Boxster 987.1s to 981GTS, worth the extra £50k?

[Urowho]

I'm considering swapping my boxster s for a boxster GTS. I do more motorway miles, especially in traffic than I used to and despite being relatively young have some pain in my hands and feet so manual to PDK is on the cards for both reasons.

Is it worth the cash? Any one made the move and thought it worthwhile or the opposite. The alternatives are of course to keep the current car and put up with sitting in traffic and slightly sore feet while saving a hell of a lot of money (which buys a lot of paracetamol). Or buy a 981s PDK non GTS and save £10k (although I think the £10k premium will stay with the GTS car as it ages)

Also does anyone think the PSE will drive me mad on the motorway? Certainly sounds good on the open road.

Cheers for your thoughts

[TB303]

Urowho said:

I'm considering swapping my boxster s for a boxster GTS. I do more motorway miles, especially in traffic than I used to and despite being relatively young have some pain in my hands and feet so manual to PDK is on the cards for both reasons.

Is it worth the cash? Any one made the move and thought it worthwhile or the opposite. The alternatives are of course to keep the current car and put up with sitting in traffic and slightly sore feet while saving a hell of a lot of money (which buys a lot of paracetamol). Or buy a 981s PDK non GTS and save £10k (although I think the £10k premium will stay with the GTS car as it ages)

Also does anyone think the PSE will drive me mad on the motorway? Certainly sounds good on the open road.

Cheers for your thoughts

Firstly, although I wouldn't buy a PDK in a hurry, for the use you describe PDK is brilliant. Whenever I've had PDK loan cars I've always felt they'd be great daily drivers/cars for being stuck in traffic.

I've owned a 987.1 S manual and now have a 981 Spyder, so while not a direct comparison it's not a dissimilar change.

That said there is no way the Spyder is £60k better than the 987. Equally when I tried a 987 Spyder I remember thinking at the time this isn't 45k (cost to change) better than my 987.1. You can never justify a change of car in this way, though - it has to be an emotional / irrational purchase really.

Regarding exhaust - I don't think the 981 PSE is that loud when closed personally but then I've driven louder cars...

I would say only do it if you really value having a more modern car as £50k is a lot of money - especially if you're young (I'd be putting the money into my home/pension etc).

How about a 987.2 PDK as a compromise and save some money and stop getting the sore feet?! The 987.2 PSE is not too loud either.

[stebbo]

As TB303 says, the 50k difference cannot be justified in the physical car. But you could say that about buying any newer car when you have an older one.
Only you can decide if the extra money is worth it.

On the subject of PDK. I have a 2014 S PDK. It is my first non manual car in my entire life. I love it. In "auto" mode in traffic it's a delight, in manual mode with the paddles or the sequential gear lever it's great.

I do not regret getting the PDK for one second, even though my daily is manual and her ladyships car in manual.

[GT4P]

For £50k you could buy a 987 spyder and have change or a 987.2s and have £20k change both better cars than a 981s/Gts imo!
But if you hanker after a. 981 save your cash and buy a 981s for circa £35k because a 981gts at £60k is way overpriced should be more high 40s!

[cay]

I'm kind of in the same boat, thinking of changing 987.1 Cayman for a GTS.

The GTS is newer, faster, better looking (IMO) and has more toys - but the driving experience isn't that much different for me.

Fundamentally the chassis / balance seems pretty similar. GTS has better ride, 987 has better steering.

I also agree the prices seem rather inflated. Two year old GTS with a few options up for nearly 60K, I specced a new one at the time and only got to 63K.

It's just a normal Cayman with some options, the prices should have dropped a lot more.

Maybe that's why there are quite a few GTS for sale, not to mention the crazy number of GT4s at list + 20K!

I don't like the 718 engine but even I am wondering if a brand new 718 is an option with the GTS prices being so close.

[Twinfan]

The market will dictate the price. The GTS is the top-of-the-line non-GT flat six NASP car, and always will be. They will hold a premium IMHO, as does the 991 911 GTS.

[Urowho]

Twinfan said:

The market will dictate the price. The GTS is the top-of-the-line non-GT flat six NASP car, and always will be. They will hold a premium IMHO, as does the 991 911 GTS.

I suspect and hope this will be the case but the market (like many others) feels very toppy. When/if cheap credit get pulled then maybe the cheaper cars will have less far to fall;-)

My talk of the £50k is really right though I suppose as I'm unlikely to be able to keep my nearly 11year old car on the road and reliable as a daily driver for another 10 years. One way or another it's going to cost.

[Huskyman]

Speaking as the owner of a 981 GTS the only area I felt the earlier Boxsters where better is the steering feel so I agree with cay on that one, but in every area the 981 GTS is superb, it feels responsive and agile, and this is ramped up through Sport and Sport+. Mine is a PDK and given that I'm in a 50/50 share with my Dad on the car it was never an option for a manual, the ratios are very long in the manual which put me off and you also save on VED with the PDK.
The PSE is not a problem for me and it can be switched off or on in any driver mode, but even with it off it still opens the valves and goes loud above 4K and a heavy right foot. I find cruising on a motorway is painless, with the superb seats, good driving position and excellent stability you can cover big distances easily. An average of 36mpg is in reach if you stick to speed limits.

