Which Boxster is best? Three choices for everyone to ponder!

[Perfectlap]

I was owner #3 before the car had reached 9K miles. The car was showroom mint with a BIG discount. SCORE.

Cars that sit a long time with low miles are indeed a concern if the owners have not regularly changed the oil. The IMS bearing being the biggest concern there.
A car like that should have that part upgraded as a first order of business.
If you are buying from a private owner maybe ask for an oil change as part of the test, cut open the oil filter and see if you spot any metal fragments bigger than freshly cracked pepper. A dealer lot would most likely have changed the oil when the car first arrived so this test my lose its value. On the other hand maybe the dealer doesn't bother to put the money into. If you do spot the fragments that's a sign that maybe the IMS bearing is well into its self-implosion and the engine is sitting on a grenade. But you should also understand that this can be the case with a high mileage one owner car where the oil was also not changed regularly.
I guess mileage isn't really the issue so much as how much routine maintenance, six month oil changes, the car has received. My car had only had one or two oil changes in its first four years but once I took ownership I changed that right away.
When the bearing was extracted (dual row) at 69K miles they found it to be in perfect condition.

[t2-bxtrs]

I'm afraid to even touch one of those choices you have seen...
Talking through experience, after seeing and test driving a few Boxsters you will develop a feel for the right one and then and only then would you consider having a PPI done on it...
Do not listen to whatever the private seller or dealer tells you about history, parking lot fender bender, carfax all of these things mean nothing.. Carfax only captures accidents that are reported, self inflicted accidents especially done privately can go undetected...
The only thing that matters is the visual and actual checks that a PPI can do..
With the slow economy and the influx of these Boxsters there can be plenty up for sale in the market place ! do not discount looking outside your area, a different state where most owners put away their Boxsters for the Winter would be an good opportunity to search for the right one !
and lastly and more important is save your money and buy an "S" in the 2003 and up models.. you'll be glad you did !
thanks and good luck in your search...
t2

[csf]

t2-bxtrs-I have tried to drive as many as I possibly could. Think I'm up to about 10 now. I agree with what you said about just driving them and seeing which is best. I checked the 2000 one today and it felt okay. Well maintained but I couldn't fit in it (is there something with 2000s where they are smaller on the interior?). Afterwords I drove the 2002 and there was a big difference. The 2002 felt roomier, smoother, sounded much better, and appeared to be better kept. Driving them almost back to back really made one stand out over the other.

Perfectlap-I'm going to get the car checked out and I will be checking the fluids as much as possible myself. I will also alert the shop about looking for metal flakes in the filter. Thanks for the tip!

[mikefocke]

I've been the third owner twice. Never knew the circumstances of the first owner in either case. Both purchases from private second owners who were selling for lifestyle reasons. Both dead on reliable cars.

Parking lot accidents can be meaningless. I had a slow speed rear-ender that creased my back bumper...nothing more. Repaired right would that affect the car's value? No. Even had a rear-ender on the highway that took out the bumper, bumperettes, and bumper supports. No sheet metal damage or electrical damage and all was repaired right. No real affect on the value of the car. The trick is to know what happened and how fixed.

And by all means drive many, select one, pay for the pre-purchase-inspection by the most knowledgeable Porsche mechanic around.

I know of no big difference in reliability between 2000-2004 model years despite what consumer reports says...too small a self selecting sample.

What I know about buying one is in these 10 articles https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages