Toying with selling for a 981

So I've been thinking about selling my 996 and using the proceeds to pay down one of our properties, then saving for a nice 981 Boxster S. Anyone care to give me their $0.02? Especially 981 owners. Any ideas if my 996 would be a BAT candidate? Car is in great shape, receipts back to 2004. IMS, AOS, RMS, Clutch, Waterpump, LT Thermostat etc etc all done 20K ago. Factory aero, LSD.... You Tube

What do you think your car is worth?

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No idea really. Was gonna ask the forum what they thought.

Dont sell it, you just put so nice wheels on it. more to the point. The 911s show to actually hold value at a some point. The boxsters and caymans dont hold on as hard. Just my view.

I'd go drive a 981 and your 911 back to back and let that inform your decision. You'll know quickly whether it is better/worse/same and can factor in the other stuff (fits lifestyle, financial, life goals, etc.) better than anyone else here can. It's so individual. For example, I am a huge land cruiser fan, have had them for many many years, several different generations. I regularly (as recently as yesterday on Jalopnik) read all kinds of stuff about how they are dated, bloated, overpriced, ugly, gas guzzling pieces of junk, not worth owning. If I listened to most people, I'd dump it today and get something else entirely. But....every time I get in another vehicle to try to replace it, I both consciously and subconscioulsy compare it to my land cruiser, and have yet to find anything else that better meets MY needs. I even bought a 4Runner limited at one point, since people in the automotive press and across the internet said it was pretty much the same thing, but half the money. They couldn't have been more wrong. I've considered resto-modding an old Defender, but every time I stack the two up side by side, the cruiser wins (except for the badass looks factor). It's all personal preference. I suspect the same thing will happen when you drive the 981. Either you'll say, hell yeah, this is the car to replace my 996, or nah, the 996 is still better... On selling your 996, you never know how it'll go with BAT. Either way, I suspect you'd be able to find a buyer for your car, it seems well cared for and has desirable options. Good cars seem to sell and get a decent price.

I've driven a 981 and the shifter feels amazing. The way it shifts was my favorite part of it. It felt underpowered to me though even though the S has a 3.4. The interior felt a little cramped too. I preferred my 996 after the drive, but I really liked the shift feel and how tossable it was. I ended up getting a 997.2 gt3 shift kit for my 996 after I drove that boxster.

I'm assuming the 996 is paid off. I agree that 911s hold value and probably won't sky rocket but will likely increase slightly in value. Unless it is going to pay the property off I would keep the 996 and continue to save for a 981.

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Yep, I paid cash for the 996 and I would use the $ from the sale to pay down our income property, then save for the new car.

Personally I feel you would regret selling the 996. You can never have too many Porsches!

You may be right. I've booked a Boxster S on Turo for next month. Will see how it goes...

Go rent some cars on Turo for a day or two. Based on your recent threads, it seems like your ready for something new. Edit: saw that you're renting on Turo.

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Yep. Got one booked for Mar 10th. Nice avatar btw. Is that Buttonwillow?

Power and interior room are less, for certain models, both ways, but you'll always want a 911 in the Porsche world. (exception may be Spyder or GT4.) Good luck in what ever you do. On the Turo rental, it might need refreshing in Struts/Shocks/Tires to get full potential. I loved tracking my Boxster S. Still miss confidence it gave in handling dept.

If I were to do a swap like this, I'd head for the Cayman S. Unless the reason is the open cab. Either way, I don't see you getting much cash out of the 996 that isn't put back into either the Cay or Box.

true^^ you've been so hot about your 996 I don't see why you would even be considering the idea. I sold my 996 to pay off several debts and don't regret it. Now I have a 986. Really fun car, just not fast.

Don�t get me wrong, I love my 996 but there�s always that itch to get something new. A 981 S with 315hp and 2900lbs should be plenty quick. Again, just thinking out loud. Haven�t done anything yet.

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LOL I hear ya on that! That's my problem; I don't keep cars long

I had my 996 for about 20 months. Now, I miss it. But - my wife put me on a car diet. H have to sell one of my 928s before I can stock up again.

