25 year Porsche owner and enthusiast for life here... I personally have owned 5 M96/M97 engined Porsches and have driven 400,000 miles on these engines and never had a problem. I am sorry you had to go through an engine build and the broken shift cables. Plenty of 987.2 snapped shifter cables reported on forums too, may have alot  to do with the climate you live in. You also have the 2005 version with smaller bearing design engine, which unfortunately does have a higher rate of failure, but a lot of that could have been from previous owner abuse or insufficient oil changes and maintenance. 987.1 2006-2008 engines have larger Ims bearings and  failures are less than 1%,  After 400,000 miles that I have driven in my M96/M97 cars,  they are some of the most reliable cars I ever owned. I am very meticulous with maintenance and live in California dry weather. For obvious reasons and going through the engine rebuild process you are fearful of the 987.1 engines, but If you are going to list things that can go wrong with one generation of car (987.1), then please be up to date with your information of everything that goes wrong with the other generation (987.2). When you don't then you are misleading your audience. You should discuss that 987.2 do have Bore scoring issues, especially in freezing climates when the pistons are squeezed by the cylinder walls and cause major bore scoring, they have high pressure fuel pump failures, DFI long term carbon buildup on the on the intake valves,  High pressure fuel wash issues on the walls of the cylinders because the high pressure fuel washes away oil which is needed at startup, which is another bore scoring cause. Then there are PDK sensor failure issues which cost $18,000 for a new transmission...  I say all this not to bash the 9A1 engines in the 987.2 + 997.2, but because reviewers need to be fair and compare apples to apples for their audience.  Unfortunately the reality is,  If you are going to buy a 20 year old Porsche,  or for that matter Any 20 year old high end sports car,  then you should be prepared to freshen up the interior, suspension, shift cables and rebuild the engine at some point. The idea that cars should last forever has no bases in reality and I think the previous owner of your car may have neglected it.  So the ongoing wisdom is, buy the newest car you can afford and have it fully inspected before purchase.  I still own a 2006 997.1 C4S,  2008 987.1  Cayman S and 2008 987.1 Boxster S.  Owned over 15 years and love them to bits.  Amazing cars and I drive them like a bat out of hell!!  Hope your troubles are over.

The 2.9 engine is not DFI, which is why it's arguably Porsche's most reliable modern engine.

Thanks for giving me a go in yours mate, let's hope it's sunny next time!

I had the same dilemma, main point for me would be be PDK on the gen two and the better engine. I always go for the lower spec engine. Plenty fast enough for me and the engine not as stressed

Nice insight between the two. Stick with my gen 1 then

I like your Boxster. I have. 2005 Boxster as well. In the blue with tan interior. Love it.

987 .1 & .2 Cayman blank in the front bumper is removed and a 3rd radiator is installed for Tiptronic/PDK equipped cars. The 3rd radiator can also be retrofitted to manual transmission cars, as I've done this to my gen 2 Cayman S.

Great upload. Two fine cars. The piece of mind with a good 2.9  mark 2 is worth a lot👍

I sold my 987.1S. It was an amazing car, but even after taking care of the IMS I was too worried about bore scoring to keep it. I'll pick a .2 someday when I find the perfect one.

I have owned both the 987.2 Cayman 2.9 and currently own a 981 Cayman 2.7, I sold the dot 2 due to high running costs, the car had a badly corroded drive shaft, corroded cross pipes AOS and window regulator. I have had the 981 for a year now with nothing negative to report, the 981 remains the most reliable Porsche according to Renn Werk Porsche care  in Stevenage and I can attest to that.

The 2.9 is not DFI engine but the 3.4 is DFI in the 987.2, however the 2.7 and 3.4 engines in the 981 are DFI.

In terms of the slow cranking on your car, check the grounding point next to the battery and replace the starter if that doesnt work. My 987.1 was the same until my starter failed and now turns over quickly

2.9 base 987.2 engine is port injection and only the s version is dfi.

The sound quality is difficult to follow. Windscreen wiper scraping, wind buffeting what ever the mic is it drops your voice out When there’s louder ambient noises.

Good overview - the 987.2 Boxster vs 987.1 is slightly different in realiity - as cayman styling is different. I went for the 987.2 boxster S in prefernce as ive had a 997.1 C4S and an 986 gen 1 2.7 also . The DFI and non IMS is a big plus but also it has a different AOS system which is a bit more robust and less prone to leaking.  Also the PDLS is worth having and if you.have the NAV system you can retrofit Apple car play quite easily. MPG isnt bad either, high 20s to low 30s achievable.

lol great ending. Well, for us viewers anyway lol

the .2 steering wheel really doesn't look as nice as the .1 basic steering wheel, however most of the .1 steering wheels by now have a cracked look in the airbag, which is unavoidable

Na yours is lovely.

Was that an after market exhaust causing all that booming drone? Ugh!

The 987.2 non S is a sweet spot for Cayman/Boxster, I say that as a 3 year owner of a 987.1 S 3.4L owner.

I'll go for a 981 base next up, whether Cayman or Boxster I'm not yet sure

What TF happened at the end? Infamous shifter cable gone ??

The 987.1 2.7 engine has no issues with bore score or IMS. I wouldn't have an S.