2004 s vs 2003 s
 

on ebay there are 2 boxster 2...a 2004 yellow with 17700miles,3 owners(2 short term,1 long term).the car is in calif( I am in ny) and I would need to have a ppi done by a porsche specialist there.price is $23600. a 2003 s with 16,600mi,1 owner is on ebay and more local to me..price is $23000. what do you think of these prices and the situation as to which is preferable?thanks.

Local and 1 owner is preferable
 

I bought my 03's from a seller only 5 hours away and it was a bit of a hassle. Hard to work out the logistics, expense to have it transported, remote PPI, etc., A lot easier if it is local and you can go take a look - or have your own mechanic check it out.

and with multiple owners you lose some continuity of the maintenance - what are the odds they were all good conscientious owners?

That said, if you are looking for something special or the price is right many of us have traveled far and wide to bring home the box.

I bought my Speed Yellow '03 from a Porsche dealer 2 hours away for 30K. 1 owner, 15k miles and in perfect condition. I was able to have my local tech check the car out even thought it was a certified Porche pre-owned vehicle. I felt much better about spending the money, ya know!
The prices you got seems pretty good though!
Good luck...

Kriss, those are both basically new cars ( i.e. < 20000 miles). It's possible the 2004 'S' had owners that just wanted a garage queen and sold when they wanted another queen, its not like buying a 60k miles car with 3 owners. I personally would take the 2003 still cause it would likely be easier to get service records...though there can't be much service, I also would really want to see the car in person. I haven't checked prices recently, I would hope you can get them for less then those prices, though that might be fair. Is either being sold by a private seller? Both seem like you will be really happy, go with you gut feeling or spend the extra and get ppi done on each for peace of mind. Good luck!!

Thousands for sale now
 

Both my Boxsters were flawless cars despite 2 prior owners each. Boxsters are cars that fit a certain point in one's life for most of us. A good PPI from a great mechanic who is going to service the car with the info gained will reassure you. Having said that, you are looking at 7-8 year old cars and things do age (plastic/rubber) not just wear out. I'd rather have the well maintained 60k car than the garage queen 20k one.

Use http://www.autotempest.com/ to look at many sources and see if you can find the right one for you. And locate that trusted mechanic first. He is your friend and savior.

No big differences between a '03 and '04 car, the big differences came at 2000 and 2003 and of course 2005.

Considering that you can get a well maintained '01S for $15k, the prices you are quoting seem high to me but then condition and locale do come into play and it is spring.