Thinking buying a Boxster 987.2

[matty13]

Hi
Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past.
The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k
Is there any must have options ?
Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage.
Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s
Thanks in advance

[Jones the cat]

matty13 said:

Hi
Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past.
The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k
Is there any must have options ?
Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage.
Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s
Thanks in advance

By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183

Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16

[AndrewGP]

I had a 987.2 Cayman 2.9 and sold it at just before 60k miles. Great car, absolutely loved it.

I replaced all four coffin arms before selling as there was play in them, but that was partly due to the st state of Oxfordshire’s roads. The steering rack had a slight oil weep which wasn’t getting worse but is a known issue. I also had the coolant crossover pipe done and again that’s a known issue at that age and mileage and cost about £1k.

Also check the PDK service has been done. I’m 99% sure the 987.2 PDK box needed a service at 6 years and again at 12 years, but in any case on any 987.2, the transmission oil, diff oil and oil pan (with integral filter) should definitely have been done by now.

Spark plugs and serpentine belt should have been done. If the plugs haven’t been changed on time, they can seize in the head and wreck it when removed. Finally, check the air con blows cold. Air con pipes corrode and the condensers are very subject to impact damage from stones.

[f6box]

Jones the cat said:

By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183

Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16

This car is over priced and not particularly good spec.

Has plastic interior (ie not extended leather). No PASM. No xenons. No Chrono. Manual standard seats. Etc. Etc.

It’s nowhere near unrepeatable. You can do a lot better for the money.

[matty13]

Jones the cat said:

By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183

Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16

Thats a really nice example. I could stretch the budget a bit but not that far.

[matty13]

AndrewGP said:

I had a 987.2 Cayman 2.9 and sold it at just before 60k miles. Great car, absolutely loved it.

I replaced all four coffin arms before selling as there was play in them, but that was partly due to the st state of Oxfordshire’s roads. The steering rack had a slight oil weep which wasn’t getting worse but is a known issue. I also had the coolant crossover pipe done and again that’s a known issue at that age and mileage and cost about £1k.

Also check the PDK service has been done. I’m 99% sure the 987.2 PDK box needed a service at 6 years and again at 12 years, but in any case on any 987.2, the transmission oil, diff oil and oil pan (with integral filter) should definitely have been done by now.

Spark plugs and serpentine belt should have been done. If the plugs haven’t been changed on time, they can seize in the head and wreck it when removed. Finally, check the air con blows cold. Air con pipes corrode and the condensers are very subject to impact damage from stones.

Thanks thats come great info

[Royal Jelly]

Jones the cat said:

By around £20K if you can stretch it then this one is unrepeatable with some great OEM updates and (by reading the description seems enthusiastically well cared for). No affiliation to sale but if you are looking for less that 60K miles then you need to be in the mid £20k's - and the extra spent now will save you down the line

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18305183

Edited by Jones the cat on Saturday 5th April 19:16

What’s unrepeatable about that?

That’s a fairly low spec 987.2

It’s a nice car, but distinctly average among its siblings. And consequently looks expensive, despite the low miles.

[IroningMan]

My 09 plate 987.2S PDK was £19,000, two years ago with 70k on the clock.

More or less in order of personal priority, worthwhile, I think, are:
Any colour besides black
Extended leather
Bose
PCCM/Nav
Sports seats
Sport Design steering wheel with paddles
Cruise
Xenons/PDLS
Parking sensors
Sports Chrono Plus

Nice to have:
PSE/sports exhaust
Heated seats/wheel
Auto-dim mirrors
Rain-sensing wipers
PASM

[Jones the cat]

f6box said:

This car is over priced and not particularly good spec.

Has plastic interior (ie not extended leather). No PASM. No xenons. No Chrono. Manual standard seats. Etc. Etc.

It’s nowhere near unrepeatable. You can do a lot better for the money.

Extended leather on the Boxster Gen 2s seems even rarer than that in 987 Gen 2s

[Slippydiff]

matty13 said:

Hi
Im looking at buying either a Jaguar F type or a Boxster 987.2 with a pdk box. Ive mainly had BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG in the past.
The car will be used on weekends and sunny days. Budget is around 20k
Is there any must have options ?
Most of the cars i am looking at have 60k miles on the clock. Is there anything i should be looking at that should have been replaced or i will need to around this millage.
Any info from owners would be a help. It would be my first Porsche however my dad is a live long 911 fan and has 2 964’s
Thanks in advance

Any reason you’re wanting a PDK car ? I only ask as it will possibly limit your choice, and the manual ‘box in these cars is no hardship to use.

[matty13]

Slippydiff said:

Any reason you’re wanting a PDK car ? I only ask as it will possibly limit your choice, and the manual ‘box in these cars is no hardship to use.

My preference would be a pdk but if the the right car came up i would consider a manual box

[duncancallum]

I just bought a .2 cayman.

Id say manuals are rarer...

[Slippydiff]

Agreed, manuals do appear to be rarer.
If you can live with the red interior (but I’d have to have the wheels repainted in silver and remove the red side decals) :

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502108...

[Jones the cat]

matty13 said:

My preference would be a pdk but if the the right car came up i would consider a manual box

Ah, if Manual then there is no better than the Black Edition. This is the one to get....

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18321009

[Steve H]

£25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value.

[Jones the cat]

Steve H said:

£25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value.

987 Black Editions always command strong money. I can't see a 981 (that are already closing in on values starting with a 1) having the same level of cachet

[Slippydiff]

Jones the cat said:

987 Black Editions always command strong money. I can't see a 981 (that are already closing in on values starting with a 1) having the same level of cachet

Especially when they look like a Saab 93, 9000 ay Julian (or was it a 99)??

[White-Noise]

Lovely cars these I did seriously consider one a few years ago. I would say you need heated seats, just about all of them seem to have them.

Believe it or not I went to see a few and I did see rust on the arches behind the front wheels so watch for that. And this is back pre pandemic that I was looking.

I changed my mind in the end but I still have a soft spot for them I think they look great in blue.

Enjoy it!

[Biglips]

Your budget is very healthy, you will have the pick of the market. Options are very personal but my thoughts below:

Heated seats are a must, they are hard to re-sell without these

Xenons. The halogen lights are pathetic even with the latest bulbs in.

If going PDK look for sports chrono which enables you to switch between relaxed and frenetic at the touch of a button

Depending on what you are coming from, don’t get too hung up on going for the ‘s’ as they are all plenty fast for road use. The S generally tends to be better specced though

Engine noise is a bit disappointing so PSE is a good option. Lots have aftermarket exhausts on them but I found these were often a bit too much and I avoided them

Service history and previous work done is the most important factor

Good luck in your hunt. Great cars

[GT4P]

Steve H said:

£25kish gets a 981 with sensible mileage, quite an uplift from a 987 and probably a better bet for holding value.

But imho the 987.2 is the better car (no EPS for starters)and long term a manual 987.2 will be more sort after!
Black editions got lots of extras as standard with the 320hp engine (same as CR/Spyder)over the regular 310hp. Also think it came with Ali doors as well but not 100% it’s a long time ago