Is the 987 Spyder worth the money…
Discussion
I have been thinking about a replacement for my previous weekend car which was an immaculate Evo Vi, front runner has been the GR Yaris. However, whilst having a few pints with a mate (who works in the car journo biz) suggested I stretch the budget a bit a look at the 987 Spyder.
I have seen a few in the past, not knowing what they were and thinking 35k looked high for a 987 gen 2 Boxster. But looking now there are only 2 for sale at the moment (both on eBay) both above £45k
Is this strong money or are they worth it?
I have seen a few in the past, not knowing what they were and thinking 35k looked high for a 987 gen 2 Boxster. But looking now there are only 2 for sale at the moment (both on eBay) both above £45k
Is this strong money or are they worth it?
Klippie said:
The Yaris its an absolute hoot you will not be dissapointed with one, I also have a 987.2 Cayman S which is similar to the Boxster mechanically and its a great drive as well, two polar opposite cars they are my perfect two car garage.
I already have a quick Tesla and a family wagon (vw Cali) if you could just have one of yours (consider the price) which one would you have if you were me?Yes but bias ...have one for close to 10yrs now and great cars also had a 981 Spyder sold a few yrs ago.
As to price a lot depends on spec mine has Buckets .Sport Chrono .Spyder wheels .Manual. you could not buy mine for under £48k ,they are creeping up in value, new where a £58k car with the right bits.
You will love it old skool steering ,the hood can be a bit fiddly till you get used to it ,if you plan on high speed autobahn driving with the hood up has a max 120 mph limit.
As to price a lot depends on spec mine has Buckets .Sport Chrono .Spyder wheels .Manual. you could not buy mine for under £48k ,they are creeping up in value, new where a £58k car with the right bits.
You will love it old skool steering ,the hood can be a bit fiddly till you get used to it ,if you plan on high speed autobahn driving with the hood up has a max 120 mph limit.
Great cars, good spec and low miles cars are £45k - £50k from a dealer still it seems.
As much fun on UK roads as cars much more expensive. Just the right amount of usable power, great steering and with PSE a lovely soundtrack.
Prefer a spirited drive in the Spyder than many of the other cars I’ve had in the past.
They’re also pretty rare, relatively light, look fab, will probably continue to hold their value and are even good on fuel (30mpg easily on a run).
South of £50k for a sports car, they can easily hold their own.
Gratuitous picture…
Edited to add…don’t worry about higher mileage cars, they can take it as long as they’ve been properly maintained. You will get a good one for £40k.
As much fun on UK roads as cars much more expensive. Just the right amount of usable power, great steering and with PSE a lovely soundtrack.
Prefer a spirited drive in the Spyder than many of the other cars I’ve had in the past.
They’re also pretty rare, relatively light, look fab, will probably continue to hold their value and are even good on fuel (30mpg easily on a run).
South of £50k for a sports car, they can easily hold their own.
Gratuitous picture…
Edited to add…don’t worry about higher mileage cars, they can take it as long as they’ve been properly maintained. You will get a good one for £40k.
Edited by MrVert on Sunday 8th January 15:59
Edited by MrVert on Sunday 8th January 20:33
MrVert said:
Great cars, good spec and low miles cars are £45k - £50k from a dealer still it seems.
As much fun on UK roads as cars much more expensive. Just the right amount of usable power, great steering and with PSE a lovely soundtrack.
Prefer a spirited drive in the Spyder than many of the other cars I’ve had in the past.
They’re also pretty rare, relatively light, look fab, will probably continue to hold their value and are even good on fuel (30mpg easily on a run).
South of £50k for a sports car, they can easily hold they’re own.
Gratuitous picture…
Edited to add…don’t worry about higher mileage cars, they can take it as long as they’ve been properly maintained. You will get a good one for £40k.
That looks perfect MrVert! I think my mate was correct to get me looking at these. As much fun on UK roads as cars much more expensive. Just the right amount of usable power, great steering and with PSE a lovely soundtrack.
Prefer a spirited drive in the Spyder than many of the other cars I’ve had in the past.
They’re also pretty rare, relatively light, look fab, will probably continue to hold their value and are even good on fuel (30mpg easily on a run).
South of £50k for a sports car, they can easily hold they’re own.
Gratuitous picture…
Edited to add…don’t worry about higher mileage cars, they can take it as long as they’ve been properly maintained. You will get a good one for £40k.
Edited by MrVert on Sunday 8th January 15:59
I have never driven one, but one of the few convertibles I would like to own. Never understood why they are so cheap in the UK given the UK drivers' affinity for convertibles. Cheapest one in Germany is c 75k euros atm I think (they were available from around 60k in the past I think).
One of the few cars I regret selling and one of the true specials in the boxster/cayman range. But I bought new for £45k but not sure I would spend £45k for one today.
