In recent years, Porsche's first watercooled 911s and their entry-level mid-engine counterpart Boxster have been getting quite inexpensive. These cars are phenomenal to drive, and provide a whole lot of bang for the buck in today's Porsche market. As basically every other car with a Porsche badge has continued to get more expensive, this pair of cars has reached what should be the bottom of its depreciation curve. A nice 986 Boxster can be found for less than ten thousand dollars, and basically any 996 worth driving can be found between 15,000 and 20,000. In this couple of videos, Porsche experts Jake Raby and Charles Navarro help walk us through what to look for when going out to test drive a Porsche you might be interested in.
We have an old 986 Boxster in our garage, and we love the analog driving experience that this car provides. This mid-engine performance driving machine doesn't have any kind of driver aids; no traction control, no stability control, no lane departure warnings or brake assist. The early ones don't even have throttle-by-wire. Aside from anti-lock brakes, this car is about as driver-focussed as you can get. While ours is a 2.5 liter with just 200 horsepower, it is remarkably capable as a sports car, it sounds phenomenal, and is tremendous fun to drive on winding roads. If you haven't thought about a Boxster before, perhaps this video will help you through the buying process.
In a similar vein to the first generation Boxster, the 996 is quite an affordable model for enthusiasts to cut their Porsche teeth on. The 996 Carrera 2 featured in this video appears to be a more track-focussed car with the GT3-style aerokit, slightly lower suspension, and a set of wider wheels with Pirelli Trofeo R tires mounted. This is probably the perfect way to buy into a Porsche track car, as they are getting quite inexpensive for the experience offered. Check out the video to see if perhaps a 996 is the right 'cheap' performance car for you.