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Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster
If you decide to go with the S, ask the dealership that performs the PPI to check for signs of accident damage. If there are signs of an accident and you see a batch of new suspension parts on one side of the car, dont buy it.
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Words of wisdom, there.
I was looking at an '01 Boxster S in New Mexico back in early February, and I had pulled up a CarFax report on it, before heading down. The report showed that there was an accident reported back in '04 on the car in Wisconsin, which was far away from the owner's state of Arizona.
The car fax report showed that after that accident, it was still used, and had various parts replaced over the following years. In fact, after the accident, it had 60k more miles added to it. So I figured that if that many more miles were added to the car, the damage must have been fixed properly.
When I actually got to see the car, it looked fine from 50 feet.
Once I got up close and personal, it went down hill from there.
The hood, the right front fender, and the passenger door were all replaced.
They took the build sticker from the hood, and badly glued it to the new replacement hood.
The door that was replaced was badly painted, and the paint was transferring off of the door on to the rubber seals.
The front bumper was not properly reinstalled, and was drooping more on the right side of the car than on the left.
Then I actually took the car for a test drive.
To say that the car was in poor shape would be kind.
The shifter was sloppy, and it popped out of gear several times when my friend was driving it.
The top screached and screamed as you opened it, and I was afraid it was going to break during the test drive.
The steering was crap, and off center, and extremely heavy.
The brake pads were recently replaced, but they must have been the cheapest pieces of crap they could find, because the brakes felt like they did absolutely nothing when I stepped on the brakes.
The motor mount was shot, and so was the suspension.
The only thing that felt decent on the car was the engine.
Between the damage, and the over all condition of the car, I put an entry into the CarFax report for that car. Someone has bought that POS, unfortunately. Oddly enough, the other two Boxster's on their lot are still there, unsold. One had a mostly dead battery, and they refused to charge the battery so that I could take a look at the car. The other one was a tiptronic, and I wasn't interested in an auto.
So yes, always look for damage on cars you are buying, new or used.
You never know what happened to that car before it got to that car lot.
BC.