Thinking buying a Boxster 987.2 - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past. The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k Is there any must have options ? Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage. Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s Thanks in advance

matty13 said: Hi Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past. The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k Is there any must have options ? Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage. Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s Thanks in advance By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183 Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16

I had a 987.2 Cayman 2.9 and sold it at just before 60k miles. Great car, absolutely loved it. I replaced all four coffin arms before selling as there was play in them, but that was partly due to the s t state of Oxfordshire’s roads. The steering rack had a slight oil weep which wasn’t getting worse but is a known issue. I also had the coolant crossover pipe done and again that’s a known issue at that age and mileage and cost about £1k. Also check the PDK service has been done. I’m 99% sure the 987.2 PDK box needed a service at 6 years and again at 12 years, but in any case on any 987.2, the transmission oil, diff oil and oil pan (with integral filter) should definitely have been done by now. Spark plugs and serpentine belt should have been done. If the plugs haven’t been changed on time, they can seize in the head and wreck it when removed. Finally, check the air con blows cold. Air con pipes corrode and the condensers are very subject to impact damage from stones.

Jones the cat said: By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183 Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16 This car is over priced and not particularly good spec. Has plastic interior (ie not extended leather). No PASM. No xenons. No Chrono. Manual standard seats. Etc. Etc. It’s nowhere near unrepeatable. You can do a lot better for the money.

Jones the cat said: By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183 Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16 Thats a really nice example. I could stretch the budget a bit but not that far.

AndrewGP said: I had a 987.2 Cayman 2.9 and sold it at just before 60k miles. Great car, absolutely loved it. I replaced all four coffin arms before selling as there was play in them, but that was partly due to the s t state of Oxfordshire’s roads. The steering rack had a slight oil weep which wasn’t getting worse but is a known issue. I also had the coolant crossover pipe done and again that’s a known issue at that age and mileage and cost about £1k. Also check the PDK service has been done. I’m 99% sure the 987.2 PDK box needed a service at 6 years and again at 12 years, but in any case on any 987.2, the transmission oil, diff oil and oil pan (with integral filter) should definitely have been done by now. Spark plugs and serpentine belt should have been done. If the plugs haven’t been changed on time, they can seize in the head and wreck it when removed. Finally, check the air con blows cold. Air con pipes corrode and the condensers are very subject to impact damage from stones. Thanks thats come great info

Jones the cat said: By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183 Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16 What’s unrepeatable about that? That’s a fairly low spec 987.2 It’s a nice car, but distinctly average among its siblings. And consequently looks expensive, despite the low miles.

My 09 plate 987.2S PDK was £19,000, two years ago with 70k on the clock. More or less in order of personal priority, worthwhile, I think, are: Any colour besides black Extended leather Bose PCCM/Nav Sports seats Sport Design steering wheel with paddles Cruise Xenons/PDLS Parking sensors Sports Chrono Plus Nice to have: PSE/sports exhaust Heated seats/wheel Auto-dim mirrors Rain-sensing wipers PASM

f6box said: This car is over priced and not particularly good spec. Has plastic interior (ie not extended leather). No PASM. No xenons. No Chrono. Manual standard seats. Etc. Etc. It’s nowhere near unrepeatable. You can do a lot better for the money. Extended leather on the Boxster Gen 2s seems even rarer than that in 987 Gen 2s

matty13 said: Hi Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past. The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k Is there any must have options ? Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage. Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s Thanks in advance Any reason you’re wanting a PDK car ? I only ask as it will possibly limit your choice, and the manual ‘box in these cars is no hardship to use.

Slippydiff said: Any reason you’re wanting a PDK car ? I only ask as it will possibly limit your choice, and the manual ‘box in these cars is no hardship to use. My preference would be a pdk but if the the right car came up i would consider a manual box

I just bought a .2 cayman. Id say manuals are rarer...

Agreed, manuals do appear to be rarer. If you can live with the red interior (but I’d have to have the wheels repainted in silver and remove the red side decals) : https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502108...

matty13 said: My preference would be a pdk but if the the right car came up i would consider a manual box Ah, if Manual then there is no better than the Black Edition. This is the one to get.... https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18321009

£25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value.

