987.1 or 987.2 - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I've made a dozen posts over the last couple years whilst saving... Couldn't decide between Chimaera or Boxster. Decided Chim last month but now the money is a actually in my account (budget increased by 5k too from some inheritance) I want the Boxster... One last question before I pull the trigger (£25k is the most money I have ever had by about 5 times, so don't want to regret things a few months in!)... Is the 987.2 Boxster S worth the premium over the 987.1 Boxster S? So far, the only one in the classifeds that catches my eye is this one http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p... Hopefully will pick up in end of August (ideally sooner) so obv. this one may indeed get sold... Edited by TREMAiNE on Saturday 8th August 10:11

The 987.2 with the dfi engine is the better choice if for nothing more than peace-of-mind.

totally agree with Trevor, Gen II every time

That's a lovely example of a 987.2. Not my preferred colour, but a very nice looking car.

Awesome amount of car for the money! As others have said gen 2 every time for peace of mind!

Well I had my 08 987.1 S for 3 great years...one minor service and one set of tyres....and not one penny more spent on it....absolutely faultless and my reasons for choosing a Gen 1 over a Gen 2.....I liked the rear lights better !!

Having owned both gen2 everyday.be patient and a right car will come along and don't be afraid to buy privately and get a better deal ! Look for a lower mileage car as with any car the more miles the more eventual costs being closer ie clutch,brakes,suspension etc so a cheap car is no longer cheap early into ownership! Edited by itsybitsy on Sunday 9th August 09:43

why is it on the 987 they do a black interior that is very black or a red interior that is very very red. why not a two tone black and red as on the 997 GT3 RS4.0. i love the two tone interiors. Edited by KMF on Sunday 9th August 16:25

Cheers for the replies guys... After 100% definitely making my mind up... I'm now having another thought... I'm now torn between a 987 Gen 2 Boxster S and a 997 Gen 1 Carrera S... I just think the 997 is one of the best looking cars produced... What do you guys think? I assume being in the Boxster forum I will be convinced the 987 is the way to go...

987/2 Cayman, better looking than a 997/1

KMF said: 987/2 Cayman, better looking than a 997/1 To me, the Cayman is hideously ugly (from behind)! Looks are subjective though!

TREMAiNE said: To me, the Cayman is hideously ugly (from behind)! Looks are subjective though! Really? I think mine looks great.....

Pauly-b said: Really? I think mine looks great..... I bet it does, from the front anonymous said: [redacted] I'll be honest, I do think the Cayman rear is hideously ugly, the current gen is ok though... Really don't want to offend Cayman owners though! I love the Cayman and also think the Boxster has an ugly arse too - but would probably be able to put up with it, being able to put the roof down is the compromise which the Cayman can't offer as an apology ... Annoyingly, 911 is out of the question, insurance is too damn high... Its a funny thing for young people (I'm early 20s), a Ferrari California costs 1200 to insure, an E90 M3 is 1500 to insure, a 987.2 Boxster S is 1400 to insure and a 997 911 Carrera S........ 2900 to insure! Doesn't make sense! Boxster it is... struggling to find one I like at the moment though... There aren't many manual gen 2 S's for sale at my price point!

I was in your position recently - ended up putting a deposit down on a 987.2 Cayman 2.9 PDK at the weekend. It's just a better sorted car, all round, over the 987.1; I think if you can, stretch. Equally, if you can't, there's plenty of lovely well-kept 987.1s about.

TREMAiNE said: KMF said: 987/2 Cayman, better looking than a 997/1 To me, the Cayman is hideously ugly (from behind)! Looks are subjective though! I'm with you on the rear view ugliness of pre-981 Caymans but I'll raise you pre-981 Boxsters as well They're all a bit too much push me pull you styling for me. All that said, if my budget was the same as yours, I'd happily own any of the S models if a 996/997 wasn't on the running for some reason. Great cars for the price.

Mario149 said: TREMAiNE said: KMF said: 987/2 Cayman, better looking than a 997/1 To me, the Cayman is hideously ugly (from behind)! Looks are subjective though! I'm with you on the rear view ugliness of pre-981 Caymans but I'll raise you pre-981 Boxsters as well They're all a bit too much push me pull you styling for me. All that said, if my budget was the same as yours, I'd happily own any of the S models if a 996/997 wasn't on the running for some reason. Great cars for the price. I've got a 987 Boxster and I agree with you. However, the Cayman and Boxster are miles ahead of any rear view of a 911, the Kim Kardashian of the car world.

I was in the same position with the same budget around 8 months ago and ended up buying a gen 2 2009 S. I went for the gen 2 partly because I wanted the newer car which looks slightly better imo but mainly for peace of mind against any potential big bills. The car you've linked looks nice but I think you can get better for your money if patient. Mine had only 26k miles, 2 tone extended leather and Porsche sports exhaust - this sounds fantastic and I wouldn't buy one without it. I also looked at the 997, but was nervous about buying a 4 year older gen 1 car. Particularly as I use my car as my daily and have added another 10k miles in the first 6 months. I love the car, I've wanted a Porsche since I was a kid, and the novelty and excitement of driving it are still there every time I walk out the front door.

