Looking to buy a 986, price check pls.

[JCL12]

Originally Posted by tracke30m3

Hi,

I'm about to buy a 00' or 01' Boxster, looking for something with about 30 to 60,000 miles. An "S" is not necessary but if I can find one at a great price then I'll go for it. Stock would be fine, but if I can find one with some nice basic mods then that would be better.

I'm located in Los Angeles, what would be a realistic price for one?

I'm thinking about $18,000 to $20,000?

Any shops you guys can recommend for a PPI in Culver City area?

Follow up question, for more or less the same price, would you rather buy a stock car with 30 to 40K miles or one with alot of very nice mods but with 60K+ miles?

Thanks.

MY comments on pricing - see what the edmunds TMV is and then try to undercut that price by as much as possible. 18-20k is realisitic, especially if you buy from a private seller. In fact, if you were to get an '00 with 60K miles on it (and it was not well loaded) I would certainly not pay 18,000 for it.

As for the S vs non-S, what is your driving style and desire? I personally do not care about speed/power as much as most guys and I just wanted to have a porsche. As a result, I decided to save money (and gas) and get a non-S. If acceleration is important, a regular box probably will not cut it for you.

Lastly, I would prefer a 30-40k boxster (unloaded) over a decked out 60K+. One thing you really need - sound system upgrade. Look for a bose sound system one, or make mods yourself. My stock 2-speaker sound system is a disgrace.

[RandallNeighbour]

To answer your question about mileage, Porsches do not have the same 12k a year mileage average like Hondas or Toyotas or even Chevrolets. Pcars and other sports cars of the same variety have a far lower yearly average mileage of something like 7k or less.

So, a Pcar with 10-12k per year average on it for its age should take a sizeable hit in depreciation.

You should be able to find a Boxster with less than 7k a year average mileage on it for under 20k in very good condition. Look for someone who bought the car as their dream car and then didn't drive it enough to justify keeping it. That's the pre-owned Porsche to buy... one that's been driven a little, pampered a lot, and has all the maintenance done on it and records to prove it.

Since there are a glut of used Boxsters on the market, finding one like this should not be too hard, but it may not happen locally. Never be scared to fly somewhere and test drive a car and take it to a dealer for a PPI while in town for a couple of days. The $1k or $1.5k you spend on the airline ticket, hotel and the PPI, then the fuel home or a transport company bill at the dealership is cheap compared to buying the wrong car close by that will cost you that the first year to get repaired.