Experiences Purchasing Your Boxster On-Line?

[BengalsFan]

The first and only vehicle that I have purchased on-line was through E-Bay, and that was for my Boxster "S". After considerable anguish as to whether to take such a risk, I decided to jump in and surprisingly ended up the high bidder. I elected to pick up the vehicle and drive it home. All-in-all, the experience went well for me.

Have any of you purchased your Boxster/Boxster "S", or any other Porsche for that matter, on-line? If so, please share your experiences with us.

[Porschev]

If the car's warranty expired I simply cannot afford such a big risk to buy online. You know 2 old boxster equals to one decent 911.
However I found all my cars online. I bought one in TX, and other in MO. With actually going and see them and arranging PPI.

[Brucelee]

As a dealer, I only buy cars that I can inspect myself.

As a second choice, I would use a Porsche dealer to inspect the car before I pull the trigger.

Still, since there are so many Boxes around, why take the risk.

Now, if we are talking a new car, that is certainly a different story.



BTW-the vast majority of Porsches listed on EBAY do not sell over EBAY. That should tell you something, no?

[Perfectlap]

I've sold 7 or 8 cars on ebay but never thought I would buy one there, especially not a Porsche.
The car was listed by an local ebay seller, an Acura dealer. The previous owner barely touched it so I thought it was worth driving down to look at.
The car didn't sell by literaly like $150! That close to letting it slip away
The salesman and I had no idea what we were doing, we couldn't even figure out how to see the engine. I took a risk without a certified inpsection but the car was showroom new, obviously a Sunday driver that only saw 2,500 miles a year but more importantly New Jersey imposes a 6 month power train warranty on used car dealers. That took a major bite out of the fear factor. A very good law from a business point.


I called the next day even though I was busy as heck and made an offer thru email. They emailed a counter offer and we went back and forth until they caved.
I came that weekend and they relisted it and I closed the deal in the showroom on their laptop and gave the smiling salesmen a check.
The high bidder who didn't meet the reserve must have been sleeping or found something else or got cold feet. My salesman was a young new hire who was put in charge of starting ebay sales so he was eager to sell and even agreed to keep the Boxster in their spare showroom for two weeks until I sold my Miata which I also sold thru ebay for twice the private seller book value after pulling the auction to sell to someone who was adamant about buying it. He flew up from Florida to Jersey gave me cash jumped in and drove right back to florida. Sad to see the Black land shak with BBS wheels go but I wasn't sad because I was getting something better! The new owner even drove me to pick up the BoxsterS.

I paid $30K for my 2000 S late last year. It was the silver and red which I'd been wanting ever since I first became Porsche fan. (I'm an interior car neat freak no black for me thanks) And havent seen many low mileage S models in this color since. I could have gone with a Boxster that was a few years newer but with only 10,000 miles I thought: why? It looks like all the other 986's. Which freed me up to add over $5K in mods

[RandallNeighbour]

My experience with my ebay purchase of my 97 boxster is widely known on this board, so I won't go into it as I don't feel the need to shame myself one more time.

The seller lied to me in the listing and on the phone. He knew nothing about the car and was just buying them at auction and flipping them as fast as he possibly could. Avoid any ebay power sellers near Miami... that's my recommendation.

I'd never do it again. But, let me temper this with the fact that I would buy one from Richard (BruceLee) or from a Porsche dealership selling the car on ebay providing they would warrant the car's description and condition. Know your seller or the company that the seller represents (like a dealer selling one of his own branded cars).

[Brucelee]

Thank you Randall.

I had a buyer come down from Oregon to buy one of my Boxsters. We arranged to have the car pre-inspected here by the local Porsche dealer. Then he arrived, checked out the car, paid me, and drove home.

I liked the way that worked for both the buyer and me.

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

My experience with my ebay purchase of my 97 boxster is widely known on this board, so I won't go into it as I don't feel the need to shame myself one more time.

The seller lied to me in the listing and on the phone. He knew nothing about the car and was just buying them at auction and flipping them as fast as he possibly could. Avoid any ebay power sellers near Miami... that's my recommendation.

I'd never do it again. But, let me temper this with the fact that I would buy one from Richard (BruceLee) or from a Porsche dealership selling the car on ebay providing they would warrant the car's description and condition. Know your seller or the company that the seller represents (like a dealer selling one of his own branded cars).

[Kevlar986]

I shopped on-line this last Feb., not ebay, but actual dealer inventory and found a great color combination. I called the dealer, spoke to them several times, had them email pictures etc... I made an offer that was accepted even got financing at 5% for 4 years. I did not have it inspected, but bought from a Porsche dealer, and received the additional 2 year CPO. I had the car shipped to me, in a covered carrier. No problems what so ever, it was exactly as described and had all services performed at that dealer. I talked to the previous owner, who traded in for 2005 987. I guess I could have been really screwed in hindsight, but to my enjoyment, drove the hell out of that car this summer with not a single problem. I've even had it on the lift with not a drop from the dreaded rms. Although I will get new tires this year, but feel all in all very good experience and got a much better price than anyone local would have given me.

Kevlar986
2001 seal grey/blk/blk

[CA_Boxster]

I found mine on ebay but it was at a dealer in Houston that specializes in late model, low mileage cars. I called them and worked it out directly. I was able to have a friend visually inspect it locally, had a company go do a pre-purchase inspection (found them listed on ebay motors) and was going to have the local Porsche dealership inspect it, but it turned out that the car had initially come off their own lot where it was certified pre-owned. I got a fair price for exactly the car I wanted with 21k miles (this was June 2004). It was a 2000 car that went into service VERY late so it still had 6 months of warranty, so I felt safe enough. It turned out that I did have some potentially expensive transmission cable wear that was covered under warranty. That's something that no inspection would catch and I could have been stuck with the bill had there not been warranty coverage left. I wouldn't be surprised if that dealer would have helped with the repair since they do a lot of remote business and wouldn't want the quality hit, but that still would have been a bad experience.

All said, I would do it again. I would invest some $$ in a serious inspection at a Porsche dealership (a few hundred bucks up front on a car like this isn't a big deal). I don't think I would buy this way from an individual, though. I live in CA and there are too many cars out here that I could see personally. Wouldn't be worth the risk to go remote.

[mjw930]

I've bought my last 2 Porsche's through on-line ads, one from ebay and the other through a yahoo search.

Ebay has turned into the top listing agent for used cars but most cars that end up being sold due to an ebay posting are not sold through the auction process. When my '03S popped up on ebay I called the dealer (an MB dealer in PA who took it on trade) and negotiated a price. Within 10 minutes I had arraigned financing through one of their banks and the car was gone from ebay! I flew up, they picked me up at the airport and we drove the car home (back to FL) that day (well we took 2 days to get home).

I've listed and sold 2 motorcycles through ebay and both were negotiated the same way. They didn't sell through the auction, the buyer called me and we negotiated a fair price. Once I had their deposit I closed the auction.

Think of ebay as just another avenue like auto trader and forget about the bidding process, it's a waste of time on big ticket items like this.

[Brucelee]

"Think of ebay as just another avenue like auto trader and forget about the bidding process, it's a waste of time on big ticket items like this."

That is exactly correct!

[BengalsFan]

After reading the previous posts on the experiences and advice of other board members, I am somewhat ashamed to admit that when I bid on and purchased my Boxster "S" through eBay (see 1st post of this thread) that I did so without having it inspected first. I pretty much depended on the honesty and integrety of the seller (a small car reseller in Portland), and the fact that it only had 19K miles on it. Pretty naive and trusting on my part. However, I knew that I was not going to turn the money over to him until I picked up the vehicle at his lot and test drove it first. He could not be more accommodating though out this process. So I got lucky. Based on the experiences and good advice of the previous posts, I would probably not take such a risk again.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice.