VladD said: I've got a 987 Boxster and I agree with you. However, the Cayman and Boxster are miles ahead of any rear view of a 911, the Kim Kardashian of the car world.

Contrary to everything I said last night, I am now strongly considering the Cayman! Seem to be able to get more for your money. I do like convertibles though... But then I would like another 2 seat coupe! Decisions!

On your original question, I honestly do prefer the 987.1 over the 987.2 and I think the gen.1 cars are now excellent value. I have a late gen. 2 987S and my brother has an early gen. 1 987S. We lend each other the cars and every time I drive the gen. 1 car I think it's slightly the more special. Everything feels a bit more solid and more analogue in the gen. 1 car, the steering, clutch, brakes, even the switch gear. The throttle response on the gen. 1 car is better, and the engine note, particularly at high revs, is more sonorous (and that's even though my gen.2 car has PSE). Folks do stress about the engines on the gen. 1 cars but there are maintenance and upgrade based solutions available. You can buy a one year Porsche approved warranty on the car up to age 9. Another option is Hartech's Lifetime maintenance plan. On your Cayman point, Caymans do handle better mainly because they are more rigid and they also have slightly more power than Boxsters (helping Porsche 'justify' charging more for the hard top than the convertible version of the same car). Personally, I've enjoyed my three years of open top motoring and will miss it when the Boxster goes - even although there is a handling compromise. FWIW I'm getting a Cayman next. Finally on your 911 idea - I traded down from a 997 and have to say I miss it every day - for me, there's an extra degree of theatre associated with the 911. They are also quite considerably quicker. They are very different cars to drive with different strengths and weaknesses - I like them both very much but some 911 folks don't like the mid-engine cars and vice versa. I won't get into all of that here... What is maybe worth mentioning is that on the whole gen. 1 997s will probably keep their value better than gen. 1 987s: look at 996 types versus 986 types for an idea. They're all great though - enjoy!

Interestingly, having hit 'submit' I saw a new thread from Barry Hart (the proprietor of Hartech) on his analysis of the gen. 1 versus gen. 2 engine design - have a good read of that - he really knows his stuff and is a top guy. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Cheers Oso and cmoose... Definitely a tough choice I am facing now... I'm going for a Gen 2 3.4 S of either of the two - I want something newish, after all, I'm spending £25k on a car which is a hell of a lot of money to me and I'm at the stage where I want a nice, reliable daily - and by the time I'm finished with the car I'm sure a 10 year old one will be easier to shift on than a 15 year old one! Its now deciding between the two... For £25k, you seem to be able to get the Cayman S with a lot more spec and lot less mileage for the money, additionally insurance is cheaper and you have the usual coupe pros... The cons are that I genuinely dislike the back end and do struggle to look at it from behind and that I don't get to put the roof down on warm days! The Boxster... It looks nicer to my eyes, it fills more roles than the Cayman (Roadster and Sports car) and that's pretty much the only things it wins on... Well, I also prefer the name 'Boxster' to 'Cayman' but that won't be a factor in my choice! I really don't know at the moment... I bought an MX-5 for Shed money in April and I can honestly say that the roof has been down every day where it hasn't rained, including when I drive home from work at midnight, I love it! But at the same time, the MX5 is an entirely different type of car to the 987, with the MX5, that's the party piece and the whole point, with the Boxster/Cayman I'm sure the core driving experience will be the enjoyable aspect with the folding roof of the Boxster being a nice extra... Keeping the MX5 isn't an option, I planned to widdle my 'fleet' down to one car, the RX7 and RX8 have now been sold (need to update my garage) and the MX5 will be next... 2 years ago when I started saving, I genuinely thought once I had the money I'd merrily skip into a dealership, hand over the money and drive out in my first Porsche within a week or two... The reality is after working so hard for that money I don't want to buy something I may regret buying! Oh well, I'm sure it's not the worst choice anyone has ever had to make!

You are right cmoose! Sorry TREMAINE, the depreciation point I meant was the gen. 2 987 versus gen. 1 997. Too many gens.... I guess whether it's a 911 or a Boxster/ Cayman there is much better value in the gen. 1 cars - watch the depreciation in the gen. 2s... No easy answers as cmoose says

I totally get the driving home from work at midnight with the roof down! I commuted in mine from Oxford to London for a year including on winter tyres through the whole winter and every night I drove home with the roof down! I found it really made the experience in the car. The fresh air keeps you awake and you somehow feel a bit more mortal/ vulnerable which adds to the experience. The body flex only bothers me occasionally on a B-road blast and even then you learn to work with it. They're both cracking cars. Now you've narrowed it down to the gen. 2s no harm in being patient - stock is low at most dealers right now due to holidays and supply will pick up after September.

you could pop into one of the OPC showrooms, hand over your 25K hard earned and finance the extra and come out with the most special boxster they have ever made. The 987/2 Boxster Spyder, there is no push you pull me, no depreciation, OPC waranty, and own a very special car. just an idea

Really not looking to finance but I do love the Spyder - though if I was considering going down the finance route I'd be getting something else all together - probably a V8V, Gran Turismo or something else V8 flavoured!

they are all nice cars those V8 cars if you have a lot of money and do not mind a big depreciation