How did you end up with your current Boxster?

[lowpue]

Well, my acquisition is under way. Here is the story. I have been teaching my son to drive my manual on my 996 and after one almost money shift I decided to get him a boxster to learn on. But I did not want to spend much money. So I bought one with a blown (IMS) engine for $2500 and an engine for $2000. The theory was I would put it in with my son. However, after deciding I wanted to replace the engine myself with my son, I realized without a good lift this will be really hard and I wanted an LN IMS as well. SO I took it to my local shop to have it done. THen it turns out that the engine is not good, so I needed to get another engine which was much more. THis project is now getting close to $15K for a 2001. Not a very smart move on my part but at least I will know everything about the car. But the car otherwise is in nice shape....should be done next week.

[Drphil]

In January I started looking to replace the Boxster I sold 3 years ago- Was a 2000S speed yellow, came very close to buying several here locally but dealers just wanting too much, when as I got back on the board here I found a very nice 97 that was for sale in NYC- Vincent had just bought the car when a friend offered him his Cayman!! Turns out Vincent has had many Porsches but also was a 914 owner. I decided to restore the 914 and not use it for a daily driver, which it is capable of mechanically. I love the mid-engine cars but too hot in summer for not having the AC option!!! here is SC- long story short, I bought the car and flew up to NYC with my son in February and drove it home!!! Car now has only 36,000 miles on it!!! its a base and very few options, and needed a few things taken care of due to sitting so much but one surprise is the soft top is like brand new!! in perfect condition - hard top had a scratch but who cares?? really great having a boxster again and now I am making plans to get a bit more hp out of it, maybe some slight performance mods and and ecu flash- but for now just driving it as is will work fine. Thanks Vincent!!! did you get that Cayman yet??

[Frank N]

I was looking for a convertible in 205. I was thinking something from 60's, maybe a Mustang. (Midlife crisis stuff.) Tough to find, good ones are big money and I really didn't want to put a big pile of cash in my garage. My pickup was closing in on 100K miles but running great. Then I realized I should buy something newer that I can enjoy whenever I want and put some of the miles on and extend the pickups life. Anyone see the price on new half-ton pickups? Ouch.

So I was searching for convertibles, under 20k, less than 45k miles. Among the sea of BMW, Merc, A4's and Mustangs a Boxster would show once and a while. I called my 911 purist friend and asked him what he thought about them. Well, it's a hairdresser's car and I will call you a gay dentist going forward...but every event I go to people love them, and to be honest, I can't keep up with a good Boxster driver in S turns, just get the IMS upgraded. So I did a lot of research, what to look for and such (thanks to all you here for a lot of good info).

Then I found one at a dealer, an 05 base with PASM. I went for a drive, in about a half mile, my search for what type of car ended, it must be a Boxster. That wasn't the right one. Shortly after I found the 04S I eventually wound up with at a PA Porsche/Merc dealer with every option I wanted. He wanted 21,600, he's nuts, but I kept watching the listing, along comes November, price drop to 18,6 Took it for a drive, did my version of the PPI on the spot myself. Told them it needed an alignment, the RMS was leaking and there is no record of the IMS being done. I made my offer, they fix the alignment and any parts required, I will take care of the RMS...sales manager comes over, I went up a bit and said hey it's November, do you really think you will find a Boxster buyer and one that wont look it over and find the blatant RMS leak, besides you are moving 6 figure cars, how long do you want this thing around?

The car was cherry, now the RMS/IMS/clutch is done, and I drive it like I stole it every chance I get and don't worry about some mega investment in a car that I am afraid to drive.

[alex.rhodes]

I was in the market for a 911. I had a 944 previously and always liked the 911, plus I wanted to have a backseat to take the kids for a joyride. The color, money, and condition were right for the Boxster, but the 911 I test drove was in sad shape.

I picked up my 2000 Boxster in Aug '16 with 135,000 miles. Changed out the spark plugs and one tube, oil change, transmission fluid, getting ready to do the rear control arms, but otherwise is in very good shape. The kids help with the maintenance and are rewarded with rides which makes all their friends jealous.

Because we move around a lot for work, I convinced my wife to let me get a Cayenne to tow the Boxster when we move. Two weeks ago I picked up a 2008 Cayenne S.

[A8ked]

This is an interesting thread with lots of good stories.
My Boxster purchase was, like so many others, unplanned.

I have owned a 1991 Carrera 4 Cabrio for many years and have always been curious about the water cooled side of Porsche.

A few weeks ago I flew into the San Francisco Bay area on business and was killing time one evening surfing Ebay and Craigslist looking at cars for sale. Saw an ad for a Boxster with the hardtop option that was near by and figured I'd take a look for the fun of it.

