i test drove another boxster tonight, a 99 with 85k on it, asking 9k
and... something, maybe it was just that car, it did have a funky smell, like that smell from auction cars get. I use to buy state surplus vehicles, old cop cards, etc, and you'd open the door and they'd always have that horrible smell, i'll never forget it
But anyway, it wasn't as fast. Yeah, I know, I don't know, it just.... didn't pickup, anywhere near the way mine did. It was a base, 5-speed like mine, just felt slower. Not like seconds slower, not like 2012 ford focus slower, but it was a clear difference. And the owner selling it was in the passenger seat, but I've had passengers before, and he was a small guy so it wasn't that. I kept asking him, is the oil new? air filters? .... repairs? everything good? Yep yep yep yep YES. So I dunno.
didn't handle like it should either, felt.... loose, at highway speeds. Bit of wheel shaking. Where my 986, was more like a mountain bike, completely tight, and when you turned the wheel it reacted, instantly.
Body was good. Black on black. New top, maybe it had been sitting awhile? the roll bars were all eaten away, like it had been sitting in the rain for years. Latch to trunk was broken. Keyless entry buttons were broken. Latch to bring seats down were broken off and rust was in there.
only 85k
I guess mine was more rare than I thought because mine was (is?) in PERFECT shape at 100,000 miles. But I figured, it's a $50,000 exotic 2-seater convertible, no one's baby puked in the backseat, no dogs or cat, people that buy these have $, they don't live in trailers, they take care of their things. Apparently not everyone. He said he only had it a few months, bought it in florida from some guy, so who knows.....
but i dunno anymore.... this really got me thinking, maybe new engine is the way to go? 3k engine, ~1k install, driving my PERFECT boxster again, vs risk 10k on a lemon?
the really scary thing is NONE of what I saw tonight would appear in photos, unless it was high resolution and they took a photo of exactly that spot, so i would be oh-so-screwed if I bought something on eBay, flew 1,000 miles and found out, oh.... this wasn't mentioned in the auction.... oh you didn't notice it? Oh... yah, ok, that's... uh.... yeah..... what bout this? didn't notice that either? Huh...... i didn't see this in the photos, i looked at the photos, guess they weren't good enough to see all this..... (wow)......
guess something is to be said about buying locally.... and hanging on to what you have if it's in good shape rather than throwing it away
there is inspectmyride
https://www.inspectmyride.com/
i've never used it but it sounds like a good idea... and look, they inspected a boxster:
InspectMyRide.com Vehicle Condition Report | 2003 PORSCHE BOXSTER
and.... screwed up the displacement (3.0?)