[Nickanator8]

Hello everyone! My name is Nick, I'm 28 years old, and I've always wanted a Porsche. I've known about the 986 Boxster for years but I finally have the space and money to make a fun car a part of my life and I want to make sure I do it properly. I've dedicated hours upon hours to every video, article, and guide I can find about the 986 in the hopes that I can find the best one for my needs. I've come to the conclusion that a Boxster S with a manual transmission has to be the one I get which does limit my options a bit. There aren't too many in my area and I want to test drive the car before throwing cash at it.

I have a few concerns I want to run by the community so I can move forward with confidence. First off, all the cars in my area are pretty high mileage and the Boxster I am specifically looking at is sitting at 127k. I'm not afraid of high mileage per se, my last car finally died at 270k but it was a Hyundai Accent econobox, just not a German sports car. My concern is what are all the maintenance items I should make sure are either done before I buy it or right after the purchase and what might those items cost? I'm not afraid to turn a wrench, but I also don't have much experience and I'd like to actually drive my new car instead of immediately tear it apart.

Most of the guides I have found on this forum were written a while ago and I just want to make sure I'm looking for issues that matter for buyers today instead of when they had 80k less miles on the clock.

Besides that, any best practices for doing a PPI myself would be appreciated. I'm really hoping I can save as much money as possible by doing as much work as I can by myself.

The vehicle I am looking at is a 2002 Boxster S with 127k miles, black on black with chrome wheels that will absolutely need to be swapped out for something more subtle (suggestions?). It was originally a fleet vehicle in Chicago and has bounced around a few states with 4 prior owners. I saw on the Carfax that the title may have been washed in 2013 (previously owned in Kansas then titled in Washington for 2 years with only 200 more miles on it then back to Kansas in 2015) and it has only put on 4k miles since then so I'm a little concerned about that. Should I be?

It is currently for sale by a local dealer for $12,337 and has been listed for sale for a while. What kind of leverage can I put on the dealer to make sure I don't leave any money on the table when I do buy it? Unfortunately I don't have 12k lying around so I will be financing, ideally a 36 month plan to keep interest low.

Any suggestions, tips, or concerns are welcome. I'm very excited to join the Porsche cult.

One aside, there is another Boxster in town, a 1998 base model with 120k on the clock and a broken soft top. It's for sale for $5,750 and I'm wondering if it's worth considering that model instead. It's half the price and 4/5ths the car so I'm wondering if that might be a good idea or a good way to light $6k on fire. Thoughts?

I'll try to answer questions and clarify my situation as needed.