Potential New Owner

[mixedmac]

Hello,

I'm looking into getting a Boxster or a Boxster S preferably for my DD. I have found one locally that I like and test drove, seems to drive fine. The car has been properly and very well maitained, however the car has 112,000 miles on the original engine.

The is a 2000 "S", and I know any boxster I get, I will do the LN engineering IMS Retrofit, but is the mileage on this car too high? I drive 60 highway miles round trip 4 times a week, and I plan to keep it for the next 5 years.

What do you guys think???

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

If the car is right and tight, go for it.

I bought my first Boxster in June of 2009 with 107 K miles. It is a '98 Base. It is my wifes daily driver and our road trip touring car. It now has 130 K miles. It was owned by all guys over 50 who loved this car. Me too. It is in great shape and runs, drives, rides and handles awesome.

By the way, I think it is in better shape than the 2000 S we just bought with 48 K miles.

Our base is a great car, but the wife wanted a better sound system and I wanted a little bit of extra power to romp through the mountains and do high speed runs.

Don't get me wrong, Base does a fantastic job, S just does it a little better. Although I do preffer the 5 speed tranny over the 6. Porsche missed a great opportunity to make the 6th gear an extended overdrive for touring.

Base will be for sale very soon. I am freshing up the car for sale with 4 new drilled rotors and new pads all around and 2 new rear tires with a 4 wheel allingment. It realy doesn't show a need for the allingment, but for just $55 bucks more, why not be sure.

If you are interested, let me know. I can meet you somewhere in between Idaho and California.

[yelojkt]

My car has over 200,000 on it and I truely believe it is better than most cars with less than 100,000, but I keep it maintained, plus some. It is not a boxster but I know that there are several owners on this site who have high miles on theirs and they stand behind them as a great daily driver. Looks like you know Porsche I say do not worry about the miles if the car has been properly maintained.

[Beelzy]

Unless their are records for all repairs showing it was Well Maintained for all those miles, it's a potential Time Bomb for the Wallet.

[mikefocke]

To help you in understanding any maintenance that may be needed in the short term, get a PPI. But it is a 100k plus car and you are proposing to drive it to a point where age and miles do take their tole.

Is there any way of verifying that the 90k maintenance was done and done right? I ask this because it is the most comprehensive set of maintenance procedures Porsche specifies.

Do you have a trusted Porsche mechanic available in your area?

Do you have a backup car available?

If it passes the PPI and you can verify the questions above, then go for it knowing that there may be issues as with any older car and you'll deal with them. You;ll have a wonderful car and won't have paid anywhere near what the original owner did. And you'll have some money in the bank to pay if anything serious goes wrong.

Those who report great longevity do all the preventative maintenance and then some, oil changes at 5k or less.

The good news is your proposed 60 miles a day is good miles as most is with the engine warm.

[mixedmac]

The owner does have all receipts of 30k, 60k, 90k service, plus water pump, all 02 sensors, mass air flow sensor, new soft top, and A/C Service has been done. All work has been done at stealerships. The oil has been changed at the regular intervals with Mobil 1 0w/40.

I know for a fact the motor mount needs to be changed, and I will most likely do the IMS and RMS as a preventive measure.

I just know I'll be in the 200K range if I keep it for 5 years and I wanted to see if anyone has experience with the M96 engines getting up their in age without any major hiccups, minus all the required maintenance.

The asking price for the car is $12000.

What do you guys think?

[chris97boxster]

Kbb.com
kelly blue book

he is in the ballpark for asking price
maybe a little high due to mileage
but 112K miles divided by 10 years is just under
12K miles a year he put on
does it feel tight?

Chris

[Topless]

Originally Posted by mixedmac

The owner does have all receipts of 30k, 60k, 90k service, plus water pump, all 02 sensors, mass air flow sensor, new soft top, and A/C Service has been done. All work has been done at stealerships. The oil has been changed at the regular intervals with Mobil 1 0w/40.

I know for a fact the motor mount needs to be changed, and I will most likely do the IMS and RMS as a preventive measure.

I just know I'll be in the 200K range if I keep it for 5 years and I wanted to see if anyone has experience with the M96 engines getting up their in age without any major hiccups, minus all the required maintenance.

The asking price for the car is $12000.

What do you guys think?

I think it is a bit of a longshot. Oil changes every 5K? Lifters? Chain tensioner guides? IMS? Clutch? Water pump? The car certainly could go 200K but not very many have without a significant refresh.

There is a 1 owner sweetie in San Diego with 60K for $8900 right now I believe.

[thstone]

112K miles for a 2000 isn't a lot but more than many cars since most Boxsters only average 6K-8K a year. Despite what you read in the forums, its pretty normal for Boxsters to reach 200K miles without major engine repairs.

I bought my base '99 with 84K miles for $10K just last November. Like you, I use my car as my daily driver and wanted a car that would last for 5-10 years before hitting 200K miles so I was looking for a car with around 75K miles to start.

I have no plans to do IMS or RMS. Waste of money on a $10K car when a replacement engine (stock used with 50K miles) can be bought and installed for $3,500. All of the $15K engine rebuilds are better than a brand new engine but who in the world puts a $15K engine into a $10K car?

Get a PPI from a dealer. The dealer will be able to tell you everything that needs attention. Then use the PPI list of things to fix to negotitate a lower price.

As a buyer, negotiate hard. Boxsters are a dime a dozen right now. You can alwasy find another seller who is willing to deal.

[yelojkt]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

Those who report great longevity do all the preventative maintenance and then some, oil changes at 5k or less.

As anyone who plans to really enjoy their car for a long time should do.

[mixedmac]

ok thanks for all the suggestions. i'm gonna get a PPI and then decide.