Should I buy this Boxster

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

I bought mine sight unseen. Boy did I screw up.

Learn from my mistake. Drive at least a half dozen pristine examples before you settle on one particular car.

The economy is easing back, but winter's coming and no one wants to store a convertible all winter that they'd rather sell before the first snow falls, so you're entering into one of the best buyer's markets for Boxsters that has ever existed.

If I were you, I'd find a 03 or younger car. That glass rear roof and the glove box would make all the difference in the world to me if I had it today. You've no idea what a pain in the arse it is to be forced to get out and chop the plastic top in half every time you drop the top so it doesn't crack on you. Potential buyers just don't realize how frustrating this becomes on an ongoing basis.

+1 on that

[eightsandaces]

glass back roof is a plus but choose based on the glovebox? I'd get the best example I can find regardless of year, glass or glovebox, plastic window is NBD if you are a summer only driver.

[mptoledo]

+1 on rear glass window.

I bought mine sight unseen and had many added bonuses. The guy was a horrible marketer. didn't mention 18" rims, rear deflector, heated seats, 2years left on carmax warranty and few other things. He even mentioned he had just lost his job.( I will see if his brother has a porsche ) On ebay you are covered if the car isn't as advertised. I only put $500 down and used a credit card through paypal. I had triple protection, ebay,paypal and my credit card company. Worse case scenerio I was out $500 (which would suck!!).

People are still losing their jobs, houses, and have to get rid of their toys. Plus as mentioned above, winter is coming(in my area). There are steals out there. Just give it time. If peace of mind is worth 3 or 4 grand then that is your price point! Not to open a can of worms, but I would be leary of low mileage cars!! These beauties need to be abused a little. I am a firm believer that ims is not due to chance but how you drive your car and what oil is used!! More of how much you drive and how hard(both being better for your car). These aren't luxury touring sedans, they are race/sports cars!! Treat them like they were built for.

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by mptoledo

I bought mine sight unseen and had many added bonuses.

You sir are the exception! I was used car shopping for the last year until I just recently purchased a '72 Porsche 914. I cannot begin to tell you how much misrepresentation I ran into. Where else can you even find more misrepresentation, deceit, and cover-ups than with USED CARS? Okay, maybe in the government, but let's not go there.

I drove 2 hours to see an early 70's 911 that looked excellent in the photos. I had cash in hand. I didn't waste my trip as I had other business in the city that day, otherwise I would have strangled the seller. He bought the car sight unseen off eBay and was trying to dump it a few months later at half the price with the same pictures and same deception that led him to buy it in the first place. Seriously, the guy was going to let me drive the car home and I doubt I would have actually made it home ALIVE in that car. I was pissed to say the least.

Even the pristine and beautiful 914 that I just bought had a lot of issues not discovered during the PPI, but I think that's to be expected with a 37 year old car. Still a lot of what I discovered and have since fixed was clearly hidden and covered up by the nice, trustworthy gentleman who gave me such a great deal on the car.

Bottom line, you might get lucky, but if spending $17,000, I'd drop $500 on a plane ticket as the BEST insurance you can buy and just go check the thing out.

Kirk

[sandyman65535]

+1

I bought mine sight unseen and had many added bonuses.

+1

Bottom line, you might get lucky, but if spending $17,000, I'd drop $500 on a plane ticket as the BEST insurance you can buy and just go check the thing out.

I got one bonus: a short shifter that they didn't realise was there. I could tell as soon as I shifted it during a test drive that it was.

I got a PPI done but not by a Porsche workshop. I got lucky (touch wood) this time, and after taking it to a Porsche workshop there appear to be no major issues that you wouldn't expect on a Boxster with 46,000km (28,000mi) on it. But if I did it again or for someone else, I wouldn't buy a second hand car without inspecting every panel and switch with as big a checklist as I can possibly think up, and getting a PPI done by a Porsche expert. A few hundred bucks and some patience now may save you thousands later. You also get the added advantage of being able to make your own mind up about what issues you can/can't live with, based on what the PPI says.
Plus the PPI will help with negotiating e.g worn engine mount... $500 off the purchase price to get a new one installed. That's exactly what I did with a missing key.