Steve H said: £25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value. 987 Black Editions always command strong money. I can't see a 981 (that are already closing in on values starting with a 1) having the same level of cachet

Jones the cat said: 987 Black Editions always command strong money. I can't see a 981 (that are already closing in on values starting with a 1) having the same level of cachet Especially when they look like a Saab 93, 9000 ay Julian (or was it a 99)??

Lovely cars these I did seriously consider one a few years ago. I would say you need heated seats, just about all of them seem to have them. Believe it or not I went to see a few and I did see rust on the arches behind the front wheels so watch for that. And this is back pre pandemic that I was looking. I changed my mind in the end but I still have a soft spot for them I think they look great in blue. Enjoy it!

Your budget is very healthy, you will have the pick of the market. Options are very personal but my thoughts below: Heated seats are a must, they are hard to re-sell without these Xenons. The halogen lights are pathetic even with the latest bulbs in. If going PDK look for sports chrono which enables you to switch between relaxed and frenetic at the touch of a button Depending on what you are coming from, don’t get too hung up on going for the ‘s’ as they are all plenty fast for road use. The S generally tends to be better specced though Engine noise is a bit disappointing so PSE is a good option. Lots have aftermarket exhausts on them but I found these were often a bit too much and I avoided them Service history and previous work done is the most important factor Good luck in your hunt. Great cars

Steve H said: £25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value. But imho the 987.2 is the better car (no EPS for starters)and long term a manual 987.2 will be more sort after! Black editions got lots of extras as standard with the 320hp engine (same as CR/Spyder)over the regular 310hp. Also think it came with Ali doors as well but not 100% it’s a long time ago

Just do it! If you're uncertain about PDK or Manual I'd recommend driving them both and thinking hard about what you want to use the car for. I've driven a Boxster with PDK on the road and a 997.2 PDK on track, the box is mighty impressive, though as a luddite I'd always prefer three pedals. The 8 yo boy inside me would always want PSE. The pops and bangs on over run always make me giggle, and, of course you can switch it off.

Slippydiff said: Agreed, manuals do appear to be rarer. If you can live with the red interior (but I’d have to have the wheels repainted in silver and remove the red side decals) : https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502108... Let's hope that spec is unrepeatable.

Steve H said: £25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value. Especially so if you're going for PDK, the one in the 9x1 cars is significantly better than the first gen PDK. I picked up my (high mileage) 981 3.4S for under £20k so it can be done!

Thanks for all the responses. Prices for these seem a bit all over the place. A couple of well specked cars at the 19-20k mark have been sold quickly. At the moment i just keeping an eye on the market with a view to going to look at some cars at the end of the month. Ideally id like a pdk car with Below 75k mile Heated seat Bose Sport exhaust In blue would be perfect

Prices are a little volatile - it’s east to lose sight of the fact that they’re surprisingly thin on the ground, but when Autotrader gives you single figures on a national search…

I have a 987.2 Boxster S (manual) for sale at the moment on Autotrader. Agreed the prices are a bit all over the place, not helped by the fact there just aren't many about. I'm in no rush to sell and have had a couple of interested parties so far. My plan is to just keep dropping the price every couple of weeks until someone bites

https://www.ashgood.co.uk/vehicle-details/used-por... Doesn't have the spec you're after but keenly priced!

Crudeoink said: I have a 987.2 Boxster S (manual) for sale at the moment on Autotrader. Agreed the prices are a bit all over the place, not helped by the fact there just aren't many about. I'm in no rush to sell and have had a couple of interested parties so far. My plan is to just keep dropping the price every couple of weeks until someone bites This one by any chance? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025030899... Adding 'PASM' to the search criteria doesn't half shrink the number of cars. How big a difference does it make on the 987? I've read it's a noticeable improvement on the 981, especially with 20" wheels.

