Originally Posted by mbodo

It seems as if the fewer the options a car has, the more difficult it will be to sell it.

Originally Posted by mbodo

This is why rental car companies (mostly) have been buying their fleet vehicles with a modest amount of options - power windows, central locking, etc. While they could go on the cheap and get the stripped down "rental car" version for very basic transportation, they've found that at the end of the vehicle's useful life as a rental car, it was very difficult to unload these vehicles into a market where a majority of the same model vehicles had much better options for a reasonable price.

Originally Posted by mbodo

I find it difficult to fathom that optioning "up" a Boxster S would make it feel like a "luxury boat" (did you get the captain's chairs? ;-) ) but to each their own. If you're looking for a pure sports car with little refinement in the way of creature comforts, may I suggest a Lotus Elise?

Originally Posted by tooloud10

Since you mentioned the Elise, I read a while back that Lotus made power windows standard on the Exige (?) because they're actually lighter than the manual windows now. I thought that was neat.

Originally Posted by tooloud10

Personally, I didn't even worry about the options when I bought my 996--the only thing I wanted was heated seats. The car came with some silly options like painted crests on the wheels and crests in the headrest, neither of which means anything to me.



I think all the rentals have central locking and power windows because it's remarkably difficult to find a car without those options these days. Do they even still make manual roll-up windows?



Agreed there. Unless you're specifying options that add a lot of weight to the car, I'm not sure how they would make the car feel less like a sports car.

Since you mentioned the Elise, I read a while back that Lotus made power windows standard on the Exige (?) because they're actually lighter than the manual windows now. I thought that was neat.

Originally Posted by tmc

I'm about to order my third 987 Boxster S. Actually, ordering my second. I bought my first off the lot. It was black. Everyone needs to own a black car once and this was my turn.

The second Boxster S was loaded, loaded, loaded with options-- so much so that it just didn't feel like a sportscar, it felt like a luxury boat. I sold it.

So my question: what minimalist features are a must for a 987S Boxster and which are superfluous? Here's my list of required:

PASM
Sport Chrono
Self-Dim Mirrors & Rain Sensor
Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package
Heated Front Seats
Bose Surround Sound System
NO PCM - I'll buy a Garmin for $400.

Did I get that right?

tmc

Originally Posted by mickfluff

If depreciation is a huge factor may suggest buying a lighlty used 986? Unless the 08 has some certain huge changes that make the 08 a big step up from prior years? Just picked up a 05 997 with 15K miloes CPO's nicely optioned from dealer for 50,450.... window sticker original was 80K and the vehicle still has that new car smell.

Originally Posted by Chris C.

2005 997-S models selling in the mid to high 60s in my research, base Carreras in the high 50s - yours is a terrific deal but may not be a realistic yard stick for others

Originally Posted by equ

+1.

The way to avoid depreciation is to not sell them people... Just hold on & enjoy.

Originally Posted by tooloud10

Or buy them all used like I do. Personally, I can't even fathom buying a new Porsche--er, new anything--that's going to depreciate tens of thousands of dollars within two years when the same car is available on the used market for $30k or so, unless they made some outrageous changes to the Boxster that I'm not aware of. Finding one with the right options on the used market is also more fun than just picking them out of a book, at least to me.

Of course, it's actually self-defeating to mention this, as the only way I can buy 'em used is if someone buys it new, so ORDER AWAY!

BIG YMMV on the whole post...

Originally Posted by Palting

Must-haves, eh?

True answer, none. Anything else added is personal, and can be considered superfluous by others. Here's my opinion on what I consider must-haves from a personal standpoint, and what is not from your list.

PASM. Works well for tooling on the streets and the occasional DE/track drive. A great idea from Porsche, along with other great ideas.

Sport Chrono. Superfluous. Gives the "appearance" of better acceleration, but all it does is make the accelrator pedal reach full throttle at less than full throttle. Just step on the pedal more aggressively, put PASM on sport, and you get the same thing for no money.

Self-dim and rain sensor. Really? Nice, but superfluous.

BiXenons. Have then on the C4S, did not get them for the 987S. Halogens are excellent enough. Xenons are whiter and have that cool purple hue when seen head-on, but I don't see the big deal. May help with re-sale, though.

Heated front seats. Yup, need those. Helps extend the top down use a few degrees into colder weather.

Wind screen. Need these in conjuction with the heated seats to extend the use into colder weather. Allows for decent conversation even at speed with the top down and windows up. Added bonus of smal covered parcel shelf behind the seats for hats, gloves, etc..

Bose. Naah. Porsche radios suck, and the Bose doesn't add anything. I think it makes it worse. Have it on the C4S as part of the Advanced Technics package. Would not have ordered it alone.

Leave everything else stock. !8" wheels gve you more tire options, and you get better, more distinctive 19" wheels aftermarket should you want to have them. If you want hugging seats, keep the standard seats and save your money for the real-deal seats, GT3 euro seats.

Again, as always, that's just IMHO.