The Boxster: A curioius contradiction
 

I find the Boxster very curious. Since I purchased mine, I've become a sort of evangelist of all things Boxster / Porsche. I enjoy reading up on the technical aspects and improving / maintaining the vehicle. My goals is to the preserve this great car to prolong it's life.

The contradiction is that SOOOO many people are parting out their Boxsters. I don't understand. Are people just giving up on these cars or is it profit taking, cutting losses, etc. It's not like the parts are being sold at Porsche OEM prices making someone rich.

Why are so many parting their Boxsters?

Explain parting out?


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Its all about the $$$$$.

The majority of cars being parted out have suffered either significant accident damage or an engine failure and the cost to repair the vehicle is greater than the value of the car after the repair. So the easy answer is to part the car out to recover as much money as possible without having to invest a significant sum that is not likely to pay back at re-sale.

Considering the age of these cars and the cost and knowledge that goes into properly maintaining them, I am not surprised by how many get parted out. Having a shop repair a failure of a major component can often cost more than the current purchase price of the car.
Buy a 1999 for about $5,000, or a 2003 S for about $10,000, have a catastrophic engine failure - financially, you are better off scrapping the car and buying another if you can't do your own repair. Our classified section and Craigslist have complete or near complete rollers that go unsold. Often parting it out and scrapping it are the only affordable option to someone who is disappointed in the car/brand and just wants to move on.

I had an accident that mentally as I got out of the car with no airbag deployment I figured would cost $3k based on prior Honda experience. They stopped costing at $26k. I had a Mitsubishi engine in a Chrysler mini-van fail and got a re-manufactured short block for $1.5k. Porsche engines cost $12-15k.

Boxsters of the 986 era cost $5k to $13k with a perfectly working engine and a unmolested body. Now why would anyone attempt to make major repairs given those costs.

Wonderful cars. Both mine super reliable. But if ...

Same reason any other 15+ year old car gets parted, it is cost prohibitive to perform any major repairs compared to the vehicle's value. It is the same reason not as many 911s of the same era get parted, costs about the same to repair them but they have on average 2.5 times the value.

We're getting to the crossroads of money and love. The 944/928 guys can tell you all about this. Give it a few more years and the only 986's on the road will be nice cars that the owners plan on keeping forever. Not a bad thing in my book. Good thing we've got our online home here to keep us all connected.

Keep killing and parting them out. Maybe then, after spending $20k to keep mine running it will be worth $10-$12k.
I have almost 93k miles on a 14 year old car. I've done a good share of the maintenance replacements (Most original parts came out looking perfectly good except the Expansion tank and Motor mount.)
I have yet to do the IMSB and RMS but the time is coming.
I can see why people may just drive them till they drop. Even as a DIY project, a good name brand IMSB and tools could represent 10% of the car's value. Some may not see that as a worth while thing to do

I hope to never reach the bridge of repair verses part out. It's paid for - and my willingness to do my own work pushes that bridge down the road.

Well said, I hope to keep mine for a while but worry about putting too much money into it. I do most of the repairs myself but the clutch/IMS/RMS was too big of a job. If your always taking it to a shop its going to get crazy expensive. Hopefully I never have to face a repair cost vs. parting it or selling it. I only have 60k miles.

It's a real short list of cars that appreciate in value. All the rest have a breaking point in repair vs 'junk', ie part out, sell as roller, sell for scrap....

Time, patience, and the ability to hang on. In 1976, a new 914 was 5-6K. In the mid to late 80's running cars were under $500. Now, a decent 914 is $10-12K with the really nice ones fetching a lot more. The 986 will have it's day... in about 15-20 years.

+1 to what Jfro said. IMHO, we're still at least 10 years out to see any material appreciation in the 986.

I have a good friend who has been in the high end 'preowned' car business forever. His philosophy is that any car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Every once in a while, someone is looking for something really specific and is willing to pay for it (he gets a lot of specific search requests), but generally the market is what the market is, and there are simply too many 986s still on the road.

Decent E36 (92-97 MYs) M3s are firmly in the low-mid teens now with $7,000 low end cars and $25,000 high end outliers. A market about on par with the 986. I love my 986 but I'm realistic about what I own. It's a great driver that I enjoy and maintain without worrying about its value or perceived prestige.

Currently, the 986 still suffers from what I call the Lotus Esprit syndrome. A buyer seeking a 'prestige marque' snags one of the many low priced examples available (ooww, I can buy a 'Porch'), fails to maintain it (because they can't afford or don't care to) and runs it into the ground. The market will grind through this cycle until only real survivor (or resurrected) examples remain. Not until then will the 986 experience any appreciable gain in market value.

Man, I wish winter would give it up, I'm ready to drive :)

Kind of like the Mercedes W124 segment. Plenty of them, most are worth very little ($2-3k). The 500E/E500s and cabrios command the premium due to rarity (500Es can get into the upper $20ks for a good example). My '95 E320 isn't worth that much, and I'm sure since I've owned it has received more in parts alone than it can sell for. And even then I'm having no luck trying to sell.

+1. As the years go by, we who love to drive these cars, will continue to pay our +/- $2,000 a year subscription fee. That will make any later gains in value a bit moot unless you plan to warehouse your car(s) and not enjoy them. My hope is that they are around for as long as I drive. I will acquire, repair, modify, and part-out as needed in the mean time.
:cheers:

+1 to your +1

The cost to maintain is what it is. And calling it a subscription price is quite accurate.

PS. Mine comes out of hibernation on Friday this week. I've already paid part of this years 'subscription' by way of new brake pads, spark plugs and a couple of underbody plastic bits that needed replacing. Every penny worth it.