2000 Base 73k - $11,000 - Good deal?

[fragdude]

a Boxster S for 13k seems kinda sketchy to me...

[23109VC]

I am fully aware of the cost of tires. My dad always was complaining when he had to buy them. I think he spent around $300 each when he put them on. I think his car has Pirellis - Pzeros of some form. whatever they are - the car is on rails. I think his tires are okay. he buys two at a time...as they are staggered and seem to wear out at different times...

I won't drive this car EVERY day... i'm sure when I first get it - i'll drive it to work every day with the top down..then gradually slow down and drive it on weekends and to work half the time.. i have an old volvo that i use to commute and for around town trips where I am doing 'errands'.

dad said if we agree on a price i can just pay him directly on a monthly basis - not even pay him the full amount up front. so I wouldn't get hit with as much interest.

i would pay no sales tax either. that's roughly another $1000 saved.

my ONLY fear is a mega huge repair bill like IMS. I can stomach the tires, the brakes, suspension, other routine stuff - no big deal. I expect that. it's the $15,000 engine bill that has got me nervous. My wife and I have discussed this situation/purchase at length and her only reservation is the possible (unlikely but *possible*) huge engine repair bill that could happen if the motor went out..

my dad commented that part of him wants to sell it to a stranger ONLY because what IF something catastrophic went wrong and he felt guilty that i bought it from him.

I can PPI it - but that won't tell you everything.

my attitude is that it's a good deal. life is full of risk. if you never risk anything you won't have much of a life.

I know this much - I've never had as much fun driving a car as driving his boxster - and after driving his car anything else just plain sucked. i've driven faster cars. .. and they sucked.

the handling, the look, the feel...that SOUND.... wow.

[turbo23dog]

You only live once.

You know the repair history.

You know the seller.

Buy the car and enjoy it, its seems like a very good deal that you could sell in the near term and make a few bucks if you had to.

Good luck

[Bob O]

Sounds to me like you've answered your own question. Buy it and fugggetttt about it. We all have to replace tires. To be expected with a high performance car with sticky tires. But to not buy one because it MIGHT have a catastrophic engine failure is foolish. Sure, it possibly could blow up. But so could any car you buy, whether it be a corvette, bmw, audi, whatever. Overcome your fear and live, grasshopper.

Oh.. and there are lots of tires significantly less expensive than 300 per. wayyyyy less expensive than 300 per, and which are better, in almost all aspects, than the perelli's you've currently got on it. But that's a whole nuther discussion, which has been beaten to death. Check the archives here and elsewhere.

Just buy the damm thing, take some pictures of it and post them here. You won't regret it. Or sell it to me for the 11K. My son is wanting one too and at that price i'd come and get it and drive it home. AFTER a PPI!!!

Bob

[LoveBunny]

Well, I think the fact that you'd be getting it from your dad and you know its history is a good thing. How long has he had it?

[renzop]

Knowing a used car's history and how it was driven is priceless. If you are a good son you will buy it form him but for $12K not 11K since that's what its worth. Help him with his retirement and get a great car to boot - win-win. Don't bother with the warranty at those high prices. If the whole engine blows you are looking at a bunch of money but IMS RMS problems are rare with higher mileage Box engines. There will be maintenance costs but nothing catastrophic.

[23109VC]

He bought the car from the original owner with about 20k. the original owner bought it pretty muchloaded.. i remember thinking that the orig owner should have bought an S given all the options on the car.. the MSRP was about the samea s the standard "S" model.

it has 18" turbo twists, full leather, heated seats, windscreen, M030 suspension, cruise (not sure if that was standard or an option) - the guy also put in a "S" 3 spoke steering wheel... the car had RMS problems, got a new motor, then the owner bought an "S".

he had the new one in the garage when he sold this one to my dad. i was with my dad when he bought it and did some test drives of this car and some others he considered. he's had it for roughly 6-7 years...i forget the exact year he bought it but I want to say it was 2002ish... the car was practically brand new looking when he bought it.

he is NOT the ultra careful guy who takes it to the dealer every time the littlest thing goes wrong - he does oil changes, and drives it and replaces tires and braks. but he doesn't drive it hard either. that I know. it's never been crashed, never been tracked, and has been driven by a 65 year old guy who just bought it on impulse after never having a cool car in his adult life...

dad was the responsible dad. drove the beater while he saved for the future and for his retirement. he took a boxster on a test drive on and was hooked. he bought this one, has had it several years, and is somewhat bored of it. he likes it, but is no longer "in love" iwth it and would rather have a newer quiet luxury ride for he and mom to cruise around in their retirement...

he got offered 10k in trade but didn't take it. he knows I would like it and is willing to sell it to me fora great deal but at the same time he doesn't want to 'give' it away...

12k is probably fair. that amount with either no interest, or some marginal amount like 4% - would give him what he is expecting in a private party sale with no hassle.

besides, he knows I'd let him borrow it just like he's let me borrow it... so he's still have access to it... just not in his garage like it is now. i live 30 min from him...

i actually suggested he share it. i buy half of it. we split all the repairs and tradei t off. he just doesn't want it anymore.

one thing - there is a funny noise I noticed last time i borrowed it. it sounds like air escaping from an inner tube. i notice it at idle...or when parking...like when you are pulling into / out of a parking space and are giving the motor some gas...revving it a bit..but moving slowly..top is down..so you can hear real well and there is this "pssssssssss" sound. to me it sounds exactly like what a leaky inner tube sonds like only a bit louder.

when it gets the PPI i'll make sure that is addressed. maybe it's just an exhaust leak? vacuum leak? i'll find out.

[bigb]

For a car whose history you know very well (rather than through a 2hr PPI), for that year and mileage, plus the options, $11k is a steal. Even $12k is an amazing deal. Remember that while knowing the history of the car doesn't guarantee absence of failures in the future, it most definitely is worth its weight in gold (esp. the kind of history your dad's car has - driven gently for the past 50k miles... assuming thats how long he has had it).

Buy it, enjoy it.

PS: No, this isn't your dad.