Canadian Buyer lookin at porsche
 

Hey guys and gals!

Well first post and just like to say this forum has already given me lots of knowledge.

Anyways on to business, ive owned quite a few cars as it is some fast some slow (v8 FC rx7, miata, couple civics) im fairly mechanically inclined and am looking for something drop top that is classy (enter the boxster). Now at 20 i dont want to spend a whole lot as id rather re-invest the money back into my business so my budget is somewhere around the 12-14 grand mark.

Ive looked at s2000's/z3's/E36 BMW's but the boxster seems to have my heart. Anyways my question is in your guys experience is it possible to find a half decent boxster for around the 12 000 mark? (97-01 ish). Im honestly not worried about getting an S as i will not be racing this vehicle at all.

Im willing to go right across america to get a vehicle and im in no rush. I do realize these cars will be higher mileage 80 000+, am i going to be looking at some hefty repair bills or are they fairly reliable cars? The biggest issue i have is cost of ownership. I dont mind spending another 1500 in the same year to get the car where it needs to be, but i dont want it to nickel and dime me (v8 rx7).

Anyways your experience will make it much easier for me. Its very hard for me to search cars just using craigslist and autotrader as many cars are not listed on these. If i could get some feed back around the 12 000 range (in terms of availability and quality of car id be getting for that price) Id greatly appreciate it.

From your friend up north,

Dewan.

ANY information would be more helpful then you know. Dont be afraid to post!

Porsche maintenance can be expensive. Keep in mind that there is a lot of stuff that only your Porsche dealer is able to handle, therefore you are facing a vendor lock-in situation. Sometimes you can get around this but it usually involves more effort than it should.

In my case, my dealer wanted to charge me US$1600 to replace the tires, which I considered outrageous given the actual price of the tires that I got from a website. I ended up buying them from tirerack.com and delivered to a local installer. This is the funny part, a lot of places like Sears Auto, would not service Porsche cars since it is so different for them it seems. In any case, this local installer (Merchant's tire), did an awful job since they kept telling me that they weren't able to finish on time, that the lift broke somehow because my car had a low profile (???), and finally when I got my car back they even kept the security lock for the wheels (which I had to claim in yet another trip). In the end, the balancing was done by monkeys it seems and I ended up having to go to my Porsche dealer so that they could fix the problem. So the $600 dollars saving that I was receiving wasn't to great since I had to pay my Porsche dealer a couple hundred more.

I also tried once to do something about the stereo, and every local installer wanted to rewire the whole car. 2003 Boxsters have some kind of fiber optic cable to connect audio components. So every time you want to do a job outside the dealer is like modding the car.

So with that in mind, I think that if you are able to set aside around 3000-5000 bucks per year for maintenance, then you shouldn't have a problem. And I say this because when the time comes to change your rotors, a clutch pad, or god forbid, a transmission, you sure as hell are going to wish that you kept saving money for future repairs.

But all truth being said, good things cost good money. I would not change my car for anything other than another Porsche. Once you've driven one, everything else is substandard.

I just successfully imported a Boxster into Canada from a dealership in Fort Lauderdale. Import was painless, but i was very prepared.

If you have any questions, I've documented my entire process.

Thanks.

Hey List Private
Two questions regarding the importation.
Did you have to pay duty?
Did you have to make any modifications to the car?
Thanks!