[23109VC]

I am considering buying a used Boxster.

I have a somewhat unique situation. A very close relative is going to sell their 2000 Boxster. it is a base model (non-S) with the 5 speed transmission. Ocean blue with black leather.

Options that I know the car has are: 18" wheels. Factory upgraded suspension - something like M030 or R030 was installed on the car, "full leather" interior..I think the dash/doors are all leather. Heated seats. the steering wheel was ugpraded to the "S" style 3 spoke wheel... and the shifter was ugpraded to an "S" style shifter.

the car has 72,000 miles. it runs great, I have driven it recently.

I was offered the car at $15,000. If I hemmed/hawed, I might get the car a bit cheaper..after all it's a "family" deal.

I'm buying the car as a third vehicle/toy car. I would not use it for daily driving..although I'd probably drdive it a few days a week to work for fun. I commute a very short distance...5 miles each way..so even minor commuting would not put much mileage on the car.

I do not know much about the long term reliablity of the boxster. when I recently drove the car I was amazed at how tight and sturdy it felt, despite the mileage. the interior had a few knicks and scratches, as did the exterior...the car is not "showroom" perfect, but it looks very nice. for it's age, it looks an drives great. I was surpised that the clutch had so much grab/bite when I shifted from first to second. i was sort of expecting the clutch to be soggy and/or worn, but it grabbed hare and I could feel the car surge forward after each shift. not sure if porsche clutches are just really tough, or this one is good b/c the car was not driven too hard. the car's main driver is not what I would consider an "aggressive" driver, and while i'm sure he takes corners at speed, I don't think he was revving the stink out of it or powershifting on a regular basis. it was driven by a mature 50+ individual. nto that 50+ year old guys wouldn't abuse a car, but I know this person, and they don't thrash their cars.

the car had the rear main seal go out and the engine repalced by the dealer when the car was very new. the "second" engine has been in the car since around 15-20k miles.

if I do buy this car, I'm wondering what kind of things I should expect to go wrong , aside from normal things. I have owned sports cars before, but never a Porsche. I am not expecting the car to be maintenance free..any car with 72k is going to have somethig go wrong..so I expect there to be the occasional repair here and there, or for things to go wrong.

what I want to AVOID is a car that is notorious for engine, tranny, or other $$$ items to go bad and/or fail. i'd like to drive/enjoy it up to and over 100k miles if that is normal, feasible.

thanks.

you think that price is fair for that type of car, assuming it's in good shape? from looking at the local autotrader and cars.com ads, it looks like base model 2000 boxster are int he 14-18k range... so 15k seems kind of middle of the road. the only real "plus" to this one is that it was heavily optioned when it sold. i recall being told that at the time, base model boxsters were in the 40k range new and this one was almost 50k due to option packages...and that there werne't many base model boxster with this much stuff on it b/c it made more sense to just get an S model at that point..so while it's not an S, it's a verynicely equipped base model.

i kinda think on a used car, the fact that it has some extras, doesn' reallyjack up it's value on a used car sale, not lke it would when new..but it does make it a bit better than a run of the mill 2000 base model. i helped the original owner test drive several boxsters at the time he bought htis one..and i remember thinking this one hadnled WAY better than the othe base models...b/c of the suspension package and 18" wheels. that stuff is the kind of thing I like....I want 18s and if I got one iwh stocks uspension, i'm the kind of person who woudl go out and buy aftermarket suspensiont o upgradeit..so getting it thrown in is nice.

so good deal or should it be cheaper? will I get nickel and dimed to death on repairs for a car like this, or will it be relatively reliable... at least in terms of the big ticket $$ items.

thank.s