987 Made in Finland?

[ptcja]

No idea about boxster at all. Know much about Mercedes but is 987 made in Finland? Read a few threads there.

Also, wondering what options to get for the 987. No clue at all.

I am thinking just these 2:

1. 19" wheels

2. Leather seats (didn't know that it's only 1/2 leather)

I think we can skip the nice LCD and the automatic climate control. I might miss a few gimmicks on my R171 like the rain sensor but I think I will skip that.

[adsach]

No idea about boxster at all. Know much about Mercedes but is 987 made in Finland? Read a few threads there.

Also, wondering what options to get for the 987. No clue at all.

I am thinking just these 2:

1. 19" wheels

2. Leather seats (didn't know that it's only 1/2 leather)

I think we can skip the nice LCD and the automatic climate control. I might miss a few gimmicks on my R171 like the rain sensor but I think I will skip that.

I don't think any of the 987 as made in Finland yet, but if demand increases Porsche probably will arrange to assemble some of them in Finland. About 1/2 the 986 Boxsters were from Uusikaupunki,Finland and there is no provable difference between the Finish and German cars. Some rumors that the Finish cars had better paint, but I even doubt that difference.

I would recommend heated seats. I liked them living in Arizona and I really like them living in New York.

If you ever plan to track the car you will probably want sport-chrono. You probably won't ever NEED sport-chrono, but if you don't get it you may regret not buying it and wonder about the difference. You can't really add it later. This advice applies to the track only.

Self-dimming mirrors are very nice, so many cars in the US are SUVs and trucks with headlights pointing straight at the mirrors. Often this is bundled with the rain sensor. I don't like the rain sensor sensitivity(986), but I do like the way it varies the speed slightly so you don't get a hypnotic sound of wipers going clunk clunk.

Bi-Xenons are very nice. Almost everyone prefers them to standard Halogen headlights.

Unlike the other options, 19inch wheels are an expense that keeps on costing money. Every 10,000 miles when you replace tires 19inch tires cost more than 18inch tires. 19inch wheels are more sensitive to potholes than 18inch wheels, which collect more dents than 17inch wheels. If you have potholes, you might prefer smaller wheels.

The decision about wheels is not as important as some others. If you are seriously interested in high performance tires, you will end up replacing your wheels someday anyway. And if you love the look of 19inch wheels you will buy them no matter the consequences. Wheels are one of the easiest options to upgrade later.

- disclaimer - I drive a 986S, so my answers are not specific to the 987.

[djantlive]

heated seats, xenon are very costly to retrofit and pretty much bare minimum. consider short shifter also. if you like your exhaust loud, order PSE (nice to have since it offers no add'l power).

you may consider electric adjustable seats as they offer lumbar and bolster support. full leather seats are pretty much a waste of money as only the seat back is vinyl which is unseen anyway. if you are getting full leather interior covering door panels and dash, then you are looking at $$ but will actually see a difference.

[ptcja]

So Bi-Xenon lights are not standard, that's good as they are standard on my R171. Rain sensor, I can live without that but I actually don't know what dimming mirrors do.

I think I will stick with 1/2 leather... does the 987s also come in 1/2 leather? I have never seen the real thing and didn't pay attention at all on my last test drive.

Heck on demos... they give you the best.

I think I will skip the radio too and the bose system.

I think I will only get:

1. Metallic Paint

2. Bi-Xenon (same as HID?)

3. 19"

or 18" that's it.

I thought electrically adjusted seats = standard?

[ptcja]

Any comment on the lighting capability of the halogen? Is it that different from the bi-xenon?

[djantlive]

halogen is fine but won't light up as well as xenon. beside, i love the color of xenon.

do yourself a fav and go to porsche.com to configure the car. porsche has very few standard equipment. anyone used to MB will be surprised to find a porsche that doesn't have dimming mirrors, rain sensors, elect seats. however, porsche does offer much more option possibilities such as deviating stiching and full leather dash/panel that MB doesn't. Money of options is another matter.

[scopacetic]

halogen is fine but won't light up as well as xenon. beside, i love the color of xenon.

do yourself a fav and go to porsche.com to configure the car. porsche has very few standard equipment. anyone used to MB will be surprised to find a porsche that doesn't have dimming mirrors, rain sensors, elect seats. however, porsche does offer much more option possibilities such as deviating stiching and full leather dash/panel that MB doesn't. Money of options is another matter.

For performance and comfort, get PASM and 18" wheels. There is a lot of debate, but I think most feel that the 18" wheels give better performance due primarily to lighter weight. The ride is also better. The 40 profile tires should give enough clearance to avoid many of the dings you get with other setups. (Note that the 40 profile 18" or 35 profile 19" makes for a very large diameter). The PASM gives better ride and performance as well.