Saw the car, spent an hour going over it and another half hour test driving it. It drove nicely and showed none of the typical Boxster issues. The current owner had recently purchased it from the original owner. There were not many receipts to confirm the cars history, but all the details indicated a cared for history. The car even has its original window sticker. I thought about a getting a PPI, but figured for the price (<$5500.) I had very little to lose. I negotiated a bit and shook hands with the seller.

Hmmm how do I explain this to my wife...? Well fortunately due to a bad hip and knee she can no longer drive our Carrera 4 as its a manual. Explanation and problem solved the new Boxster is a TIP so she will be able to drive it!!! I drove the car around the Bay area for a day and got familiar with it while I completed my business obligations. After a quick check of fluids, tire pressure, some Techron and a fill up, I was headed North on I-5 bound for Seattle.

The car ran flawlessly, two days and 700+ miles later I pulled into my driveway. It's proven to be a fun toy, I've sorted out a couple of minor issues. The car came with only one key, but the local dealer was willing to provide two more for an amazing amount of money... I do a lot of my own service and repairs, having owned a Porsche for some time I have come to expect to pay a lot for parts. That said these older Boxster's seem like a real bargain! The hard top makes it a year round driver for us here in Seattle.

Kevin

[Jgkram]

Love reading everyone's story. Mine came about because of an awakening. I had a close friend at work (much younger ) that passed away unexpectedly. He had talked about doing a lot of things in the future but the future never came for him. I decided not to share the same fate if possible. In high school my dear father bought as my first car a '69 black MGB. I thought it (and I) were so cool. I learned how to do everything on that car, as with all British cars, you have to or they don't run. anyway I wanted to get back to something similar that was a convertible and I could tinker with. I started looking and the Boxsters fit the bill perfectly. I know I wanted to work on it, mod it and AX it. So, I wanted something mechanically sound, cosmetically fair, no frills and at the right value. The "S's" were either ridden to death or folks wanted way too much for them. Tried for a couple out of state but PPI's rejected them. Was getting discouraged. Then, on Craig's liet, one popped up not 5 miles away from me. PPI said it was one of the most solid 2001's they'd seen in several years. Got it for a song and been loving it ever since.

[Jamesp]

Mine was owned by a coworker when the IMS failed. Because I'm an engineer interested in performance vehicles, I knew this was one of the best handling production cars available. As it was being sold cheap as a roller, I bought it and rebuilt the engine.

[grc0456]

Thanks for reviving this old thread. I really enjoyed re-reading everyone’s stories. I still love, love, love my 986 - but, of course, still scan the PCA classifieds, auto sites, etc. You know, just in case I stumble upon a car I love even more


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[Ciao]

My Brother In Law ordered an SUV Tesla and sold me his 01 S

[BYprodriver]

I lucked into a dream job testdriving a fleet of Press vehicles including Porsche's fleet. I soon discovered the Boxster S was the funniest to drive of the 100+ cars i drove. When a new Manager was hired I quit & began my search for my own Boxster S in 2003. It was April 2003 & E-Bay was fairly new, found what I wanted in Portland OR & flew in to drive it home down the Pacific coast.

[RobertKing]

Late 2016, one of the owners of the company retired. I'd been there 23 years at that point. To my shock, I fell into the retired owner's role and ended up named VP and Treasurer.
A ton more work to be sure but also a really good raise as well.
This left me in the position of being able to actually seriously consider getting my dream car. And so, the search began.

I found what seemed like the perfect vehicle, a 2003 Boxster base, 2.5liter, 5 speed manual, Bose sound system, hard top in Guards Red. But, as it turned out, the lot that
advertised the car, didn't actually have it. Seems they were actually a consignment dealer and the car apparently had problems they either didn't know about or, just didn't mention.
After 2 months of back and forth, wanted to see and test drive, car not available. Finally, I made an offer sight unseen on the condition that I could at least see the vehicle.
Promise after promise, nothing. So, I began searching via CarGuru's... I found 4 Boxsters within a hundred miles and contacted all of them. None would answer questions and 2 didn't respond at all.

Finally, late June, I decided to spend a Saturday checking out all 4 vehicles. My first stop was a used car lot and a vehicle that in the pictures didn't look to be in very good condition.
The price seemed a bit high and the mileage was high as well.

I arrived at the lot, the car was actually there! +1. Looking over the car in person, it was clear whoever took the photos and cameras were not well acquainted. Now +2.
This was an older vehicle than the one I'd initially been looking at but, it was a S with 3.2liter and 6 speed. No hard top though... -.5 for 1.5 so far... Drove the car... 2 blocks away, "I want this car" +5 now!