Best of luck with it.

Sandy.

[flyfisch]

I looked for my first Boxster for over a year. Looked at a lot of cars both in person and on the internet. Waited until winter in Idaho to get serious. In January I found an absolutly perfect 2002 seal gray with hardtop, tip, new pirelli p-zeros and CPO warranty at the dealer in Salt Lake. Negotiated price $17000. I would take my time there are some great cars out there and some great prices. Biggest challange was finding a window of clear roads to drive it home. Good luck!
flyfisch

[Bobiam]

If you wanted a tip, that's one thing, but if you wanted manual, don't buy it as a compromise.

Otherwise it's not a bad car. Be sure that you are in love with what you see....color, etc.

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by Kirk

You sir are the exception! I was used car shopping for the last year until I just recently purchased a '72 Porsche 914. I cannot begin to tell you how much misrepresentation I ran into. Where else can you even find more misrepresentation, deceit, and cover-ups than with USED CARS? Okay, maybe in the government, but let's not go there.
Kirk

I should have prefaced it by saying " I have been in car sales for about a decade and my last job was a New car Sales Manager. I am use to looking at trade ins all day long. Looking for and finding defects are second nature after doing it for so long." I pulled the carfax( I know so hush). opened the hood, checked the fluids... i even checked the tires pressure. I did give the seller numerous "OUTS" I let him know that if the car wasn't as presented, we were going to have a problem, so let me know now before I buy my plane ticket. I also asked 4 or 5 questions and requested more pics. I was about as thorough as one could be. I asked what he did for a living and about everything up to a credit check. Now I was extremely nice about it and reiterated the fact that If I get out there and it wasn't as advertised, we are going to have issues. When I got out there we drove the car for a couple hours and made numerous stops. I checked for oil after each stop.

So maybe I was lucky, maybe just thorough or a little of both. I wouldn't hesitate doing it again. It was the time of my life driving it back 2400 miles.

I think the general consensus is, if you wait long enough, you will find what your looking for. My criteria was. 1.) "s" 2.) silver 3.)miles 4.) trip . Other factors come into play like condition, tires(as new ones will run you $700 to $1400).

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by mptoledo

So maybe I was lucky, maybe just thorough or a little of both. I wouldn't hesitate doing it again. It was the time of my life driving it back 2400 miles.

Hehehe.... what we have here is a failure to communicate. You didn't buy your car "sight unseen", what you bought is a plane ticket without seeing the car first. The car you purchased after your own inspection, right? That's what I think most folks are recommending here for this buyer to do. It sounds like you did it right.

Some folks these days truly buy without ever seeing the car. They look at digital pictures, read a description, maybe talk to the seller on the phone, then they buy the car and have it shipped to them. Some get lucky, some get screwed.

Kirk

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Hehehe.... what we have here is a failure to communicate. You didn't buy your car "sight unseen", what you bought is a plane ticket without seeing the car first. The car you purchased after your own inspection, right? That's what I think most folks are recommending here for this buyer to do. It sounds like you did it right.

Some folks these days truly buy without ever seeing the car. They look at digital pictures, read a description, maybe talk to the seller on the phone, then they buy the car and have it shipped to them. Some get lucky, some get screwed.

Kirk

Great point!! You definately have to do your homework and inspect the heck out of it, as sight unseen=buyer beware. You can always use your inspection to negotiate the price down. Unfortunately Mine was better than I advertised.

Some more points to make when buying, Cash is king!! you hold the cash, so you should control the transaction. If your gut says don't do it, well listen to it as there will be many more out there. Remeber, over 90% of ebay auctions don't sell. So the sellers maybe more open to a lower amount. Email them and ask. You can't get a "yes" if you never ask the question. And don't be afraid to low ball them. I always ad, "I mean you no offense, but I am looking at an almost similar car for $2000 less". Once you bring competition into the equation, all prices usually drop (this works for about everything).

Lastly and probably the best Hint/point. I use this for dating also. 9 out of 10 rejections equals 1 acceptance!!