Another Which One to Buy

[jb92563]

Don't pay a dime over 16k and with at least a 30 day money back guarantee at that price, NOT only a warranty. I'd say 13K -15k may be a fair price for those cars you mentioned, in CA.

If there is even a single drop of oil coming from the car I would drop the price another 1000 as something needs fixing.

There are plenty of Boxsters out there so you can afford to be very picky.

I paid 14500 for my 2001 S on a private sale and it was in perfect condition, 55k miles, not a drop of oil coming from it in the last year I owned and records to prove it was serviced regularly.

Don't forget that the Dealer probably picked the car up for 10k or less on a trade in.
They can afford to haggle down quite a bit.

How you haggle effectively is to SHOW the sales folks you are prepared to walk, so when you have them go back to "speak to the Manager", you get out of your seat and make sure they see you heading for the door.

Bring some ads from their competitors, some private sales or the blue book values printout.

You WILL need the money you saved to get something done eventually, and that typically happens in the first 1 year.

In my first year I needed Tires, Brake Fluid Flush and oil change...$800
On my list for the next year is a new starter and chain guides as the starter is noisy (Squeals) and my Timing is up against the spec limit, indicating worn chain guides. ~$1000

[fatmike]

The important options/equipment:

- PSM
- Litronic Headlights
- Glass rear window
- Windscreen
- Quality tires with remaining life

The 2002.5 (half model year) added the Litronic headlights as standard. Glass rear window wasn't standard until '03, but many have been retrofitted.

Frankly, at that price point I'd be looking at an '03S or '04S. They added a glass rear window as standard, along with some extra horsepower.

I would think those cars should be in the $11-$12K range, especially if they will need maintenance (brake fluid flush, air filters, fuel filter, oil, spark plugs, tires, etc.). That is $2-$3K on these cars.

Get a PPI on whatever car you chose from an independent knowledgeable service provider.



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[Perfectlap]

For a Porsche with more than 50k miles, lean towards the one that has had the most standard repairs-- clutch/IMS, shocks, water pump and or coolant tank, rotors, AOS. Nearly all of these are over $1000 repairs with a cheaper than the dealer independent Porsche specialist. At the dealer these repairs would easily cost you an eye or hand. And these repairs are common below 100k miles. I took my car to the dealer for a top to bottom diagnostic at 60k miles and the service manager gave me an estimate that we both knew was comical. He didn't even try to book me on coming for any of the work. but $120 fee to check everything "by the book" was well worth it as I knew they would try and get me to fix anything that was remotely fixable to drive up the bill.

P.s.
For the asking prices on those three, they need to be providing you with receipts of ALL the aforementioned work or the mileage absolutely needs to be well under 40k. I love these guys who do no major maintenance on their cars and then ask maximum asking price. But that's the danger of being an uninformed buyer. also without PPI the condition is a question mark, don't be fooled by shiny paint and a clean interior. My car was spotless before the $12000 in repairs required between 60-80k miles. And without the estimate of discovered repairs in addition to likely repairs (known Boxster weak spots) you have no way of arriving at what is fair or above market.

[southernstar]

Perfectlap makes a number of valid points. However, from my perspective, some repairs are more important than others:

OEM brake rotors can be purchased at Pelican for about $500.00 for a set; other brands for quite a bit less. So, to me, that would not be a significant factor (especially since rotors tend to need replacement every second brake job).

Yes, the water pumps can fail early; however, many cars seem to have no problems with their original pumps for more than 100,000 miles (and some many more). Certainly, I would rather have an original pump with 50k miles than an aftermarket replacement (which seem doomed to fail pretty quickly).

Coolant expansion tanks and the AOS are weak points and yes, I would be happy to hear that they had been replaced recently if looking to purchase a car. Since these require OEM parts to repair, they should definitely save some money in the long run. However, you must keep in mind that these are not hugely expensive - at an good Indy, you can expect to pay about $400.00 to replace the AOS; $600 to replace the coolant expansion tank.

The MAF and ignition switch are also parts that often need replacement. The latter, of course, is also a relativle inexpensive repair using the Audi switch (about $200.00 including the part) and the former is only expensive if using the Porsche MAF.

Suspension components - depends upon how/where the car was driven, but yes, some cars will be at or near needing replacement as they pass 50,000 miles, while others are able to exceed 100,000. This is an expensive fix but I would want to make sure that some of the cheap Ebay parts were not used in any repairs!

Clutch - again, some owners get well over 100k miles on their original clutch, others as little as 30k. To me, the fact that a car has its original clutch at 50K miles is probably a very good sign that the car was not abused by a bad driver (riding the clutch etc.), or one who liked to make jack-rabbit starts (hard on the CV joints, axles, gears etc.). If at that mileage it is still smooth with a friction point not too high up (and some upper play), it does not need replacement and may not for years to come.

Bodywork and paint are also VERY expensive to repair properly, so that must go into the equation. So too the convertible top, if being installed by a professional.

IMS Bearing - nice if upgraded, to be sure. Especially if the car has a single-row.

And finally, yes, service records - at least for the last several years, are critical on these cars.

Brad