result of PPI FOR BUYING 1997 WITH 30K MILES PART 2 please help!

[ART07154]

I just had a local Porsche dealership did a PPI for 1997 boxster with 30k miles.The agreed purchase price is $10.5 k.Her e's the report
BAD
1.need reare tires (I am planing to put a new wheels anyway)
2.need alligement(pull to the right)
3.Driver side valve cover leaking oil(moderate seepage)????
4,missing coverage shield under carriage(cosmetic).
5.slight vibration at higher speed.
6.Temperature control display not showing full number.(Expensive????)
GOOD
1.Power windows good.
2.Alarm system good.
3.Sound system good.
4.All speakers work.
5.Parking break good.
6.engine good.
7.Convertible top good.
8.Suspension good.
9.Break and rotor ok pads 90%.
10.Exaust OK.
11.CV jolint ok.
I thinks for the year,age and price is a fair deal?Thank you.

[DANMKII]

I think #6 for "GOOD" is the thing I'll focus more on. Mileage is very low for a '97, does it have records? Any low mileage car (for its age) should have service done more frequently. Cars are meant to be driven.

When I bought my boxster at 8K (2003 CPO), I was very nervous because of the low mileage, but the CPO gave me the peace of mind. Alot of people would prefer higher mileage maintained boxsters over lower mileage with no service records...

[CJ_Boxster]

Originally Posted by ART07154

1.need reare tires (I am planing to put a new wheels anyway)
2.need alligement(pull to the right)
3.Driver side valve cover leaking oil(moderate seepage)????
4,missing coverage shield under carriage(cosmetic).
5.slight vibration at higher speed.
6.Temperature control display not showing full number.(Expensive????)

1. No big, you usually want to buy a new matching set when buying a used car.
2. Might as well get it out of the way cause you should get one everytime you get new tires so you dont mess up your new rubber.
3. Most likely a sparkplug tube O-ring, 12 total needed to replace ALL of them on all 6 cyclindar, cost about 3 bucks an O-ring and with some forum searching you could find the repair instructions to do it yourself, novice mechanic takes about 3 hours to complete.
4. No big, your engine will cool better without it, Mine was removed when i did my front engine mount replacement and i didnt replace it and my engine ran alittle cooler for longer.
5. Have the wheels balanced and look at the RIM (not the tire) while it spins and look to see if it wobbles, if so, bent wheel. if not, your old tires can cause vibration.
6. Not a big deal, someone sells them on ebay.

[eightsandaces]

Agree with CJ none of that stuff is anything a car of that age wouldn't likely have. My temp gauge is missing one arm of the display too, occasionally it comes on and looks right, nbd to me; I think the way it spells Off looks goofy when perfect. The shake could be the worn tires and misalignment. How's the clutch, did they mention it?

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by ART07154

1.need reare tires (I am planing to put a new wheels anyway)

Don't know if you meant to say tires, not wheels, but you know to replace the tires because of age from your previous post. If you're thinking of changing wheels as well, be prepared for a shock. Aftermarket wheels are very expensive and can run anywhere from $650 - $1200 (or $4K if you want to go nuts). You may be able to pick up used wheels, but don't just jump at the first ebay auction w/o knowing if these wheels fit a Boxster properly or not (search "offset" for more info). Most ebay ads say their wheels will fit a Box, but only if you go crazy with spacers. 911 wheels generally aren't a good fit on a Box. Just want to give you a heads-up that you won't be spending $400 for a set of wheels.

Welcome to the wonderful world of over priced Porsche parts.

[eightsandaces]

If the wheels are bent you can have them restored by places such as Keystone, they can press them back to standard.

HOWEVER, If the wheels are bent, the car shakes and is misaligned, I'd be looking really really close for hidden body repair, no PPI is going to invest the time needed to truly locate body repair if it has been done well.

[Lil bastard]

$10.5k for a '97 in ANY condition is a rip-off - keep searching!

[ART07154]

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

$10.5k for a '97 in ANY condition is a rip-off - keep searching!

I know it's not a steal but i think it's a fair deal for 30k miles good condition???

[eightsandaces]

Condition and care mean everything, there is no way I'd sell my 98 for 10.5 unless it was critical to winning the national "economic survivor outlast" game. I think it's a fair price for a vehicle never in an accident. The key to whether that is true doesn't lie in a carfax report. IMO, I'd locate any bent wheels, (any tire shop can do it) and then inspect carefully the corners said tires occupied. If someone got too hot in a corner, they could have repaired what they thought was minor damage to the body, without addressing the wheels and alignment. Could just as easily be the result of a pot hole or an under-inflated tire as well so I'm not saying in any way not to buy, just to be savvy and know exactly what you are purchasing, good luck!

[idheaton]

Did you check NADA or KBB?

Doing a quick KBB in my area pulls price ranges tops for for a '97 w/ 30k @

$8625 - excellent
$8050 - good - which this one imo falls into with the issues that need to be addressed
$7325 - fair condition.

At the price you haggled it down to you are paying full retail for an 'excellent' example which this is not.

I'd either keep shopping or check kbb and nada, print the results out and go back to the seller and renegotiate the price if you really have you heart set on this car.

I did not check any additional options other than what was checked by default so you are better off checking yourself as there are a few extra options that would push the car to the 9-10K range but that is still for an excellent example so you would still have some haggle room.

I'd also go down the bad list and figure out what I could fix myself and what I would have to have fixed and how much it would all cost me to and take all of that into consideration of the overall price as a factor as well.