As for buying as an investment I would go in eyes wide open, I think they will hold a certain value, but I will be pleasantly surprised if the prices either remain stable or start to climb. Mine is going to be kept for a long time hopefully.

Try one you won't be disappointed, mine still paints a silly great grin on my face every time I drive it.

Edited by Huskyman on Friday 11th November 14:59

[dreamcar]

GT4P said:

For £50k you could buy a 987 spyder and have change or a 987.2s and have £20k change both better cars than a 981s/Gts imo!
But if you hanker after a. 981 save your cash and buy a 981s for circa £35k because a 981gts at £60k is way overpriced should be more high 40s!

I would take issue with you on that. A Boxster Spyder is only a better car than a GTS (or any other 987 / 981) if you want a more hard core Boxster. And a 987/2 better than a 981? Absolute nonsense. The only edge the 987/2 has over a 981 is hydraulic v. electric steering and that difference is very marginal at best despite what some might think or say. 981 is faster, better built, a vastly improved interior, and has a far superior ride. PDK is also a quantum leap ahead of the transmission in 987/2.

987 is only a thorough facelift of 986, 981 is an entirely new design from the ground up.

[gd]

I concluded that it's not worth the extra 50k too.

So I decided to trade mine in for a very nice spec 981S for half of that, which I could justify on the basis that there is a real step change in the cars (agree with the above comments on that) but the price difference felt about right.

I know the BGTS are very nice, and they are new so a lot more expensive, but I can't see how they are worth more than list in some cases - they aren't a special enough car like the Spyder or GT4 IMHO.

[Twinfan]

BGTS is the last of the flat six breed, and less compromising than the Spyder or GT4. For a lot of people it will be desirable for that reason, and the low numbers in the UK (<400) over a short production run will possibly keep prices high.

[Urowho]

gd said:

I concluded that it's not worth the extra 50k too.

So I decided to trade mine in for a very nice spec 981S for half of that, which I could justify on the basis that there is a real step change in the cars (agree with the above comments on that) but the price difference felt about right.

I know the BGTS are very nice, and they are new so a lot more expensive, but I can't see how they are worth more than list in some cases - they aren't a special enough car like the Spyder or GT4 IMHO.

Sorry I'm being an idiot; you mean you had a 987.1 and decided on a 981s rather than having had a BGTS and deciding to chop that in and keep the change? Just checking.

[Gorsh]

As a BGTS owner I can say I love the PDK and also the PSE - in fact there is nothing about the car I don't like. I was concerned about PSE drone on motorway after driving a 981S which DID drone - but mine is not an issue, don't notice the exhaust at all unless increasing speed.

Only you can decide if it's worth the cost, but I agree (and hope) the GTS should retain the extra 10k price difference to S models as it ages.

[gd]

Sorry, my fault not yours, I meant trading my 987.1S in towards a 981S.

It was basically a question of spending the same amount again to go from a very nice 981S to a 981GTS. Apart from the GTS being a couple of years' newer with less mileage there was nothing in it really; same performance, similar condiiton, same toys inside - so it felt very, very similar to the S (as I said it's well spec'd, so it's a pretty decent car in any case).

My conclusion - 987.1S to 981S was worth it, 981S to 981GTS for the same amount again was just not worth it.

And to the other points above, yes, it really is a completely different car, in a different class in a lot of ways and surprisingly rapid for the money.

[Shiverman]

If you're thinking of putting an extra £50k into the car then I think you should look at the 991 with PDK.

I've had 987, 981, 997 and 991 and I have to say I don't think I'd go back to the Cayman.

PDK is superb and once you get a few miles under your belt and learn about it you'd struggle to go back to manual.

[Urowho]

We are indeed all different. Thanks for all of your perspectives, they were helpful. I'd probably stay with manual if it weren't for the sore feet and UK traffic. As neither are likely to change anytime soon I need to adapt!

Cheers

[ellroy]

I drive a manual GTS as my every day car.

Coming from TVRs in the past , also used a Cerbera as daily for a year or two, I don't think the clutch in traffic is that bad.

It's a bloody brilliant thing when you get the right road and no traffic, which with a daily driver can happen more than you'd think.

Is it worth £50k more? That's entirely subjective, but for me yes as the modern sat nav, parking assist, stereo etc make the more mundane drives easier to live with.

If you can afford the cash it's a very nice problem to have.

[Dr S]

My experiene is only from racing Caymen and I prefer - from an enjoyment perspective - the 987's liveliness (due to shorter wheelbase) to the more stable handling of the 981 - even if the latter is the faster car.

[Klippie]

A while back I could have kicked myself for not going and ordering a new 981 CGTS before they went out of production, one built exactly to my spec...then I was offered a mornings drive in the very car it had ceramic brakes (every car should have these) X73 suspension torque vectoring etc and it was simply superb apart from the PKD but let's not go there, but and it was a big but when I drove home in my 987.2 CS it felt so bloody good, the steering was in another league and the car just felt tighter it's really hard to explain I didn't expect that at all it opened my eyes big style.

That drive saved me the thick end of £40k.

O.P. unless the money is burning a hole in your pocket go find a nice 987.2 and keep a slush fund for maintenance.

Edited by Klippie on Sunday 20th November 20:15

[MrVert]

Or buy a 987 Spyder and have much lower depreciation motoring?