[mjw930]

Originally Posted by BengalsFan

After reading the previous posts on the experiences and advice of other board members, I am somewhat ashamed to admit that when I bid on and purchased my Boxster "S" through eBay (see 1st post of this thread) that I did so without having it inspected first. I pretty much depended on the honesty and integrety of the seller (a small car reseller in Portland), and the fact that it only had 19K miles on it. Pretty naive and trusting on my part. However, I knew that I was not going to turn the money over to him until I picked up the vehicle at his lot and test drove it first. He could not be more accommodating though out this process. So I got lucky. Based on the experiences and good advice of the previous posts, I would probably not take such a risk again.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice.

No reason the be ashamed, if the bid price was in the neighborhood of what you wanted to pay then you did what you needed to get the car. As for inspections and such, if the car was still on factory warranty and it came back with a clean carfax (I know, this isn't perfect but it's all we have) AND you were buying from a registered dealer then you minimized your risk. About the only thing I might have done would have been a PPI from a local Porsche dealer but in lieu of that calling the servicing dealer to get the service history of the car works too.

[BadBoyS]

I have had 2 chances to use online buying. One Good One BAAAAD. I was the high bidder on ebay a 1991 911 cab. car was in NJ ran carfax and asked the seller for more pictures. Looked good and I was set. Well maybe not, 14 hours of driving with trailor in tow I got to the car. Engine light, Top light and a NICE NEW deep scratch on the passenger door. Plus the swirl marks in the paint were really bad. The car did not start and needed to be jumped. Each time the car was shut off it needed to be jumped. I told the guy that he didn't disclose any of this and that I wasn't intrested. He said all of the above just came up. His kid dropped his bike on the door. 14 hour ride back with trailor(no car) and a nice learning experience. I called My attorney just in case the guy tried to push the binding contract crap with ebay. He did call on my way home to apologize Little late. I didn't put a deposit down since he wanted a money order so I lucked out there too.

After looking for years for a decent 911 in the 90-92 year range I made the decision to get the boxster. I feel I made the right choice. Purchased on- line (not ebay)but had a inspection done before hand and carfax and porsche service info. Night and day expierence it pays to do your homework. :dance:

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

"Think of ebay as just another avenue like auto trader and forget about the bidding process, it's a waste of time on big ticket items like this."

That is exactly correct!

What about auctions with no reserve? I'm a fan of watching, and occationally participating, in those.

[Brucelee]

"What about auctions with no reserve? I'm a fan of watching, and occationally participating, in those."

They can be fun. However, you have to ask yourself this question,

Why would someone willing risk a car with no floor on the price?

Answer--???????

Interesting.

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Why would someone willing risk a car with no floor on the price?

Answer--???????

I find reserves inhibit bidding. I never sell with a reserve. Then again, I've never tried to sell a car.

[Perfectlap]

When I listed my Miata i did so with no reserve. As a seller you have a certain amount of time to pull the auction. The only annoying part is all the bidders trying to go around ebay with side deals DURING the auction. That can become a pain when everyone is screeaming please sell me the car. I had one guy in South Florida promising to name his first kid after me if I sold it to him. One Kid in New Orleans called me months afterwards for the name of the new owner so he could make an offer to him. Ebay uncorks a world of enthusiasts for every car out there

As far as non-enthusiast cars I sold for friends, ebay was a last resorts to the trade in route. I had to urge them STRONGLY to let me try and sell it for them and in some instances I tripled the best offer they got from the old 4 sale sign and expensive newspaper ad.

[cplus]

I'm a little reluctant to publicly admit it, this being my first post and all, but I purchased my '02 986 S through eBay last August. And, yes, it was a no reserve auction for a car that had 54k miles, with no service records, that I had never seen in person, much less driven. Can you see this all going pear shaped, very quickly? I was nervous, to say the least, but had found a 2000 540i through eBay in 2003 so it wasn't unknown territory.

Here's the story, sorry if it's a little long: I was looking around for a car most of last summer. I wanted to either replace or augment my '99 Explorer with something that was a bit smaller, more enjoyable to drive and had better fuel economy. I looked at a number of new and used cars and stumbled on a used Boxster on a local Honda dealer's lot. Hmmm... I had always wanted a convertible, hadn't I? Sure. And a Porsche, too? Yes, indeed. Gears were beginning to turn but the dealer wanted more than I was willing to spend so I kept on looking at local dealers but no joy.

