1998 boxster S?

I can see the condensation in the corner triangles, I love my Boxster but that one piece is really poorly executed and conceived. I bought brand new ones that leaked, I finally sealed them myself with a thin silicone barrier.

[Jeph]

If a friend showed me this car, I would advise against them buying it, regardless of price (unless it was like $5k or something). No reason to do a PPO, just move on to another car.

Good call on the clam shell not fitting properly.
Same for the hood lining up to the front bumper.
The headlights will also need replacing.
It even looks like there is some rust just of the left of the driver side head light.
I noticed some curb rash too.

CarFax is good for knowing if/where a car has been registered or inspected. That's about it. Its ability to determine whether or not a car has been in an accident is IFFY at best.

I see a previous owner upgraded the shifter though in addition to the poser "S" badge. Mod your car all you want to look newer... but the second you put deceptive inscription on a car, you're posing.

And honestly, I bet the dealership has no idea that it's not an "S." They'll just read what's on the car. I find at least 90% of the car salesmen I've ever talked to know very little about cars.

[Dr. Kill]

Ditto on the avoidance of this one. These cars are by no means rare, and clean less shady examples can be found at a good price if you look around.

[Tool Pants]

You guys are picky.

The headlights, condensation, and curb rash are typical. Also has worn radio buttons, but that is typical, as are the rusty wheel bolts. The S logo on the trunk means nothing. I have seen every type of logo you can think of, put on by owners. Maybe that S logo confused the dealer.

The clamshell does looked tweaked, but it could be the pictures. If it is tweaked then that is typical for a 1997-1999 with a top problem, and just about all 1997-1999 had top problems.

Someone already pointed out that the 2.5 shift knob has been replaced with the silver 2.7 version. I see that some of the interior plastic trim has been painted silver. These are typical changes an owner does.

The gap in the front trunk lid looks to me it is because the lid is not closed all the way.

It has traction control.

I see a 10 year old car with 77,000 miles for $13,500. Typical.

From one of the links looks like seller is a used car place with many different brands of vehicles for sale. I doubt if any salesperson there knows anything other than what is on the inventory sticker. This is not a Porsche dealership.

I have been Boxstering for almost 9 years and have spent a lot of time at my local Porsche dealership. I look at the used cars on the lot once in a while. In California certain stickers have to be put on the door window when a used car is offered for sale. I see mistakes on the stickers, for cars at my Porsche dealership, and they only sell Porsches. Why, because they use an outside company to print the stickers.

Bruce Lee should be able to tell you more about California requirements.

[turbo23dog]

That dealership is one of those smallish privately owned lots on Route 1 in Stafford, VA not too far from the Quantico Marine Corps Base. I"m not sure they would know much about Boxsters, or P-cars in general.

[Dr. Kill]

Why are we assuming that the dealer just made an honest mistake? They bought that car from someone or somewhere. If a Boxster is an S, it is worth more, hence they would have had to pay more for it. Does the dealer not do homework when they buy a car? Would they not have even looked up the bluebook on it and realized that there is no listing because that car never existed in the first place? I find that hard to believe. Does that mean that I can glue an S emblem on my deck lid, replace my shift knob, and then get a couple of extra grand when I go trade it in? Also, anyone who has been in the military can tell you that a typical “smallish, privately owned lot” next to base is not a paragon of integrity.

[porsche986spyder]

Move onto another Boxster. To many things wrong with it that raise suspicion. For that year and millage you don't know what you are getting your self into. 4 different owners before you sounds like the car may have had some issues.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by turbo23dog

That dealership is one of those smallish privately owned lots on Route 1 in Stafford, VA not too far from the Quantico Marine Corps Base. I"m not sure they would know much about Boxsters, or P-cars in general.

As a former dealer I would assert the following

1-He lied-end of story.

2-He is a stupid dealer. Just as bad. If he doesn't even know the model, how would he know how TO BUY A FINE PORSCHE?

These cars are not easy to buy well. A stupid dealer is as bad as a crooked one.

[derb]

I emailed the dealer and told him the car is not an 's' model.
They replied: 'you are absolutely correct, it is not an 's' model. thanks.'
We'll see if they change the listing.

[saaber]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

As a former dealer I would assert the following

1-He lied-end of story.

2-He is a stupid dealer. Just as bad. If he doesn't even know the model, how would he know how TO BUY A FINE PORSCHE?

These cars are not easy to buy well. A stupid dealer is as bad as a crooked one.

Brucelee is right. For that money you should be able to find a good example where you can talk to the owner, look at maint. records, etc. to find the history of the car and get a sense for how the owner treated it.

If the dealer plays the "I don't know anything about it, innocent me" then you might as well blindly buy from an auction for about 1/2 this price (salvage auction, dealer auction would be a bit more). This dealer would obviously be worthless if you found something major wrong soon after you bought it so better to buy from reputable dealer or better yet a private party who owned the car for a long time.