy one. At that point I limited my search to a 2003 or 2004 S (I thought the glass rear window was worth having.)

I was very particular about my personal color choice, Seal Grey being number 1, Polar or Arctic Silver being tolerable 2nd choices. I definitely ruled out Black interior and top. Those criteria limited the available vehicles significantly, so I figured I'd settle for whatever options the car that met my other requirements came with. I ended up last October finding a 2003 S in Seal Grey, Graphite Grey interior and top with 81000 miles. It came through the PPI nicely. The dealer took care of several minor maintenance things that came up in the PPI, and I bought the car, flew up the next week and drove it 280 miles home.

It wasn't highly optioned like some, but the options it did have were nice ones in my opinion. The Xenon headlamp package, P74; the power seat package with memory, P15; the Hi-Fi digital sound, 490; Windstop, 551; and Wheel Caps with Colored Crest, 446; all very nice to have. I installed the rear speaker kit shortly after I got the car home, and the factory stereo sounds great to me.

Again, the initial thing that pinned it down for me was limiting the choice to an '03 or '04 S with the above mentioned color scheme. I also had a maximum budget which I stuck with.

Anyway, it took a while to find, but I got a car that I'm really happy with so far.

It is important to note that most S cars come with a bit of kit.

As for cruise control as an option, I have never used it and have never seen anyone else use it. Maybe it's just not a southern thing?

Just for reference, how many trips across state-lines or vacations away from home have you taken your car(s) on? Seriously, cruise control is wonderful provided you take long trips/vacations or drive extended periods of time - or if you commute for work and drive on highways for extended periods of time... You take long trips, don't you Jake? Not a school night, of course. :o

I do like the Xenon, and more generally 987+, but that's my taste. Preference aside, I think I agree with most by saying test drive as many as you can and see the options for yourself, and get the best car available at the price point you want. And, don't skip on a PPI - if it is something you can get without too much hassle.

Yes - I love my cruise! Vital option for me - but again, depends on how you drive.

+1 on the PPI. It can never be said enough. These are 10-14 year old cars and can be quite costly to repair. Having at least some idea what you are getting into with a thorough PPI is crucial to your cost/enjoyment experience.

Litronics
Cruise Control (yes, I use mine)
Glass rear window
M030

Heated seats! Wife would never let the top down without them.

1. Heated seats
2. Heated seats
3. Heated seats

Also the all-leather interior. It's a night and day difference between the plastic interior IMHO.

I have a 2000 S bought in June 2014 with 10,800 miles (!) Arctic Silver, black leather interior. I put 4000 miles on it from June to early November.

I never drove a base but I am very pleased with the performance of the S and think I would find the base underwhelming if I compared the two models.

Love the windstop

Don't mind the plastic window

Don't have heated seats and, since I store the car in winter don't miss them

Very much miss cruise control, I've do a lot of freeway miles and would drive the boxster more if I had that option.

Don't have any cosmetic or audio upgrades and don't miss them, rarely listen to the stereo except on long, dull rides and I don't have cruise control so I take the car with cruise and a good stereo then.

Larry
The Bald Eagle http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1424404815.jpg

Cruise control's a lot more useful than yellow stitching :rolleyes:!
I doubt it has anything to do with geography; maybe it's just not a BIGJake111 thing. I wouldn't own a car without it. Not useful in the twisties, but it is wonderful to have on any kind of longer trip with more or less straight roads (we do have some of those in the west), or where you want to maintain a steady speed. You should try using it, it's addicting, although you probably don't need it to drive from home to school and back. Where I live there are 9 stoplights in a 100 mile radius, all within a town 2 miles long (Jackson, WY). Maybe it is geography...

1) Cruise control
2) PSM
3) S

I use my cruise control almost every day, and can't imagine owning any car without it. Two years ago I took a 17-day trip with my daughter, whose car didn't have cruise control. When I let her drive, she didn't use it. The speed was up, down; up, down. I couldn't stand it even as a passenger. But also having towed a boat with a truck, I can say that cruise control with an automatic while towing is a very bad idea, especially in hilly terrain.

PSM I felt was important for safety.

S was important not so much for the power as for the gearing ratio on the 6-speed vs. the 5-speed on the base.

DBear

Trips to Atlanta or Charlotte get by well enough with the foot on the pedal. For me it's just an annoying stick near my right knee haha!

As another member mentioned psm, I can vouch for TC or PSM, definitely on an S, it may be hard to cut loose in a 986, but they give you the confidence to push your limits. The little blinking TC light is like a little slap on the wrist to calm down.

Cruise control = speeding ticket prevention

S
Litronics
Limited slip diff

If it's a car I'll be sharing, then memory seats are a must have.

Options I have on my car I'd make sure I had again:
- 'S'
- Liptronics
- 18" wheels
- Cruise control (This is a must on multi-hour highway drives)
- On board computer
- Bose upgraded with rear sub-woofer
- Top with glass window (Don't have now - would like in future)
- Wind screens
Mine has the Comfort and Sport touring Packages so many of the small things came with them

There are some things that you can add as aftermarket items so they were not a priority for me. My requirements were:

S
cruise control
manual tranny
black

I would have preferred the litronics but couldn't find everything in one car.

