Is this a good boxster
 

Hi guys,

You might remember me from last year on this thread, where I was thinning about buying a boxster. So, I'm thinning again :)

Would you kindly tell me what you think about this 1998 boxster? From what the ad say and my emails with the seller, here's a summary (my comments in Italic):

1. 1998 red booster with 2.5L engine. (Is it going to feel slow?)
2. 140K mile on the car, 56K miles on a replaced engine. He apparently replaced it 18 months ago and has put 56 on it since. (That' a lot of miles, don't you think?)
3. When the engine was replaced, the IMS was replaced with a dual row LN engineering IMS, a new clutch, new AOS. RMS was new and was not leaking. (I think Charles Navvaro of LN Engineering recently mentioned on this forum that they consider the dualr row retrofit to be a permanent solution and not requiring replacement every 50,000 miles. That is necessary for the single row retrofit, not the dual row. Am I right?)
4. A month ago he has replaced the water pump and the belts, since the water pump had a small leak.
5. The brakes are replaced with brembo brakes. The wheels and tires are new apparently. He has also replaced the struts with new koni struts and new HR springs, and new bushings.
6. From the looks of it the body paint and top look clean.

So, what do you think about it?

If he's got the paperwork for all the service, seems like a bargain at the current price. Depending on what you're used to, the 2.5 may feel slow, especially if you've drive an "S", but most of us didn't buy these for straight line speed and acceleration. JMHO.

Personally, I like touch, see and feel what I buy. One is that the car is not original and has had mods and repairs, two, it has a lot of miles on it. If you feel that you may have buyers remorse walk away. Gut feeling works with me every time. Now find a 2000 and up with 50-60 k on it, an S model is so much more plus you get the 3.2 engine. Good luck. I look for 2 years before buying mine.

I should mentioned I bought mine off Ebay, sight unseen, with 80k miles. The post PPI revealed all was mostly good. They recommended a brake fluid flush, new tires, and noted a CV boot was beginning to tear.

But now that I've had it a few years, I wish I got an "S" instead.

Nobody puts 56Kmiles on a car in 18 months unless they are driving 24/7 smuggling some sort of contraband. :)

The more likely senario is that he had a used engine installed.

If the story is true I think it's worth a shot. Your "worst case event" (e.g. engine failure) would have only a relatively small down side, e.g. sell the roller for $4-5K and take your loss. Yes, it will feel slow, these are not straight-line point and shoot cars...

Since bidding is still open, my recommendation would be to set your limit (I would say $7661.99) and bid that max at the last second….good luck

Me personally, I would not want that many miles starting out. But with that said, if you can get it for less than $8K, and it is what you are looking for(color, options, etc) then go for it. Sounds like some appropriate repairs have been done, just make sure you have some cash budgeted for unexpected surprises. From your previous thread, you had quite a bit more budgeted so that shouldn't be an issue unless that changed. Just curious why you stopped looking for a newer S model? There are no guarantees what ever you buy, regardless of how well it's been cared for. It is a mechanical device built and cared for by humans, you have to budget for that.

Thanks everyone for chipping in with your opinion. I think I'll wait for a lower mile S model. I was feeling excited about finding a bargain but the gut feeling tells me to wait more...

What was he asking?

I have a 98 with 79K that is 9.5 out of ten that I am going to sell to get a 2004 911.

Sold for $6900.

TO