Selling dilemma
 

It has been awhile since I was on this forum, it is good to see it is still going strong.

My Boxster ownership (2004 Boxster S, 6 speed) is coming to close and it is time to sell it the beginning of March. The only major issue with the car is the bushing on the transmission, where the shift linkage enters the transmission, is worn out and needs to be be replaced.

So what do I do, sell the car as is (with full disclosure of course) and take the hit on the sell price, or fix it prior to selling? Car has 115K miles and according to KBB is only worth $7600 private party. Prices are getting so low it may not be worth the effort to do the repair.

If I decide to fix it, GBox is relatively close by (North of Denver) and they will do the whole job of dropping the transmission, replacing the bushing and reinstalling the transmission for $1300. $1000 of the job is just for dropping and replacing the transmission, but I really don't have the time or tools to do this job myself.

I know I will not get a 100% consensus on what the best decision is, but you owners know the market so I thought I would ask for opinions.

Thanks, Ken

You may be netting less than $7600 depending on the overall condition and supply of other Boxsters. Many will inquire whether IMS has been replaced/upgraded and clutch with this mileage and pics will help. My take: take pics, describe the Box, post pics and let the market decide

You probably won't get your money back by doing the repair. It's the type of thing that you might do if you were keeping the car. You need to divulge what the issue is, but I would find a price for the part only and let the buyer decide what to do about it. If the buyer is like me, he might DIY and get a good deal on a car!

Are you sure you have the value right? NADA says $13-14K. A quick check of AutoTrader and PCA.org looks like $9-10. 2004s are desirable with a glove box and glass rear window.

While Wheeler Dealer types like myself want to buy cars with issues, the average garden variety buyer does not. They may be suspicious if you have 1 known issue, what else is lurking? It's impossible to address everything, but it's better to take care of the major issues. You don't want to be all excited about buying a "new" car and the first trip you make is to the mechanic.

Selling dilemma
 

Just my perspective: If you have that issue, it likely needs a clutch, possibly throw-out bearing, pressure plate and more than likely motor/transmission mounts as well. That's going to add another 2 to 3 thousand to repair costs. Most of which can be done all at
once to save money but, will cut significantly into your projected sell point.

In my experience KBB and others, are based on near perfect mechanical and cosmetic
condition. Missing bits, niggling things that don't matter for operation but will bug the
heck out of prospective buyers vastly reduce the value of the vehicle.

When I bought my Boxster S (2001, 3.2l 6 speed, 111,000 miles) I found many of the
issues I knew I'd be bothered by but missed a few. Those I found, carved $2,000 off
the asking price. Had I noted the others, I could have easily carved $4,000 or more off.
Keep in mind, none were deal breakers just niggling things that I would know were wrong
and have to fix or replace. Most buyers aren't like me.

Bottom line, If you can get 7 to 8 grand with the known issue, take it.

List it for what you think its worth and see what offers you get. Anything greater than "List minus $1300" is a winner.

If all of the offers are lower than "List minus $1300", then you'd probably be better off fixing the car and then trying to get the listing price.

I live in CO as well and I believe the NADA pricing is more in line. KBB IMO isn’t the best source and few car dealerships use KBB in their pricing. I always look at car gurus median asking, look at KBB then NADA and come up with an overall mean for the condition etc. I am in CO as well and convertible sports cars take a hit in value for desirability given our winter driving conditions.

Regarding what to do with the car, personally I would fix at least your known problem, and as mentioned, @ 115k your motor mount is definitely toast as well. Given so many potential cars out there, a Boxster with “issues” will most likely be hard to sell unfortunately.

Thanks for all your inputs.

I will go check against other websites to get a better idea of the price.

As for maintenance the car has been kept in good condition. It has had the CV boots replaced at 60K, motor mount at 30K (upgraded to Pedro’s enthusiast mount so it is still in one piece today), both rear wheel bearings at 90K, AOS At 90K, clutch at 60K (mis-diaganosis really was clutch helper spring that had failed), IMS bearing replaced with ceramic at 60K.

As RobertKing mentioned if you are dropping the tranny you may as well do the clutch. This is why I haven’t bothered to fix the bushing as the clutch only has 55K on it. Up until this point of selling my reasoning was, check tranny fluid every oil change and keep a piece of cardboard on the garage floor to catch the occasional drip. Once car gets some more miles do the clutch and the bushing.

As for driving in snow I love this car and I suggest anyone with a boxster take theirs out in the snow (with SNOW TIRES). It is my daily driver and with the proper tires this car will out perform many; it balanced, low to the ground and the PSM keeps things under control when things do become a little too slick. Of course if snow gets deeper than 4” I jump in my SUV:)

Currently leaning towards just divulging the bushing issue and the cost to fix it. Then hopefully someone like, husker boxster, can buy it, drop the tranny themselves and save some money.