Price for CPO 2005 Boxster S?

[gschotland]

Keep in mind that asking prices vary an awful lot from from what cars actually change hands for. You'll pay absolute top dollar from a dealer and then CPO is icing on the cake - for him. Every low mileage Boxster (private) owner thinks his/her car is the best out there and worth far more anyone else's. Prices are literally all over the place (nothing new), but the bottom line is it's a buyer's market - big time. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

When my brother was looking for an '02S (now mine) in '06, we researched prices quite a bit through various sources including eBay and Manheim Auction in PA. At that time we found KBB.com's trade in values to be spot on for what he eventually paid at Manheim ($23.4k + 5% used car dealer's fee). And when his wife made him sell last October (baby on the way), I again did a lot of research through eBay other sources before we settled on a fair price for both of us ($16k). And as I continued to follow prices a few months after that I felt even more sure that I'd paid FMV.

Not a lot of cars are actually sold through eBay, but where the bidding stops and where there were no bids at seemingly reasonable starting prices, these are very telling regarding fair market value. For example, there's a red '05 S w/9.9k mi CPO from Suncoast Porsche in FL that got no bids at a starting price of $27,880, and for an '07 S w/16.5k CPO from Porsche of Naples, FL bidding stopped at $30,975 (no sale). Research closed auctions over the course of a few weeks and you'll see a pattern. Sure, options have an effect on value, but not that much unless the car's really loaded with 15-20k of options. With the common options you're talking about, there are loads of low mileage choices well into the $20s. If your budget is higher, go for the newer car with some warranty left.

BTW, this is where I got the trade in and private party values quoted in my previous post:

http://www.kbb.com/used-cars

Take a deep breath, relax, try to put your emotions aside (yes, it's hard) and take your time shopping. You're in the driver's seat. Your attitude should be "there's always another car around the corner" and there are plenty of motivated sellers around, both absolutely true.

[John Y]

How did you get Manheim data? I always understood you had to be a dealer to participate in their auctions and get their data, and when I went to the website to look at sales #s it asked me to sign up and then asked me for some sort of auction id that dealers have?

I am in this for the long haul, and you're certainly right that there are plenty of cars out there, and I'm not in a particular rush, beyond the general desire to get back into one. I sent out offers by e-mail this morning on two cars - both base - an 06 and an 07, both with low miles; the former CPO at a Porsche dealer, the latter at a franchise dealer for another brand, with what I figure is about 16 months of factory warranty remaining - an adequate substitute for CPO, to me. I was, IMO, pretty aggressive in terms of the discounting in my offers compared to ask (on both I was in the mid to upper 20s - 50% depreciation based on their original MSRP.) We'll see what happens...I am going back for a second look at the 05 S today, and seeing a different 06 base CPO tomorrow, also with ultra-low miles. I will be as aggressive with that one.

You are also right that prices are all over the map - the dealer I e-mailed this morning has his ask on the 06 base CPO at $31,900 - a hair below KBB. The car I will see tomorrow is virtually identical - colors, year, CPO status, and options, mileage is only 1K apart. The second car (on 17s and not 18s) has his ask at 36,995! Extraordinary, especially considering the car came in while there were still green leaves on the trees last year. Perhaps they will be realistic in person.

Another thing worth mentioning on the 05 S is that it has only been with that dealer 30 days, so I suppose that says something about relative motivation to sell.

EDIT: That was easy! The 07 under factory warranty sold (ask was $30,995) and the Porsche dealer with the 06 car won't budge off of $31.9K - surprising! The say there aren't a lot of 06s out there (which we know is untrue) and that they are seeing dealers paying close to retail #s at auction for them. Puffery aside, they know what they paid and they must have an idea of what they can get for it.

It's a good thing I enjoy the process...

[stephen wilson]

I bought a CPO 06 in November, after watching prices for about 2 years! I didn't find any outrageous deals out there. Not many cars seem to sell, with the listings looking mostly the same for the last year. Porsche cut production, and sellers seem content to hold their cars, waiting for a good price. This includes dealers, and private sellers, which there seems to be few of on newer models. If you want a specific color combination and mileage range, as I did, your choices can become very limited.

The short story, I bought a base 06 with 14,500 Mi. , moderately optioned ( Zenon, Sound pkg. plus, 18"wheels, power/memory seats, windstop ) for 31,700 from an asking of 34,900. The paint's not perfect, but I'm still a happy man!
YMMV.
Steve

[John Y]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

I bought a CPO 06 in November, after watching prices for about 2 years! I didn't find any outrageous deals out there. Not many cars seem to sell, with the listings looking mostly the same for the last year. Porsche cut production, and sellers seem content to hold their cars, waiting for a good price. This includes dealers, and private sellers, which there seems to be few of on newer models. If you want a specific color combination and mileage range, as I did, your choices can become very limited.

The short story, I bought a base 06 with 14,500 Mi. , moderately optioned ( Zenon, Sound pkg. plus, 18"wheels, power/memory seats, windstop ) for 31,700 from an asking of 34,900. The paint's not perfect, but I'm still a happy man!
YMMV.
Steve

Steve, thanks for your input as your experience is clearly on point; you bought at Danbury, correct? What color combo was it?

[stephen wilson]

Yes, Danbury, Triple black. The only thing I wasn't happy about is the paint, which has allot of faint scratches and stone chips. I'm sure some would come out with a good buffing.

At the time I decided that low mileage, and seemingly good mechanical condition, was more important than a showroom appearance. For me, it's not just going to be a weekend car, but handle a large portion of my "daily" driving, so it will be hard to keep mint in any event.

FWIW, I decided on an '06 for the hopefully improved IMS reliability, an 07 would have even better, and further "improved". The plus with an '05 is that it can be "upgraded". In 4-5 years I plan on "moving up" to a 2010 S if things go well.

[John Y]

Nice!

Further to the below, the 07 car at a non-Porsche dealer with balance of factory warranty sold (or has a deposit on it) for 30K. Considering that it is not CPO, and has 17K miles (Bose, Xenons, heated seats and windstop) that is also pretty consistent with your purchasing experience. And the fact that the dealer with the CPO 06 and 10K mi is not budging off of 31.9 is also right in the same ballpark (Ihave to assume they'd drop to 31 or so if push came to shove, even if they are to be taken at their word; they probably weren't inclined to try to bridge the gap since my offer was 4500 off theirs.) All of which leads me to believe that the 05 S CPO is probably priced pretty close to what dealers get for a comparable 05 CPO Boxster S. I will see how I feel about that car after today, and may ask him to include a new battery as well. Will think about it over the weekend and see if there are other ore appealing options, or if I want to search a little longer.

As for the condition of your paint - I enjoy detailing and would like to think I have gotten fairly handy with the tools of the trade; I have had good results with my cars and those of other including a couple of black ones. If you want to come up to White Plains sometime, we can take care of it.

[stephen wilson]

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that. I have no experience with detailing!

Good luck!