Why is this '97 Boxster unsellable at $6900 ?

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Originally Posted by alm001

I feel the opposite about a car bra. Most applications I've seen end up TRASHING the paint underneath. I always pegged the owners as careless.

Agreed.
In my experience, a bra is often used to hide some defect(s). If it was genuinely used as a protectant, the owner did not research as the downsides often outweigh any perceived benefits (paint will be marred and scarred from rubbing).

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Originally Posted by tommy583

Um silver with a ugly faded orange dyed to black interior is way better

Ooooohhhhh!!!!
I stand corrected!

[MARTHA]

Originally Posted by alm001

I feel the opposite about a car bra. Most applications I've seen end up TRASHING the paint underneath. I always pegged the owners as careless.

Oh I agree that a bra does more harm than good. There are only two reasons I can think of to purchase a bra, one the owner loves the car and is trying to protect it from rocks, or two the nose is trashed and the bra is a easy camouflage of the fact. I believe most owners that purchase bras do so out of love.

I’ve driven to Alaska a couple of times and I see all these $100,000+ motor homes where people have installed chicken wire over the front to protect the headlights and windshield, what do you think the wire does to the motor home, but the owner didn’t really know what the heck he was doing, odds of a busted headlight or cracked windshield are small, chances of damage from chicken wire 100%. And same with people who put bras on their Boxster, their motives are in the right place but the results can be disastrous.
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[thstone]

Let's see...

5 month ownership.
Out of state car.
Lots of repairs.

Way too many red flags. Probably being sold by car flipper who bought the car at auction.

[78F350]

I got a bra with a salvage car that had sat with it on the lot for a few months. I left it on the car to cover damage until I had a new bumper painted.
If a damp bra sits on one of these cars it will cause bumps in the paint. It mostly recovered over time, but still has some minor spots on the frunk lid. Now I use the bra for a long road trip, but never leave it on the car.

+1 to what all the others said.

Pretty soon, I'm planning to list a 99 tip with no issues, but high miles for about $4,800 (Retro's old car). I still expect it to be a slow sale due to low demand for such cars. That car may sell for around $6k, but money spent on maintenance isn't going to add much to the value other than being able to say, "well maintained with receipts."

[mikefocke]

If I were selling it...

You need to give the potential buyer a hint about why you are disinvesting in the Boxster...what your reason/motivation for selling is. I don't want to buy a car you are giving up on, I do want to buy the car you have a life change reason for selling. (Bought that way twice. Sold that way once.)

Omit the prices. Show the car without the bra. Stress the positives which are many. Something like this.

"Recently updated suspension, brakes, tune-up. IMS replacement done. (Was the clutch done?) Recent oil/fluids change. Receipts available. Life style change (baby on the way) forces sale for 4 door econobox."

It is the leaf looking season in NY, so prices barely hold with people expecting snow.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

It is the leaf looking season in NY, so prices barely hold with people expecting snow.

Bingo!

This is not convertible buying season in NY. In addition to all the other stated reasons the ad is poorly written.

[sugarwood]

It's funny how irrational the typical buyer is.

When I see an ad with listed costs and repairs, I think:
1) This seller has maintained the car. Not some teenager.
2) Look at all the stuff I won't be needing to do.
3) The bra shows the seller spent money to protect the car. Another huge plus that tells you everything you need to know about the seller.

It takes a special kind of fool to think since there are no repairs, there will continue to be none, and to prefer a car with no maintenance done.
But, I can see irrational people thinking one car is "cursed" and one where nothing went wrong (yet) is somehow better.
The reality is the opposite. The more repairs, the less you need to do yourself.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

It's funny how irrational the typical buyer is.

When I see an ad with listed costs and repairs, I think:
1) This seller has maintained the car. Not some teenager.
2) Look at all the stuff I won't be needing to do.
3) The bra shows the seller spent money to protect the car. Another huge plus that tells you everything you need to know about the seller.

It takes a special kind of fool to think since there are no repairs, there will continue to be none, and to prefer a car with no maintenance done.
But, I can see irrational people thinking one car is "cursed" and one where nothing went wrong (yet) is somehow better.
The reality is the opposite. The more repairs, the less you need to do yourself.

You seem obsessed with 986 prices, judging by practically all of your 19 posts since summer. What gives? Still looking to buy, or is this your car? You asked for opinions.

The counterpoints to all of your points have already been made. It takes a special kind of fool to think that a bra on a car is a good idea.

If you think the car is such a steal, then you should buy it.
Let us know how that works out for you.

[heliguy]

Originally Posted by tommy583

Um silver with a ugly faded orange dyed to black interior is way better

No wind deflector or mesh inserts...that thing will never sell!!

[mikesz]

Sorry guys totally disagree. I like the white with Boxter red interior. I have seen many white Spyders. Yes the owner has put a lot of money into the car recently, and that is too bad. Much of that work could have been easily performed by the owner at a fraction of the cost. As far as the bra goes I use one on my 99 regularly and so do many at the local PCA events on their 911 turbos. 130k is a lot of miles and that would have made me wary in the first place but if the price was right I would have bought it and done the work myself. If I were in the market I would low ball him and see where it goes. at the right price I think its a good deal.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

It's funny how irrational the typical buyer is.

