Wow are asking prices high!!!!
 

Thinking of getting a fun 3rd car with a budget of about 15K. I'm thinking a low mile 00-02 S is very possible with NADA values being really low, like 8-11k. The one 00 S is asking $17,000 and the 02 S is asking $17,900.

Have I been out of the Boxster market for too long? Are these cars really selling for over 15K??

I guess it all depends on your area and the options on the car. For comparison, I just bought a 2000 S with 46K miles for $14700 here in Oregon.

I got my '00 S with 53k miles for $14,700 last winter....but that came with recent clutch and LNE IMS bearing....

Of course, asking price is just that.... asking.

I suggest to start by being a good buyer. Don't waste the buyers time. Respond quickly. Show up on time. Be pleasant. Don't talk the car down but be honest and realistic.

Then when you're ready to make a deal, show up with cash and make an offer that you are comfortable with and you'll be surprised at how "negotiable" most sellers are. But be fully prepared to walk away if you can't get to a number that you can both live with.

I walked away from four 911SC's before I bought one recently. All were overpriced (IMHO) and we could not get to a number where we'd both be happy. All four are still listed for sale. Some sellers are willing to wait for that one buyer who will pay his premium price. Don't be that buyer (unless you want to). Lots of fish in the sea. Don't be in a hurry. Move on to the next car and eventually you will find a car you love at a price that is amazing.

Here's a 2000 S w/ 60K miles for $13.4K: Porsche Boxster S

Excellent advice. Again, Asking price is just that, my seller came down significantly. Patience and willingness to walk away are key. Cast a wide net and be willing to travel to find a good one.

I have one I need to get out of my garage... sending you PM.

I just bought my 02 S for 13k. 80 thousand miles, flawless condition. But I flew from Boise Idaho to Dallas Texas to get it.

The 00 S I am going to consider has 33K miles while the 02 S has 60K miles with IMS replaced/upgraded.

I'll have to refresh my Boxster S memory, but I believe the 00 and 02 S are very similar with the same engine?

I could put lots of miles on the 00 whereas the 02 starting at 60K would be in the 80's in about 2 years...

Bought a nicely optioned 88k car for 12k, however, goodluck finding an S for under 15 with less than 60k miles, the cheap ones have sold and new cars on the market are matching the high examples, a base will go for 13 or so with low miles so people are fine paying 17 for an S, particularly low miles and 03 and 04s for sure are going for more than 996s around here.

3 local ones to me that I will check out soon.
02 S 47K miles asking 16,900
02 S 49K miles asking 18,750 w/IMS replaced
00 S 32K miles asking 17,000 with new top

I bought a 2000S in June for $17.5k. The car was perfect, got maintenance records, new tires, 10,800 miles on it. It's got 14,500 miles on it now. It's still perfect and is going into winter storage Saturday. I'm not mechanical and wanted the best one I could find and, so far, I think I got it.

Larry (the Bald Eagle)

If those deals fall through, my car's available. $13,500. 71,500 miles.

http://s793.photobucket.com/user/lemontree2004/slideshow/2001%20Boxster%20S

Be sure to get a PPi done on whatever vehicle you are considering. Some will advocate paying a bit more to get a ride that has had the IMS done - but always be wary. Even with the IMS done - if there was already a failed bearing in there, the IMS may have been fixed too late.

Options and milage can widen or narrow the price range. IMS, tops, Etc can be significant out of the pocket expenses.

Didn't realize there is such a big difference buying an S. I just bought my 00 with 70k miles for 7400. New rms, tires and everything else is perfect. Only thing I need to fix is the air bag light is on because they remove the passenger seat to detail.

SeaNile31,
take my advice the only number that matters is your budget. Once you've got that set up evaluate each asking price just like a house.

"What has been replaced on this one that's still old and worn on the others?"?

Has car B with an asking of $13K already had the suspension overhauled if mileage is on the north side of 65K miles?
That can run $4-5K on parts alone. What about the clutch? With these cars you want to replace a few other things when that job is done which can bring the price to $3K. Then you have the common repairs for these cars like the AOS, waterpump/coolant tank, fuel pump. Those will set you back a few grand at independent shop rates. What condition are the tires in, especially the rears? You don't want to cut corners on tires and a new set of top shelf tires can easily run $1,200 with your mounting and balancing. A brake job with new rotors is another grand at typical shop rates.

Point being you have to evaluate how much life is left in all those original parts still on the car.
If the car was driven in extreme heat or cold, the longevity of these is greatly reduced. Put it this way, I drive my car year round but only on weekends. It's mostly been garage kept.
Yet by the time my car hit 70K miles I had to replace just about everything. I easily spent what the car was worth by the time everything was done which I staggered over a couple of years.
What you should keep in mind is that the asking price of the car means almost nothing until that car is inspected and you factor in the cost of common repairs. Many inexperienced buyers simply pay the asking and haggle down based on the outside appearance and mileage. Huge mistake. The first question should be "what has been replaced on this car". If the seller replies "it's not really needed anything" and the car has 70K miles or more, be very skeptical.

Sounds like the real estate market back in early 2008. The sellers think that supply is a lot more limited than it actually is and prices are in the nosebleeds.
Unfortunately for car sellers these days, this thing called the internet can enable a motivated buyer to find a car in a day.
If you can buy the car you want in a day with a specific set of requirements checked, as I read in the most recent Excellence Porsche Buyer's Guide about the pre-964 Carreras,
then the perception of supply is not really in line with the reality.

And when it comes to water-cooled Porsches, all of them except maybe the manual GT3's, there's plenty of supply.
Maybe not easy to find but they're out there waiting for a good offer.

2 of the 3 are gone.

Might go and check out the 02 S, 50K miles with RMS and IMS replaced at dealers suggestion.