r911

As above - I might try to sell the Boxster in Calif. too.

no not stone chips - mechanical stuff. BUT if you buy a good one and fix it yourself, the amount you spend per year could be in the hundreds or even less. Could be. Note the Zimmerman PPI book thread & don't scrimp on having a PPI done by a top pro, too.

You might wait for the next real estate crash/deflation before buying a house in Calif.

TC_SJ

I live in San Jose, Ca and have been waitingsince year 2000 for the real estate crash/deflation so I can buy another house ... just kidding

I agreed with most of you, go for 87-89 G50 and good luck on your hunting for a new Porsche

Chris(MA)

Hi,

I was looking at prices of G50 911's in CA and they seem about $2k more plus more miles than the equivalent 911 out here on the east coast, a lot of cars over here seem to be pampered and garaged during the winter, so no rust.
I think my best option right now is to go see a 911 and test drive one again and get a feel for it, and then really decide if I want one more than my boxster, I think that will make my decision for me.

thanks guys!

Chris

P.S. I am flying off to spain tomorrow for vacation, so I will be looking at cars when I get back in two weeks!

Alan Herod

You can see from my signature that I have a continous comparison test. The Boxster is fun and you can put the top down, but the 911 is so much fun -- others have said more visceral - very true. The Boxster is way faster, the airconditioning works, and the transmission is flawless -- don't expect the same shifting from the 911.

Dave in Clarkston

Having owned two Boxster's prior to the 911 I can confirm that there is a great deal of difference, as you have already been told by others. The thing I notice most is the effort required to drive the car. The Boxster feels as if it could drive itself while my 911 demands heavy imputs and attention. If I were to take a cross country trip I would be able to travel a long distance in the Boxster before I felt tired. The 911 would do best on back roads and with less miles traveled. The brakes are better on the Boxster but I think the steering is great on both. The one thing the cars have in common is that they both have a very solid feel. This really says something for late 80's build quality.

I would make the move before the Boxster's value moves farther south. I sold my 01 last fall, 14K miles with over 1 year left on the factory warranty, that was near perfect with 15K maint complete and new S02A's for $28,500. I just don't understand Boxster resale vs. a vett. About the same price new but the value on the Boxster seems take a dive like for like.

Good luck. Your going to enjoy the 911 when you find the right one.

84_Carrera

Dave, personally I have to disagree with the long-distance point. I drove mine from the Detroit area back to Rhode Island (stayed in the US vs. cutting across Canada to Niagara). I found the 800+ mile drive pleasing, and without a lot of fatigue. The 911 seats aren't the most comfortable factory seats ever (try an 89-95 V6 Taurus SHO, with the inflatable side bolsters & lumbar for comfort on long trips), but I wasn't in agony through the trip home.

Dave in Clarkston

I will admit that the longest trip that I even made in a Boxster was 125 miles and about 200 in the 911 so I have not spent an entire day in the saddle with either. From my reference point I can only say that the Boxster, to me, would be the more comfortable of the two. I can also say that the 911 would be the more fun of the two to take on any type of road trip.

sjanes

A well driven, well setup 87-89 911 (i.e. new shocks, good alignment, etc) will stay with a base boxster on the track. The 911 is harder to drive fast, so in the lower run groups, a Boxster will typically be faster as the driver can push harder, sooner. From what I've seen, in the upper run groups (black,red), a good 911 pilot will stay with the Boxster.

FWIW, my modifed 87 911 has had little trouble staying with any Boxster S it has shared the track with.

Doug&Julie

I've owned both...all I can tell you is when you own one, there will be days when you'll want to own the other. ..and vice versa. I'm currently trying to sell my Boxster to get back into a 911 (and to save some money). But you better believe I'll have another Boxster again. Hopefully, someday, I'll be able to afford both. That's really the only way to do it.

g-50cab

I don;t have any issues keeping up and passing Boxsters on the track - Boxster S can give me a run for the money - Blue group...

Jay H

If you buy a dog of a 911, you could easily dump $10,000 into it and still not be done. If you buy a nice 911 right off the bat, your $2000-3000 budget for repairs and maintenance is right in line with what you could expect. Some years, you'll spend very little, other years, you'll have a major repair pop up or you'll want to do maintenance and it'll cost you several thousands. These are old cars, so they do cost money to keep nice.

Abused 911's cost money to make right. Be patient, take your time and buy a nice one up front.

Jay
90 964

r911

I agree on the long distance issue - I drove my Boxster S from Oregon to New Orleans and back - the long way (vai Grand Canyon). I wouldn't do that in an old 911 - but you sure could.

My remarks re Boxster vs. 911 are for unmodified cars (of course - you can mod a Boxster too - e.g. a Rufster) and are based on me driving both a Boxster and two 911s ('73 & '75) repeatedly back to back on the same set of twisty bumpy courses. Note well the comments above re driver ability...

I say sell the Boxster now unless you absolutely cannot do without the creature comforts for the reasons I gave above - the chance to experience a different car and ability to buy back the Boxster later on vs. how hard it will be to do that with a 911.

When I had the Boxster, the 911 langusished a lot, but partly 'cuz I knew the Boxster was going away. I still have the 911....

They are both great cars. I wish I had a dozen Porsches... and somebody to keep them driven enough so they stay in fighting trim..

sjanes

My comments are also for an unmodified (although refreshed) 911 staying with the Boxster. From what I've seen, the 87-89 911 is a good match for the Boxster on the track assuming both are driven by experience drivers. My 911 was modified when I got it, so I can only go by what I've seen at the track.

Alan Herod

I am still a dissenter -- it really depends on what you want to do. From my experience, an unmodified Boxster S will kill a stock 87-89 911 on the track. I don't have any aids on our Boxster and I believe the 911 is easier to drive faster. I feel the departure limit is much broader in the 911. We have 911 vs. stock Boxster S in upper run groups in our events. One of our instructors drives his completely stock (with track tires) Boxster S in Black run group. He runs fairly close to modified 964s and 993s. His wife drives the car very well in White.

On the other hand -- the climate control is not even close between the two; but, I have driven both cars from my house (in Maryland) to MacDill AFB and back, and I find my slightly track prepped 911 far more comfortable for the long trip. Each trip down was made in one very long day. I am not a big person, 5'10", 190, and I find the Boxster very small in the cabin on trips more then an hour. I will admit the 911 has Sport seats which I got from another 83. The original standard seats were less supportive and less comfortable then the seats that came standard in my Civic Si and made even an hour seem like a long journey.

I love the Boxster as a daily driver because climate control is vastly superior. The defrost works - the A/C really works and I can put the top down on nice evenings (or days).

r911

"Boxster S - but I think he meant a plain Boxster...