thinking of changing from a 987 to a 981 advice needed

[Gazoak]

981 is the way to go, unfortunately Porsche have now spoiled it with the new 718 which does not look as nice and the engine is unfortunately a disaster.

Yes & Yes

 

[rich mich]

hi all good news , bought a 981 boxster today, 9997 miles 13 plate 1 owner, got it from Porsche Tonbridge ,it was up at 35995 offered 35000 and after a few phone calls got it for that!, spec basalt black metallic,leather heated seats,sat nav,19 inch alloys,parking sensors f&r , sports design wheel,bose,twin tailpies, sports plus seats , picking it up next week, sold my 987 to a friend, he is having it Thursday

 

[Dylan1]

Nice
enjoy!!!

 

[rich mich]

heres a picture

 

[Gazoak]

Looks lovely, a good deal and great choice. Enjoy!

 

[spyderman]

I had a 981 S with PDK and PASM for half a day and absolutely loved it. Would certainly consider buying one myself now - a high miler just to get one for decent money - would have to flog off my 550 Anniversary first. Other than MrDemon I've not encountered anyone else who doesn't like the 981.

 

[whinbush]

Well I thought I would throw in my penny's worth.
I'm now on Boxster number 4.
All owned from new and with each new version they get better and better, all of them daily drivers and plenty of weekend track day action.

1st was a 2006 987 2.7 Manual nice car and loved it even though I couldn't spec factory iPhone connection I found 3rd party system that did Good fun car
2nd 2009 987 GenII 2.9 PDK great car although the PDK wasn't the best
3rd 2012 981 PDK For me this was a quantum leap . Best looking Porsche ever IMHO The interior now had a quality that finally matched the price and brand. Engine and Handling sublime( All those who grumbled about the electric steering? Rubbish again IMHO PDK bang on
4th Current and best 2015 981 GTS PDK This car takes the whole experience above and beyond and the Grin factor off the scale.

As for saying the 981 is too big ????

Now I also had a day at Silverstone to play with the 781's
I loved them, sure the new four pot motors now sound like the old air cooled 911's or perhaps a Subaru but is that a bad thing ?
Yes I hear the purists, or as I call them old grumblier's.
Spitting out their Gold Blend and condensed milk in fury, while I enjoy a fresh brewed bean to cup espresso.
Seriously though the new engines are technical marvels.
They deliver power all the way through the rev range and that power The new chassis is the best yet
More power even better drive and cheaper to run. Why wouldn't you? ;-)
So with out a shadow of a doubt in a year I will happily swap out for 718.

 

[markSTI]

Newer does not necessarily mean better.

Last year there was a great article in 911 & Porsche about this very thing. Basically the guy had a loan of a 981 S for a week. He drove a 2006 Boxster S as a daily driver. He reported the 981 was a lovely car to drive and look at but he didn't feel it was any quicker in real world driving and he hated the steering. He also commented that to part ex his and buy the 981 would cost him 30K plus his car. He said the 981 was no way a 10k better car than his 987, never mind the 30k the dealer was asking for.

I think we are conditioned by the media to accept because it's a new model, then it must be better than the outgoing model. Not always the case.

However, you earn your money so you can buy what you like.

Mark

 

[Hoopster]

I had the opportunity to drive several different models back to back in Leipzig last year (991's and 981's) - for me, the 981 GTS clearly stood out as the optimum package. Handling, performance, comfort to match and often outshine the 991.

 

[Peter_Bull]

to quote Rob
" never fell in love with the 981 and the 997 has everything I missed from the moment I drove it out of the showroom - steering feel, brake feel, dare I say raw character?"

enough said, so ignore at your peril ! seems you missed Rob's point, his 981 was good but in the end offered nothing, a 991 is much the same (even worse steering than the 981 Cayman infact) !

Just to chip in with my thoughts.

