Newbie on the hunt

[ekam]

The owner is brave for putting that thick rubber mat that's not made to fit the car on the driver's side...

[Topless]

Just keep looking. There are dozens of well cared for Boxsters in SoCal that could be had for the same price.

[recycledsixtie]

Originally Posted by Topless

Just keep looking. There are dozens of well cared for Boxsters in SoCal that could be had for the same price.

Ask for maint. receipts. Take your time. Are you sure u want tiptronic - try manual. Check out different options - eg. remote key entry( I have manual key only on my 2001). Have patience. Consider joining Porsche Club of America. Get somebody knowledgeable about P cars to go with u. A PPI is a must once u decide on a car. Too many problems, walk away or reduce asking price as a way to fix the problems. Can get really expensive if u get a lemon. If u dont feel comfortable with the seller eg. sleezy - walk away.
Enjoy our search. Your above suggested car sounded like a stinker. You made right decision to walk. Cheers.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Topless

Just keep looking. There are dozens of well cared for Boxsters in SoCal that could be had for the same price.

Ditto… I recommend AutoTrader and Cars.com. SoCal has many Boxsters, take your time and be picky.

[Ghostrider 310]

Just a thought, if you desire an automatic you should be able to negotiate favorably by pointing out the advance of PDK versus an tiptronic. Having said that there probably are not as many tips out there sitting as five speeds. I wouldn't read too much into a floor mat, especially since the guy isn't clutching, at least he was protecting the floor mats and rugs.

[ekam]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

I wouldn't read too much into a floor mat, especially since the guy isn't clutching, at least he was protecting the floor mats and rugs.

Yup. Totally a non-issue. Even better with one less pedal.

Need "fix" for floor mat making gas pedal stick down. - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

[Ghostrider 310]

Originally Posted by ekam

Yup. Totally a non-issue. Even better with one less pedal.

Need "fix" for floor mat making gas pedal stick down. - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

You can't fix stupid by removing a floor mat, two major crashes in my town in 24 hrs, ten bucks says a cellphone was involved, why? because you can't fix stupid. In forty years do you know how many customers drove after the oil light came on? MANY

you can't fix willfully executed stupidity, it's a major factor in the decline of society

[pothole]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

Just a thought, if you desire an automatic you should be able to negotiate favorably by pointing out the advance of PDK versus an tiptronic. Having said that there probably are not as many tips out there sitting as five speeds. I wouldn't read too much into a floor mat, especially since the guy isn't clutching, at least he was protecting the floor mats and rugs.

PDK is utterly irrelevant. It was a decade away when this 2.5 was built and simply not available.

You may as well say "I want an extra special discount on this because it doesn't have the latest 3.4-litre DFI engine!"

[ekam]

Originally Posted by pothole

PDK is utterly irrelevant. It was a decade away when this 2.5 was built and simply not available.

You may as well say "I want an extra special discount on this because it doesn't have the latest 3.4-litre DFI engine!"

The good ol' get the seller mad by spewing nonsense bargaining technique...

[Ghostrider 310]

Originally Posted by pothole

PDK is utterly irrelevant. It was a decade away when this 2.5 was built and simply not available.

You may as well say "I want an extra special discount on this because it doesn't have the latest 3.4-litre DFI engine!"

It's not irrelevant it's a good tool to knock money off of old technology, of course whatever technique helps the buyer is fair game it's just a suggestion.

PS I know when PDK came out I have one oh and across the pond offering less for a less equipped car happens daily.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

...whatever technique helps the buyer is fair game it's just a suggestion.

Yeah, if I were planning to go after this one I'm fairly certain I could knock the price down a bit. Seller seems like a good guy (not pushy or trying to move the car quickly) but I think he just lacks the knowledge (and admittedly I'm still climbing the learning curve myself). Part of the reason may be that he's only had the car for a year and has only put around 3k miles on it during that time. It's a shame he didn't collect service records from the previous owner, though.

I'm not overly worried that he was trying to pull a fast one on me; he was quick to point out a couple blemishes to the original paint (at least the spots that were noticeable through the vinyl) and noted his lack of mechanical expertise, but I just can't get past the heebie-jeebie feeling of not knowing what's lurking in the internals of the car.

I guess my major question earlier applies to any future cars that I look at: How much of a "safety net" does a PPI provide in scenarios where a car lacks consistent maintenance records? Aside from any noticeable leaks, wear, and general aesthetics, are the guys conducting the PPI able to give me a solid indication of internal problem areas that might fail down the line (water pump, shocks/struts, yadda yadda)? Should I just steer clear of cars and sellers without a full history of maintenance in hand entirely, or is some of this risk offset by scheduling a good PPI? I'm not much of a gambling man, but I do realize that at this price point at age of vehicle I'm always going to be taking my chances.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by ekam

The owner is brave for putting that thick rubber mat that's not made to fit the car on the driver's side...

See now ekam, I would have never noticed that. That was part of my motivation for throwing this post up here; it never hurts to have a few trained eyes/minds in my corner. I was flabbergasted when he rolled the car out of the garage on a flat tire. To be fair, he was definitely embarrassed about it, but I just don't like the idea of taking a gamble on a car who's owner isn't even maintaining the obvious/visual components.

To everyone else (Topless, 2003S, pothole) thanks for the quick and straightforward responses. This is basically where my head was, so it's nice to get the confirmation and support from others with more knowledge than myself. You're definitely right about the availability here in SoCal. I'm not on any sort of time crunch and will keep perusing craigslist for the next few weeks (anyone know if there are any forum members who might have insider info on any cars for sale in the LA area that might not be found in the online classifieds?).

The hunt continues! Cheers guys.