Opinion on 1998 Boxster?

[986barnum]

that box has been for sale in socal since at least july when i bought my 98 (who could forget that wing!). i picked up a 98 with 82k miles from a dealer for 13,600 with 2 month warranty that i used twice ( about 2k in work under warranty) in august. unless you can pick that up for under 12k with some sort of warranty i'd stay away. the wing will be a pain... and the fact that it has that ricer wing, cheap race pedals, tinted head/taillights, wtf exhaust, etc makes me wonder who the previous owner was (def not a serial porsche owner) and what sort of care they took of it. look for the owners manual... usually in one of the armrests or front trunk. if the car has it check for service stamps. mine had every service interval and some recall work up to 75k miles from pioneer porsche and blackforest. regardless, there are so many box's in socal that you shouldn't have to pick up anything that isn't near perfect for a great price.

[Denied™]

Oh you just gave me such a pretty bartering chip with these guys! Theyre asking for 13,965. But if theyve had it since atleast July, I'm going to see how low I can get these guys to sell it for. Should I aim to get them under 12...?

Originally Posted by 986barnum

that box has been for sale in socal since at least july when i bought my 98 (who could forget that wing!). i picked up a 98 with 82k miles from a dealer for 13,600 with 2 month warranty that i used twice ( about 2k in work under warranty) in august. unless you can pick that up for under 12k with some sort of warranty i'd stay away. the wing will be a pain... and the fact that it has that ricer wing, cheap race pedals, tinted head/taillights, wtf exhaust, etc makes me wonder who the previous owner was (def not a serial porsche owner) and what sort of care they took of it. look for the owners manual... usually in one of the armrests or front trunk. if the car has it check for service stamps. mine had every service interval and some recall work up to 75k miles from pioneer porsche and blackforest. regardless, there are so many box's in socal that you shouldn't have to pick up anything that isn't near perfect for a great price.

[986barnum]

i'd first make sure you can trace some history of the car, the pepboys $19.99 pedal set doesn't make me think a 60 yr old porsche lover cared for it diligently. getting a ppi will help. 13,965 is optimistic of the dealer. in my mind i'm thinking it was 14,500 or 15k or something when i saw it on autotrader 5 months ago so they're holding out against all odds. if all checks out mechanically i'd lowball (<$12) them and be firm and patient. guaranteed it'll be sitting on that lot next time you drive by. stop in, make the same offer they likely initially rejected. it took me two weeks but i got mine from a sticker of 15,800 to 13,600 and i think i could've gotten them lower still. and don't underestimate the value of a 30 or 60 day warranty. i got 200 miles before the first problem popped up and made it another 600 before another one... they'll likely clear the CEL on the lot and things like failing cats, o2s, MAF, etc won't pop up on test drive many times. good luck, personally i ran the other way when i saw it online, but if the wing suits your tastes then the most important thing is getting a ppi and a good price. just use rational judgement, which is hard once you drive it, i bought my first one after 1 mile behind the wheel when i wasn't even shopping for a car. the second one i put considerably more effort and thought into.

[YellowJacket]

As others have said, I would be very very very uncomfortable buying that car with the cheap mods and add-ons. Not only because it'll be a pain to undo all that stuff, but also because it is indicative of the type of person who owned the car before. The quality of the mods are directly proportional to the quality of maintenance the car received normally. These cars are fairly expensive to maintain, so I can only assume that thing has probably NOT been taken care of.

If you absolutely MUST have this exact car (and I can't imagine why that would be given how many early Boxsters are out there in great condition at good prices), I'd get a PPI from a mechanic that has a LOT of experience in Porsches -- either a dealer or a local who's been around a while. I'm sure people on this board can give you shop recommendations.

If you get a good Boxster, they're quite a bargain, but if you get one that needs work, they can easily run half your purchase price in repairs in the first 6 months or year.

[NickCats]

Keep in mind guys, the OP is under 21, so what we may find as hideous he might think is pretty cool

Nick

[rick3000]

^ I'm under 21, and I think it is hideous.
Just my $0.02!

[Denied™]

This would be a car i'm pushing around for highschool, and maybe into college. I dont necessarily like the spoiler, but its something I can stand until I can change the trunklid if I can get a lower price. =]