To buy a newer year or a lower mileage boxster: That is the question ;)

[GoddamSkippy]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

I had a Miata with lots of mods. Sold it in less than a day. Buyer flew up from Florida. Black, BBS RK's, Racing Beat aero ki, low profile headlights, KYB shocks and FM rear mounts. I miss that car!!!

Get the Boxster S. Don't even think about it. And get a 2000 or newer with as low a mileage as you can find (but make sure its been driven at least 3K miles a year).
Try and get one with Litronics (HID), a few interior upgrades like the nicer shifter and brake lever. Upgrades for this car are crazy expensive. better to get them on the car already.

thats funny i see that your in the nj area and we have the same upgrade plan (were you part of any miata clucbs or do any autox while you had it?)
im in bergen county.

did you buy yours at a nearby dealer or private seller?
can you add a generic HID kit to the lights?

thanks

[Perfectlap]

I did Autocross that Miata with Porsche Club, BMW club, the former M Club and SCCA. I kinda stopped autocrossing because of the time committment for the limited running. But the Porsche Club was always the best in terms of low turn out (more runs).
I don't reall autocross with Boxster. I had Toyo RA-1's and some of the lots were so dang rough they just shreded the tires. I kinda wish I had held onto the Miata as an autocross only car but I don't have the space for that now.

As luck would have it i was in the market for a silver and red Boxster S with low miles and that's exactly what pop'd up on Ebay. I was watching Top Gear and they were doing a show on the Boxster and how it was the best sports car for the money just days before. The Ebay car was being sold as a trade in by an Acura dealer in Montclair with barely 10K. Car was mine a week later.
The HID or Litronics in Porsche speak, comes from the factory as one whole unit.
You just use a special tool found in the tool kit to loosen one bolt and out they come. Like changing tail lights. A few have experimented with replacing the bulbs with other High Intensity versions but it's not really the same. Also the Litronics units have no amber on them, completely clear. I picked up the Litronics in a group buy with Brandywine Porsche for $1,100, before the Euro took off. I don't think you can touch them for less than $2,000 now. pricey.

[blueillusion97]

Originally Posted by Jeph

Does this count as a "major accident?"

(Thank God for Careflite.)

Outch! That must have hurt. But to answer the question....its looks cosmetical so no not major at all. Exelent price if not slow economy your car could have been sold within couple of days.

PS: Is that when you decided to go with Carrera front upgrade?

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by blueillusion97

PS: Is that when you decided to go with Carrera front upgrade?

Yep, less than a month later the Boxster was Carrera-ized.

[Tomikaze]

I'm not as well known on this forum as some other guys. I'm more of a lurker but I know a thing or two about Boxsters and Miatas so I figured I would give my input. Owned 4 Miatas including a heavily modded 04' Mazdaspeed that was an awesome little car. The Boxster definilty feels like a more mature purchase. My girlfriend (now wife) hated riding in the Miatas. Felt unsafe. As I got older the small size of the car wore on me too. And no matter how you sliced it you can never shake the 'chick car' ness about the Mazda. My daily ride is a brand new Volvo of my choice every 6 months or 6,000 miles so I got a little spoiled by the creature comforts. I found out on this forum the Boxster seems to be a natural progression from a Miata. I buy used cars for a dealership so surfing and researching cars is what I call work. Over a year ago I settled on a 2003 Boxster with 25k. Very happy with the purchase but always looking forward to the next acquisition... I can now say I should have bought the S model. I've spent the last year tracking Porsche values of my next prospective car. I attend auto auctions and have seen some pretty amazing deals on some Porsches recently. These are wholesale values but with enough time and patience you can find a dealer to sell you are car for close to cost. Wholesale costs also give you a better idea what these cars true values are. For the same money I paid for my non S a year ago ($22,000) you can get a reletivly low mileage Boxster S. I've recently watched a twin to my car (year, mileage, color) but a heavily equipped S model bring $23,000. I guess my car would bring about $18,000 right now at an auction. That should be your starting point. I think the 2003 model has enough improvements over earlier models (mechanically and cosmetically) for that year to be considered "a good year" for the car. A 2004 will bring a few thousand more but for only a little bit more you can get yourself into a new body style 2005. 2005 Non S models are bringing $23,000 to $24,000 at the sale. I just watched a 2005 S model in gaurds red with Carrera S 19's, xenons, red belts, red console and 32k miles bring $28,000!!! Kicking myself for not buying it but the economy, Christmas time and my wife prevented me. If your budget is $30,000 shoot for a 2005 S model with some good options. If you can do without a convertible top there is a nice bargain to be had in the market right now. If you look around you will find some Porsche dealers stuffed with old stock inventory of brand new Caymans. Some dealers have brand new 2007 models still in stock. This has hurt the wholesale/resale value of the Cayman. Seen it with my own two eyes... less than a month ago a 2007 Cayman Non S model with mileage in the teens sold for $30,000 at Adesa Auto auction in New Jersey. These are becoming common sale prices. These are all nice cars I would own myself. Not cars with paintwork or accident history. You can get nice cars at the auction as well as crap. Sorry to be longwinded but I'll leave with this... my dream car. If your budget goes up another $5,000 to $35,000 you can get yourself into a nicely equipped 2003-2004 911 Carrera.