Yammez

Hello everyone!

I’ve been looking into getting my first Porsche and I’ve narrowed it down to a few models.

I test drove two 987.2 Boxsters yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience. My original plan was to finance a 987.2 and buy it out in the new year.

HOWEVER, I then saw a 2017 718 Boxster in a gorgeous colour and fell in love. This car is obviously more expensive, but the driving experience and interior quality blew me away. It also felt safer.

When comparing the purchasing options, I noticed the monthly price to lease the 718 for 3 years was not much higher than the financing of the 987.2s (obviously comparing apples to oranges a bit here).

I really only want whatever Porsche I get for 3 years as I’m unsure as to if a 2 seater will make sense at that time.

Does leasing make sense in this situation?

Monthly lease for the 718 is around $1000.

I could also finance it for $1000 a month for 7 years, but that seems quite long and I would still want to sell it after 3 years.

Would appreciate your insights.

Thanks!

hoffa

You'll probably hear this from others, but if you can't pay cash on a luxury item like this, perhaps it's not the best choice? I assume it is not your primary car. I mean finance it if you can get a great rate and payments are covered. And I would only lease a car again if I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it at the end. I leased a 2015 Tesla Model S - mostly because I didn't want the risk. In hindsight I should have bought the stock instead

practicality aside, I'd vode for the 718. Do you research on all the options and make sure you don't compromise on what you want. I just bought a Taycan 4S off the lot and it came with items I "did not" want. In hindsight, I am so glad it was an insane spec, I love every minute of it!!

Yammez

All great points! Thanks for the response.

I actually plan on this being my primary car and driving it through winter (I’ve factored in winter tires and rims).

Technically, I could buy it with cash, but part of me doesn’t want to tie up all that money in a car.

I also work remotely and have no commute, but I do plan on driving the car as much as humanly possible (or whatever the lease permits).

moab

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoffa

You'll probably hear this from others, but if you can't pay cash on a luxury item like this, perhaps it's not the best choice?

I really hate when people say this and don't agree at all. I don't have $150K-$300K sitting in my savings account. Ever.

hoffa

My point was that one should have savings/investments/etc and not to over extend because you can make the payments. That's just me. If I can't pay cash, I won't do it. Doesn't meant I will pay cash.

OttawaSteve

If you are only considering monthly payments you are falling into the leasing trap. The interest rate, residual and downpayment are just as important and have to be considered before determining the better deal.

Yammez

I am considering those as well.

Residual is fairly high, around 67%.

Interest rate is 5.99% at the highest.

I wasn’t planning on putting a down payment if I chose to lease.

I would however put a down payment of 20% if I were to finance over 60 months.

997turbocab

Thank you! To me $150-$200k is a deposit on a building or investment that will provide the residual income to pay for the car payment. I guess everyone is in a different position though. Some of us younger guys still have a long way to go before retirement lol

bcrdukes

Is 5.99% par for the course for a lease or finance? (Admittedly, I have not looked or checked.)

Assuming that is a finance, do people ever take out a HELOC to purchase at a lower or more favourable interest rate?

Muskoka

I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle, and I agree; I love the look of the newer Cayman/Boxsters. In your situation, I'd go with buying the 987.2. It will be just as much fun, and financially, you'll be better off than dealing with the leasing option.

wizee

I used to have a 987.1 base Boxster, and currently have a 718 Spyder that I bought new. I paid more than 6x as much for the 718 Spyder than the 987.1 Boxster. The 718 Spyder is better by almost every measure - faster, nicer interior (leather interior with contrast stitching), sharper steering, better body control, nicer looking, more supportive seats, better brakes, more grip, newer tech, etc. However, I won't say the 718 Spyder is 6x more fun to drive, not even close. I would say my 987.1 base Boxster was 80% as fun to drive as my Spyder, it was rock solid reliable, and I sold it for nearly the same price I bought it for after 3 years of use and putting another 15k km on it. My 987.1 Boxster was by far the best car purchase I ever made, when it comes to joy per dollar. Personally, I also prefer the responsiveness and engine sound of the flat six over the comparatively laggy and mediocre sounding 2.0L base 718 engine.

My vote would be to buy a 987 (.1 or .2, just avoid 3.4L engines on the .1 models because of bore scoring risks). I take satisfaction in owning my cars and being free to use or modify them as I wish, and as long as you take care of a 987, you'd be able to sell it for around the same price you bought it. Yes, the 718 Boxster is newer, better handling (with PASM in particular), has a somewhat nicer interior, and is faster, but you'd lose all the money you spend on a lease. A 987 that's financed or purchased outright would hold its value, and the 987 has its own benefits: a NA flat six with associated sound and responsiveness, smaller size, lighter weight, hydraulic steering, and a more "organic" old car feel you don't get from the 981/982 cars.

If you buy a 987.1 Boxster, you'd even have money left over to buy a second family car in 3 years to haul the kids around while keeping your fun car.

petee_c

Not sure if I'm in the same socio-economic cohort as the OP, but here are my 2 nickels to rub together

My 1st porsche was bought in June 2009. It was/is a 2001 Boxster S (986S) with ~70K km... Cost me under $25K cdn on the road including importing it from Chicago. My kids were 4 & 7 at the time.

I paid cash and still own it. Still more car than I can master on the track as evidenced from my slow laptimes. A capable driver should be 20-30% faster than me. I struggle to get 1:25 on Grand Bends Technical track, I am probably at least 10 seconds off pace compared to a good driver. I had the track bug pretty good just before COVID hit... I went a bunch of times in 2018 & a couple times in 2019...

Given that it's 20 yrs old now, I am not as keen to take it on the track... to get faster will mean a lot more stress on 20 yr old suspension components that I don't really feel like replacing.

enjoy it still on the road for some minor hooligan shenanigan's when the weather's nice.

Lots of people on here with money to be on their 2nd/3rd/4th Porsches... I'm not one of 'em.