New (potential) Boxster owner--confused

[Dougman]

I'm looking at pre-owned Boxsters in the $20-$25K range. I've had a few interesting experiences:

First, I drove a 3.2L Boxster S in Speed Yellow at a Porsche dealership (Porsche-certified pre-owned). I was expecting to be blown away, since it was more than I could pay and was a post-2000 S model. But I was lukewarm--yes, it was fast, but it was stiff, not supple, the clutch pedal was sticky, making it hard to drive smoothly, and the shifter felt ropy and vague. I drove home in my GTI 1.8T thinking it was just as much fun.

Today I drove a 1998 with 55,000 miles. It is not Porsche-certified. It was Ocean Jade with a grey interior. It has a few small chips in the paint, and the front air dam has been scraped underneath fairly aggressively, even though it's not visible from the front. Only one small ding, on a rear quarter panel. Leather wear on the shifter and handbrake. But the dealer was only asking $21K, so I thought I'd take it for a drive.

WOW! Magic! The sound! The supply clutch! The razor-sharp steering! The shifter! The rock-solid brake pedal! Incredible. I liked it better on every dimension when compared to the "S" I drove.

So, now I'm wondering if there's a difference in how these cars drive depending on how they've been cared for, or if it's just that the earlier 2.5 cars do it for me. I loved the harmony between the mechanical and exhaust sounds.

Is $21K a good price for a car with these kind of cosmetic shortcomings? How much would I expect to pay to repaint the front bumper and replace the black plastic pieces in front of the wheels?

Do all the 2.5's drive like this, or do I need to drive every one to see if it has the magic for me? I've seen some cars on eBay that I really like, but based on my experience with these two cars, I'm really reluctant to consider buying without driving it and making sure it has the magic--even if I have a mechanic check it over for condition.

Is Porsche-certified worth the few thousand dollars it seems to command in premium?

Thanks for all your help. Hope to join you folks soon.