Flat six, 6-speed manual, roof optional.

"Thomas Donohue" (tomonomics)
01/10/2020 at 11:17 • Filed to: None

Base 981s are steadily coming into the sub $30k range. So far they’ve proven to be pretty reliable, and I’ve even seen a few CPO’s in the $33 ,000 range, though they rarely last a day or two. Some of the higher-spec’d cars are close to 50% depreciation.

Here’s a great example....mostly un- optioned other than the convenience package (wind deflector, heated seats, two zone climate control). None of the other bullshit, though p ersonally I’d like a sport steering wheel. Two owner with full dealer maintenance history and no accidents.

$28,900 (original sticker was $52k). It will be interesting to see what these are going for next winter. Might be time to move up from my 986.

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DISCUSSION (17)

WilliamsSW > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 11:40

I’ve driven the 981 S and it was absolutely glorious.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 11:55

These are bigger than a Miata, right? Can a 6'1" person actually fit in one?

Thomas Donohue > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
01/10/2020 at 12:07

YMMV, but yes, you’re fine at 6'1". There is a guy in my local PCA that’s 6'5" and drives a 981 GTS and doesn’t complain about it.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 12:17

You upgrade from a 986 and sell it to me, okay?

Arrivederci > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 12:19

I hate to think about my Miata’s eventual successor (especially since I just got it) , but a 981S seems to fit the bill.

Textured Soy Protein > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
01/10/2020 at 12:24

They’re relatively roomy since there’s no transmission tunnel taking up space. There’s still a shifter console but it’s not too bulky. Although the 981 console does take up more room in the car than the 986 & 987. The main restriction on room is the bulkhead behind the seats but there’s a decent amount of room for taller people to move the seat back .

Milky > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
01/10/2020 at 14:30

Have you tried an ND? I’m that tall and fit in mine, could depend on how you’re built.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Milky
01/10/2020 at 14:33

No, the only Miata I’ve had the opportunity to sit it was a 1st-gen. So I felt like Wario on Mario Kart 64.

marshknute > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 15:13

Im torn about this.

I currently track a base C6 Corvette and have always wanted to “upgrade” to a Porsche ($30K limit) . You can’t find a 981 Boxster/Cayman S for that price. Not even if I look for a late-model (post-IMS) 987 can I find an S . Considering the 987.2 update happened in 09’ I suppose it’s not surprising nobody bought one new during a recession.

There are a handful of 981’s, b ut that means I’d be going from 430hp/424lb-ft down to 261hp/207lb-ft. Yeah, it’s better balanced and lighter and easier on consumables and has fixed calipers (faster to swap pads than my C6’s floating calipers), but losing 169 hp is a lot. Even if it does retain its value...

When will Boxster/Cayman S’s depreciate?!?!?

jonny11quest > marshknute
01/10/2020 at 16:12

The sweet spot is non-S 987.2 Cayman. Your second paragraph about loss of power may still apply, but the non-S has the same updated cooling system and same brakes (if memory serves) as the S. It also avoids direct injection so less worry about carbon buildup and having to walnut blast. The price premium going from 987.2 non-S to 987.2 S is just not worth it IMHO. If my 128i didn’t fall into my lap, I was heading in this direction.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
01/10/2020 at 16:17

I’m 6’2” about 215lbs and I fit comfortably in an older Boxster.

But I find I’m comfortable in most small cars. I’m okay with feeling a bit cozy. Lol

Thomas Donohue > marshknute
01/10/2020 at 17:34

Going from 430 hp down to 315 is still a big drop with the S.

Other than a yearly track day, I’ve never longed for an S over my base 986. 95 % of the time the car has plenty of power, and the way the 981 manuals are geared, you never get out of 2nd or 3rd gear. While no one ever buys an ‘S’ and says “ I wish I got the base model”, I’m pretty content with it.

I’ve driven both the 981 GTS and 718 S, but I’m not paying the premium for anything other than the Spyder. Then again, I don’t have the premium cash anyway!

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Thomas Donohue
01/10/2020 at 22:08

Cars don’t need sport chrono to know lap times for laps they don’t do.

sports cars don’t need eco gauges to track fuel economy analytics... at least not up front.

Sports cars need, and some actually have, horsepower and torque gauges and analytics. not peak capability tracking.. peak useage tracking.

You should be able to see how much horsepower and torque you actually use... A couple of launches during the first few weeks you own it... then mostly just commuting and highway cruise control at 8-15mph over the speed limit, with a few periods of 45mph behind some idiot truck.

And it shows that you use about 350-375 horsepower max for a few seconds, and mostly less than 150 horsepower, and less than 75hp on the highway.

the top 30-50% of the engine’s capacity is bragging rights unless you take it to the track, or have already lost your license.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you won’t notice the missing horsepower margin that you may not be using anyway, and the power-to-weight may even help a bit more than you think.

I think that is the core tenet behind the joy of driving a slow car fast, it just falls down if the slow cars make you wish they were faster.

BRZ/86... you wish were faster. Miata... sometimes wish it were faster... Corvette V8... code brown sometimes. Dodge Hell-beasts... actually trying to kill people.

Porsche mid-engine cars are reportedly goldilocks. Just right. lightweight, but not cramped. fast enough to be fun, but not overkill.

But there are different horses for different courses... some people like the adrenalin a bit more than precision and balance.

I don’t have direct experience, but I have heard, and it makes sense, that the newer the Porsche sports car gets... the less real advantage the S model has over the base. The base engines got better, the S engines are even more, but cost more and move toward overhead that might exceed what is needed on the road, and becomes just a matter of money spent.

986, I would definitely hold out for a 3.2S with a 6MT, rather than 2.7 with a 5-speed... probably into early 987.

Later 987.2 and 981... I would consider a base car, and some money for some less bargain-bin looking wheels, which are about the only downside to pretty much any base-model Porsche. The wheels are the only advertisement that you bought the CHEAP one, even if it has some options in it... but the base engine.

Porsche figured out monetizing that with the ‘T’ models... because Porsche will monetize ‘less is more’. Less for you is more for them. More for you is aslo MORE, much more, for them.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Milky
01/10/2020 at 22:24

I am 6'1, and barely fit in an NB... and absolutely did not fit in the passenger seat of an ND when my spouse took a test drive.

I have sat in a 987, but not driven one... being in a dealer showroom, but I did fit a bit better than the NB Miata we owned for 15 years. I think 981/718 are just a tiny bit more generous yet than 987 was.

Just an inch or two extra in the interior dimensions of the car really helps... including the foot wells, and the lower, narrower center console, due to not needing to cover the drivetrain.

Milky > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
01/12/2020 at 12:10

I was pretty sure theres less room on the passenger side so I looked it up. The cat is by the transmission tunnel and the subwoofer is under your feet on the pass side.

I guess that stuff has to go somewhere and Mazda decided the passenger should suffer.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Milky
01/12/2020 at 16:39

I couldn’t fit my head under the convertible top in the ND I sat in...

Milky > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
01/13/2020 at 09:31

More like boxerfanatic, troublesomely long torso