keller911

My opinion is that you can probably either order a new very lightly optioned 981S for about the same price as you're going to spend on a used 987S now and trading that in for a used 981S in a few years. You can get between a 5-8% discount on a new order. You will take a decent size loss on the 987S between your purchase price and when you sell it. Is it really worth going through all that?
I can surely understand if the price of a new 981S is not within your budget. In that case you are much better off just waiting to pick up a used 981S in 1-2 years.

fast1

I agree. Buy the Porsche you really want, maintain it according to factory recommendations, and then sell it in about 6 - 7 years. This won't make any Porsche inexpensive, but it's a lot better than buying a new one every 3 years.

perfectlap

Sounds like a great way for the salesman to upsell the more expensive 991.
Customer comes in expressing interest in both the Boxster and the new Carrera. The salesman has him drive the base Boxster first and then puts him in a 991 fo "feel the difference".

Schmidts Cat

I hadn't heard that, thanks, I'll try it.

Gripster

Just to close out this thread, I ended up getting something completely different... A 2009 911 Carrera. It just ended up that the price differential between it and the 987 Boxster S was not that much. She's CPO too.

I know I'll miss out on the sublime mid-engine handling and the open top experience, but I've wanted a 911 since I was a kid. I figure Ill hang on to it through CPO expiration then if I'm still feeling the need for a 981S I can get one CPO in a couple of years.

zirrah

Beautiful car. Do you think you'll stick with those wheels?

Gripster

Thanks!

I think the 18s are super comfy. The car does not have PASM so I'm worried about poor ride quality with bigger rims + plus we have potholes everywhere in SoCal. One of the reasons I sold the Z4 was because my wife hated the hard ride. What that meant ultimately was that I couldn't drive it as much as I wanted to - she always wanted to take my DD on weekends instead, and so my weekend car became my sort of 'occasional Sunday' car. The 911 is a pretty decent cruiser with the stock setup. In short, comfort is a priority. I must be getting old....

perfectlap

Sounds like a good plan. Scratch the 911 itch now. The 981 S and 991 are only separated by 0.3's -- basically a tie on the time sheets despite an HP advantage to the 991. The fun factor definitely tips the scales in the 981 S's favor. So either way from your 997 you'll be getting into a quicker car with a much lower admission fee vs. having bought either new.

Gripster

Thanks. Yes - that's a good way to put it. The 911 base Carrera is still one hell of an upgrade from a 3.0si BMW Z4.

fast1

The 991 coupe is .3 sec quicker, but that's comparing a coupe to a roadster. The 991 cabriolet and 981S Boxster have identical 0-60 times.

perfectlap

I would love to see a 10 lap shoot out between the two on a track with plenty of turns. Toss in a 981 Cayman S while you're there, all the same rubber. See if its a 1-2 finish for the mid engines. Some magazine is bound to do something like this. And if there's someone who really hates Porsche like Clarkson in charge, they'll thrown in a 991 coupe as well. Who wouldn't love to see that? That's getting down to brass tacks.

zirrah

There's a youtube video from Car and Driver where they drive a 991 Carerra vs a 981 Boxster S on a track to post a lap time and then also on a drag strip to see which was better.

The 991 won both.

Gripster

This is a great video. But, to perfectlaps point, this was very close. If it had been 981S vs 991 Cabrio, the outcome might have been different.

These cars are extremely well matched, and if you watch this one, it suggests a 981S Cayman vs 911 will favor the Cayman. Come on C&D do this comparo!

perfectlap

^That was exactly what I was thinking about when I suggested the 10 lap shoot out. Single lap was so close I'd love to see something longer.

I was also thinking about the head to head between Cayman R and the Boxster Spyder driven by an ALMS driver on this karting track (very tight). The Boxster Spyder was easily the winner with less commotion behind the wheel.

I think I'm going to drop a few of these magazine guys an email to put together a Porsche "civil" war race of similarly powered cars with differing engine placement.
With no involvement by Porsche of course. All privately owned cars on similar rubber. Any suggestions for tracks?
The cover would have the two 981 S cars (Cayman and Boxster) pointing at the two 991's (coupe and cab).

fast1

I'd love to see those matchups. I would expect that the differance in performance between a 981 Cayman S and a 991 coupe would be so tiny that the driver and/or car's setup would be the differance. The same applies to a 981 Boxster S and a 991 cabrio.