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Previously owned 987.1.S and 996 Turbo. Currently run 981 S and 987 Spyder
The 981 replaced the 987 as the go to all round car and if i could only have one car it would stay. Better than the 987 in most ways except steering feel.
Sold the 987 mainly due to reliability issues and lack of longer distance comfort. Better seats and PASM would have helped. 987.2 makes more sense without the bore-score engine worry.
996 Turbo is way different than the others. Not so much fun until you hit the boost but without an Autobahn you are living dangerously.
Much prefer the agility of the mid engine cars at sensible-ish speeds. Yes it has the Mezger engine but is complex and expensive to maintain.
Drive a 981 and then decide if the differences are better or worse for your likes. For us they were better in almost every way, and we went from a 987.1 to the 981 GTS. X73 in our GTS rides more comfy then our 987.1 base did, its a very compliant suspension for what it is, coupled with good seats better on long drives for us personally then the old car. We never had a PASM car so can't comment if that would have helped or not. Steering is different but unless you are constant track or back to back, the EPS in quite good, and forgotten quickly as you just smile around the turns.
Otherwise, 987.2 to me is the sweet spot if you are patient.
Not trying to be difficult, but with that logic why would anyone buy anything other than a new car? Most modern cars leave the driver completely disconnected from the driving experience and while that might be ok for a commuter car used primarily on highways in stop/go traffic it is definitely not a good recipe for a fun car.
I’m not implying that the 981 feels disconnected, just making an argument that choosing the latest isn’t always the greatest.
Also $$$$$. New Porsches are not in very many people's budget to buy. Even 986 is out of the budget of a lot of people. We should consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to have this discussion!
Had 2 987 S Boxster's (08 & 12 Black edition) before switching to a 996tt cab (am a top down guy). Test drove a 981, it did nothing for me, it felt disconnected. To me the 987's were more fun to drive, handling, balance, predictability were perfect. They always put a smile on my face. The Turbo is so much faster, feels big (bloated comes to mine), doesn't handle like the 987. Yes, it puts a holy $hit smile on my face. That said, the Turbo is a car worth owning!!a
Last edited by my04996tt; 08-03-2019 at 02:34 PM.
Reason: typo
I would always try to go with the best car I could afford.
there are so many great cars out there these days for less than $50,000.... I wouldn't just be so brand centric.
I recently sold my NSX(well not officially yet, but it looks like I have a serious buyer driving out from Texas this week to buy her) and was really hot and heavy for the 981 Cayman as a replacement, but the C8 came along and changed everything ...... Think I'm just gonna wait it out and see what the market does in the next year as I think the C8 is going to bring some overpriced cars back to earth.....Then I will either get the C8 or a used R8 or maybe end up going back to the Cayman or some other car??? But I have a feeling I think I'll end up getting the C8.... you just can't beat it right now for the money
All of the cars on my list are within my budget. I can tell you that the 981 is now off of the list, I found the steering to be too heavy. Once up to speed it on twisty roads it was wonderful, it felt like it was on rails. However just driving around, not so much it felt numb, but the sound with the sports exhaust was glorious. One of the wonderful surprises that I found with my 986, it was fun to drive without having to get to "go to jail" speeds to make it enjoyable. In that vein, the 996TT is probably off of the list unless a deal falls into my lap. The 911 while at the upper end of my price range are in consideration as year-round DD candidates. I am also planning on the older and less expensive cars to probably need a fair amount of work and money to get to my ideal. I spent the last year sorting out the mechanicals on the 986 and was next planning on a complete suspension rebuild. Bore scoring problems were always in the back of my head as was a complete rebuild to solve those issues which are why the 9A1 engine cars are intriguing. In the next couple of days, I should be driving the 987S and a few variants of the 997. Once I narrow it down I can start looking in earnest for my ideal. Thanks to everyone that has responded.
08-03-2019, 04:30 AM
