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

[23109VC]

My had has been telling me for almost 6 months that he is going to sell his boxster... I told him I would consider buying it if he sold it. I have driven his car quite a few times over the past few years that he has owned it. I have also done a fair bit of research on boxsters to prepare for the possible purchase.

He doesn't really WANT to sell it - but he has had his fun with the car, and he is not a "car guy" to the point that he is upset over selling - he wants the money to put toward his new car. he ended up buying a used 07 Acura RL. it's for him and mom - he's retiring...wants to downsize costs...a nd he doesn't want the expense of tires etc for his boxster...

so he bought the new car... and now he is officially selling his car.

Specs of his car are:

2000 Base 2.7L. 5 speed manual. 73,000 miles on car.
OPtions: 18" wheels, M030 suspension, full leather, heated seats, cruise, steering wheel upgraded to 3 spoke wheel, 2003+ tails, clear side markers.

Ocean blue exterior. Black leather interior.

The only major repairs done laterly was a new convertible top put on by the dealer under his extended warranty a couple years ago, and they replaced his dash due to excessive wearing/scratches...

He is the second owner - bought it with about 20k on it. The original owner had RMS problems and the dealer put in a new motor. The owner then sold it, and bought a new "S" model - and sold the base.

Car has never had any other major defects. It has had the 60k service.

I think it is on the original clutch. My dad does not push the car very hard in terms of revving it up...he drives it fairly easy...I drove it recently and was amazed how much grab the clutch has. When you rev it up and shift into second it grabs hard and lunges forward. NO slip at all.

He originally told me he though he could get at least $15k for it. When he went to the dealer and tried to just trade it in to see what they would give him, they told him $8k. then they said $10k. he has surfed autotrader and cars.com and has "reassesed" what he thinks is a fair price for his car.

I think that he has decided he will get between 11-13k if he sells it privately and goes through all the hassle/time of listing it and selling it privately.

While we have not had a "firm" talk on price - I think he would sell it for $11,000 to me.

I called the dealer where it was originally sold, and where all the service gets done - Pioneer Centre in San Diego - miramar air base area - and they said I could buy a bumper to bumper warranty to cover the car for the next 36 months / 36,000 miles for $4700. OUCH.

part of me thinks if i spend just a BIT more, I could find a nice used "S" model and get more power. but at the same time - i kNOW my dad babied this thing and did not drive the stink out of it every shift or abuse it - and that is worth something. additionally, 11k sounds pretty cheap for such a fun car. the combo of the wheels and M030 makes this thing on frickin rails. if ai bought another boxster, I nkow i'd be upgrading suspension to make it handle like this one... i love the stiff ride.

QUESTIONS:

1) is this an *okay* deal - $11,000. is it a *GREAT* deal? if no, what IS a great deal on this car.

2) is the warranty a total rip off or is that fair? on a car of this age with this mileage, is this money well spent as I will get some repairs covered or am I pissing away 5k? my main fear is IMS failure. if this warranty covers NOTHING and I never have a motor failure, it's a total waste of money. IF however, the car needs a water pump, and some other stuff like a MAF or O2 sensors..and I wind up getting 2500 worth of warranty money over the next three years, THEN I would say the $2500 "unspent" wasted money is well spent for the peace of mind I would get... i

the dealer says this warranty is high end, the only one they will sell, and they said it WILL cover anything a bumper to bumper CPO warranty would cover. they recently had someone with motor failure and the company coughed up the 14k to fix it. so assume this warranty company is legit and will not hose me on the big ticket items...

The car is a blast to drive. I don't think I would regret NOT getting an "S" - as long as I'm really getting a killer deal. to me, only spending $11,000 for something as insanely fun as a boxster seems like a steal to me - but maybe there are a pile of cars on autotrader that are asking $15k who would gladly take 11k too..and I could get myself an "S" with similar or lower miles for only $13k....

anyone care to chime in on this one? thanks.

[NickCats]

23109VC,

If you look at Kelley Blue Book :

$11,850 trade in
$14,600 private party
$18,550 retail

If you look at Nada Guide :

$14,800 low retail
$16,875 clean retail
$18,150 high retail

There are 123 - 2000 Boxsters ( base & S ) for sale in the US on AutoTrader :

Highest Price : $90,000 ( with Carrera GT bodykit )
Lowest Price : $13,995
Average Price : $20,347

( these all have under 75k miles )

According to Edmunds :

$11,900 trade in
$13,600 private party
$15,600 retail

I would say $11,000 would be a great price...

Nick

[Perfectlap]

I'd buy it, and flip it. Maybe even sell it overseas to the Russians.