When I see an ad with listed costs and repairs, I think:
1) This seller has maintained the car. Not some teenager.
2) Look at all the stuff I won't be needing to do.
3) The bra shows the seller spent money to protect the car. Another huge plus that tells you everything you need to know about the seller.

It takes a special kind of fool to think since there are no repairs, there will continue to be none, and to prefer a car with no maintenance done.
But, I can see irrational people thinking one car is "cursed" and one where nothing went wrong (yet) is somehow better.
The reality is the opposite. The more repairs, the less you need to do yourself.

First, we don't know the seller has maintained the car - only that he has fixed some things...who knows what else lurks, hence all buyers should get a PPI. And he just changed out the IMS prior to selling - hmmmm, why? Because he found metal and it's already in the engine so he's hoping to sell quick before it explodes?? Have to wonder.
I've had bra's on cars before. They aren't pretty - but they can also damage the paint underneath, and they also cause the paint to fade slower on the front than the rest of the car.

It takes a special kind of fool to think that because some work has been done then all the work is done and the car is perfect.

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by heliguy

No wind deflector or mesh inserts...that thing will never sell!!

Yeah I think your right...good thing i'm not trying to sell the car . I personally don't think they do much, so I sold them. I think it looks way better without them anyway.

[bwdz]

Originally Posted by tommy583

Um silver with a ugly faded orange dyed to black interior is way better

Maybe it's the angle but that thing looks like it has a lift kit on it, wow is there some air under there.

[Dr. Acula]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

It's funny how irrational the typical buyer is.

When I see an ad with listed costs and repairs, I think:
1) This seller has maintained the car. Not some teenager.
2) Look at all the stuff I won't be needing to do.
3) The bra shows the seller spent money to protect the car. Another huge plus that tells you everything you need to know about the seller.

It takes a special kind of fool to think since there are no repairs, there will continue to be none, and to prefer a car with no maintenance done.
But, I can see irrational people thinking one car is "cursed" and one where nothing went wrong (yet) is somehow better.
The reality is the opposite. The more repairs, the less you need to do yourself.

1) Apparently this seller has only owned the car for 5 months. Replacing a bunch of parts over a 5 month span does not have anything to do with long-term maintenance. Especially in a car with 130k miles.

2) Look at all the deferred maintenance and worn out items on this car when the seller bought it.

3) With the availability of excellent and relatively inexpensive clear bras today, the fact that the seller strapped a piece of $200+ black vinyl over the front of a Porsche does indeed tell me a lot about the seller.

Your posts suggest that you have done a lot of looking at these cars for sale. However, I think it is overly optimistic to believe the ad in question indicates that this car has been well maintained. Overall maintenance was not addressed in the ad.

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by bwdz

Maybe it's the angle but that thing looks like it has a lift kit on it, wow is there some air under there.

It must be the angle. It actually sits a little lower than stock because of the Aero kit.

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

It's funny how irrational the typical buyer is.

When I see an ad with listed costs and repairs, I think:
1) This seller has maintained the car. Not some teenager.
2) Look at all the stuff I won't be needing to do.
3) The bra shows the seller spent money to protect the car. Another huge plus that tells you everything you need to know about the seller.

It takes a special kind of fool to think since there are no repairs, there will continue to be none, and to prefer a car with no maintenance done.
But, I can see irrational people thinking one car is "cursed" and one where nothing went wrong (yet) is somehow better.
The reality is the opposite. The more repairs, the less you need to do yourself.

My last Boxster was sold in 4 hours with people fighting to get it on the basis of a 2 line craigslist posting. The buyer drove 50m miles to see it, and paid cash (in hundred $ bills). He didn't even drive the car but bought it saying he could tell from the way I talked about the car and insisted that he know some things he probably hadn't even thought about that the car had been maintained. He told me he based his decision on me and didn't need to even test drive the car! He already owned several exotics that would have been priced at 10x what I was selling mine for. He was buying this for his girlfriend.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Dr. Acula

1) Apparently this seller has only owned the car for 5 months.

I don't think that is a valid conclusion. He could have owned the car for 10 years, but have replaced just these items in the last 5 months (this driving season)

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

My last Boxster was sold in 4 hours with people fighting to get it on the basis of a 2 line craigslist posting. The buyer drove 50m miles to see it, and paid cash (in hundred $ bills). He didn't even drive the car but bought it saying he could tell from the way I talked about the car and insisted that he know some things he probably hadn't even thought about that the car had been maintained. He told me he based his decision on me and didn't need to even test drive the car! He already owned several exotics that would have been priced at 10x what I was selling mine for. He was buying this for his girlfriend.

Do you have a copy of the ad verbiage saved on your computer?

[Dr. Acula]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

I don't think that is a valid conclusion. He could have owned the car for 10 years, but have replaced just these items in the last 5 months (this driving season)

Sure, which is why I said "apparently".

But I'll guaran-damn-tee you he hasn't owned that car for 10 years.