Before I bought my 981 I had a 2007 997.1 - 3.6 fully loaded and ex Porsche Press car. Wonderful as it was after 80k miles (40k by me in 3 years) it started to feel old at 7yrs old.

I test drove a gorgeous 3 year old Guards Red 997.2 GTS but at the time it didn't float my boat like the 981 did and I plunged for the latter - my first new Porsche. I love it and fell in love with it straight away though the PDK did take some time to get used to. As Rob says, the 997 is now older technology - still very good - but alas streets behind the 981 in many driver aspects.

The 981 on the track leaves the 997 in its wake in terms of handling and feels much quicker on the Anglesey circuit even though my 997 had the sports suspension, ceramics and 20" wheels (like my Cayman) too.

The steering is near perfect and I cannot tell the difference between the electronic now old fashioned R and P. Whoever thinks its bad need to get real imho.

You wont go far wrong with a 981 - looks gorgeous, handles perfect, and is so practical too! BUT ...... imho the colour you choose really does make the car stand out.

 

[rich mich]

just a bit of a update since driving car for about 6 weeks ,some good and bad points, cabin is a lot nicer,ride on road over bumps is better,handling on bends car a lot better than 987,no body roll at all, performance don't seem have to rev it as hard as my old 987,and it seems quicker than my old 986s, exhaust note sounds better than my old 987,a lot of people have told me how nice the car looks,had to go up to kent to pick car up,comming back on motorway car done 40 mpg all the way back at at about 70 to 80 mph. black cars show every mark was 4 days machine polishing it,(full clay, cleanerwax, glaze and wax) when I got it ,2 coats of race glaze 55,using de-ionised water after washing and a car dryer to blow water off car (to avoid scratching it with a microfiber towel).missing storage for wind deflector in cabin,(have a bag in front boot?) missing storage compartments in front boot like on my old 987, and horn is no longer a two tone type like 987 .electric steering is ok ,handbrake hold function on hills and electronic handbrake I will have to get used to .

 

[nwhear]

981 is a fab car to be sure much the best looking Boxster IMO.

 

[BrianJ]

"horn is no longer a two tone type like 987". Are you sure it is working properly? my 981 horn is two tone (or my ears are).

 

[rich mich]

since I have had the car horn has only been a single tone ,one of the horns might have failed then car has Porsche 2 year warranty on it ,will have to give them a call to see if it is covered (did replace a horn about 6 years ago on my 987) any other 981 owners had horn problems?

 

[Peter_Bull]

The economy of the 981 was astounding on longer runs, but might not be critical to you if not a daily driver!

Totally agree with you here. The other week I went to Cambridge and with over the 200 miles to get there I was astounded that I returned 41mpg. I did behave myself and styed around 75mph on the motorways with the occasional burst to overtake. Fully loaded with luggage too!

 

[Malcom E Box]

just a bit of a update since driving car for about 6 weeks ,some good and bad points, cabin is a lot nicer,ride on road over bumps is better,handling on bends car a lot better than 987,no body roll at all, performance don't seem have to rev it as hard as my old 987,and it seems quicker than my old 986s, exhaust note sounds better than my old 987,a lot of people have told me how nice the car looks,had to go up to kent to pick car up,comming back on motorway car done 40 mpg all the way back at at about 70 to 80 mph. black cars show every mark was 4 days machine polishing it,(full clay, cleanerwax, glaze and wax) when I got it ,2 coats of race glaze 55,using de-ionised water after washing and a car dryer to blow water off car (to avoid scratching it with a microfiber towel).missing storage for wind deflector in cabin,(have a bag in front boot?) missing storage compartments in front boot like on my old 987, and horn is no longer a two tone type like 987 .electric steering is ok ,handbrake hold function on hills and electronic handbrake I will have to get used to .

I have just changed from a 987 to a 981 and I would agree pretty much word for word with your assessment. (except for the horn as I have yet to use it and mine is silver so can't comment on the black paint.)