$8000 Boxster S

[dghii]

My .02
I would not try to turn an 8k Boxster into a $15-17k boxster.

If your $8k Boxster craps out, your car is worth $2-3k,(assuming clear title), hence $5 k worth of risk. If the car turns out to be solid, you're in the black....no worries.

If the car seems to be in order, buy it and drive it for a while to learn more about the car and hopefully gain confidence that it is basically ok. Enjoy it and just do the basics.

I've bought two 98 base cars in the last couple of years, one for $4,800 and one for $5400. Both had 117k miles, spotty maintenance histories and in need of cleaning and TLC. Both cars turned out to be very solid and reliable after bringing the maintenance up to date.

At the end of the day, it's just a car. Enjoy it or get rid of it and move on.

[madmods]

..........................

[RawleyD]

Originally Posted by madmods

Now that my friend is all you need to know about cars to make a decision. It is indeed just a car! What "if" this What "if" that.... is BS

What "if" you have a heart attack tomorrow? You will have never had the chance to drive a Porsche even if it's for 1,000km of pure pleasure.

Buy the car, fix it "if" it really needs and enjoy the ride

Amen to that

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by dghii

My .02
I've bought two 98 base cars in the last couple of years, one for $4,800 and one for $5400. Both had 117k miles, spotty maintenance histories and in need of cleaning and TLC. Both cars turned out to be very solid and reliable after bringing the maintenance up to date.

How much did you spend to get them up to date? And how many miles did you put on both after you purchased them?

If it was approaching 10K a year then congrats. But if its much less then that's another story. Buying a beaten down Porsche to run once a week for limited mileage is quiet different than buying a 'bargain' Porsche you intend to drive every day for typical daily driver mileage.

[pothole]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

How much did you spend to get them up to date? And how many miles did you put on both after you purchased them?

If it was approaching 10K a year then congrats. But if its much less then that's another story. Buying a beaten down Porsche to run once a week for limited mileage is quiet different than buying a 'bargain' Porsche you intend to drive every day for typical daily driver mileage.

Thing is, you could pay top dollar for a car with 50k less miles and a spotless service record. And it could chuck its IMS bearing the next week. Or the AOS could fail. Or the water pump. Or whatever.

If you know these cars, you can buy on condition and not worry too much about what it says on pieces of paper. Assess the car in front of you.

I bought a car with spotty history three years ago, but it was running fault free when I purchased it. I've put another 42k miles on it since buying it on 76k and the work I've done is pretty much in line with the work you'd need to do with any car bought at 13 years old and used daily thereafter. I don't think I would have spent less on maintenance had I have bought a similar car for more money with faultless paperwork and history etc.

No doubt I'm tempting fate and it will implode the next time I take it out. But then it's now got 118k miles on it and frankly plenty of garage queens haven't lasted as long...

Generally, I say two things. 1. Pricier examples aren't necessarily better. 2. Buy on condition, don't get hung up on bits of paper.

[dghii]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

How much did you spend to get them up to date? And how many miles did you put on both after you purchased them?

If it was approaching 10K a year then congrats. But if its much less then that's another story. Buying a beaten down Porsche to run once a week for limited mileage is quiet different than buying a 'bargain' Porsche you intend to drive every day for typical daily driver mileage.

Too much to list in one post but I'll try to provide more details.
First car $4,800 purchased in August 2011 and sold in November 2011. The Boxster was a white/grey 5 speed and a two owner car with decent receipts (oil changes, new tires, water pump, pads rotors as I recall) all within the last two years. The automatic top would not work, the rear window was split and it was very dirty. The owner had been quoted about $2500 for a new to and the repair to get the power working again. He'd didn't want to spend the money and purchase a new Solstice...

After a thorough cleaning I found I had a nice looking car, free of door dings and with a few paint chips on the front end.

I just looked at my records for the car. I spent just over $1000 in maintenance and repairs. Here is a list of items purchased.
Top Relay
New Shift boot
ignition switch
Headlight restoration kit
Cabin, air, fuel filters.
Instrument bulbs, trunk shocks, spark plugs, instrument lights.
New Battery
Installed Used convertible top and frame
Front Motor Mount, 2 liters gear oil
Flushed cooling system
Flushed brakes and clutch

I owned the car for 2 months and drove it 1000 miles. I sold it to a coworker that I share an office with. The car now has 124,000 miles and required no repairs.

[dghii]

Second Boxster was another 98 white/blue 5speed with 117K purchased in Sept 2012 for $5400. Top works but the rear window was not in great shape. Front end shakes and rattles and it needed motor mounts.

I still have the car as I have been very slow working on it as I spent most of the winter and spring working overseas. The car now has 119,500 miles. I'm almost done with the car and will have no trouble selling it.

To date, I've spent ~$2,300.

Front end painted, hood straightened (rock chips on front end and hood was dented from inside from an item too large for the front trunk)
Motor Mount
Fuel Filter
Air and cabin filter
Spark Plugs
2 new rear tires (old ones cracked even though only 4 years old)
Suspension work (installed front struts and drop link, used from a forum member parting out his 2001S)
New used seats (from 2003S off ebay...looked like new!)
Oil/Filter change. .
New (used)headlights to replace foggy, yellow ones
Used top and frame
Flushed brakes
Balanced 4 tires