Boxster Spyder

[JST]

I saw that a local dealer had a nicely optioned Boxster Spyder on the lot, so I took a ride over to look at it.

Primarily, I wanted to see just how much a PITA that top really is. I also wanted to think critically about the sport buckets and see how they would be in daily use.

Short answer: The top is really a PITA. The dealer called over the manager who used to own the car to do the demo. He got it off and stowed in about 2 minutes, but it involved multiple steps of loosen this, unsnap that, remove this other thing, roll it up, stow it...etc. Being honest, it's the kind of thing that would make me refrain from putting the top down, at which point, why not by a Cayman?

The sport buckets are awesome; you have to adjust to the seating position, which isn't adjustable for rake or height, but once you do it's insanely comfortable. No heaters, though. Getting in and out is kind of a chore, but once you get the technique down (plant one hand on the door jam and push yourself up and out) it's not so bad.

As far as driving goes, boy, that's a nice car. Even on a short test drive you can feel the improvement in turn-in and damping. The suspension really is an improvement in every respect over the S, not just in terms of handling but also in terms of ride comfort.

I think my sojourn confirms that this isn't the right car for me, but I really would like to find an S and do the Spyder suspension retrofit.

[JST]

Here's a pic.

[SARAFIL]

I think that's a great car. But probably makes more sense if you have a garage and never have to deal with the top. For normal "every day" use, a regular S is probably a better buy.

[equ]

I'd venture that most of the ride improvement is going from gen1 to gen2 (along with ever so slightly less grainy/feelsome steering). The spyder/R feel extra good over the gen2, have a glued feeling while very well damped. I originally planned to do the R suspension on my S, but decided that nothing was really wrong with the suspension and I'd wait for it to wear a bit before I troubled myself with a $3k job. Of course, now I'm selling the car so it's all moot..

(Back of my mind I'm still thinking of sending deposit back to my long distance buyer)

[John V]

Oh, those wheels... want.

Seems like it would be a better bet to replace your stock suspension with the R stuff, or even just a set of aftermarket coilovers. All the benefit without the extra cost and the annoyance of the Spyder top.

As I'm starting the process of looking for my next car, I keep coming back to this Spyder versus vanilla 987.2 S. I suspect I'll end up with one of the vanilla cars and be more than happy with it.

But I'll have to find a set of those wheels.

[ZBB]

Unrelated, but my 987.1 turned 33,333 miles on Friday... It has just over a year remaining on the CPO warranty -- so this time next year becomes decision point on whether to keep it out of warranty or not (so far, its had a whopping 1 warranty repair -- which would have been ~$100 if I had to pay for it...)

[JST]

The other thing about the Spyders is that at least at this point they are commanding a pretty substantial premium over the normal cars. Not sure what the transaction prices are, but the asking prices are at least 8-10K higher.

If you were going to swap the suspension and install the sport buckets (and get the special wheels), that premium is pretty reasonable. Small, even, given that the Spyder is going to retain value a lot better than an S with a bunch of mods. But it's still a bit hard to justify 60ish for a car like this when an S of similar vintage is 50ish.

And ZBB, I am coming up on 3 years out of warranty. Learn to stop worrying and love the bomb...

[equ]

FWIW, my car's market value seems to be a a bit above 52k... So yes, the spyder/R market is stronger, but of course, it would have been more expensive to buy them new in the first place (so I don't regret not getting them).

The sport buckets are neat idea, but I'm not convinced that they'd work for me on long trips. For track work (which I don't really partake in) you could always swap to something else, so I don't really see the point of spec'cing as such. Either the base sports seats or the power comfort seats are great for me. The latter being better for long trips with adjustable lumbar.

JV: Spyder/R wheels are hot. Especially in black on a red/yellow/white car, or in silver on a dark blue one. FYI, the bbs made carrera ii wheels (e.g. on my car) are almost exactly the same weight (front is heavier, rear is lighter, I forget). The spyder/R wheels do give 0.5" extra width though. While it's not miles better than the S car, the spyder/R is a nice upgrade for the sporty minded. I think the whole package of small changes might make more sense than trying to build it up. Think zhp vs. zsp. Of course, in porsche-land the price deltas are that much more.

[John V]

I know myself well - and if I ever do manage to get back to the track it certainly would not be in a > $50,000 car. So no worries there for me. And it would likely only be a stored-inside fair-weather car with only occasional (oops, it looks like rain today) use in bad weather. So maybe the Spyder makes sense. I have a few years to decide

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

I think that's a great car. But probably makes more sense if you have a garage and never have to deal with the top. For normal "every day" use, a regular S is probably a better buy.

I think this is correct - it's more of a third car where you'd likely store it for winter and drive it on nice days only. Top could stay down most of the time.