THE ESSENTIAL BUYER’S GUIDE: PORSCHE 981 BOXSTER & CAYMAN 2012–2016

Adrian Streather Published 2017 by Veloce, which supplied the review copy ISBN 978-1-787110-69-4. Reviewed by Mark Holman

Dozens of these very useful books have now been published by Veloce, covering cars as different as Ford Model T and Alfasud, as well as many motorcycles. Each one is a small-format softcover with 64 pages. This new addition is rather different, because it covers such a new model, so it has less emphasis on the wear and tear to look out for after years of use (or misuse!). Nonetheless, the Porsche 981 book follows the regular structure, including ‘Is it the right car for you’ and the vital statistics of the model range. The key aspects for potential buyers, though, are the ‘15 Minute Evaluation: Stay or Walk Away’, and the much more detailed ‘Serious Evaluation’ which sets out a range of scores to help you reach an objective assessment of the car you might be considering. This goes into a fair amount of detail, from steering system to the underside panels, and radiators and coolant. Finding contaminated coolant is given as one reason to stop and walk away! I was also interested in the two pages headed ‘Problems due to Lack of Use’ — an object lesson for anyone tempted to store such a car in the hope that it will increase in value! Some of the sections on paperwork and possible value may be of less relevance to NZ buyers, but there is enough information in here, as in the other books in this series, to prevent someone from making an expensive mistake.