Not looking at Boxster's... but
 

Board and surfing autotrader and dang $7-8K?

Theoretically after I retire in May and no longer need commuter car I could sell my Versa and get back into a Porsche?

This one, air compressor out? Think he means air conditioning out? Not my favorite color but beggars can't be choosers.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=498843123&zip=90731 &referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D90731%26startYe ar%3D1981%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26incremental %3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26 endYear%3D2020%26modelCodeList%3DBOXSTE%252CPOR718 BOX%252CPOR718CAY%252CCAYMAN%26makeCodeList%3DPOR% 26searchRadius%3D50&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&f irstRecord=0&endYear=2020&modelCodeList=BOXSTE%2CP OR718BOX%2CPOR718CAY%2CCAYMAN&makeCodeList=POR&sea rchRadius=50&makeCode1=POR&modelCode1=BOXSTE&click Type=listing

or

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=508669695&zip=90731 &referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D90731%26startYe ar%3D1981%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26incremental %3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26 endYear%3D2020%26modelCodeList%3DPOR718BOX%252CPOR 718CAY%252CBOXSTE%26makeCodeList%3DPOR%26searchRad ius%3D50&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&firstRecord= 0&endYear=2020&modelCodeList=POR718BOX%2CPOR718CAY %2CBOXSTE&makeCodeList=POR&searchRadius=50&makeCod e1=POR&modelCode1=BOXSTE&clickType=listing

Yeah tons of them out there. both of those cars need a red interior.

Hey Scott, my friend has one with about 100k miles but the AC and water pump is done so it should be a pretty good car. He's been talking about getting rid of it for some time but too lazy to actual do it. He had a Cayman S and older 911s so he's not attached to the car. Look me up when you are ready. get you guys in touch with each other. A bunch of local Pelican know him. Solid guy, no fuss and easy. We go up to renn sport together all the time.

Thanks! But only going to consider it as a retirement gift to myself in May. I'll get back to you then.

Both cars you posted are automatic.

One has 100k miles but is an S.
You rarely see S models under $12k unless high mileage

But, the base model has been a $5k-$8k car for a long time.
Conditions vary.

Would very much like an S with a manual but as I said beggars can't be choosers, don't have a lot (or any) disposable income.

His isn't auto. Forget that but not an S. Its not fast by any means but fast enough to get stuck on the harbor fwy that's for sure. I rode up to Rennsport in it a few years ago.

Any flavor of Boxster is a good time. I had a 1997 base model with about 120k that was super solid and a LOT of fun. They are GREAT cars.

great car - I had a 2000 S

not as great as an early 911 tho...

Cayman maybe looks better but the Boxster is a convertible...

only problem with a Boxster is size/wt.

I want a roadster the size of a Bug-eye & lighter than an Elan

I came across a Boxster S for $5900 a year-and-a-half ago. Do not remember the mileage, but it wasn't bad. However, the IMS and water pump had not been done, so I factored an additional $4K into the purchase price. I still kick myself for not buying it.

Some guy in Marina del Rey was selling his deceased father's S awhile ago. Asking $12K, but was on Craigslist for a couple months.

There's been another S at a used car lot in Van Nuys for several months. Asking $12K, IIRC.

I see non-S' for sale under $10K often. Some ratty, some clean.

I have an '11 Cayman S with 6 speed manual. It is the closest thing to the air cooled 911 that you'll find now. It really benefitted from a cat-back exhaust and GT-3 shifter. Heel and toe is not possible unless you ditch the stock muffler. I also put wheel spacers on the front and rear and I can tell you it's like my 914-6 but with a freak ton more power.

I love my Boxster! If you are looking at 986s, the 02+ got a glass rear window vs a plastic one. The S also come with bigger brakes (base 996 brakes), and of course more hp. Throughout the life of the 986 increases in hp were made to the base and S models. I'd look for an 02+ S model in stick, since you have quite a while.

FRS is the closest thing.
2700lbs and 200hp.
But much more precise steering.

Cayman S has like 350hp and is a totally different beast.

Let's post some CA base boxsters for sale for Scott. You can find a gem for like $7k

I had a 2002 standard 986 with a manual. Its was an excellent car, and I would own one again.

My only advice would be that if you plan on using it as an all year round car, I would track down the factory hard top. I had one, and it made the car much more livable in the winter. Also much quieter. The rag tops on that generation were very thin. That changed with the 987.

