Boxster inspection - Toronto area?

[356Guy]

I'm wondering if there is an experienced member here that is willing to check out a Boxster in the Toronto area for me. I found a silver/red '03S that looks like it meets my requirements. The owner says its in storage until mid-April but available for viewing. I'm not looking for a PPI just someone to put eyes on it and do a visual. I would obviously compensate you for doing this. I might fly out and see it myself but time is tight. Please PM me if you are interested or know the car . Thanks.

[Neal]

Wow.
I'm from Alberta aswell but never thought someone would be willing to fly to Ontario to grab a boxster.

Good luck!

[356Guy]

I've gone further for a Porsche. There is not much for sale locally and what is for sale is by dealer, overpriced or under maintained or all of the above Maybe something will come out of the wood work over the next few months.

[Neal]

Originally Posted by 356Guy

I've gone further for a Porsche. There is not much for sale locally and what is for sale is by dealer, overpriced or under maintained or all of the above Maybe something will come out of the wood work over the next few months.

That's incredible.
I don't have much experience but I always thought it was better to buy a Porsche from a dealer then on craigslist or kijiji etc ...

Wold you say the same about USA?
Craigslist > dealer for Porsche Boxster S?

Reason I thought that dealer was better is because I thought they completely clean the car out and fix all the things that need to be fixed and then put it up for sale.

[Giller]

I really think you could flip a coin, dealership vs. private sale. Private sale you at least get to talk to the previous owner and get a read on how well he maintained the car.....with a dealer - they do have a reputation to maintain so for the most part (always exceptions) they will do their best to sell you a good car. Poor reviews can ruin a business.
On the flip side - the private sale dude could be lying through his teeth and once you've bought it, you have no were to go if he did.
The dealer - he's out to make money, so yes, you might pay a bit more.

There's no right or wrong - find a car you like, get a thorough PPI, find out all you can of the history and go from there.

[GTA_G20]

I drove to South Carolina from Toronto for my first Boxster. When you find the one that checks the boxes I wouldn't be deterred by distance.

[356Guy]

This will be the 3rd Porsche I have bought from distance(unless something local turns up) so no worries there. I made an acceptable offer but the seller is going to wait for a local sale.

[GTA_G20]

There are a few 03 s for sale in Toronto. None with the red interior and the other two are at dealers with what I would guess no service history or ims upgrade. All of those Boxster are asking around 22k IIRC. Buyer probably holding firm as his maintenance will sell his car

[356Guy]

Its on Kijiji. Price wasn't the issue. I'm hoping a local car comes onto the market over the next month or two anyway

[GTA_G20]

No offence as it's not my purchase but when price isn't the issue there's no reason for a seller to refuse a sale..... Unless....

[356Guy]

No offense but you don't know anything.

[GTA_G20]

Originally Posted by 356Guy

I made an acceptable offer but the seller is going to wait for a local sale.

If your offer was even remarkably acceptable the seller may have accepted it......Anybody reading this would agree......So again price was the issue

Never in my life have I heard of someone refusing to sell a car because of distance as long as they got paid. But I guess you're correct and I don't know anything....Hope you find what you're looking for

[NewArt]

I flew to San Francisco from Montreal for my first Boxster. Many reasons: price, availability, excuse for a road trip
And in my case as well, the seller didn't want to sell to me. He had read all the Craigslist warnings about selling locally and in person with your high school principal as reference, etc.

[356Guy]

Yeah I've seen people suspicious of bank wire transactions before. I guess you have to be careful these days. Also, I don't think the seller was expecting to sell the car quick as he wasn't prepared to pull it out of storage for test drives until April plus he may have been hoping his friend was going to step up and buy it (there is a story there). I offered a price very close to asking. No worries. The hunt is very enjoyable too.

[Neal]

Guess all of you guys have a friend/sibling etc .. willing to ride along with you to be able to pick up the Boxster and also bring the other car back.

What's crazy is driving so far with just some "faith" of the Porsche being in the condition as "described" by the seller via words/pic's and getting there finding out you're not interested no more due to whatever issues after looking at it in person.

That would really be upsetting.

From the looks of it here it seems like most of you guys would stay away from dealer's.
Can you shine some light my way as to why that is compared to a private sale?
Again I am not supporting dealer nor private sale but I want to know as much as possible so when I go out hunting I make the right choices.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Neal

Guess all of you guys have a friend/sibling etc .. willing to ride along with you to be able to pick up the Boxster and also bring the other car back.

What's crazy is driving so far with just some "faith" of the Porsche being in the condition as "described" by the seller via words/pic's and getting there finding out you're not interested no more due to whatever issues after looking at it in person.

That would really be upsetting.

From the looks of it here it seems like most of you guys would stay away from dealer's.
Can you shine some light my way as to why that is compared to a private sale?
Again I am not supporting dealer nor private sale but I want to know as much as possible so when I go out hunting I make the right choices.

Given the choice between buying from a dealer or buying privately, everything else being equal, I personally would always choose the dealer. Most dealers (not all) have a reputation to maintain and bad press is not something they seek. If you have an issue, they will normally do their best to help you out.
But in the end, it all comes down to the car and the PPI and sometimes, blind luck.

[bwdz]

I am the opposite and never buy a used car from a dealer, the reason is that they didn't own it and know nothing about it and are charging a premium (large or small) over what I could easily buy it for somewhere else. The dealer has no more idea of what the car's actual history is than anyone else who can run a Carfax or similar. They either take the car on trade in or purchase it at an auction where someone was dumping it with potential issues and then get it ready for sale which sometimes includes a pretty thorough check over of the car. The bad part about a car that the dealer repaired is they add the retail cost of the repair to their purchase price and then mark it up on top of that causing the high prices you normally see. I like to fix my own cars so I always go for the deal and negotiate based on problems that I find that I can fix for pennies on the dollar for the discount I get off the price. Just ask me how I bought a 97 with 64 k on it and spend less than 2 hours fixing it for less than $1500.

[sharkbyte]

On the topic ... I rarely would buy a car from a dealer. Too much premium and the few times that I have, there have been problems shortly after and the dealer refused to do anything. Not Porsche but bought used from dealer. As said, dealers buy or trade cars inexpensivly. They are going to put as little as possible in them to sell. At least with Craigslist, I feel there is some honesty from the buyer. And, price should reflect the risk.

I recently drove to GA from TN (about a six hour trip) planning to buy a Boxster that was purported to be immaculate - friends of mine recommended the seller and pictures appeared good. When we got there, it wasn't what he said. Ended up buying one closer to home that overall I'm far happier with.

There are tons of them for sale in central TN. 2000-2003 with around 60k seems to be a sweet spot.

[Neal]

The only reason I seem to be looking at boxsters from dealer's is because no matter how much and long I wait and look for a boxster on craigslist ANYWHERE in USA there is LESS of them compared to dealer's and about the same price as dealer's have them up for + dealer's have more variety as they have many of them.

I of-course understand when you say that private sellers could be better and or are better and I agree but not when you just can't seem to find one up for sale compared to simply doing a google search for a boxster and finding dealer's have them up with many pictures and info and a-lot of variety.

If I had a choice of-course I would go with a private seller but I find less boxsters from private sellers and if I do they are mostly higher priced then dealer's.
This could mean they are better maintained etc .... but when you see a difference of $3000-$5000 for the same year boxster from a dealer and a private sell you still get a little thought of going to see the dealer's car aswell due to it being a big difference in price.

[Xpit77]

GTA is a huge area.West side Mantis in Oakville . East side / Scarborough GTek. Central ?