986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

dav9515 · 04-21-2018, 03:51 PM

for me i have a much different approach based on the seller and i ALWAYS prefer to speak to them in person or on the phone. If i have a real intention on purchasing the car i will make the effort.

Buying: i speak to the seller, i do my homework on every car i buy so i know all the common issues, needed repairs, anticipated repairs, how hard the work is, and what it costs to do it all.

Knowledgeable Seller: if the seller knows the car and really knows the ins and outs, has historical records, active forum member etc. and the car is priced fairly, do NOT expect to offer 70% of asking and have them accept it. They know their car, know the value and have priced it accordingly. In most of those cases i'd say they have roughly 10% wiggle room unless it is a "dire" situation or they have another car already purchased and need to move the car fast.

Clueless Seller: if they know nothing of the car, nothing of the history, trust a local mechanic without doing any research of their own these are the places you get the best deals. You can pick on all "the work" the car needs or will need and quote the prices to fix. Saying cars that have all that work done are $XXXX price so you need to get their car for $YYYY price for it to make sense. The last thing they want is for someone to buy the car and have major issues then come back and try to get money back or sue them so you assure them you understand and accept all the risk but to do that you need to get the car at your price. This works A LOT of the time.

showing with cash always helps the negotiations as well, but bring a friend and NEVER tell the seller you will be showing up with cash in hand. my 97 boxster has 51k miles and was listed for $10k by seller, i saw the car it drove great but had a leak from a spark plug tube, the water pump was seeping, and the tires had some dry rot. After pointing this all out to the seller he was happy to take my $6,500 for the car and i was happy to pay it. love the car and dont regret the purchase. I did need to put some money into it but overall i am still at a very comfortable price on the car.

04-21-2018, 03:51 PM	#15
dav9515 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: CT Posts: 193	for me i have a much different approach based on the seller and i ALWAYS prefer to speak to them in person or on the phone. If i have a real intention on purchasing the car i will make the effort. Buying: i speak to the seller, i do my homework on every car i buy so i know all the common issues, needed repairs, anticipated repairs, how hard the work is, and what it costs to do it all. Knowledgeable Seller: if the seller knows the car and really knows the ins and outs, has historical records, active forum member etc. and the car is priced fairly, do NOT expect to offer 70% of asking and have them accept it. They know their car, know the value and have priced it accordingly. In most of those cases i'd say they have roughly 10% wiggle room unless it is a "dire" situation or they have another car already purchased and need to move the car fast. Clueless Seller: if they know nothing of the car, nothing of the history, trust a local mechanic without doing any research of their own these are the places you get the best deals. You can pick on all "the work" the car needs or will need and quote the prices to fix. Saying cars that have all that work done are $XXXX price so you need to get their car for $YYYY price for it to make sense. The last thing they want is for someone to buy the car and have major issues then come back and try to get money back or sue them so you assure them you understand and accept all the risk but to do that you need to get the car at your price. This works A LOT of the time. showing with cash always helps the negotiations as well, but bring a friend and NEVER tell the seller you will be showing up with cash in hand. my 97 boxster has 51k miles and was listed for $10k by seller, i saw the car it drove great but had a leak from a spark plug tube, the water pump was seeping, and the tires had some dry rot. After pointing this all out to the seller he was happy to take my $6,500 for the car and i was happy to pay it. love the car and dont regret the purchase. I did need to put some money into it but overall i am still at a very comfortable price on the car.