Looking at a Boxster, struggling for spec!

[Rumpelkillskins]

Hi,

Little help for a newbie to the brand if poss!

Im having a look for a used 981S or possibly 718S (depending on how the road tests go!), pretty sure i'll have the manual box, would like heated seats too, which for some reason seems to be a scarce option. Also was interested in the PTV but i'm really struggling to find many S that have it specced, manual or pdk?!

The car will be used as weekend fast road / euro trip / couple track days a year jobby, so not daily by any stretch. Is the PTV option not really worth it, or just something most just weren't fussed about?

I know my options are limited aiming for a manual currently, and that should change if i can hang on long enough for people to trade in for the 718-6. Not many 981's about as i'm guessing not so many opted to 'upgrade' to the 4 pot.

Ive read some of the threads on here about spec people went for, but not mention of the PTV is all.

Thanks in advance

[mr pg]

Rumpelkillskins said:

Hi,

Little help for a newbie to the brand if poss!

Im having a look for a used 981S or possibly 718S (depending on how the road tests go!), pretty sure i'll have the manual box, would like heated seats too, which for some reason seems to be a scarce option. Also was interested in the PTV but i'm really struggling to find many S that have it specced, manual or pdk?!

The car will be used as weekend fast road / euro trip / couple track days a year jobby, so not daily by any stretch. Is the PTV option not really worth it, or just something most just weren't fussed about?

I know my options are limited aiming for a manual currently, and that should change if i can hang on long enough for people to trade in for the 718-6. Not many 981's about as i'm guessing not so many opted to 'upgrade' to the 4 pot.

Ive read some of the threads on here about spec people went for, but not mention of the PTV is all.

Thanks in advance

PTV is rare (my Cayman S has it). I would say there are other more important options to go for such as sports plus seats, chrono (particularly if pdk), PASM, PSE. I use my car for fast road and euro trips (5th one in 2 weeks time), and PTV I'll notice least.

[Rumpelkillskins]

cheers for the reply! It would help finding one if it's not imperative!

[anonymous-user]

I upgraded from a 981 to a 718, all I can say is that it is a much better car.

What is hilarious now though is hearing all the six cylinder NA die hards complaining the new 718 Spyder/GT4 first year road tax is too high and they can't afford to change.

[Rumpelkillskins]

Yeh i think the 4 pot has kept the residuals quite high for the 981, so maybe will be interesting to see how much they drop when orders start going in for the new 6. Could help me out!!

[Twinfan]

A lot of Boxsters and Caymans are bought for the badge, so the more specialist options such as PTV don't get added. I have it on my car, but you have be pushing pretty hard for it to come into effect. I would say it's not essential on a used car, more of a bonus if you happen to find a car with it.

[av185]

Schmed said:

I upgraded from a 981 to a 718, all I can say is that it is a much better car.

What is hilarious now though is hearing all the six cylinder NA die hards complaining the new 718 Spyder/GT4 first year road tax is too high and they can't afford to change.

Ha it's not so much the high rfl (which applies to most performance cars) but the potential Brexit no deal 10% surcharge likely to be applied by Porsche on top of the already rather heavy £10k/£13k increase over the 981 making these potentially £100k otr cars.

PTV makes little difference to residuals as Twinfan correctly points out.

[Rumpelkillskins]

cheers for the responses!

Back to back 718 and 981 tests booked next week!

[Twinfan]

Have fun

[Koln-RS]

Been down that route - newer 718 or older 981?
There was only one option for me.
I have PTV but, if I was buying, the minimum options I would require are: heated seats, cruise, climate, pdc (f&r), pcm (far from perfect but nice to have). PSE is lovely on the flat-6, but not worth it on the turbo-4, IMO. And, the paddles with pdk.

[Rumpelkillskins]

Great info, cheers. Would you say Pasm isnt a must either?? Or in the ‘bonus’ catagory?! Car will be a weekend warrior and holiday road trips.

[anonymous-user]

Twinfan said:

A lot of Boxsters and Caymans are bought for the badge, so the more specialist options such as PTV don't get added.

I have it on my car....

