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

 

19" wheels - the only required option IMO. The car looks so much nicer. I bought the base Boxster because I like that black gauges. ..No, I don't miss the Bose. Had that in my C2S launch car.

There's something really appealing about a minimally upgraded Boxster.

 

Yeah I'm wondering about Bose too. It isn't all that great sound-wise.

 

Is the PASM and sport chrono important ($3K) to you? The 18" Cayman S wheels look great on the Boxster for alot less than 19". I love the manual sport seats and full black leather in my CS for ($2K+)

 

If you're going for the true sportscar effect add these two items:
1. Sport Steering Wheel-only about $250 option, slightly smaller diameter, and more comfortable.
2. Manual Sport Seats-cost varies with interior, but under $1k. Very comfy, for me, and they keep you absolutely planted in the twisties.
I'd stay with the 18's with PASM. Less unsprung weight and more choices come replacement time. I ordered my 987S with PASM and 18's and it's worked out great.
Have fun with the new ride.

 

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.

 

fighting dep'n? well that's like fighting aging. i haven't succeeded yet.

necessary options? none. everything i needed came on the car.
xenon if you are blind at night.

 

All good advice, thanks.

I agree about just pushing the pedal more instead of Sport Chrono. I didn't get it on my T4S and am fine w/o it. It wasn't on my C2S either back when I had that. But, SC's best feature is the less intrusive PSM in SPORT mode. In my opinion, that makes a noticeable difference on a 987S.

SC also lets you tweak features yourself without getting a dealer to hook your car up to PIWIS.

Good point on Bose. I've been thinking that myself. But a friend said that it pumps out more volume and, for top down driving, it helps.

Funny about the windstop: I had it on my past Box and hated it, never used it

 

Mooty, your damn avatar is drivng me nuts, green with envy.

I guess I can't realy knock the SC, tmc, since I decided not to get it and have no personal experience with it. I have PSM on all the time on the street and have never had it go off. I have it off all the time on the track, and have yet to have it come back on. I guess what I'm saying is, if you are doing something on the street that you need less intrusive PSM, stop doing it. Keep it for the track, where you don't really want PSM anyway.

Whatever you get, congrats, and enjoy it!!

 

Almost none... I'd say Xenons & Heated Seats. Regular seats are very good. The regular suspension is quite good, I don't think pasm is a huge huge deal (though maybe more necessary in a less balanced car like the 911). Psm is fine, not so crazy intrusive as some other variants.

 

to option a car with what one thinks others might like in any hopes of salvaging some depreciation when one goes to sell the car.

The best thing you can do you avoid new car depreciation is to buy a used.

The next best thing you can do is to shop wisely and drive as hard a bargain as you can for a new car.

(BTW, when I bought my '02 Boxster new, off the lot, I paid a price that essentially made the over $5000 in options no cost options. The discount I negotiated below MSRP was that much.)

Taking good care of the car. Following a more agressive servicing schedule (and keeping all service records), keeping up on the little things -- as a sign you cherished the car and gave it TLC during your ownership -- will see the car in as good a shape as it can be when you go to sell the car.

Used car buyers are less sensitive to options, colors, than they are to price and condition. Thus by taking documented good care of the car you can at least justify your asking price to a used car buyer because of the car's superior condition to other cars on the market at the same time as your's.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

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

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.

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?

 

You can't fight it, option the car the way YOU want it

 

It may be helpful to look at KBB or The Black Book or talk to a dealer. The used car price books show any options that may add to resale value. Any cosmetic or minor option is worth nothing. Usually major things like Bose, Nav, Upgraded Wheels, Tip, or Full Leather are the only things that may add value typically at around 15 to 25 cents on a dollar. Order the car the way you want it with only the options important to you.

 

Here's my setup, on par with paralizer's comments, By the way it's for sale if anyone's interested, 9.5K miles.