Help me decide 00s or 03 base? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mikes_box · 07-01-2008, 11:59 PM

thinking of getting back into a boxster after selling my 97. looking at two cars first one is a 00s with less than 30k miles and the other is a 03 base with 46k miles. I like the 03 due to the clear halogens and glass rear window but it does have a few more miles but it is the newer of the two. The 00 of course is an S so more power and has less miles. Which year is the year to watch out for for the ims is it the 00. What do you guys think? Neither have warranties and yes I will be getting a ppi but the ppi won't find or detect any ims issues will it?

Quickurt · 07-02-2008, 04:28 AM

I'd watch for an 03, or newer S. Things are slowing down and more people who really can't afford their Boxsters will be getting desparate to sell them.
It may be hard to watch the guy watching you drive his baby away, but hey, you'll be giving it a good home, won't you?
You may even think about stretching for an 05 base. It'll be as quick as the 03-S, with alot more refinement. You can also maybe get a certified one with some decent warranty left. That's a HUGE value!

rick3000 · 07-02-2008, 07:01 AM

I would look at the '00. The '03 would be nice, especially with the glass window, but the lower miles will give you more time before you have to spend any money on major maintenance and repairs. The '00 is also less likely to have an IMS failure than the '03, because they redesigned the IMS and made it prone to failure in '01.
Just my opinion!

nola911 · 07-02-2008, 08:36 AM

Dont worry about the maintenance of certain years- the RMS, IMS, Coolant seals and tanks, ect. The year does not matter, all have problems and none are really cheap to maintain (when compared to your average toyota).

My advice is to buy the newest S you can afford. If you buy the 00, you know you will be doing modifications to it anyway, save that money and buy a newer one. I highly recommend looking for a CPO car.

Perfectlap · 07-02-2008, 08:56 AM

as is pretty common now the glass window can be upgraded for about $1000. Labor for that depends on your area.

A low milage 2000S is a nice find.
The 03 and 04's were the heaviest Boxsters made so I'd be inclined to make up for that with the extra powah.
Whatever you do negotiate like a sonamum********************. Its 100% a buyers market.
Don't make an offer for a few days. Let them get their hopes up, get deflated then get them excited again. Anyone selling into this market has LOW expectations.

BoxsterLewis · 07-02-2008, 09:05 AM

Get the S, you can drive that for a year and have the same amount as that base.