Asking price seemed high, over $10,000. I checked it out thoroughly and noted every issue I'd seen (all minor really) and got well over $2,000 knocked off of the ask. +7!

Long story short, made a down payment, did all the paper work and financed the remaining amount. Dumb I know but I didn't have $8,000 on hand... Anyway, a week later, I drove her home.
Since, I've replaced 1 dash speaker, purchased wind deflectors and feeling guilty every time I leave her in the garage...

[Wallace River]

I took a winter vacation in Florida a few winters ago and started looking and test driving Boxsters as soon as I got there. Suddenly this lovely came up and I got up at 6 am to get to
the other coast first thing, and bought it then and there, after a test drive. Garage kept its whole life, never saw rain or snow. Did all the paperwork, had it trucked to Maine, then
after I got home, went and got it with a U-Haul auto hauler to bring it the rest of the way across the border. If you plan it all out, it works well.
IMG_9986 2000 Porsche Boxster - My New Ride! by Ian Murray, on Flickr

[flouese]

I saw an ad on CL for a Boxster and mentioned it was cheaper ($5,000) than the golf cart we just bought ($12,000). She felt guilty and took me down to look at it. Bought it and did $5.5K worth of repairs and maintenance to get it running correctly. Currently it is down with camshaft position sensor related CEL codes
.

[stantheman1]

Company I work for got sold, created some available cash for me. Always wanted a true sports car; looked at and test drove a few Miatas, but they didn't do it for me. Realized I could afford an older Boxster for the same money (a dream car for me since the first S came out in 2000). Drove a couple on used car lots, loved the car, hated the salesmen. Figured I should get a PPI for any car I looked at , so googled "PPI Porsche" for my area, found an indie Porche shop, called him and told him what was up to. he said he had a 2001 Boxster S in his shop with 42K miles that just had a lot of work done (IMS, clutch, spark plugs, RMS, etc.) that the owner was looking to sell. Drove over the next day (the shop is only one mile from my office!) looked at it, drove it, and immediately was a goner. Turns out it was the owner's personal car (!), meticulously maintained. It was optioned exactly as I would have if I had bought it new - litronic headlights, sport seats, PSM. Plus, a suspension up grade (Bilstein PSS9 springs & shocks). Cut a deal for $14K and the owner even gave me a bumper to bumper warranty for several months! I'm thinking the sports car gods designated that car specifically for me. I'm 18 months into ownership and I get a rush every time I go in the garage and see it parked there, let alone drive it! Single best purchase I EVER made.

[Brian in Tucson]

I have an base, 2001 Boxster, 2.7L engine, tiptronic. As Boxsters go, it is pretty stripped, and fairly low miles at 74,500 miles. It was cheap ($3200) and quite forlorn. Total wreck seats, not a great top, no top electrics, windows that didn't work, no glass in the side mirrors, blown front shocks, needs boots on the CV joints, leaky coolant tank, fubar cooling hoses from the cooling tank, full of our local tap water because it leaked coolant. Overheating. Engine leaks oil, I figure it's the spark plug tubes (parts on the way.)

Hard for me to believe that such a low mileage car could be in such horrible shape. And in hindsight, I guess I was thinking "how bad can it be?" It was pretty bad.

Radio didn't work, the cup holders & cd storage were so ugly, the display for the climate control was dying and scratched up. & of course it needs paint.

But, it ran well, fun to drive and if I squinted my eyes I could see the potential.

Almost 3 months later, I've fixed the cooling problems (new tank & hoses, flushed the system twice & refilled and bled the new Dexcool coolant,) replaced the obsolete, dead radio with a modern double din Pioneer (threw away the cupholders in the dash and the disc storage in the lower dash--installed a block off plate. Rebuilt the climate control display, replaced the window regulators, fixed the power door locks, installed a led voltmeter in the left cig. lighter spot. Replaced the seats and top, downloaded the diagram of the fuses, and wired the radio to a key on circuit. All the latches work and are in good shape, car doesn't eat its battery overnight.

CV boots are here and waiting for installation, shocks are still blown, brake wear lite is still lit. Interior looks clean and nicely modernized and sorted. The car itself is driving really well.

Someone told me there's no such thing as a cheap boxster. It's true, but with the internet, there are less expensive parts available and if you can do you're own work it's not so bad.