Options I've added aftermarket:

heated seats
replaced top with glass rear window (the one I bought was an '02, would have preferred an '03 or '04)

Factory options I'm glad I have:

1. 03-04 (Glass window, glove box, semi-functional cup holder, variocam/a few extra HP)
2. Grey leather interior (I like to leave the top down, so black was not an option for me)
3. Heated seats
4. Windscreen
5. Seal Grey

My car came with Cruise Control, but I live near NYC. So I'm either in traffic, or out for a drive in the twisties. I think I've used it twice in 3 years, as I haven't yet done a road trip over 1000 miles r/t.

Factory options I wish I had: Sport exhaust, Litronics.

Aftermarket options that were easily added: Radio upgrade, SmarTop, and at some point I will likely get Fred's HID headlight upgrade.

I was coming from an NB Miata, so the base 2.7 was enough power for me, and still is. I will say that the little bit of extra low end power on the 03/04 sealed the deal after having driven three or four older models. My color (Seal Grey) was more important to me than the S model, and the money I saved paid for my IMS upgrade. Having said all that, I don't think anyone has ever regretted the 3.2, so get one if you can.

I can't stress enough the heated seats (which were not originally a requirement for me...I actually didn't even know I had them until two weeks after I bought the car!). Your passengers will like them, it will allow you keep the top down in cooler weather, and in my case I drive the car much more in the winter than I thought I ever would (I also have a set of winter wheels/tires).

Good luck in your search...this site has TONS of useful info and very helpful people. The 986forum is one aftermarket option that I could not live without.

The rear glass window is a big deal for a couple of reasons. It won't crack in cold weather operation, and you don't have to get out and chop it in half so it won't kink up when lowering the top.

"I wish I had bought the lowly 2.5/2.7 motor" said NO ONE, so definitely get the larger motor.

I tell everyone that these two things are my greatest regrets when I purchased my 1997 in 2004. I should have held out, saved more money, and kept looking.

[QUOTE=BIGJake111;437015]Trips to Atlanta or Charlotte get by well enough with the foot on the pedal. For me it's just an annoying stick near my right knee haha!
[QUOTE]

Of course you don't need it, but that's not the point. You don't need windshield wipers either, you can drive without them, but they sure are awfully nice to have! If you actually tried using cruise control for any length of time, you might learn something and change your mind :rolleyes:.

The best option for an out of warranty Porsche is low mileage. Not too low like the car just sat around for 10 years only coming out of the garage for a monthly drive. Don't tip the scales in favor of one car over another because of options, #1 priority should be mileage, it's more important than even year.
Case in point, first 65-70K miles of ownership of my car: $500 in repairs, TOTAL.
Mileage after 70K miles up to the present 97K: $15K in repairs. And only about 1/4 to 1/3 of that was labor,it was mostly the expensive parts.
The only real exception to this are cars that live out their lives in moderate weather like Southern California. If the car sees extremes of heat or cold and less than stellar roads, moderate to high mileage repairs are going to be $$$$$.

And let me give you this advice too about year while we're at it.
1997-99 is basically the same car.
2000-2004 is basically the same car.
2005-2008 is basically the same car.
2009-2011 is basically the same car.
2012-2014 is basically the same car.

Once you've decided between S model or base, look for a specimen with the lowest mileage in each of those productions. Extra points for HID (a.k.a. Litronics , a $2K option), 18" factory wheels ($2K option not including tires), hardtop ($1400-1,800), a new canvas top with glass ($1500 upgrade) and GT3 aero bits ($1K bumper, maybe $800 for side skirting). The most important upgrade? A new IMS bearing: $3K including clutch (2000-2004 cars) and water pump (all cars) $1k at shop rates including labor. Water pump should be replaced every 4-5 years regardless of mileage to prevent head cracking or disintegration of the plastic water pump blades into the engine, both MAJOR EXPENSES avoided by simply spending $1k, much less if its DIY. That IMS bearing should be replaced as a first order of business on any 2000-2004 car that you are a) unsure about either oil change frequency or b) the driving habits: frequent drives good, the longer the better... Infrequent driving consisting of short trips (less than 30 minutes driving) not good. And I would NOT wait for the clutch to wear out. That's not a gamble worth being wrong about just to defer a $3k expense you'll be doing one way or another. Get it done, enjoy the car.
And definitely get a PPI inspection that includes a compression and leak down test -- If the cooling system was not looked after, you don't want that car.

Personally I would avoid low mileage garage queens. Those are the cars that sit and let oil soak into the IMSB and they are the ones that tend to have issues with failing IMSB. The IMSB failure rate is very low and blown out of proportion IMO.

I bought my whole car for less then Perfectlap has in repair cost. I think he bought a lemon.

After 116k miles I have had to replace water pump, ignition coils and the turn signal stalk broke (while my daughter was driving it). Keep up on the maintenance side and your good.