[eightsandaces]

Wow those figures are sobering, I hope I'm alive and financially solvent when the PDK units suffer the same dip.

[Samson]

Originally Posted by idheaton

Did you check NADA or KBB?

The pricing on those types of websites are just loose guidelines, and not really worth much in the real world.

To see what a '97 Boxster is really selling for, do a search on Autotrader. In a 500 mile radius of me, the average price is $11,986 for private party sales. This is how I priced a recently sold car, and it was a good grand or two above the KBB quote.

[ART07154]

Originally Posted by idheaton

Did you check NADA or KBB?

Doing a quick KBB in my area pulls price ranges tops for for a '97 w/ 30k @

$8625 - excellent
$8050 - good - which this one imo falls into with the issues that need to be addressed
$7325 - fair condition.

At the price you haggled it down to you are paying full retail for an 'excellent' example which this is not.

I'd either keep shopping or check kbb and nada, print the results out and go back to the seller and renegotiate the price if you really have you heart set on this car.

I did not check any additional options other than what was checked by default so you are better off checking yourself as there are a few extra options that would push the car to the 9-10K range but that is still for an excellent example so you would still have some haggle room.

I'd also go down the bad list and figure out what I could fix myself and what I would have to have fixed and how much it would all cost me to and take all of that into consideration of the overall price as a factor as well.

I did checked KBB and Edmunds with options and miles private party=9,600,Dealer retail10,800.but I search 500 miles from where I live most of the boxster under $11,000 have almost 75k miles and up?I think is a fair price and I don't want to spend more than $11,000 for weekend vehicle.

[eightsandaces]

Options should effect the prices as well, like PASM or litronics.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by ART07154

I did checked KBB and Edmunds with options and miles private party=9,600,Dealer retail10,800.but I search 500 miles from where I live most of the boxster under $11,000 have almost 75k miles and up?I think is a fair price and I don't want to spend more than $11,000 for weekend vehicle.

I still believe that it's too high. It's fall and drop top prices fall along with it in the snowbelt.

Also. Private sales always are priced higher than they should be (people ALWAYS think their car is worth more than it actually is. A '97 s/b at the bottom of it's depreciation curve but at $10.5 you'll take a hit as soon as next spring if you have to sell it.

I'd renegotiate - It's your money and you do not have to buy the car. Get the retail cost of correcting the defficiencies and pull them off your $10.5 offer. If the seller walks, he walks. If that happens, call him back in a couple weeks as he'll have likely softened by then.

Don't fall in love with one car, esp. a Boxster - there are so many of them around. If it takes a few more months, the wait will be worth it in the end.

[jhandy]

The price is a little high with the worry of what the slight vibration at high speed is.
I have spent 1000$+ tracking down my "slight vibration".

it could be:
rims, berings, rotors, unbalanced tires, struts, or sterring rack.

I would have them fix this slight vibration, or knock 2K off the price.
everything aside from the tire balance is a @500-1000$ replacement.

There are many boxsters with NO problems for sale at close to that price.

[ART07154]

I found a 2002 with 53k miles from a dealer and they asking $14k.Is this a better deal than 97 with 30k miles at $10.5k???

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted by ART07154

I found a 2002 with 53k miles from a dealer and they asking $14k.Is this a better deal than 97 with 30k miles at $10.5k???

Honestly, we don't know.
You would first need to have a PPI done so we can see its overall condition, and then you would need to give us an idea.

What area are you shopping in?
Maybe one of us can find a better deal if you are willing to travel a bit.

Try seeing if the seller of the '97 is willing to drop the price down to $9k.
The '02 is kind of an unknown factor. Is it an S? What options does it have?
Is it a one owner car? What size wheel option does it have?

BC.

[ART07154]

Originally Posted by Bladecutter

Honestly, we don't know.
You would first need to have a PPI done so we can see its overall condition, and then you would need to give us an idea.

What area are you shopping in?
Maybe one of us can find a better deal if you are willing to travel a bit.

Try seeing if the seller of the '97 is willing to drop the price down to $9k.
The '02 is kind of an unknown factor. Is it an S? What options does it have?
Is it a one owner car? What size wheel option does it have?

BC.

After I showed the ppi report to 97' owner he agreed to drop the price of $400 so new price wil be $10100.the 97 has 1 owner.the 2002 has 4 owners both of them no accident on carfax.The 2002 come with 30days warranty and I like the fact that come with side air bags .I live in Virginia area code 22305.Thank you

[Mike_Yi]

$400? Are you kidding me? That's about the price of two new tires. Use each an every thing on the PPI to negotiate the price downward. Get a quote on repair each item, then tell the seller that he can fix 'em and you'll buy it for his price, or reduce the price by that cost to do all the repairs and you'll buy it for that.

BTW, if you want your Boxster to handle right (especially important if you ever track or auto-x you car), you will want to replace all 4 tires at the same time to ensure consistent grip front to back.

Listen to Lil bastard. Be ready to walk away unless the guy makes the car right, or makes it affordable for you to do so.

Think of it this way. You think $10,500 is a good price for a '97 in good condition with low miles. Do you think $12,500 is a good price for that same car? That's what you are likely to spend by the time you fix all of those "minor" problems. Maybe more.

The problem I found in shopping for Boxsters from dealers is they never have any maintenance records. The auctions don't keep those with the car. I'd try to buy from a private individual.