Boxster replacement "round 2"
 

I have been thinking about possible candidates for a Boxster replacement and found a local 911 that caught my eye. In the last thread I said I wanted to get a convertible but hated most convertible options out there. This is a hard-top with a sunroof, not quite a convertible but maybe enough to please me.

This car is the same year as my Boxster (2000) and has about the same mileage (just under 50k). I haggled him to $15k (pre-tax) with the trade-in of my Boxster. I may be able to sell my Boxster to a friend and get that a little lower.

My main question is, do you think the extra power/prestige of the standard 911 C2 will satisfy me or leave me wanting more anyway? Has anyone had some experience with both cars to know if the difference justifies the extra $15k. Or in the end am I just paying for the right to say I drive a 911?

I would like nothing more than to just have a more powerful Boxster but it seems like for the same amount or less than an engine swap I can move to a 911. Perhaps it's just human nature to never be happy with what you got. Here is the car in question... http://www.midnightracing.com/mra/W620448porsche911c2.htm

The car looks good imo. How does it drive? Does it feel $15K better than your boxster? Only you can decide.

I checked it out but didn't drive it yet. I need to get there on a weekend so I get some daylight for it and I don't wanna take it out in the snow either. From what I saw, it didn't look like it has an rms leak or anything but I would get it checked out first if I wanted to pull the trigger.

Porschekid:
"Perhaps it's just human nature to never be happy with what you got."

In order to learn to be happy no matter what you got you need to go through the motions a few times -- where each new acquisition fails to live up to the promise.

It's a beautiful 911 and in great shape. If it gives you the butterflies in the stomach, and passes PPI, just go for it. You don't need us to approve.

Z.

You will be 1 million times happier and feel like your hot **************** while driving it, i know i would. BTW thats Lapis Blue Metalic, not Metalic Blue... Lapis has a bluish purpleish color to it and will look dark blue in the sun and purplish in the dark.

Damn i wish i was getting that car.

Id wait untill you found an 02. It may take longer but the redesigned front end will look a lot nicer.

I was thinking about that but it sort of prices me out. I can't really justify another $10k on top of the $15k. The updated front looks a little nicer but I still think this is a beautiful car (as is the Boxster for that matter). Another issue could be insurance... I have yet to check any rates. I would think it would be higher but as it's not a convertible perhaps not much higher.

Are you sure? My Boxster is Ocean Blue Metallic, and in pictures it looks just like that. I've never seen the Ocean and Lapis Blues side-by-side, so I'm not sure what the exact difference is.

It is a very nice looking car. If it is as nice in person as the pix and mechanically sound, I would buy it. No heated seats or PSM would be my only concern. This is totally a matter of opinion but I hate the tan interior... It is much better in a Blue veh. than a Black one however. Xenons and it looks like a suade headliner?? You do need to drive it for yourself. The car will definately feel heavier and have more power in the lower rpms. I dont think you will notice many different handling characteristics other than a little better tracking in the front end. If you have a base box, the 911 brakes may add a little firmer pedal feel.
I think that once you drive it, you will probably have to have it. I drive,on a pretty regular basis, a 2002 C4S and the one thing that always gets me is the POWER. I have 0 complaints about my Box S except the noticable difference in HP. In fact, I prefer the gear box in the Boxster S 6 speed vs the C4S.
Keep us posted!

"0-60 in 4.8?" Sounds a little optimistic.
Was the sunroof a factory option? I don't ever recall seeing that on a 996 before.

If you're not stretching yourself thin financialy and you really want it, go for it (pending inspection/drive). When I was in college, I really wanted a yellow '93 RX-7. I called up my pops and asked him. His advice was pretty sound. "Both your head and your heart have to be in it."

if nothing else you will deff miss the vert. nothing better than dropping the top and windows down....as opposed to opening the windows and little sunroof ;)

I tend to agree. I think we tend to take the convertible part for granted but... :cool:

Porschekid,

I've been lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time back-to-back in an MY02 Boxster S and MY01 911 C2, both tiptronic, and to be honest there are days when I can't understand the extra expense of the 911 and days when it seems worlds apart from the 986.

Interior wise, the 911 is a far superior car. Some things are subtle - like full door pocket covers rather than 3/4 covers - but others just make the 911 a far more prestigeous vehicle to drive. Key differences to me are full electric seats (both sides) with key & button memory, far superior stereo system (more room for more speakers I guess) and more leather where leather should be (like the dash and door liners). I know you can option a Boxster with many of these items but I'm comparing two cars that are mostly standard config from the factory.

Performance wise, there doesn't seem too much difference between the two cars. Keep in mind I'm talking about the 3.4L 996, but for most driving situations, including on the track, I don't see the 911 as having a major advantage. Sure, there's more power in the 911 (which is especially noticable from a standing start) but it's more of a handful to keep the rear end in order than in the Boxster (though the PSM on the 911 is a godsend).

The only time there is a clear advantage to the 911 in my mind is when I need to take more than 1 passenger somewhere - obviously the usefulness of the rear seats depends greatly on how tall/big your passengers are, but it's great having the option just in case.