I never thought I'd have a Boxster, but three months in on an intense project car, I can say it's one of my dream cars!:dance:

[ncvols]

I lived in PA from 2004-2015 and first had a e30 BMW 325i convertible (1987). Sold it and bought a e36 325i (1996). I ended up not driving it so much and sold it to buy my oldest son a used 2004 325i coupe. Then we moved to Wilmington, NC and I realized it's the perfect place to drive a convertible year round. I wanted something different so started researching Boxsters and learned how much storage they had and learned about the base and S versions. I started checking local Craigslist and after about a year, I found a 2000S with 51K miles for $9500. A local foreign car mechanic had bought it for his wife (who was used to driving a Mercedes). Needless to say, she didn't care for the Boxster so he sold it to me. He had also replaced the IMS so it was a no brainer. I bought it in Sep 2016 and now it's up to 57K. Made a few mods (painted the console, wheel spacers, new badge on the trunk, new rear speakers, new cocomat floor mats). The only screw up I did was leaving the top down and it came a 10 min shower that completely ruined the seat cushions - so had to replace those. Been a great car so far (fingers crossed!).

[husker boxster]

Nov 2007...
The CPO on my 01S had expired a few mo earlier and this was at the height of the IMS hysteria (no solution at this time). Porsche just released the orange 08 Limited Edition Boxster. My local Porsche dealer had 4 in stock - 2 base, 2 Ss. I went down on a cold afternoon to look. 3 of them were outside and I didn't spend much time looking them over. The fourth was on the showroom floor. Man it looked nice. It was an S. To my surprise it was #5 of the 250 S models. That blew my mind!

I thought and thought about how I could buy #5. My house would be paid off the following July and I was just starting a big project at work, so financially I felt comfortable (I had been thru 4 downsizings in my over 25 yrs so I wanted to be careful). But the sticker was an eye-popping $66K. The most I had paid for a car up to then was half that and my house cost me $75K 19 yrs ago. This was no small matter.

I did some research on what I thought invoice would be on the LE. I figured a 5% profit over invoice would be sufficient. So on New Year's Eve 2007 I went to Porsche of Omaha with a list of colors, options, and yrs I would be looking for and if they came across one that fit, they should let me know. We talked for about 5 min. Then on my way out I pointed to the LE and said, "or you can sell me this one for 58". I was talking to Mitch, the sales mgr and he jumped up and ran over to his desk, did some quick number look-ups and said he could sell it for $59K. I thought, wow, that's pretty good, but all I could afford was 58. I stood firm. He quickly dropped to $58.5. Once again, I thought that was pretty good, but all I could afford was 58. I stood firm. He said he'd sell it for $58K. I spent a total of 20 min making this deal.

He admitted that he hadn't wanted to be open that afternoon but his boss thought someone would want a car. So Mitch wanted to sell something that day. Problem was, I couldn't pick my new car up until Jan 2. I went home that night and didn't go anywhere - I was trading my 01S in and didn't want anyone to hit it on NYE. I contacted all my family and told them the great news. My mom, sister, and brother all said I was stupid to trade in my beautiful Lapis Blue 01S. Only my sister-in-law said she liked the orange car. So now I have to mull over if I'm making a big mistake? Will I flame out on the orange in 6 mo? I have 2 whole days to mull this over. Hmmmm....

Needless to say, it will be 10 yrs this Dec that I bought my LE and I still love her. 2nd longest ownership of any car I've owned. I love the color. I get rock star treatment from fellow motorists. Never was sorry I made the deal.

Here she is on the showroom floor on the Nov afternoon.

[Ciao]

Husker - Cool story and what a steal!

[Micklaus986]

Placed a bid on bringatrailer.com convinced someone would outbid me. To my surprise I bought a 2000 S (with a jake raby stocker in it). My wife took the news rather well, she will most likely be named a saint for all the patience she had bestowed.

[Nevergrowup]

I had a 944 for several years. Got divorced, and the new girlfriend supported me in my dream about a impact bumper 911, so I part traded the 944 with a 1981 SC. Went head first, fully financed the difference and had it for 6 years.

Great car, and there's of course nothing like it, but I guess everything wears off. Also, the value had gone up quite a bit. So, I sold it for a LOT more than what I bought it for. I had already decided on a Boxster, since they currently are the MOST P-car for the money, quite modern and comfortable. I thought it'd be a great daily for me and my fiancee (yes, we're still together). And since she do a lot of queing and highway travel, we opted for a tiptronic. I wanted her to be able to use it as well. She deserves it for enabling my bucket list 911!

With part of the profit for the 911 (which was paid for by then) we found this in the far north of Norway. The seller (a woman - I don't know if she was a hairdresser...) agreed to meet me half way down, so I hopped on an overnight train, met her in Trondheim (Google it, if you like) in the pouring rain the next morning. Test drove in pouring rain, and bought it straight away before driving it home to Drammen, some 340 miles. I took a chance, but I think I did good.

Here it is, a year later, shopping in Sweden with our 3 year old.