I just picked up an 02 tip for 2k. Transmission leaks like a sieve , Im betting I can fix the leak, do the ims, rms, and oil seperator for about 1k.
Nice little car other wise . Tiptronic would not be my first choice, but I grew to like it on my other boxster

I get your point about power to weight. A 987.2 normal Cayman has around 11.06 lbs per BHP vs. a Carrera at around 13.8. I doubt there would be as much difference though, with a 986 Boxster or Cayman vs. a 3.2 air cooled 911. And the wheelbase is around 5" longer with a Cayman vs. a G series 911. The turning circle is 2' wider.


All that aside, you're saying that basically a front-engine 4-cylinder bargain Scion is more similar to a 911 than the Cayman? I can see if you said that a re-badged Subaru is AS MUCH FUN as the air cooled 911. I could not find issue with that, but the handling feel would be so different IMO. It would be like comparing a 914-6 to a BMW 2002 tii.

My own subjective opinion is that on initial turn-in, a 987.2 Cayman feel a lot like a 914-6. OTOH, if you get an "S" with Porsche's traction control (PASM) and Sport Chrono, limited slip, and 6-speed manual, then it is absolutely a sublime experience. Add a Borla exhaust, and you basically have the sound of a GTS or GT4 and enough power to get into trouble like a proper Porsche should. I would almost suggest trying to find an "S" with all of the go fast goodies with a salvage title.

Having had several of both, you don’t need the S to have fun. 200 HP in a 2800 lb car (1997 base is the lightest) is still a LOT of fun. I’ve always thought a cool project would be to find a base 1997, strip out the non-essential stuff, remove the heavy top and mechanism, and create a poor man’s Boxster Spyder. If it rains you just toss on a hard top. It’s pretty easy to get 200 more lbs out of a Boxster without stripping out carpet, AC, and other essentials.

I've had an '02 S for about four or five years now. It has the plastic rear window, not the glass. It is also lacking a glove compartment, which I think they received the next year, along with the glass rear window. Incidentally, I put a new top on mine about two years ago, and the shop very much recommended I stick with the plastic on a car that originally had it. Apparently the glass replacements, for those years, have to have a pretty small window for the whole mechanism to still function properly.

Mine now has about 120k on the clock. I've swapped the water pump for the steel impeller version and have replaced the infamous IMS bearing. Did both at about 80K, and both still looked brand new. These issues may be a tad overblown. Then again, I did swap out a water pump in a buddy's base model Boxster in a gas station parking lot in the middle of the night somewhere in bumfark Southern Oregon one time.

Anyway, great little cars. Compared to my '72 911 3.0 liter hot rod, they have about equal horsepower, but the Boxster weighs about 600 pounds more. It's not as quick as the 911 as a result, but the handling and braking are much, much better. It's not nearly as terrifying to drive at its limits as the old 911 is. Some would say "not as much fun", but it really is, in a different way. I plan on hanging onto mine for a good long time.

ok, here is a tip Bosterites...

pull the grill off (IIRC from 19 years ago, it's the one behind the driver) and toss the air silencer for the induction

more enjoyment

I don't know if it gave it more power, but the intake noise sure sounds great!

Well damn - the Boxster's been around over 20 years now. That makes me feel old.

I have an FRS that my daughter is driving - it feels and sounds like an early 911 - pretty nimble - makes good sounds - feels like you are going a lot faster than you really are

After almost a year of Boxster S ownership, a play on words from many 911 SC discussions comes to mind: They are all $15k cars. Beware of deferred maintenance.

Also, I DD’ed a BRZ for 18 months. Not once did a comparison with any 911 come to mind. It is a really good car, but an air-cooled 911 experience it is not.

The S is nice with bigger brakes and the 3.2 motor but the 'upgraded' suspension is a bit much if you've ever driven a base model. You're not going to make any money buying a Boxster IMHO so don't spend any more than you need to.

And don't buy the Tiptronic.

I have seen some pretty decent Boxsters for just cheap. The basic disposable car. It would not be worth fixing it up much. If I had a four car garage I would have one. I just can't see parking one outside all the time.

In the end, I will just stick to my antique 1985 911. 100% driver's car. And I know every inch of it, and don't have to learn about some new fangled modern Porsche with weird parts like ABS, and water pumps.

Did the air cooled thing, not going back, well maybe a 914.

I would think a Boxster S could hold it's own against a Carrera 3.2. Top speed is slower. Less HP and Torque and not that much lighter.