1. The IMSB failure rate has never been determined by either Porsche or anyone else. Nor is determined that it's static, it may well go up with higher mileage and IMSB's that were never addressed. On the other hand, I agree that the talk about the IMSB has been moved from what should be a simple matter of addressing a known weak spot into something far more emotional. One blogger (Dutch Mandel) even penned an article about the issue while deliberately leaving out the fact that there's been a highly effective treatment for this known weak spot for many years. Predictably, the comments section of that article were full of people saying they would never buy this car because of the IMSB. :rolleyes:

2. All water-cooled Porsches given enough miles in cold or extreme weather will eventually require more in maintenance and repairs than their used purchase prices.
Universal truth #1: the costs of repairs do not scale down with age. Since there is over-supply of water-cooled cars these repair costs and the purchase prices are heading in opposite trajectories. It's true of all Porsches that meet these criteria. A $60-$70K car does not stop being a $60-$70K car at the service department the higher the odometer rolls. Also, to your comment, a car that had one repair under $500 (even at dealership pricing) over its first 10 years and ~70k miles is NOT a lemon. A car that subsequently required $15K over its next four years is simply an old German sports car like so many others requiring over-priced parts and specialized labor. Between a full suspension overhaul, the clutch/IMS, water pump and AOS, you can easily exceed the purchase price of moderate to high mileage Boxster and none of these are uncommon repairs for that kind of mileage. Nor is it uncommon to have to do all of them by 100K miles. Yours too will be there if you drive it enough. As they say with these cars, you can pay now (up front), you can pay later but in the end you will pay.

TO THE op: I suggest you pay attention to a poster's join-date (somewhat indicative of length of ownership) while considering their advice.
As for me, after 5 years of Porsche ownership I wish I bought newer-- '09 for instance which has a new engine design that I ASSUME is more durable. Generally speaking the best value with cars is in those after a 'mid-model' refresh. This because of needed improvements and increased content. The more effort you put into your search the better the end result will be. I looked for almost 2 years and ended up buying a highly optioned car in a rare and gorgeous colour for the same price as the less special versions in my area.

My Boxster is a daily driver. Right now it's my only car.

Looks like you don't do the work on your car, no wonder the cost are so high. Nobody touches my car. I do all the work on it except body shop stuff and a IMS Retrofit.

A complete suspension overhaul kit from Pelican is $1863.00.

Pelican Parts - European Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche • BMW • Mercedes • Volkswagen • Audi • Saab • Volvo • MINI

Add a ROW M030 Suspension kit and you can eliminate parts of that kit and bring it down to $1775.00.

Boxster Euro Suspension Kit (ROW M030) although not needed I want it. $1,495.00

http://www.****************************************************.com/product/ROWKITS.html

The cost quoted to me on a IMS Retrofit was $4,000 since I have the Tiptronic trans it is higher. That I would have to let a shop do. My last oil change my filter was clean of any debris, none, zero, nada. I also have a magnetic drain plug, nothing stuck to it. The IMS Retrofit isn't even on my radar.

This is nowhere close to $15k. I don't know how you spent $15k on your car unless you're including mods that you have done.

I can very easily see spending at least $2000 per year in upkeep. Cars this age need lots of TLC. Doing your own work certainly helps, but for many of us that isn't an option. If you've had the car 5-6 years, could easily climb into the $10-15000 range. IMS, AOS, RMS, Clutch, suspension, water pump, coolant tank, oil changes, fluid flushes.....

I have to give one bonus for the 97-99 cars over the 2000-04. The interior plastics on the 97-99 boxsters don't have that film over them that scratches if you brush up against it wrong. 97-99 interior is much more durable.
Of course bigger brakes, cooling,engine and transmission on the S trumps the 97-99 interior for me.

1. Curb feelers
2. Deer whistles
3. On dash compass.

Sweet.

Bingo. The cost of parts alone can exceed the purchase price of a moderate to high mileage Boxster (or 996). In my experience labor was about a 25-33% of the total out-of-pocket layout for major maintenance. These different "systems" (cooling, emissions, etc.) seem to let go in go waves. Perhaps they were built up to only last x amount of time or mileage to put a lid on Porsche's production costs, but when one thing goes its not long before another chain in the link is knocking on the door. And as you point out Giller all those 'other' items are very common repairs for 80-100K Boxster.
Also, the cost of DIY is certainly NOT free. You have to have a) the tools, b) the space to work and c) the time.... none of those are free just because you didn't pay the mechanic. You have to weigh if its cheaper for the pro to do it or if you're a suburban guy with a 9-5 and free weekends in which case, why not. But don't think that's going to make owning these cars long-term a cheap proposition. The "big waves" of long-term ownership come with every model of Porsche either water-cooled or air-cooled.

Upkeep? Like including regular maintenance on a daily driver? He spent $3,750 a year in 4 years. I have a high mileage car and have not gone anywhere near that in cost. I had to replace the water pump ($250), coils (got for $65 shipped). My turn signal broke, so I went all in with a 4 stalk replacement, including the wire harness Pdwight makes for us to do this I spent $245.

Maybe I'm just lucky. :rolleyes: