Keep Original or customize a 2004 Boxster S 550 Special Edition ?
 

I just purchased a 2004 Boxster S 550 Special Edition with about 52400 miles on it.

How collectible is this vehicle? I really didn't buy it as an investment. I bought it to be a daily driver and enjoy it.

With that said, I don't want to do anything that would harm it's value. I would do things like upgrade the Radio, maybe some LED's, and minor stuff.

Should I keep this vehicle original for value's sake?

Al

I would keep the core car intact, my 01S has a new radio and new lights and a few other things . I could put it back OEM in an afternoon.....these cars will never make you rich (Unless you sell parts and service..LOL) so make it your own car as you like without much worry.

Do with it what makes you happy. Keep the OEM items if you do swap anything out.

That said, the 2004 550 SE is my favorite Boxster. Please post some photos of it.

Nothing wrong with making some changes, and it is not hard to keep everything fully reversible. The radio is a 5 minute swap if you keep the original head unit, and I can't see something invisible like a speaker swap affecting the value. Unless you are bolting a giant spoiler to the back you should be fine. It is your car, so make the changes that you enjoy! I personally try to keep all of my modifications in the spirit and style of the 986.

The only place I would watch out is if you start permanently modifying parts that are exclusive to the Special Edition, because you could run into issues if you ever wanted to replace them back to stock. I'm specifically thinking about the Cocoa interior, were used parts are extremely rare.

Don't let the original wheels get away from you. They are part of the appeal of the car.

Unless you a going to put it in your garage and never drive it, odds are pretty good it will never be worth more than what you paid for it. So drive it and enjoy! Make it yours.

Thanks for all the input. Everyone's sentiment seems to match my own. I love the SE edition and would not muck around with ruining it. I don't know if I want to make it look cheesy by moving the heating unit down to the bottom and installing a 2 din Pioneer head unit and disable the MOST Bose system. However, I would love to have Apple Carplay, Navigation, hands free, etc. as this will be a daily driver. I guess I could restore it back to OEM if I needed to so that is great advice.

Here is a pic of our new baby:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/712/31...52759156_b.jpg
https://flic.kr/p/Quy4BE

Although I love my base, I could be tempted by the right deal on a SE. Silver over cocoa is so great looking!


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I took out rear Cat's and installed UD pulley. Kept old stuff. Sweet car!!

What number is yours?

Thanks. Mine is #1853. Any idea where to find new Porsche Cocoa floor mats? I've looked all over the place.

How does it sound without the CATS?

This is my 04S without the secondary (rear) cats. Stock muffler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BDSL28XgZI

hmmm, that sounds pretty damn good.

What's it sound like in the cabin at 70mph? Does it relax into a nice drone or is it barely noticable? I do LOTS of highway driving.

As others have said, customize to your heart's content. But in a way where you can revert easily if you change your mind later. :)

Incidentally, is it true only 500 specimens of the Special Edition were sold in the US?

Seems like there are quite a bit more from what I've seen.

Have you visited Cocomats.com? Just saw a Jay Leno video about them.
Nice car, do those rear bumperettes come painted on the 550 from factory?

Yes. Factory painted. GT Metallic silver.

I have one too. Personally I'm not into big cosmetic mods. The only thing I have to trial is a Zeinwing and that's still reversible. Chassis and minor engine based mods still keep things broadly in keeping and again can revert back if you really want.

I went with a Kenwood and kept the stock head unit and amp in storage. The new bigger amp makes that shelf speaker and sub sound great. I'll be getting a better sub.

I let one slip away last summer and have been kicking myself since.
I love the cocoa interior.

Almost no collectibility whatsoever.

With that being said, it is a very nice Boxster with some great features. Customize however you like.

Didn't you do a write up on your radio upgrade or do I have you mistaken for someone else?

Did you purchase the radio retro fit kit from Suncoast?

Brought it to Sound Warehouse in SLC. They were just better than a hack. Still has RPM whine on speakers. Need to upgrade the whole thing. :/

Some time ago I posted the entire 550 pamphlet that boasts all the upgrades this car has. I have a lot of the 550 literature.

I'll cast what perhaps is the lone dissenting vote here for keeping the car bone stock. Why? When I shop for a car, I always look for unmodified examples and am particularly turned off by such changes as replacement radios.

