02 Boxster or 01 Boxster S

[kris07]

Hi Guys, I need some advice on this.

This is where it my purchase is at the moment.

2000 Boxster S, Manual 39000 miles (8 stamps on service history, porsche dealer/specialist stamps only, last at 38290 miles). So approx 1200 miles unaccounted for.

I have paid a very small downpayment. The car is in impeccable cosmetic condition.

Tomorrow I am supposed to collect the car with MOT and pre delivery inspection done, 12 months warranty from Customer Protect Gold policy (which I think is useless, companies never honour these things)

Porsche dealership have said earliest that they can do the PPI and I can get the results would be on Monday.

I spoke to the dealer, he said I didnt know you wanted to do a PPI but I wish I knew and I wouldnt have taken the deposit. The reason he said is, he has other buyers and could easily sell off the car over the weekend. I understand this as well, the car for the price could easily go and I have had a few cars with almost double the miles snatched up in a matter of 1-2 days after being on Autotrader.

I will be paying $13,281 for the car. It also comes with the hardtop match color for winter. It has Porsche manuals and all repair records, MOTs and invoices. For this price I get the 12 month warranty as well.

What should I do? Insist on PPI?

[Coffinhunter]

Originally Posted by kris07

Hi Guys, I need some advice on this.

This is where it my purchase is at the moment.

2000 Boxster S, Manual 39000 miles (8 stamps on service history, porsche dealer/specialist stamps only, last at 38290 miles). So approx 1200 miles unaccounted for.

I have paid a very small downpayment. The car is in impeccable cosmetic condition.

Tomorrow I am supposed to collect the car with MOT and pre delivery inspection done, 12 months warranty from Customer Protect Gold policy (which I think is useless, companies never honour these things)

Porsche dealership have said earliest that they can do the PPI and I can get the results would be on Monday.

I spoke to the dealer, he said I didnt know you wanted to do a PPI but I wish I knew and I wouldnt have taken the deposit. The reason he said is, he has other buyers and could easily sell off the car over the weekend. I understand this as well, the car for the price could easily go and I have had a few cars with almost double the miles snatched up in a matter of 1-2 days after being on Autotrader.

I will be paying $13,281 for the car. It also comes with the hardtop match color for winter. It has Porsche manuals and all repair records, MOTs and invoices. For this price I get the 12 month warranty as well.

What should I do? Insist on PPI?

I say go for it.

1) the car has all the records, and you have the warranty. In my opinion (which is worth nothing mind you) is that you should be ok. Get the PPI, after purchase and if they discover something terribly wrong you have the warranty cover it, or...

2) you have the PPI, find a problem you don't want to deal with, then you could put it on Autotrader and have it "snatched up" in a matter of 1-2 days. You could even sell it for enough to cover expenses.

OR, after the PPI you find the car is in as good of condition as you thought and you got a good deal on a S. Then you get to experience the joy of "perma-grin"

[Heiko]

I agree... if it runs smooth, starts well when cold and hot and everything feels ok... I would buy it for that price. With the hard top for that price at that mileage its a good deal; Especially knowing all the services are up to date to 1200 miles ago...
And just think... you will have perma-grin before the weekend...
H

[southernstar]

Kris, do you also get the invoices for the work that was done, or just the stamps in the warranty book? If not, I'd be somewhat worried - i.e., the previoius owner has the car in at the Porsche dealership at 38.000 miles for (?????) and then sells it (or trades it) 1000 miles later..... Like you, I wouldn't have much faith in the warranty (check the company out on the net and read the fine print, but I can't believe that it would cover pre-exisitng problems at the time of purchase).

I really do think that a PPI is important in these cars as it is not difficult to get up into the thousands in repairs. Is it a dual-row IMS bearing (did you check the engine serial number)? If not, it is not exceptioinally rare even for low-mileage versions to have IMS bearing failures. Have you tried other mechanics for the PPI - it doesn't have to be a Porsche dealer. At minimum, I would want someone to get it on a lift, check for leaks from the coolant expansion tank, check for leaks from the water pump (when dried, you'll see white powder), check for oil leaks, check to see what shape the suspension components are in and at that point, if all looks good, have the spark plugs removed and have a compression test done (and maybe a drip down test). If all still looks good, I would pay for an oil change. Once the filter is removed, have it cut in half and inspect for particles (should be nil, or virtually nil, if the last change was 1200 miles ago). If that is good, you will sleep much better.

Brad

[Coffinhunter]

Originally Posted by southernstar

Is it a dual-row IMS bearing (did you check the engine serial number)? If not, it is not unusual for low-mileage versions to have IMS bearing failures.

Brad

Not to start this arguement again, but I think saying "not unusual" is a bit much. The failure rate is somwhere around 2-5% , so I would say that it would be unusual for there to be a failure. Granted if it goes out that is a big deal, but not something that I am going to lose sleep over. Get the PPI, if you are really paranoid about the IMS failure, get the guardian, or replacement. Even with those expenses the car is a good deal.

[Heiko]

Hey all things aside... you gotta remember this thing is 13yrs old... and it doesn't matter what you buy at that age you'll likely have to put some money into it; especially if you're picky about your car. Porsche ownership doesn't come cheap (at least not as cheap as a regular cars) and as long as you remember that and are willing to pay the price, you should be ok buying it.
Too many people buy them and then complain that they had to spend 2-3K in the first year of ownership, or just neglect to do the maintenance because its too expensive... eventually you will pay for it