What makes a car a drivers car? I drive my car, am I not a driver? Not a good driver but still a driver.

I do like the simplicity of the old 911's. Can't deny that.

I certainly love mine and with the engine Jake built me hold on buddy she's a blast to drive ! :D Excellent mid engine handling , modern creature comforts , two trunks for great storage and very good fuel mileage if you keep your foot out of it .......... I struggle with that part ;)

To me, a pure driver's car is one with no nanny or driver aids. So no power steering, ABS, traction control, PDK or Tiptronic, tire pressure monitors and so on. I will readily admit all those thing make a car easier to drive and faster. But the car is doing the driving.

To drive a old air cooled 911 fast is just pure. On the track they get passed by all the new cars with a lot more performance. But it is just the driver that brings the car back to the pits undamaged. The fancy traction control is not there to save you.

Just my opinion. It is remotely possible I could be wrong. ;)

Any modern Porsche can get to insane speeds very quickly. My old 914 was a car I could flog on, row through the gears and still not be at 60 MPH yet. A 914 is even more of a pure driver's car.

Glen has a great and realistic perspective. A 986 Boxster S, stock for stock, will hand a 911 Carrera its ass in any competitive atmosphere. But conversely I would rate the 911 as more of an event, more special and raw. Both great cars but much different experiences.

This one seems pretty good … 75k miles on a 2003, IMS bearing done ….. $8500 and not all beat to crap.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1551741412.jpg


https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/d/aliso-viejo-03-porsche-986-boxer/6831718864.html

On the "pure driver's car" subject, I have a question.

My 3.2 911 has obviously no traction control. The Cayman has PASM, etc etc. When I heel and toe 5th to 3rd, under heavy braking, blip throttle into 2nd for a hairpin turn and then roll hard on the gas, I might be carrying say I dunno 35~ish through the corner, and PASM kicks in. It hits the inside brakes HARD and the apex stutters probably 12 feet at a time toward the inside and just kills any trailing throttle steering or drift.

Do you guys turn PASM off? I have not messed with it, but in YouTube videos I see guys turn it off in tight corners and turn it back on in high speed corners under slippery or wet track conditions.

This would impact your consideration when buying any Boxster, Cayman, or the like. In other words, how do you use PASM if at all?

They have a PASM button to defeat it. Most 986 Boxsters won’t have it, I think it became optional on the 986.2 starting in 2002.

My '02 S has no "nannies" of any kind. Not even ABS. It's a pretty highly optioned car, with leather interior, air, etc., so I think if ABS, PASM, or whatever were available that year, this one should have it. It doesn't, so I'm not all that sure it was even available.

Yes, Sir. That is the "Chris Harris" button. I was just wondering if normal guys turn off PASM. I've seen normal guys totally eat it that way too.
https://youtu.be/z_WpLON3VSk

Jeff ABS was standard on your Boxster. In fact I’m almost positive it was standard equipment on ALL 986 Boxsters. PASM was optional on 986 Boxsters, I think it became standard on the 987.

Boxster good

rufster better

Matt, I'm glad we had this discussion. Thank you. You made me go look (I jacked up the back to look for the ABS sensors), and you talked me into taking it for a drive. It does, in fact, have ABS - I stand corrected.

Amazing. Amazing in that I have put a couple of sets of brake pads on it and never noticed the sensors. They are inboard of the discs, but not that that is any kind of an excuse. Amazing too in that while I have only had it on a track twice (I promised my wife I wouldn't "ruin it" by turning it into a track rat like my 911), I have managed to well and truly lock up the brakes. We're talking full-on smoke show, not unlike a Funny Car burnout. Never felt the typical ABS shudder in the pedal.

On my drive today, I took advantage of our freshly sanded roads (it snowed pretty heavily a few weeks ago) to try to make the ABS engage. Sure enough, shuddering pedal and all, I got it to engage. I still got it to skid on the sand, but it sure was trying not to.

So I learned something today. That said, I'm a slow learner, so I am now a bit baffled. Did I just manage to over-power the system when I locked them up on the track? Should that even be possible, or is there possibly some kind of a fault? I mean, it did what it was supposed to do on my little test drive today.

The problem with so many cars on CL is that they're Tiptronics. :(

Fortunately Boxsters are everywhere, so there are always one or two cheapish 986s with manual transmissions available in the greater LA area.

Jeff, turn the ignition to ON without starting the car. The idiot lights will illuminate. Third from the left should be the one for ABS.