Tell me what you think about this CHEAP Boxster
 

Ok guys/gals,

Check out this listing on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320602537555&viewitem= &_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1&category =6015

What do you think? Can you see/tell anything about the car?
What do you think about what looks like glue on the bottom left edge of where the rear-window meets the top?

Thanks in advance for the help!

You're nuts to even consider buying a 10 yr old Boxster sight unseen. Unfortunately you'll learn the hard way that "cheap Boxster" is an oxymoron.

It's a buyers' market. Do your research, look at and drive lots of cars, find a good one at a fair price, and then spend some money for pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by an experienced P-car mechanic. This is the SMART way to get a good deal on a Boxster.

Not sight unseen, this car is local and would check it out first. Thanks for the "in general" advice but I'm looking for specifics about this car based on what you can see/read.

Looks nice. Consider the rear window damage just part of tradeoff of getting an older cheaper boxster. Know that motor could blow/fail... and I'd have the RMS/IMS replaced by an indy, while you're in there might want to do the clutch too. Soooo $8500 (local price) you'll end up adding $2k in those items. Or just roll the dice and don't spend more than the absolute minimum to keep the wheels rolling.

The question with these is always whether to spend the $17-$21k to get a nice 03-04 with low mileage, or spend $10k and roll the dice for the last $10k.

Well the main issue is the rebuilt title. This car was in a wreck and totaled by the insurance company. What this really hurts is the resale value. I myself, don't have a problem with rebuilt titles (doesn't take much to total a car now days). I bought my $19,000 truck for $10,000. However, after 4 years of ownership, I sold it this summer. Blue book was $15,000, I got $8,000. It only had 15,000 miles on it and ran land looked like new, only problem was the rebuilt title. I think the people I sold it to got a very good deal.

Your car? Looks like it's in pretty good shape for a 10 year old car with 95,000 miles. It may need some work but $6k seems like a pretty good deal. JMHO from a guy who's last 4 vehicles were purchased off Ebay, sight unseen (except for the photos). Last Ebay vehicle - '03 Boxster for $12,507, purchased in July.

Oh, and make sure you can license a car with a rebuilt title in your state. I think there are two states in the union where they won't license cars with rebuilt titles.

It's a high mileage Boxster, so it's cheap to buy and probably will need things replaced and will probably be missing things, like the wind blockers.

For the price that these cars are going for, the difference between a pristine car and one of these well used ones is not very big, especially considering the comparative extra maintenance the car will need. Think about how much nicer it will be to not have chipped paint, cracked seats, missing windscreen, unbroken window, a non-salvage title and whatever else for just a couple grand more.

My Boxster was just about as cheap as they got back two years ago, at around $9500. I can say I've comfortably spent that much again just repairing things that have gone wrong with it.

It may be a great car, I can see that it has a rebuilt title on it, so it probably is a better car than the price would have people think.

I just learned my lesson, when buying a car like this, it's better to spend a bit more upfront.

My advice (former Porsche dealer here) is walk on by.

The car is a salvage title no matter what the guy says.

Buying a Box on ebay is not playing the odds.

Pay a decent price and work at finding a decent car.

If not, don't come back here all weepy.

Good luck, choose wisely.

:D

If you're a great DYI and have or know where several Boxsters are lying around for parts...go for it.

Great SPEC Boxster race car candidate

BTW, the screen on the climate control is toast. Add some more bucks to replace that.

I bought my 10 year old Boxster sight unseen. It is everything I thought it would be, other than a leather dash that is coming up near the windshield. Other than that it's near perfect.

I'm sure you would concede that it could have just as easily gone the other way if the seller was deceitful.

He says the car's local, so he can presumably do the right thing and get it checked before he buys.

And for every "you" the odds of the same thing happening to others are probably very slim.

It's like going to the casino... how many people will come up to you and tell you how much money they've lost? And how many times do you see people win the jackpot? It doesn't stop people going to the casino. And it certainly doesn't stop people from buying a Porsche for a bargain.

It always makes a great story tho... "Hey I bought a Porsche for $6k on ebay and now I gotta spend just as much repairing it!"

Not really.
I had a PPI done by an indy mechanic, had service records from day one and a couple times spoke with the dealer that sold and service the car. IMO due diligence can go a long way to providing a good "sight unseen" purchase experience.

Thank you!
 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I hope this is the beginning of a great forum relationship!

Does anyone know a good PPI in the Eastern Mass, Southern NH region?

The cost of car ownership
 

In making our car-buying decisions, we either pay a higher purchase price for a newer car (to reduce maintenance and repair costs, better reliability, improved performance, etc.) or we pay a lower price for an older car (and take our chances on being faced with higher maintenance and repair costs in lieu of big depreciation/insurance costs).

There's no one right answer that applies to all buyers. A $6,000 Boxster makes many of us squeamish, but in context of the above, one could argue that it's no better or worse a deal then any other Boxster on the market in the sense that the total cost of ownership could be comparable.

This is not a value argument, per se, but the low $6,000 price lets the potential buyer dodge the biggest costs of all - depreciation and insurance, and leaves a lot of money not spent in purchase price to be available for the maintenance and repairs.

Just sayin'.

You underestimate the creativity of a charlatan.

Nicely put.

I totally agree. There's a new forum member who recently bought a '97 for around $3500. He says his mechanic buddy is helping him with alot of the work and for that price he got a good project car. However after adding up cost of all parts and work he might end up about even if he had gotten a later model car in good condition. But he gained alot of experience and hopefully alot of fun.
For me though, at this point in my life, I don't need any more project cars and i would rather pay extra up front for a car I can drive and enjoy everyday which is what I did.