... and also a "Please, please, please tell me I'm a PH driving god" T-shirt.

[Twinfan]

Apologies, I didn't mean it that way. I meant there are lots of low spec cars out there because the original buyer just wanted a Porsche and didn't think about suspension choices, handling options etc.

I was trying to highlight that PTV is an unconmon choice more than anything else.

[j8bbk]

I was in the same situation as yourself a few months back choosing between 981 vs 718. Personally I wanted a high spec car with a minimum of PDK, PSE, Chrono, Bose, PDLS which are quite hard to find on a used 981, so a new 718 was definitely the front-runner, although I chose to give both a chance. Generally I am a bit of sucker for the latest and greatest, so it takes a lot for me to buy the older car, especially at similar money.

Few points that jumped out upon driving:

PCM.4 was miles better with apple carplay etc. otherwise interior very similar.
981 looks broader, more 918-ish to me. PDLS and GTS clear rear lights were a must to keep it looking current.
718 felt a lot quicker, mainly due to the low-down torque, but it doesn't build like a NA engine and peaks much lower in the rev range. 718 sounded like a tractor on start-up and a Scooby under load, wasn't impressed.
Once I drove the 981 with the PSE on it was a no-brainer for me. I consider sound and throttle response really key and the 981 is miles better in this respect. Ride and handling are very similar.

I went 981, feel like I made the right decision, current market would seem to agree.

[mr pg]

PASM is well worth while if the car has 20's (many do). The ride on my 981 is really good in normal mode, but you get the option of stiffening everything up when you can. Ride is still very good on all but the bumpiest roads, and on euro trips gets a lot of use.

[Green1man]

PTV is quite a rare option so if you are holding out for a Manual PTV car you may be waiting a while and certainly won’t get much choice.

I chose between a 718 and 981 a couple of years ago. I went with 981 and after driving 718 extensively (several weeks worth) I am very happy with my choice.

[Rumpelkillskins]

Thanks so much for all the responses! Brilliant info! It seems like it will prob go the way I thought, 981 manual, ptv prob won’t happen unless I get lucky, pasm would be useful but not the be all and end all. Worst case is I could always get some 19’s if the ride is too bad!

As I said I’m still open to anything and am looking forward to driving both!!

[Koln-RS]

I’ve had two Caymans, one without PASM, one with - both 20” wheels, both GY Eagle F1s.
The ride on both was very good, considering the state of our roads. The PASM car was slightly better, but I wouldn’t rule out a non-PASM car if all else stacks up.

[Rumpelkillskins]

So Friday afternoon i managed to get a road test at Harbour Cars in Chichester, in both a manual and PDK 981s and finally got to experience what all the flat 6 fuss was about!

The manual vs auto war in my head turned out to be far harder than i expected as the PDK is just so good! By far the best auto ive ever driven, and still involving when used with the paddles. I had taken out the manual first and so was getting used to the feel of the whole car at first, so when i took the PDK out i felt a little more comfortable, had more favourable traffic, and had an absolute blast. Really changed my opinion on the autos when you have a good one! Because of the traffic, i arranged to go back the following morning and retest the manual, with less traffic and feeling more comfortable with the engine and handling. Im glad i did, i think its still the manual for me!

So all in all, if the figures work with my part ex, i could be in my first Porsche a lot sooner than i thought!

Thanks again for the help

[freedman]

j8bbk said:

718 felt a lot quicker, mainly due to the low-down torque, but it doesn't build like a NA engine and peaks much lower in the rev range. 718 sounded like a tractor on start-up and a Scooby under load, wasn't impressed..

I've had a 718 Boxster S, and GTS loan cars from Porsche in the last couple of weeks (GTS on the drive at the moment) whilst my Cayman R is in for service

Both looked nice, and the GTS cabin especially (19 plate with 500 miles on it) are nice places to be

GTS is fully loaded with PDK, chrono, SE, Bose, Alcantara pack etc

However, as a driving proposition I don't like them at all. Comfortable and obviously pretty quick, but they just don't sound or feel like a Porsche should, the Impreza soundtrack, and diesel like power delivery just feel wrong, IMO

I will be more than happy to drive back home in my R