Should I get a Boxster ? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

MightyMouse · 10-05-2005, 07:45 PM

Well, I just hit the "buy it now" on ebay for an 00 Boxster S with about 53k on it. The car is loaded with options and has the 6spd. I don't like automatic, so that was important to me.
I am flying up to Chicago next weekend to test drive the car and make sure it all checks out ok. The guy at the dealer said he guarantee's the engine, and trans is top notch, only time will tell. Anyway, I was wondering if someone could lend some more insight as to what I should look for. According to Carfax the car was a one owner corporate lease auto and it was sold to the dealer that has it now in an auction. I am getting the car for $23,800 and after looking at prices this appears to be a great deal to me, bust my bubble if you must

the car is Midnight Blue, blue top, and Tan full leather interior. It has a disk Changer, Nav System, cruise, power/heated seats, auto dimming mirrors, Bose stereo system, comes with the wind screen thing and roll bar covers, and has some other options, I just can't remember right now.
Basically the car has everything but Xenons and automatic.
Again, let me know if I'm being had or something, or if this seems to be a bad deal. I can work on the car myself I'm more than sure. I've rebuilt my 3000gt bottom up and i"m pretty sure the boxster won't be much of a challange after working on the worse car Mitsu has ever produced.

Well, that about sums it up. I look forward to be a fellow owner and I'll keep you all posted.

10-06-2005, 04:03 AM

MightyMouse, what dealer in Chicago are you working with?

MightyMouse · 10-06-2005, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmussatti

MightyMouse, what dealer in Chicago are you working with?

Hmmm.. why do you ask, not planning to buy it from underneath me, right?? hehe.. :P
it's premierautoauctions.com
they're in another town, just 30 miles west I guess..
I fly in at like 11:50pm on the 14th, and my return flight is the next day at 2pm, hopefully I won't be using that return flight and will be driving the car back...
Would you like to go with me to look at the car by any chance..??

gRed04 · 10-06-2005, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouse

Hmmm.. why do you ask, not planning to buy it from underneath me, right?? hehe.. :P
it's premierautoauctions.com
they're in another town, just 30 miles west I guess..
I fly in at like 11:50pm on the 14th, and my return flight is the next day at 2pm, hopefully I won't be using that return flight and will be driving the car back...
Would you like to go with me to look at the car by any chance..??

Who is going to check the car out? This looks to be a pretty small pre-owned dealer and I doubt they have expertise in Porsche. There is Napelton Porsche in Westmont, that is pretty close ( maybe 15 minutes or so from the car ).

No affiliation just the closest Porsche dealer.

http://www.westmontporsche.com/home.aspx?bhcp=1

Since you have a little time before you are coming out have you looked at autotrader.com? In Chicagoland we have at least 5-6 Porsche dealers and several luxury only pre-owned dealers within about a 30-60 min. drive in any direction.

MightyMouse · 10-06-2005, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gRed04

Who is going to check the car out? This looks to be a pretty small pre-owned dealer and I doubt they have expertise in Porsche. There is Napelton Porsche in Westmont, that is pretty close ( maybe 15 minutes or so from the car ).

No affiliation just the closest Porsche dealer.

http://www.westmontporsche.com/home.aspx?bhcp=1

Since you have a little time before you are coming out have you looked at autotrader.com? In Chicagoland we have at least 5-6 Porsche dealers and several luxury only pre-owned dealers within about a 30-60 min. drive in any direction.

I've checked the poop out of Autotrader.com and found nothing for this kind of money with the mileage and options this car has.
As far as having the car checked out, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I plan to go there and inspect the car myself, ensure the car has no defects, and ebay motors warrantees the car for like 3 weeks or so. I also plan to purchase an aftermarket warrantee. They have some good ones out there, so I should be ok with that.
I was just curious if you wanted to go out there when I go to look.

I live in Memphis TN, so the car will go to Gosset Porsche if it ever sees the inside of a dealer. My problem is I don't trust people with my cars. I know I can do a better job than most mechanics because it's my car, so I will take special car of it. ya know?
I will soon find out if I am in over my head though

RandallNeighbour · 10-07-2005, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouse

I plan to go there and inspect the car myself, ensure the car has no defects, and ebay motors warrantees the car for like 3 weeks or so. I also plan to purchase an aftermarket warrantee. They have some good ones out there, so I should be ok with that.

Friend, there are at least a dozen things you should be looking for on a boxster before you buy it that a typical car buyer would not look for.

One example would be to see if the convertible top transmission cables are the old ones that stretch and cause a $1200 mess or have been replaced with the reinforced ones, and know what the difference is with a visual inspection. And the list goes on and on to the coolant resevoir in the rear trunk, etc.

As far as aftermarket warranties go, I'm sure you can find a half dozen that will take your money, but don't count on them to actually pay you or your mechanic when something goes wrong... most find a loophole in their contract with you to deny the claim. The only one worth anything is the Porsche certified preowned warranty offered through the dealership... and you pay through the nose for that one.

Best of luck to you as you buy a boxster. DO take it to a dealership and have a PPI done on the car, and DO have a 4 wheel laser alignment done on it as well before you plop down your money and sign for it. The alignment will tell you of most unrepaired frame damage, bent struts or bent control arms, etc. Don't forget that lots of people buy Boxsters, drive them like hell, and sell them when they get bored with them and don't care for them like most of us here on this list.

Hope this info helps. I, like you, bought off Ebay and got a killer deal on my boxster. I was out of my mind though to think I could check out this particular car and avoid buying a car requiring lots of repairs to become dependable. $7800.00 in repairs later, the car is reliable, but is still not what I hoped it would be condition-wise.

10-13-2005, 06:37 AM

MightyMouse, did you buy the Boxster in Chicago??

MightyMouse · 10-07-2005, 10:13 AM

That porsche website isn't working

Let me know of any boxsters in the Chicago area, because I'll be there anyway.

10-07-2005, 11:24 AM

MightyMouse:

There are a lot of Porsche's in the Cicago area. Call:

Joe Rizza Porsche- 708-403-0300 They have a brand new 2004 Boxster S (silver) for sale too, plus pre-owned.

Westmont Porsche- 630-725-0911

Porsche Exchange- 847-266-7000 ask for Micheal (owners nephew) or Bruce (owner).

Good Luck!

love_porsche21 · 05-25-2021, 10:44 PM

wow! u wanna have one boxsters?

gpena · 05-26-2021, 08:07 PM

Hello, I want to share this video that convinced me to buy my 2001 986 S without regret after 8 months... 90% of the fun 50% of the price. (even with lots of DIY fun service) https://youtu.be/ehZeytgNl-g