2000 Boxster - Good used car value??? Reliability??

[Paul]

Don't take this the wrong way.....

Don't buy a Porsche since IME you're the kind of owner that will have nothing but problems with the car. Drive it 5 miles once in awhile? A slow painful death for a nice car.

[23109VC]

maybe I mis-stated how often I'd use the car.

I live 5 miles from work. I would use the boxster to go to and from work and I might switch off with my other car. I am married w/3 kids. 35 yrs old. We have a brand new SUV we use for "family" stuff. My wife drives that as she is home w/kids. I have a nice but "older" sedan that commutes great but is boring boring boring. it's paid for and it a VERY nice "beater" type car. I am looking for a third toy car to drive to/from work and to play wtih on weekends. with small kids it's not like I'll be taking off every sat and sun to cruise the twisties...but i'm sure i'll get SOME chances to drive it or take my young son for drives....

can you shutoff the airbag on a 2000 on the pass side to avoid hurting small kids??

anyway... my financial situation allows for a third car, but not a $30k third car. the big appeal to this car is that it would be pretty cheap and i'd not be worried that ti's a big POS that has some secret hidden problem that is getting dumped on me. i KNOW that any used car can do that..and i'd be ok with it if it did happena nd it would NOT sour the relationship. i'm not worried about that.

i'm more worried about tyring to "steal" it from them if they don'treally want to cut me a "super" deal and would rather just sell it on the open market and get as much cash as they can. the appeal to selin to me is that this person would be able to sell it fast and if they want tos ell fast, wh not give me the smokin deal an dnot the carmax guy or some other palce that gives you bottom dollar.

the car is clean. if I could get a boxster S wih the same options for 20k..and i'd only save like 5k to get this one, maybe i'd ust rather wait another 6 months, save a bit more and go for a slightly better car. a big part of the appeal is maybe getting it as cheap as 12-13k...which honestly..is a pretty low price considering how nice of a car it is.

where else can I get a car this cool for so cheap.

the funny thing is that when you drive it - people think it's like a super expensive car. i took it out the other day and the neighbors were like "ooohhh" he's got the "expensive car" or something lke that...this is coming from people who have $40k-50k cars in their garage but know nothing about cars.. they jsut see the badge know it's a porsche and assume it cost 80k.. or something...

i'll let you all know if i buy it. so far the seller is on the fence. not sure he really wants to part iwth it...but if he does, i get first crack.

[Sloan]

1st, while I'm not 100% certain, I really, really don't think that there is an air-bag cut-off on that car.

Next - if you're already thinking you have a preference for and/or are willing to wait for an "S", you're in trouble. While that car has a lot of the nice options, just as there's "no substitute" for Porsche, there's similarly no substitute for the extra H.P. / torque of the larger motor. Have you driven an S to compare?

Next: Has the car been garaged? For its whole 'life'? That would make a huge difference for me. I know I paid a premium for my car b/c of its condition and the fact it had been so well cared for.

While mine is a 'daily driver', I have an ultra short commute (not even time for it to warm up) - I think that the Boxster would be perfect as the fun / toy car as long as you don't let it sit too much, and it does not sound like that would be a problem for you.

For sure they are fun. For sure they are admired (even here, where I'm surrounded by tons of exotics, and all the non-exotics seem to be MB's, BMW's, Lexus, Audi, etc..). For sure maint. can be expensive, but I don't think it's really that out of line with other high-end cars, so as long as you bear in mind that most cars need maint., I don't think you'll go too wrong.

Please let us know what you're doing ...

[gmboxster]

If I read your posts correctly ( reading between the lines ) you appear to really want this car and are seeking validation to pull the trigger on the deal. Let me be the first to say " GO FOR IT " !! It's a car, you have to expect problems could arise. At least you know the previous owner and how he treated it. A big positive in my book. And as a third car if it does need repairs you won't have to worry about getting to work. And boy those weekend drives will make you happy! I toyed with the idea of various cars before I bought mine and I have NO regrets. I must say however that I haven't had a bit of trouble with mind so far.

1998 Boxster 47,000K at purchase. Kept in immaculate condition.

[fatmike]

Not that I want to start a family fued -- but you really should negotiate. That's fairly high miles for a Boxster.

Plus we're in a recession -- nobody buys cars like this in a recession!

[Brucelee]

If I had the dough, I would look for something with fewer miles. The Box is NOT a Honda and is not cheap to fix either.

Specific to buying from a relative, it depends on the relative.

I wouldn't buy a Coke from some of mine!

[23109VC]

just out of curiosity - suppose the motor did go out on me... what does it cost to get it replaced/fixed? dealer vs porsche independent? that will give me an idea as to what I can expect as the "worst case scenario"...

i have NOT test driven an "S". maybe I should. and in fact, *IF* this car is truly offered to me for sale, I think I will FORCE myself to go test drive an "S" AND this 2000 base - back to back - and see what I really think. If I suddenly am "in love" with an S, I migth think about waiting and searching for an "S" model.

the big decision would be - HOW much MORE do I like an "S" and HOW CHEAP would I really be able to get the base for. If it turns out I coudl buy the base for a "family" deal for $10k.... how do I justify another 10k to get an "S" if I only like it a "little" more.

if the power difference is VERY noticeable, then I'll probalby like the S more, and it will come down to how cheap is the base..and does the price difference justify going for the car I like more.

when he finally decides to sell it, i'll get a realistic price and then I can test drive an S and see which way I go. right now, he's "talking" about selling....