I own a base 986. Buy the S and get one new enough to get a factory rear glass window and a glove box. As others have said, no one has every regretted having more power.

I so wish I had waited, saved more, and bought a much newer S than the base I purchased.

I was stuck between getting a base or an S model for quite a while. I decided to go with the base because I got a good deal and it was the best condition Boxster I had seen while searching. While I could have spent double the money and had the S it is nice having all the extra money to put into maintenance since all used cars will need something. I'm considering a 996 3.4 swap in the far future which would put out more power than the S.

In the end driving both will give you your answer and if I was able to find an S for ~$2k more than I paid for my base, I would have bought it. Lastly what cars have you owned? If your coming from a corolla then a base might give you plenty of speed and excitement. Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever choice you make! Good luck with your search!

If you are a "lazy" manual car driver like me, you have more torque and can get away with riding around town in 2nd or 3rd gear without shifting and accelerating on the highway in 5th or 6th without necessarily downshifting. If you like the keep revving the engine and working the gearbox, you may not feel the need for the S. That is my $0.02.

Hi Ctimgo, As someone has already posted, if you're asking the question and planning on staying within the 986 range, IMHO you already know the answer. At the least you owe it to yourself to drive several of both before deciding. Otherwise you may end up in 'what if' land or spending a lot of money and effort to chase the S with base mods. Take your time, the journey itself can be very rewarding. Remember, always PPI and be sure the IMSB is addressed to your satisfaction.

Rgds, Fred
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#317 550 Spyder Anniversary Edition 2004 Boxster S.
Watch the 3 min video of our 30 yrs of motorsports hightlights at :
https://vimeo.com/179621940/615927d218