I swapped a 987.2 S manual for a 981 base PDK in the Autumn for medical reasons. Having thought the 987.2 was the perfect sweet spot of Boxster when I bought that one originally, my own personal thoughts follow. 987S does have some standard items over the base 987 such as xenons and heated seats (AIUI). Mine didn't have many options further than that other than a sports back box. Mine had 45k on it when I bought it and 51k when I sold it. In that period it needed new master & slave clutch cylinders, coffin arms, cross coolant pipe and could/should have had new springs and discs (I didn't do). Each of those jobs was £1,100 ish so not a cheap phase of the cars age. To drive it was great fun and quite analogue. In the end I couldn't drive it more than an hour because of a medical condition meaning stiff suspension, big wheels & manual triggered my symptoms. For this reason I went over to a 981 base on smaller wheels and with PDK. I don't really like the PDK despite its technical merits (I'm oldish) but the 981 is night & day a nicer place to be in. I forgive the lesser performance from the 2.7 - it still makes a great noise & handles really well. I thought I might not like the electric steering given my original reasons for buying the 987.2 but TBH it's still very good and not a red flag. My reason for describing my experience of the 981 over the 987.2 is the OP's history of BMW & AMG Mercs, the 981 is far closer to them than the quite different 987.2. Also to note the sizeable maintenance bills you can face at this age. My cost to change was surprisingly high considering the similar ages & miles so the 981 market is pretty strong.

Patrick Bateman said: This one by any chance? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025030899... Adding 'PASM' to the search criteria doesn't half shrink the number of cars. How big a difference does it make on the 987? I've read it's a noticeable improvement on the 981, especially with 20" wheels. There's my one The PASM cars sit a bit lower 10mm iirc. To be honest the roads are too bumpy to have PASM on most of the time but it's actually quite comfortable with it switched off. I might be wrong but I think the PASM cars are softer (when it's off) compared to standard. i haven't actually driven another .2 without Pasm so don't have a direct comparison unfortunately

Thanks for the reply. Good to hear your thoughts on the 981. I have not ruled a base 981 out just not many in my price range. Also good to hear about the up keep on the 987. If possible i would like avoid any big bills for the first year. I have just come out of an SL55 the was utterly ruinous to run. That said I'm not scared of some big bills. I have been keeping an eye on the market and good cars don't seem to hanging around. I have seen a green car for sale for 20k that i like. I wont be in a position to view anything for about a month so if it’s still for sale i will take a look.

I think PASM is generally held to be too firm for UK roads when it’s on, but a better fit for them than the standard setup when it’s off - and it’s a better match for 19” wheels than standard, too. Bearing in mind the age of 987.2s and the fact that it’s not all that difficult or expensive to find better dampers for the standard setup, I don’t think I would let a lack of PASM turn me away from a car that was otherwise right for me, though.

PDK but looks well cared for and I like the colour https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504081... PS get over to Boxa.net. They flagged up the 987.2 that I ended up buying last year. Lots of very helpful people. I put up a wanted ad and I was inundated with links to cars not formally advertised Edited by Biglips on Friday 11th April 16:10

Crudeoink said: There's my one The PASM cars sit a bit lower 10mm iirc. To be honest the roads are too bumpy to have PASM on most of the time but it's actually quite comfortable with it switched off. I might be wrong but I think the PASM cars are softer (when it's off) compared to standard. i haven't actually driven another .2 without Pasm so don't have a direct comparison unfortunately PASM is always on, it's just a case of two modes, one softer than the other. PASM spring rates are higher (firmer) than non-PASM. But the damping rate is softer in normal mode than a non-PASM car. So, overall, a PASM car in normal mode probably feels a bit softer than a non-PASM car.

Can imagine that only helping on our, possibly worse than ever, utterly shocking road surfaces.

Thanks for everyones help on this thread. I ended up with a 987.2 pdk with 58k miles on it. I had it for about a month now and am really enjoying the car and kinda wish id have brought one a few year ago instead of my bmw z4m coupe. Anyway

Looks fab - enjoy!

Hope you got a warranty on that PDK….. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Somewhat wishing I’d kept the 987.2 manual.