Boxster S buying advice
 

I'm looking at buying a 2002 Boxster S with 75k miles, but noticed on the Carfax that it's only driven 60 miles in the last two years. That's really bad, right? Even if the PPI checks out, is it a deal breaker?

This one has a blue leather interior. It's interesting how getting the options you want still jacks up the price on a 13 year old car.

At some point before the last 2 years it was driven a lot to be at 75k.
The PPI certainly will give you a better idea of the condition of the car.
Fluids better have been changed within that 2 year period. If they were not then that is a problem. That would be my biggest fear for the last 2 years of inactivity
Tires may have developed some flat spots as well

Give you an idea my car is a 2001 S and has 54K miles (8.5 months a year driving - No winter)

sounds suspicious to me. Who would buy an 11 year old car and never drive it.
I would recommend looking for a lower mileage car or at least one with substantial records from a seller I could speak to freely about their driving habits and the work performed.
A PPI is vital, but you should still factor in repairs that come without warning (known Boxster weak spots) as well as doing the IMS upgrade to the asking prices since 80K miles about where many clutches start to go.
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I suspect from the miles story the car is a multi-owner car or the owner's circumstances changed.

Some investigation of the recent maintenance of the car and the owner's motivation is suggested but it isn't a deal breaker to me.

Lets say the worst..that something changed re the owners and the recent lack of mileage can be verified. And the oil hasn't been changed that you can prove.

Play the game that you have read a lot about the effects of such and have to budget $2500 to replace the IMS because of the effects of a car sitting for that long with old contaminated oil.

It is all in the price you ultimately pay for the car and it's perceived condition.

Do a CarFax on it.

I just yesterday got a mailing from the local Porsche/MB dealer telling me I could trade my '01S for $7,100 on a new car. (I no longer own the car. Haven't for 3 years. Sold for $13.5k 3 years ago with 68k miles needing nothing beyond a top replacement.) Don't overpay, there are dozens out there. Make an offer, walk out the door and keep looking. He either calls you and you get your deal or you move on to the next car.

If your getting a wicked deal on it - go have a garage do a full inspection on it... if your getting a great price use some of those savings and get the car seriously checked out with a fine tooth comb... you never know could just be someone who doesn't have time or interest in driving it anymore.

I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker - but yeah, I would want to know why it sat for that long (was it due to a mechanical failure that they've just patched in order to sell it??). A complete PPI is certainly called for.

But, all that being said - there are a ton of used Boxsters out there. Unless there is something really special about this one - should be easy to find another one that maybe doesn't have such a big question hanging over it.

Good luck!

If the oil was changed and the fuel treated for storage, then it should not make any difference, if it was stored indoors. Might need a new battery maybe?

Thanks for the helpful advice, everyone. It is a multi-owner car, so likely no service records, and has been for sale at various dealerships for the past two years. I doubt I'll get anything better than an okay deal on it, and there's a reasonable expectation of it failing the PPI, but part of the draw for me is the rare blue interior.

Is the IMSB upgrade a smart economical outlay? I've read on the internet (so it must be true, right?) that only 10% of bearings fail, and usually within the first 50k miles. $3k is a lot to pay for piece of mind on a $10-15k weekend car.

Think of the IMS as failing 1% per car year. Real if it does. Expensive if it does.

Will you feel better buying insurance against that failure or can you shrug your shoulders if it happens and go pay the man $6k? How about if you did it and your car got totaled the next week?

Risk tolerances are different. So are bank accounts. And all car parts fail sometime.