2002 Boxster S for $18k, good deal?? A couple of Q's

[Lil bastard]

$18k can be a good deal, a bad deal, or somewhere in between.

It's a great price for an EXCELLENT '02. It's a BAD deal for an '02 in poor, or abused condition - not always visible.

NEVER buy a Boxster w/o spending at least $300 on a PPI from a dealer or independent who KNOWS what they are doing and looking at. Make a list of the things which need correction and their cost and use this to make the decision and/or negotiate the price of the car.

The old addage: "The most expensive Porsche to own is usually that one which was cheap to buy" should keep ringing in your head.

The world is FULL of used Boxsters. No need to settle for one which could run you into the Poor House.

Forget Carfax, usually nonsense.

Look for ownership history, service history backed up by receipts, and have the car looked at by an expert (PPI).

Weigh all of this and then take the plunge... or not.

Good Luck!

[E Kaplan]

First, I definately agree with getting a PPI.
I purchased my base (non S) 2000 Boxster about 14 months ago for $18,000. I know prices have decreased since, so I think your price for a 2002 S is good (as long as the car is in good shape.
There are alot of cars out there. If you are thinking about getting a new top with a glass window, updated stereo, new wheels, body moldings, etc., You may want to look around and try to find a car someone has spent $ to make the car the way you want it.

Good luck!

[SeanZ4]

I had a black '03 Z4 2.5i for several years. I wanted a Boxster. I bought a 2000 S with 30k mi. on it from a Porsche / Mercedes dealership. I gave them the Z and $2500 cash. Did I pay too much?? Maybe. Maybe not. The Z cars are dropping in value like crazy too. Actually more so than the Boxsters. I belong to several Z car forums and they discuss the same things. My Z was a great car and I had a Z3 before it, but neither one even comes close to the fun-factor my Boxster has!

Get the Boxster!

[impboy]

Since my idea for a Carfax was called "nonsense", what's a PPI?

[mylamb]

Originally Posted by impboy

Since my idea for a Carfax was called "nonsense", what's a PPI?

Pre
Purchase
Inspection

Any reasonable Porsche seller will understand that you will want one & will permit it to be done. If they won't, walk away. PPI's don't tell you the WHOLE story about the car, but will usually indicate if it has been well taken care of, or if it is a grenade waiting to happen.

[AlexH]

Originally Posted by mylamb

Pre
Purchase
Inspection

Any reasonable Porsche seller will understand that you will want one & will permit it to be done. If they won't, walk away. PPI's don't tell you the WHOLE story about the car, but will usually indicate if it has been well taken care of, or if it is a grenade waiting to happen.

I appreciated someone's comment before "pay now or a lot more later." I started out looking to spend $10000 for a 2000 but ended paying over $15000 for an '03 that has a good history of work done by the dealer as well as having a new clutch replaced because the prior owner decided to pay for the parts while the car was being worked on by the dealer under warranty. The car was CPO and I still have 10 days left Couldn't be happier except if I could get my hands on a Cayman S.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by impboy

Since my idea for a Carfax was called "nonsense", what's a PPI?

Sorry... I didn't call your reply nonsense. I meant that to be the info carfax often supplies.

I have run carfaxes on cars that return, in one case, 27 'reports'. These turned out to be every annual registration, every oil change, even a car wash/detailing! No 'bad' news at all, which is really the point of their service.

The PPI I did trumped the CarFax report and we bought the car. Which was in fact a well cared for low mileage one-owner that we owned for 9 years with no major repairs and went on to sell for about twice it's book value.

And, there are many shops and repair facilities which do not report to carfax, and many times owners, in an attempt to avoid a carfax record (depressing their resale price) will pay cash for a minor collision and not report it to their ins.co. In several states, a collision will not even generate a police report if there were no bodily injuries. This means CarFax's database is incomplete and not a good indicator of the real condition, or history, of the car...good or bad.

[impboy]

Thanks for the education and the lesson on acronyms!

[Viper5]

I picked my 2000 boxster s up for 12k. It has about 110k miles and is in great shape. Craigslist is a good place to look. I've had to replace water pump, throttle body, and i will be fixing an air leak in the near future (waiting on the new hose to arrive). I've spent about $550 total and it should be good as new after hose replacement.

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

And, there are many shops and repair facilities which do not report to carfax, and many times owners, in an attempt to avoid a carfax record (depressing their resale price) will pay cash for a minor collision and not report it to their ins.co.. This means CarFax's database is incomplete and not a good indicator of the real condition, or history, of the car...good or bad.

not sure where I read it, but it was estimated that carfax catches only 20% of accidents, floods, and odometer fraud.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by Fred Demara

not sure where I read it, but it was estimated that carfax catches only 20% of accidents, floods, and odometer fraud.

That wouldn't surprise me at all.