[onewhippedpuppy]

Talk you out of it.....why? I owned a 986 Boxster for close to a year, it was a fantastic car and dead reliable. I love the 911 but there's no substitute for mid engine balance, the feeling of the car pivoting around your hips is tough to beat. Having the engine intake just over your left shoulder is pretty cool too. It was also surprisingly practical with the two trunks, I took a long weekend trip with my son to a rally race in MO and didn't even use half of the storage. I can't speak for the Cayman, but the Boxster is also actually pretty easy to work on. As a bonus, I managed to get nearly 30 MPG on the highway.

Frankly I wouldn't worry too much about the IMS/RMS issues, they are real problems but seriously overblown (IMHO), particularly on forums. There's a very small percentage of cars that suffer from the issue, and if you're really worried there are upgraded parts available. I'm on my 4th 986/996 and have owned them for over two years (cumulative), overall they've all been fantastically reliable cars. Porsche also made improvements over the years, making the issues more and more rare the newer the car.

BTW, I'm 6'1" and about 225, in the Boxster I had plenty of room.