I think the 987.2S represents better value. Buy one with 18” wheels, most will be needing some kind of suspension refresh so I would fit KW3s tune the engine to circa 350hp and I think you would have a cracking car for less than a spyder!
I think the 987.2S represents better value. Buy one with 18” wheels, most will be needing some kind of suspension refresh so I would fit KW3s tune the engine to circa 350hp and I think you would have a cracking car for less than a spyder!
Great car, I had one for 6 years, initially a PDK for a year which I traded against a 2011 manual, which I think is loads better. I still miss seeing the soo attractive twin humps on the rear, but I’d taken mine up from 8000 miles to 25000 and could sell it literally for what I paid - which I did - so decided, at 11 years old, things are potentially going to start failing (like alloys cracking on a pothole which are seriously expensive, suspension, clutch, exhaust etc) just due to age ( although I had no problems at all over 6 years).
I think now at 12-13 years old just be aware they’re getting on a bit, I don’t think they’re going up too much but certainly not going down if you love and cherish it. The 6 years of depreciation free payments allowed me to upgrade to a brand new GT4 last year.
I’m a huge fan in summary, wonderful looking machine and superb drive - (just make sure you get the buckets !!!)
I think now at 12-13 years old just be aware they’re getting on a bit, I don’t think they’re going up too much but certainly not going down if you love and cherish it. The 6 years of depreciation free payments allowed me to upgrade to a brand new GT4 last year.
I’m a huge fan in summary, wonderful looking machine and superb drive - (just make sure you get the buckets !!!)
Edited by SpyderMatt on Sunday 8th January 17:28
I had one for 5 years, it always felt special as a weekend toy on sunny days.
The Spyder is all you ever need on the road, speedy enough, easy controls, great handling, nice steering, I liked the buckets and it just did everything right.
I had this in the garage alongside a GT3 of the same age and very similar spec, manual, buckets even the same colour. See my profile picture. It was a great pairing I only sold it because I was bit spooked in the Covid days and all the talk of plummeting values etc and decided I didn’t need two toys and a daily driver.
My daily is a GR Yaris, 18000 miles and 20 months in, its great when flying along, I love the look of it too and it’s been faultless. I am averaging 33mpg which tells you I don’t get the time to stretch its legs very often. The only thing I have done is to fit a mirror raising block.
My take.
A 987.2 Spyder would make a great weekend toy.
GR Yaris is more a multi-tool, if you’ve got the daily driver covered I would go for the Spyder.
The Spyder is all you ever need on the road, speedy enough, easy controls, great handling, nice steering, I liked the buckets and it just did everything right.
I had this in the garage alongside a GT3 of the same age and very similar spec, manual, buckets even the same colour. See my profile picture. It was a great pairing I only sold it because I was bit spooked in the Covid days and all the talk of plummeting values etc and decided I didn’t need two toys and a daily driver.
My daily is a GR Yaris, 18000 miles and 20 months in, its great when flying along, I love the look of it too and it’s been faultless. I am averaging 33mpg which tells you I don’t get the time to stretch its legs very often. The only thing I have done is to fit a mirror raising block.
My take.
A 987.2 Spyder would make a great weekend toy.
GR Yaris is more a multi-tool, if you’ve got the daily driver covered I would go for the Spyder.
I think they are a motoring work of art ...
The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
Seems like the lightest are around 1300kg (if buckets, manual, no aircon/radio, maybe carbon brakes)?
Otherwise nearer 1400kg according to this...
https://rennlist.com/forums/spyder-cayman-r/116266...
Otherwise nearer 1400kg according to this...
https://rennlist.com/forums/spyder-cayman-r/116266...
ChrisW. said:
I think they are a motoring work of art ...
The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
Lardy 981??The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
And you might want to check that 987 weight
Billy_Whizzzz said:
ChrisW. said:
I think they are a motoring work of art ...
The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
Lardy 981??The latest refinement of hydraulic power steering ... you can feel the difference
The lightest Porsche of it's era < 1200Kg's
More than enough power
You can get into both boots whether or not the roof is up ... you can't do this with the later lardy 981 and 718 Spyder's
Two stage hood which is a delight if no real prospect of rain ... does make it more likely to be used useable in more variable weather conditions. The first stage has a fabulous Carbon Fibre frame that mounts onto the windscreen top and the rest is common sense taking a minute to erect (but you do need to stop).
The aluminium rear clamshell is lovely ...
And then it has lots of CR bits, but not the wider exhaust manifold which I guess gives a tune matching the CR rather better.
To sum up, I think a careful purchase could be depreciation free .... there aren't many cars about which I might say that in this market.
And you might want to check that 987 weight
Edited by elisered on Monday 9th January 08:36
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