To answer your question however, I don't think I'd look to upgrade from a Boxster S to a 911 of roughly the same model year, as I don't think it's a big enough jump to justify the money. As boggtown suggests, upgrading to a post-02 3.6L 996 would be a different story, but I don't know anything about US prices to understand how that would fit into your figures.

If you're really hankering for the power though, I'd buy the 911 well before considering an engine swap in the Boxster, and you'll get all the 911 goodies 'for free'.

That is one beautiful car. Make sure it has not been in any accidents and I mean any. If it's clean then go for it. Just get used to the different handling characteristics before you push it. In the Boxster I still get the tail loose when I get on the accelerator too fast exiting a turn. The 911 will be even more sensitive to that if you're not careful. I do love that car.

911s are beautiful.

An engine swapped Boxster would be amazing.


But remember engine swaps are a pain and it's not just the engine you have to swap.


You might be better finding a nice 996 S. Might be worth the extra $$

Did you mean 986 S? They never made a 996 S. There is the C4S which is basically a turbo with the standard NA 3.6L engine and much more expensive than the C2 model in question here.

Sorry, I did mean the C4S.


I dunno if I'd want that AWD, though. Icky.


I vote boxster engine swap or 993 turbo!

Thanks for all of your input. I think i'm gonna test drive it next weekend and see what I think. If it doesn't blow me away then I probably will hold out. A 993 turbo would be sweet but they cost about as much as a 996 turbo these days ~$60-70k = way out of my price range.

Just be careful not to underestimate the top-down joy factor -- especially easy to do on a cold wintery day in PA. To me, having the top-down (with that intoxicating mixture of wind, engine, and exhaust sounds) is 80% of the fun on a nice joy ride.

Z.

That's true. Right now we don't realize it because it is cold, but come summer, you are gonna wish your top was down and be finding ways to take it off.


Learned this from past experience.

Did a quick search on cars.com for 993 turbos.

There are some 91 models (91s are still 993s, right?) that aren't that bad.

http://cars.com/go/search/fs_search_results.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType= 22&sort=true&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&lar geNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=ascending&sortfiel d=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-turbo%7CE-ALL%7CM-_41_%7CH-%7CD-_386_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CY-_1997-1996-1995-1994-1993-1992-1991_%7CX-popular%7CZ-10580&aff=national


Take a look!


This particular one is a 1996 turbo w/ 50k miles for $55k.

http://cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&pageNum ber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage= 0&sortorder=ascending&sortfield=PRICE+ascending&ce rtifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-turbo%7CE-ALL%7CM-_41_%7CH-%7CD-_386_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+ascending%7CQ-ascending%7CY-_1997-1996-1995-1994-1993-1992-1991_%7CX-popular%7CZ-10580&aff=national&paId=217536324&recnum=28&leadEx ists=true

1991 911's are 964's I believe. $55k for the cheapest 993TT is around the low end of my estimate... too rich for my blood right now. Believe that i'm keeping the convertible aspect of it in mind as well. That's why the car will really have to impress me before I give up the Boxster.

Well, there is one w/ 85k miles for 49k :D 1996.



I'm just trying to help, sorry.


Whatever you do, you will love it.

Don't worry, I appreciate all the help. :cheers:

A sunroof coupe will not be as enjoyable as a convertible for the "open air" experience. Also, check to see how far back the sunroof is located in the roof.

A bit Apples Vs Oranges here but, my wifes A4 sunroof was set pretty far back.. Far enough that I couldn't really see out of it, but I did get to enjoy the noise of it being open. In my 911 (1978) the sunroof was so close to the windshield that I could see up and out of it. Made the car feel more open than it was.

To me, the open sunroofs of todays cars are just noise boxes. You don't really get the sun/warmth benefits of a convertible but you do get enough wind noise to make it annoying. Full top down motoring is nicer than a compromise. While you can't swing it now, maybe the better compromise is a 996 Targa ;)

Going from a Box S to a 3.4l 996 isn't too big a jump, performance wise, but you will notice it to be a bit quicker. Also heavier. And with a greater rear bias.

Just test drive the dang thing!

[QUOTE=Porschekid]1991 911's are 964's I believe. QUOTE]

Yes, that's right. 89-94 911's are 964's and 95-98 911's are 993's. 993's are hot right now because they were only made for a few years and it's the last of the "air cooled" 911's!

This is so true. It's unbelievable what a difference the open top makes. I was not even considering a Boxster a year ago when I decided to buy a Porsche. I drove every 997 and was set on a Cayman because of the perfect balance when I drove it. Late spring, a sunny day, I go for one last test drive of the Cayman before I place my order and decide to try a Boxster. Top down, huge boost of pure joy and adrenaline and I wrote the check for a Boxster S due to arrive in a week. Now that its been sitting in my garage covered and plugged in for a month I'm wondering if I should get a hard top for it but when I look at the salt covered cars driving around I know I wouldn't take it out anyway. Come spinge when the top goes down ... :D