Personally, I didn't buy my car to listen to the radio anyway...but that's just a personal preference, I suppose. In any event, I find that the anniversary edition is nice just the way it came from the factory. :)

You are not lone, there are at least two of us. :-)

Make it three. 550 SE stock and their spectacular.

Customize, customize, customize. ;)

Only commies want everyone to look the same. :p

This all sounds sensible but who buys a car then immediately thinks about what the next potential owner might like! Do what you feel you want with your car not what you think the next owner might like.

Your car, should suit your tastes.
But
1) by definition, your car is already pretty special, and if not totally unique, at least rare.
2) you already paid a premium, presumedly, for the privilege of buying a special edition. Jack it up by making it more special, and not only does its style become less timeless, you piss away that premium you paid for an SE.
3) really, there is not much that Needs improving - IMS, bluetooth adaptor...the rest is pretty much taste.
4) we all think we are exceptional in our taste and skills. No doubt while shopping, you saw some heavily modded Boxsters. How many of those did you even consider for purchase?

All that said, do whatever you need to do to make it enjoyable for you. But for the sake of the dignity of the brotherhood of Boxster owners, please, no trunklid-sized wings!

Freedom brother... That's the beauty of America. You customize and I'll rock it stock. 500 brought to the states in 2004, half are probably out of service, crashed and parted out. Therefore, it's already unique and different. But I do like Stolichnaya Elit Vodka.

When I'm buying my next Boxster, I'm looking for a solid car with some quality upgrades: read IMS, brakes, suspension, etc. I don't give a flying f-darn about the radio. What? No high quality Porsche radio!!! :eek:
I'd like to find a nice 2004 SE with that lovely cocoa brown interior with the aforementioned updates. And if it has a high end sound system installed, I guess I could live with that! :)

I'd love to see some the info you have on the car. I'm in love with this puppy. (until it breaks on me! LOL)

Ask the man who owns one....
 

....I bought my 550 SE on purpose. It's THE Porsche that I wanted to own.

I found a bone stock one with only 25,000 miles on her in 2015.

I replaced the muffler, but kept the original and the original SE tip.

I replaced all of the interior, frunk, trunk, license plate, and front side marker lights with LEDs.

I bolted Porsche and PCA car badges to the roll hoop screens.

I bolted clear lexan wind blockers to those same roll hoop screens.

I installed a Bird Automotive center console.

I installed a thicker rimmed, flat bottom steering wheel that matched the Cocoa Brown leather and used the factory air bag.

I installed the Rennline rear brace and all four under car tie down hooks and the jack pad on the aluminum arch.

I installed the black stick on covers over the sun visor warning stickers.

I removed the warning stickers in the forward door jam.

I bought eBay leather covers for the flip up arm rest lids.

I bought leather covers for the black plastic bit at the top of the door handles from Pedro.

I installed an articulated cell phone holder that bolts to the seat rail and sticks up and can be located in different positions to hold my cell phone.

I installed a waterproof box around the immobilizer computer under the driver's seat.

I, like you, do NOT want an aftermarket radio.

I installed this:

https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=2_22_176&product_id=254

And this allows me to get GPS maps, Pandora, XM/Sirius, iPod, I Heart Radio, movies, TV shows, all of it, played through my stereo, with hands free calling, hands free texting, hands free email, all with Siri voice control through my iPhone.

All while keeping the factory radio.

Add this:

https://pearlauto.com/rearvision

And you get a backup camera in your car without cutting into your collector car.

Welcome to the party.

All the best!

I am an advocate of tasteful mods - the kind that basically look and function like factory accessories. The way 10/10ths did it. No wings or anything like that would be on my car.

The SE car was great right out of the box, though.


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Thanks for the heads-up on the Pearl backup system - I hadn't seen that before.

I doubt 986 Boxsters will go up much in value for a long long time. Do you want to live with the so-so radio on the chance you will sell it in 25 years for a profit? I bought my Boxster to enjoy myself. The 1st thing I did, after catching up on the maintenance, was replace the crappy stereo. Popped in a Pioneer with Apple CarPlay and navigation and replaced the front speakers and added rears. It was a huge improvement. The nice thing about the Pioneer is it supports commodity backup cameras so I added that too.

http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/62141-really-liking-pioneer-6200nex-double-din-installation.html

Not home but I'll post that tonight.