The Sport Chrono is nice, but less essential than the PASM. It does offer a sport mode that detunes the PSM to allow a little more oversteer, particularly in low speed turns, so if you will track the car, it's essential. The stop watch feature is strange in my mind. If they wanted to do something for the track junkie, they could have done so much more given the number of sensors in the car and GPS. You could have an awesome data acquisition system when integrated with PSM, but all they give you is lap times. But it's the only way to get the "Sport" mode, which is different from the "Sport" PASM setting.

I haven't compared the sound systems, but I presume the Bose Surround is another "essential" item.

In the interior, the $250 sport steering wheel is much nicer looking in my opinion than the standard 3 spoker.

I have heard mixed reviews on the sport seats, so if you consider nonstandard seats, you would be well served to go to the dealership and try sitting in them.

PCM/Navigation is a personal thing. Navigation is a fun gadget, but not essential unless you do a lot of traveling.

[Wads]

I don't think any of the 987 as made in Finland yet, but if demand increases Porsche probably will arrange to assemble some of them in Finland. About 1/2 the 986 Boxsters were from Uusikaupunki,Finland and there is no provable difference between the Finish and German cars. Some rumors that the Finish cars had better paint, but I even doubt that difference.

I'm fairly sure that the 987 is produced in the same facilities as the 986 and as such the majority are made in Finland. Most people I know in the UK regard having a Finnish made car as a good thing because German cars seem to have more problems....... as the majority of the expertise is based in Finland (because of the volume of Boxsters built there) German made cars may not be built to the same standards.

My 987S was built in Finland

[adsach]

I don't think any of the 987 as made in Finland yet, but if demand increases Porsche probably will arrange to assemble some of them in Finland. About 1/2 the 986 Boxsters were from Uusikaupunki,Finland and there is no provable difference between the Finish and German cars. Some rumors that the Finish cars had better paint, but I even doubt that difference.

I'm fairly sure that the 987 is produced in the same facilities as the 986 and as such the majority are made in Finland. Most people I know in the UK regard having a Finnish made car as a good thing because German cars seem to have more problems....... as the majority of the expertise is based in Finland (because of the volume of Boxsters built there) German made cars may not be built to the same standards.

My 987S was built in Finland

Thanks for the correction Wads - I'll try not to pass this misinformation on to anyone else.

[raman39]

Practically all Boxster are now made in Finland.

[contadino]

I have an '05 987S. Got the 18" wheels due to potholes in my area and am very happy so far. Got the heated seats - great! Also got the auto climate control - not worth 10 bucks IMHO. I got the sport steering wheel but after driving with it - I really don't like it. The bumps at 10:00 and 2:00 bug me after a while. I listened to both standard and Bose systems - there's no question - if you plan to listen to CDs go with the Bose. Windstop can be added later but I'm glad I got it.

[rockcreek7]

My '06 987S is from Stuttgart.

I've been very impressed with the sound of the Bose system. It sounds better than the one in the 996. The heated seats should be on your order sheet. As for the 19" wheels, I like their look, but the ride is harsher.

[Wads]

My '06 987S is from Stuttgart.

Has it broken down yet? LOL only joking! but are you sure its a Stuttgart car? does the VIN have a U in it?

[stubenhocker]

:king: of the total Boxster production in 2005 of 20321 vehicles, 15892 or 78% of them were assembled in Finland...the prior year all but 380 out of 18411 were assembled in Finland.

statistics per Porsche Annual reports

[stumpjumper]

the self dimming mirrors are nice, with the top down the regular mirror can reflect the sun into your face hours before dusk because of the way the mirror works (I don't know the technical term for the dual reflectivity)

the same way the mirror can put sun in your face, if you flip it up because of somebody's lights bothering you you'll see nothing but sky during the day

it's bothersome enough to me that I'm going to retrofit the self dimming mirror

[yfei]

My 2006 Boxster S (out of factry in Feb 2006) was assembled in Finland, major parts like engine and transmission are made in Germany.

No idea about boxster at all. Know much about Mercedes but is 987 made in Finland? Read a few threads there.

[JimR]

Our '01 Boxster was a Valmet car (Finnish). It was a great car. We traded it in for the '06 S due to getting rear-ended really hard.

The new one is also a Valmet car, and build quality was similarly excellent.

The bi-xenons are really, really excellent. I can't imagine the halogens coming close.

We like the heated seats, but I'm thinking that may not matter much in HK.

We ended up finding a car on the lot, due to getting rear-ended and doing a quick trade in upon repair. We would have never ordered the body-colored roll bar, but it really does add a lot to the look of the car when the top is down.

Going from a non-S car to an S car is a really nice performance jump.

Edited June 11, 2006 by JimR