Swapping 981 Boxster S for a 981 Boxster GTS?

[Steve Lyle]

I have owned and enjoyed my 981 Boxster S for the past 4 years and, thinking that more might be even better, am considering upgrading to a GTS. However, whilst allowing for the fact the GTS has an extra 15 BHP, I am struggling to come to terms with the apparent c. £10,000 premium between the two in otherwise similar specifications. Has anyone made this change or have any relevant experience to share on this subject please?

Also, as my late 2012 model has now covered nearly 60k miles, my local Porsche main dealer was only prepared to offer silly money as a trade in. Can anyone suggest a good route to sell outside the dealer network? I am considering trying either an on-line auction via themarket.co.uk or an SOR via T.H.Boler. Any views on either of these?

Thanks, Steve

 

[pse_SC]

If your Boxster S has been reliable and you still love driving it, keep it, is my advice.
Why be given ‘silly money’ (to be expected from a Porsche main dealer) and hand over your car to pay out much more money for one that is supposedly just marginally better?
It’s about the driving and owning enjoyment, not what it’s worth in £ (in my opinion).

Your choice, of course []

 

[AndrewCS]

Prior to my 981 CS I tried the GTS version, as a purely `usable` vehicle definitely not worth the extra outlay. However, the GTS does hold it`s price much better.

Try RPM Technik for a sale, direct or SOR … they recently offered me a much better p/ex than my local OPC did almost a year ago !

Unsure if I`d go to an OPC again, primarily as they (local) will not sell me what I`d want. Back to n/a V8 methinks, not German this time though []

 

[Steve Lyle]

Thanks both for your responses.

pse_CS - fair comment and I would have no issue with keeping my existing car. My only concern would be that in the past I have tended to keep my cars for longer periods (20 years on my previous TVR) and wonder how this 3.4 engine/PDK gearbox package stands up to high mileages?

AndrewCS - my gut feel is also that the GTS would hold its price better (having experience of Elan Sprint v. S4 version) but do you have any documented evidence to back this up? Thanks for the lead on RPM Technik, i'll give them a call.

 

[AndrewCS]

… no, only recollections of their price tags over the past three years.

 

[Dylan1]

I would give Rob Milner at redline a call
he consistently offers more for part ex and has some nice GTS for sale too
personally,unless you have money to spare,I wouldn’t bother changing provided your S is well specced.

 

[Motorhead]

Steve,

I have to agree with other's comments regarding upgrading to a GTS. If your car's well-spec'd then I doubt that you'll gain significantly from quite a hefty outlay, although GTSs are rarer and more collectible and therefore more expensive, but with the added bonus that prices are likely to hold up better than the BS. However, the used car market is notoriously fickle and probably you'd need to hold on to the car for a very long time for it to be considered an "investment". For historical like-for-like comparisons I think you'll have to check-out online sources such as PH and Autotrader as well as Porsche's pre-owned cars site.

The 3.4L DFI engine in your BS has been around for more than 10-years now and has proved to be (reasonably?) trouble-free, particularly when compared with that of the previous generation which had IMS bearing and bore-scoring issues. In addition to other improvements, the Gen2 engine design eliminated the troublesome IMS bearing and a different alloy was used for the crankcase. As far as I'm aware, no significant bore-scoring issues have been reported.

The PDK transmission appears also to be reasonably trouble-free, but as with any complex electro-hydraulic mechanical device, problems occasionally arise and are expensive to fix. Although I understand that Dealerships can do a limited amount of work on them (software re-flash, external component replacement, etc.), if there's a major problem the whole transaxle has to be replaced - a major expense.

If you're concerned about the cost of potential engine and transmission failures, you could look at taking out an extended warranty (Porsche's offering will cover you until the car's 15-years old).

You can add 911 Virgin to the list of Porsche specialists offering outright purchase or on a commission sales basis.

Jeff

 

[pse_SC]

... wonder how this 3.4 engine/PDK gearbox package stands up to high mileages?

...gut feel is also that the GTS would hold its price better ...

So it’s crystal ball stuff then, really []

 

[legin]

If you go SOR I would give THB a miss as I have read enough to see there are better options !

 

[Spydermonkey1985]

Steve,

I'm in a similar boat, love my S but not massively sure what the extra 15bhp really brings. However....if I hold onto mine I plan to fit the X73 suspension kit - essentially it was the passive option offered on the GTS and the same set up which gets fitted to the 981 Spyder.

My last quote for it (albeit back in 2017) was approx £2,200 and that was with it being fitted and aligned at a main dealer. The actual parts come to approx £1,400.

I suspect with the kit you'd be almost 95% of the way to the car feeling like a GTS?

Has anyone else had this fitted? What were your thoughts?

James

 

[Gazoak]

Don't do it Steve! Stick with you Boxster S. If you look after it and maintain the service side of things, I'm sure your engine and gearbox will remain reliable. You say you're happy with it and how much more enjoyment will you achieve jumping in to a GTS with another 15bhp and suspension PASM. I could understand it more if you were going from a 2.7 to a 3.4 as the bhp is significantly higher.

 

[Steve Lyle]

Thank you all for your valuable feedback. Having spoken to various experts and spent a lot of time on the internet looking at cars for sale I have realised two things: 1) the price gap to the GTS model is just too much to justify for the extra you gain and 2) my car has such a high spec (c. £15k worth of extras) that it will be very hard to match!

As a result I have agreed with the two most helpful dealers I spoke to (Dove House Motors and RPM Technik) that if they find a 2015/6 Boxster S with an equivalent spec then they will call me. Otherwise I think I will just continue to enjoy the one I have and revel in all its extras, which I had taken for granted but now realise I am lucky to have (PASM, Chrono, PCM + Nav, Sports exh, Sports wheel, Cruise, Seat heat/cool, Park assist F & R, 14 way electric seats with memory, Folding mirrors with rain sense, 2 zone climate, Bose audio etc).

Thanks again for your interest.

P.S. To James - If you want to improve the suspension on your car I strongly suggest you speak to Pete at Center Gravity at Atherstone (01827 718800). He optimised the set up on my car and transformed the handling (much to my surprise not all Porsches are created equal!). The service they give is just great.

 

[AndrewCS]

Thanks for the update Steve, with a similar spec. to yours I too have been `struggling` as to where to move to next ? Today`s one hundred mile run after a month away reinforced that I need not continue looking, especially when coupled with the total lack of interest from my two closest dealers re. my potential interest in a change.

Positive too your feedback on those contacts … must get to CG soon !