The 911 is iconic, all other Porsches are nice but not iconic. I'm sure the 981 is nice, but it's not a 911.

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Will paying down on the property have a decent impact on your life allowing you to work towards the 981? Will you get increased financial stability from selling the 996? If not, the 996 might be the better financial decision out of the two cars. The Boxster is going to devalue, whereas the 996 is pretty close to the bottom of where it will be.

Won�t have an immediate effect but it will get my property paid off that much sooner and since it�s a rental, 100% of the income will be realized every month rather than some going toward a mortgage. There�s also the non economic reasons too. Wanting to experience something new/different. For now I�m going to rent a Boxster S through Turo. I�ll also rent a Cayman S. Maybe keeping the 996 and renting a 981 every once in a while is an option.

There's just no arguing wanting something new. If you got the means, scratch the itch. You can always come back to the 996 if you miss it that much..but are going to order the same thing from the menu twice? BTW, the avatar is Streets of Willow Springs. I really miss that track being in norcal...

Streets is fun. A little tight for my bike. Big Willow is more suited to it. Going there Apr 6th with Let�s Ride Track Days.

I've detailed a few newer boxters and while I don't have much seat time in them I prefer my 911. If I was driving it every day maybe the 981 since its more refined and modern.

Would holding on to my 996 for another year and wait for a 981 to depreciate a little more make sense? I�m seeing Boxsters and Caymans (non S) in the low 30s. If they drop another $5k in a year there wouldn�t be much of a $ difference between my 996 and a 981.

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You way want to ask the 981 crew. Personally, I'll be keeping my 911 because it reminds me of my first 911 and I always wanted a two kids and a 911! But, it would take a 991 turbo cab to make me say the 911 is "better" You've let doubt creep in, so you may as well start test driving those inexpensive, convertible rockets!

We're on the same boat 6 months ago. Decided not to sell it and kept all three P cars at home. My 1st world problem now is which one to take out.

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Ha! Very nice. Unfortunately I have a one car garage that already houses the 996 and an Aprilia RSV4. And a wife that would probably not be too thrilled with another toy in the driveway. Do you have a preference between your 996 and Boxster? Which set of keys do you tend to reach for first??

I drove several different Cayman S over a couple year period thinking the same thing. Couldn't do it.

"Do you have a preference between your 996 and Boxster? Which set of keys do you tend to reach for first??" The 996 when I'm alone. With the wife, she prefers the sexy 981 because 996 is too loud and rough for her. Be warned though that the 981 has very little usable space, it's definitely a more weekend car. But for a daily driver, nothing beats the Cayenne.

My 996 is a weekend car so the 981 would be as well. Don�t need much space.

So I rented a Boxster S through Turo today. Don�t know if it made my mind any clearer. Of course the 981 is way smoother in just about every way over my 20 yr old 996, but because of this there�s less drama with the experience. The PDK while dull around town makes complete sense when I took it into the canyons. The auto blip on downshifts is awesome. The 981 is much faster in the twisties and the balance is sublime. Got the back end to step out a couple times but it�s so controllable. Not sure it�s faster in a straight line than my 996 though. Doesn�t feel as quick but that could be because of the PDK. The car didn�t have PSE and was way too quiet. With the top down the wind noise over powers the exhaust. My 996 is def more of an event. Is the Boxster too easy to drive? I�m not sure. I think I need to Turo a Cayman with the 6 spd manual and also a 997/991. Not trying to be a snob but I�m not convinced the Boxster felt as special as a 911, but maybe that�s totally subjective. It�s a great car no doubt. I just can�t decide if it�s too good......

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I agree with everything you said from what I can remember when I drove one. The one thing that really stood out to me thought was the manual gearbox, so definitely drive a manual. The gearbox was very good, it might be the deciding factor for you.

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I think you're right. I love a manual box but the PDK was just so good in the canyons. The autorev blipping is amazing and you can get through turns so seamlessly. A 997.2/991 may be out of my price range, so I may end up going with the Cayman.

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PDKs are automatic gear boxes and after two weeks the novelty of driving with it wears off and you will be drive it in regular automatic mode. I've talked many many owners and they all say the same. If they knew this, they would have gotten a manual transmission car instead.