[vipola]

If you want a such car, I think this is a good move to go, you know a lot of the history of the car, and you know your dad take care of it and that there is no problem with the car, I would buy the car and just don't take the warranty. if you seach for a 'better' car, you may end up with more problems, because you won't know the history of the car. I would suggest you to save your $ for maintenance instead of S model. Warranty can look like a bullet proof investment, but It won't pay you back tires..

I would still advise you:

1) Get a PPI
2) Either get the Warranty (cost-in-use is about 13 cents per mile) or immediately put $5 large in an account for future unscheduled maintenance- you don't want to be Boxster "rich" and repair "poor" after the purchase
3) Make sure you have a handle on your car insurance costs before you buy

[husker boxster]

CPO is NOT bumper to bumper. It covers IMS and RMS among many other things but not stuff like wheel bearings. With any warranty you purchase, be sure you know what it covers before you buy it.

[vipola]

I really think your better with a few grand in a high interest placement than a warranty, it will serve for EVERYTHING, maintenance, badluck, minor accident, tires.

and if your loucky when you sell the car you got a nice extra cash

and the odd of insurance compagnie make that they make money out of you
so make mony out of yourself

[Bob O]

It sounds to me like somewere between a great deal and a really really good deal!! You know the condition of the car for starters (which is worth more than you can count) You KNOW your dad didn't abuse it or drive the stink out of it. It already has the M030 suspension, which you want and will cost you somewhere between $1K and 1.5K to buy and have installed on another car that doesn't already have it. It's already had an RMS failure and a new engine put in at around 20K miles. The new engine should have the upgraded/redesigned seals. AND, based on the talk around here and elsewhere, after 50K miles or so (which your car has on the new motor) an RMS failure is pretty rare. You could, might, possibly, perhaps find an S for only a couple grand more, but..will you for sure know how it was taken care of? Will it have the M030 suspension? How long will it take to find this car? Is it worth it to wait and take a chance vs buying a known quantity? I say go for it and don't look back. Have a blast with it and don't second guess yourself. AFTER you get a PPI!!

I'd probably pass on that warranty, too. It seems pretty expensive for the mileage and time coverage. And as husker said, a CPO is NOT bumper to bumper. Read the contract and see what it says. I'd put the 5K away and save it for potential problems. If you don't use it you've still got the cash (he says after personally buying an extended warranty......but...it was 3 yrs ago, for 100K coverage, true bumper to bumper, the car was still under original warranty, and it was half the cost of yours.

Bob

[23109VC]

at what selling price does this STOP being a good deal?

$11,000 is NOT set in stone. Hey maybe he will be super generous and say I can have it for $10k flat...

but he migth say he wants $13k. He's my dad, so he's not gonna try to take advantage of me, but he also wants to not give money away and if he can make any easy sale of 13k, he may try to do that first, and then if it sits too long, offer it to me cheaper..

we haven't had a "serious" talk about money... but my intuition / feeler is that 11-13k is where he would like to be...

if he sells it for 10k - easy. great deal. 11k still a good deal.

if he sticks at 12k or 13k is that still a pretty good deal for this car or is that just average in your opinion?

[Bob O]

I hesitate to answer this because it could digress into a "what if" of never ending questions and answers. BUT....anywhere in the range of the low sale and trade in prices listed above would be a really good deal for you considering the condition of the car. Don't quibble with him over a couple of grand when the price is still in the low sale price range. It's not worth the aggravation for either of you. (You ARE dealing with your dad after all) I wouldn't sell my 01 for anywhere near that price, but then again, it's not for sale! If you were my son (omg heaven forbid.), and you wanted the car that badly, i'd probably almost give it to you. Consider it an early inheritance. hmmm try that approach and see what he says...nahhhh on second thought better not!!!! LOL

Bob

What are the sales tax rules in Calli?

There is also probably a win-win element here for you and your father.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

What are the sales tax rules in Calli?

There is also probably a win-win element here for you and your father.

Very true! No sales tax on inter family car sale in Calif. If I were your dads son I would have bought that car last week and I would already be halfway through a set of tires . So what are you waiting for...

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by Topless

Very true! No sales tax on inter family car sale in Calif. If I were your dads son I would have bought that car last week and I would already be halfway through a set of tires . So what are you waiting for...

VC, just to make sure you're not missing it, go back and count how many times the postors have said "tires." Depending on what you want, that's between +/- 500 to 1200 bucks per set, and Topless quote is really accurate. Had you bought it last week, you could well be halfway through your first set. All fun aside, I went through over half the tread depth of a set of PS2s in ONE DAY. I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, just expensive.

[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.