I started looking on eBay at the same time and found a number of candidates around the country. Most were at dealers and they either had "buy it now" prices that I thought were unrealistic, or the reserves weren't being met. After a little while, this clean-looking '02 triple black car turned up without a reserve. (A brief detour here to answer Brucelee's question -- seller's have no reserve auctions because there are people, like me, who have no intention of bidding on an item where the reserve is unknown. Also, my experience has been that no reserve auctions typically end at, and reflect, market prices. This seller seems to think along the same lines; he's sold other p-cars and high-end brands as low- or no reserve auctions.)

The car was a color I liked, had most of the options I wanted, and looked to be in fair shape so I watched. I called the seller several times and we discussed the car at length, including key problem areas I picked up from this site. I probably was on the phone for about two hours all told and the seller answered all of my questions. Not once did I get the impression that he was being anything other than honest and truthful about the condition of the car, even pointing out the problems. Yes, I know, that's how a really good salesman should be but so many of them come across like snake oil salesmen.

After speaking with the seller, I had a hunch that my local dealer might have sold the car initially. I stopped by to see if they could shed any light on the car's history. After waiting for 20+ minutes for the service manager to finally talk to me, I found out that he couldn't tell me if they were the selling dealership or only prepped the car for another dealer. He couldn't tell me what work they did on the car, only that they didn't do the routine service. This, despite, scrolling through some info on a terminal that obviously had *some* information. I wasn't impressed.

I also went to my insurance agent to find out what claims had been filed against the car. Combined with eBay's equivalent of CARFAX, I felt comfortable that the car wasn't involved in a major collision.

Anyway, the seller mentioned that another bidder had made an offer on the car but hadn't come through. I offered him about $1000 less than the first offer. He said he would talk it over with his business partner and get back to me. Later that day he called back to say we had a deal, but since it was so close to the auction's end that I needed to be the high bidder. "Don't worry," he said, "you'll get the car at the price we agreed on regardless of what the high bid is as long as you win the auction." No faxed paperwork, no written agreement, not even a handshake. But I bid, well above our verbal agreement, and won the auction. When it was all over, I called again and we worked out the details of the transaction. I sent a deposit the next day, along with money for new tires which he was going to replace at his cost, and worked out the travel arrangements.

A week after the auction ended, I jumped on a commuter flight to Buffalo and the seller picked me up at the airport. We went to look at the car and I must have spent another couple of hours going over everything I could think of. Everything was as it was described; the body was clean and straight, and showing some small stone chips and other marks that you'd expect on a car with 54k miles; the interior looked great; I couldn't find any glaring mechanical problems (it was over a mechanic's pit so I had plenty of time to look around underneath for mechanical problems and problems) and the new tires were mounted and balanced. I gave the seller the balance I owed him and drove the 400 miles back home. If it was a flea-ridden dog, it was now my flea-ridden dog.

Fortunately, it turned out not to be a flea-ridden mutt, but a pure-bred Porsche. There are some issues -- I'll be due for a 60k service this spring and new brakes not long after -- but these are the kinds of issues you find with any used car. Oh, I just found out that one wheel has a slight crack, but this may have happened recently with all the potholes around here. Otherwise, the car has been solid and reliable and I've had a blast putting nearly 4000 miles on the car in six months. Even considering these things, I still think I paid a fair price.

Would I do it again? Yes, I think so, but with a few differences. Even though I researched Boxsters before buying, I know a lot more after six months of ownership. I would probably look for a car with fewer miles (30-45k) and I would have have the final sale be contingent on a PPI. I would also insist on getting two keys. Maybe next time I'll look for a different color, too.

Used car salesman have a saying, "There is an ass for every seat." Well, this one seems pretty comfortable so far.

[socratic]

CPlus, that's a nice looking 986S. Great photo too.

[rbennett]

cplus, I would never ever buy a Porsche sight unseen, as tempted as I was, you were very lucky indeed

I would always buy from a reputable dealer as Bruce, Porsche Dealer or an enthusiast and always with a PPI.

Hope it holds up well!!!