986 to 987 upgrade, need advice

[mfm22]

Seems like you have a very well cared for Boxster - you know every inch of it and that is comforting in itself
I would think twice about changing over, unless something bothers you about the current 986?

I just got an '02 and hoping to have as much good times with it as you have had with yours

[Pastor T]

Thanks, I do feel like I know every inch, top to bottom. And I know that's worth a lot. It seems like I can detect any new sound immediately and I can check it out.

[Porsche9]

Unless you can swing a 2009 or newer, were the upgrade under the skin are major, I'd stick with what you have and know every inch of.

[husker boxster]

My first Porsche was a 4 yr old 2001 Boxster S. It had 15K mi and CPO. It had all the typical 986 foibles that needed fixing. I'm kind of surprised I bought another Porsche with all the things that went wrong, but I traded it in on a new 08 Boxster S LE. It currently has 53K mi and the only 2 failures were the water pump and a thermostat switch.

I bought an 07 Cayman S with 17K mi to use as my bad weather and DE car. I put 18K trouble free miles on it before I sold it.

I replaced my 07 CS with my 08 Cayman S Sport. It had 7400 mi when I bought it almost 4 yrs ago. It is my bad weather and DE car. She has 48K mi on her now and the only failure has been the water pump. I've done DEs at Laguna Seca, Kansas Speedway (twice), COTA (twice), and Indy.

I've done all the normal maintenance on all 3 cars. The 3 987Ss I've owned have been the most reliable cars I've owned - I'm 57 and used to buy cars every 4 yrs so I've owned quite a few. I've owned my LE for almost 9 yrs and the CSS is approaching 4. I don't plan on getting rid of either. They've cured my 4 yr itch. I would highly recommend getting a 987.1 They are very reliable cars.

[Giller]

Agree with Porsche9 - hold out till you can swing the 987.2 (2009+) PDK is a fantastic transmission, no IMS at all to even think about worrying about and the 2.9L in the base is pretty darn zippy. I'm quite happy I made the switch, but I'm also not mechanically inclined to maintain an older 986.

And I also wouldn't call it an 'upgrade' - as the Boxster is amazing no matter what year - but more of simply getting a newer version.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

987.1 cars have similar problems than 986 cars.

Not really. My 01S had a bad wheel bearing, bad window regulator, bad LCA bushing, a power steering pump failure, and some other things I've forgotten. All the usual problems 986s have. The list is long. And all this in 2.5 yrs of ownership and 30K mi.

The only issues I've had in 112K mi and 9 yrs of 987S ownership is 2 water pumps and a switch. I've also replaced 2 AOSs. Significantly less issues to deal with. Are they perfect? No, but they don't have all the niggling issues of a 986.

Originally Posted by Giller

no IMS at all to even think about worrying about

True, but the bigger IMS of the 987 is basically a non-issue. It wasn't included in the IMS lawsuit because it didn't fail at a high enough rate (est at 1%). The last time someone on Planet-9 had a DOCUMENTED IMS failure has been multiple yrs ago.

Pastor T will have to wait many yrs for a 987.2 to fall into his price range.