Whats up with Boxster prices?

[Raindown]

Hello all, new here and here is my tale.

Considering a 2003+ boxster with low mileage (20k ish) but the thing that troubles me is that the pricing for them seems to be all over the place? Some people are asking the same as others with half the miles.

I am also looking at another BMW (just sold my M3). Just a 2004+ CPO 325ci or something. I know a totally different car but hang with me. Also I wasn't expecting 2004+ model 325s (with a good 20k more miles) to be close to that of a boxster with fewer miles.

Someone shine some light on this for me? I think I am missing something.

[j.fro]

Yeah, Boxster prices can get kind of strange. At one end of the range are folks who think that their 60K car just couldn't have depreciated, or that it is something particularly special. Sure, they're nice, but they aren't out of the depreciation loop. On the other end are people who either don't care or get stuck in a tough situation. This produces cars at the low end of the price range, and they may or may not have been well cared for. If you've got the time to shop around, you'll find a great deal on a well cared for and documented car.

[Raindown]

Originally Posted by j.fro

If you've got the time to shop around, you'll find a great deal on a well cared for and documented car.

Thanks for the reply. Very helpful in finding out what was really going on out there. I have about 5 months to look around. I figured sometime in that range I'll find something that I fancy.

Thanks again.

[HIFI]

Originally Posted by Raindown

Hello all, new here and here is my tale.

Considering a 2003+ boxster with low mileage (20k ish) but the thing that troubles me is that the pricing for them seems to be all over the place? Some people are asking the same as others with half the miles.

I am also looking at another BMW (just sold my M3). Just a 2004+ CPO 325ci or something. I know a totally different car but hang with me. Also I wasn't expecting 2004+ model 325s (with a good 20k more miles) to be close to that of a boxster with fewer miles.

Someone shine some light on this for me? I think I am missing something.

I just got done shopping myself, and prices are definately all over the map. I was looking at older models and even they were priced drastically different. There are a lot of private owners that are expecting way too much, but if you look around, there are good options. I liked using edmunds.com and kbb.com to get an idea of the book value (edmunds allows you to add options, which is nice).

[MitchB]

At the end of the day once you settle on the car you want the pricing will shake itself out... Once I decided that I wanted an "S" with <25k miles and just shopped that range of cars I could smell what was a decent price and what wasn't.

I also discovered you can tell a hell of a lot by standing next to and driving these cars - some people drive them hard and some people don't - some treat them like their first born child and others treat them like daily drivers and run them through carwashes and have scrapes and dings. The differences are worth big bucks in my opinion.

You can knock the CPO program for the premium they charge - but at least at the dealership where I bought you can be 1000% assured they are selling you a primo car at a fair price. I bought my car from the guy who sold it to the first owner the first time around and handed me a complete set of service records. I knew I was paying a little more (emphasis on little - probably $2k - $3k over what I could get on a private deal) but factor in the cost of third party warranty and some of the other peace of mind dealing with a (good) dealership and I think was well worth it.

[Perfectlap]

well there's allot of supply when it comes to Porsche in general. They've sold a heck of allot of cars and its not a product that has a mass appeal if you will. It definitely takes a certain type of buyer to take the plunge.

my advice is to keep an eye out for low mileage cars, even if means getting one that is maybe a year or two older than you can afford. They are everywhere, usually its a pampered sunday driver and the owner needs to upgrade to a new toy. Don't mean to be chauvisnist but I steer clear of cars owned by women or young drivers. There is either neglect or abuse...often not always.

Personally,if I hadn't lucked out with a car with only 10,000 just out warranty, I would have gone certified pre owned or gone with a car under an extended warranty with a company like warranty direct.

try the classifieds on the Porsche Club of AMerica website, this site's classifieds and Rennlist. very Low miles or a warranty...one or the other.

[Brucelee]

There is a huge spread in the asking price on most high end cars.

However, once the deal is closed, the spread is narrowed.

[husker boxster]

Not that it will affect the price by $5-10K, but Boxsters can have a dizzying array of options. After reading the owner's manual, I felt my Box was almost naked compared to the options that were available. So be sure you know what they have, some of the difference in price on similar mileage Box's could be due to the options. And I'm not talking about the std cruise, pwr wind, etc. I mean heated seats, rain sensors, nav systems, PSM, DSP, park assist, etc - big ticket options.

[djomlas]

comes down to what you want to drive, a bmw that you see every day, and everyone drives them, or a porsche?

[ehD]

i'm starting to see porsches everywhere too tho haha...

anyhow if it helps u compare, i got a '99 boxster with like none of the oem options and 94k miles for $15k. it's been lowered 1.5" and has a side skirt, 18" wheels, painted bumperettes, clear sidemarkers, litronics + headlights cleared etc.

on the flip side, i didn't get a ppi, and ended up paying over $2500 in getting a new slave cylinder which killed my car once on the fwy, a new clutch which killed it the subsequent week, a new engine mount because it caused rattling and was torn, and get the wheels repaired from it being slightly tweaked and an eye opening oil change.

[xclusivecar]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

my advice is to keep an eye out for low mileage cars, even if means getting one that is maybe a year or two older than you can afford. They are everywhere, usually its a pampered sunday driver and the owner needs to upgrade to a new toy. Don't mean to be chauvisnist but I steer clear of cars owned by women or young drivers. There is either neglect or abuse...often not always.

I'll take issue with the "low miles" idea. Garage queens may look to be in better shape...but when a car or any piece of machinery is left to sit and driven gingerly on the occasional good weather Sunday I guarantee you will have MANY more troubles mechanically than one driven at least fairly regularly. The fluids need to keep flowing to lubricate the necessary parts...and this doesn't mean turning it on and letting it idle for 20 minutes a week in the winter. The car needs to be RUN! In summary look for a car with average to slightly below average miles in great shape. Get receipts for all work done...and open an account for repairs you will encounter!

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by xclusivecar

I'll take issue with the "low miles" idea. Garage queens may look to be in better shape...but when a car or any piece of machinery is left to sit and driven gingerly on the occasional good weather Sunday I guarantee you will have MANY more troubles mechanically than one driven at least fairly regularly. The fluids need to keep flowing to lubricate the necessary parts...and this doesn't mean turning it on and letting it idle for 20 minutes a week in the winter. The car needs to be RUN! In summary look for a car with average to slightly below average miles in great shape. Get receipts for all work done...and open an account for repairs you will encounter!

Hi,

I believe that used to be true, but with Today's Cars, built to much higher tolerances, using better metallurgy, materials and modern electronics, it's become pretty much an old Wives Tale.

We have lots of Owners here with low-mileage cars and they don't report any greater incidence of problems than any others. There just doesn't seem to be any evidence to support this time-honored addage.

True, time will cause many parts to degrade, but that affects cars of all mileages. The overall maintenance costs can be higher for a low-mileage, seldom driven car because of this and their maintenance cost/mi. will be higher.

I say if the car looks good and PPIs fine, then the Odo reading should be of secondary to no concern...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

I can tell you that Porsche buyers on average, are looking for very low mile cars.

I have never seen any real problem with my low mile cars. The contrary however was NOT true.

It ain't a muscle, it does not get slack from sitting.