Price My Boxster
 

Let me first say I frequent many forums and some do not like when people create a thread asking "Whats my car worth?". I agree that 9/10 they are stupid but I hope this is the 1/10 that is acceptable. If admins don't like it, feel free to remove. Onto the car...

Background: I have owned my 986 S for 2 and a half years. I am ready to sell because I have a 997 S as well and don't have enough time to drive 2 let a lone 1 of these cars because of that whole thing called......forgive me I am blanking on the term currently.... oh yeah thats right LIFE! It tends to get in the way of these beasts.

Details: The car is a Black 2001 986 S. It currently has 56,499 miles on it. I bought it in August of 2013 with 47,xxx miles. The second I took ownership I put it on a flatbed and it went straight to intersport performance in mclean VA for a new clutch, RMS, and LN IMS bearing replacement. I just put Michelin tires on the car that have less than 3 thousand miles on them. In the 2 plus years I have owned the car I have replaced the motor mount, flushed the tranny, replaced rear CV boots and of course oil changes every 3k miles. The previous owner installed a new top in august of 2012 (so a 3 and half year old top).

I have a binder with invoices in chronological order dating back to July of 2001 on this car. I would say 80-90 percent of everything done to this car is recorded with invoices that I have all organized. I did the math one day. If I am remembering correctly since day one on this car, of all the records I have, roughly 20k has been put into this car (90 percent routine maint and maint upgrades).

This car had a total suspension overhaul at 45,708 miles by the previous owner (who is a forum member). The suspension is the RoW M030 package. The list goes on and on of little upgrades all over this car including things like an LNE .5qt deep sump oil pan kit. Water pump was replaced at 45,708 miles along with a 160 degree thermostat.

Cosmetics: Car is pretty straight. I use to manage a body shop. I am very particular in the way I grade a cars appearance. I feel my 10/10 is a lot of peoples 20/10 and that my 5/10 is someones 10/10. So with that said I personally give the car a 6.5-7.0 for cosmetic appearance. Again I am pretty tough on paint condition, etc.

Price: So as you can see this car has several key upgrades (IMS, new clutch, new tires, newish top, low miles, tons of vehicle history documented, etc) so this is why I struggle with my price. I wont even express where my head is with price to avoid influencing others opinions. So with that said, where would you put the price tag?

KBB says around $11,000 in Excellent condition. $9,700 for average condition.

I'll say $11,500-$12,250.

The car gets points for an IMSB upgrade and lots of maintenance items but most buyers won't know what an IMSB is and will expect the maintenance on a luxury car in Excellent condition to be up to date. All receipts is the biggest upside. The M030 and other upgrades add a few hundred dollars but nothing close to the installation price.

Points are lost for black paint over the amber headlights.

Other than that, (and I am trying to say this nicely), its kind of just another 15 year old Boxster.

$12k

black is not everyone's favorite color. The maintenance is a plus, the mods a minus, the IMS a plus.

It is January. Harder to sell a top down car now (though I did buy my second Boxster in January with snow on the ground.)

Also don't stress the mods or list the maintenance in a general ad like on CL. Save that for the Porsche knowledgeable forums. If it looks like it needs lots of work constantly, it may scare people away.

I sold a similar miles pristine 500 miles on Michelin PS2 Ns etc '01S back 3 years ago for $13.5. Silver.

BTW, those wheels look like an upgrade. Weren't they 18" lightweights? Decode all your options from the sticker inside the front trunk lid.

I wonder if in the DC area the manual is more attractive than the TIP given the traffic? Lots of kids can't drive a stick and this would be in their price range.

Any other opinions?

The person who will pay for these "upgrades " will have done alot of research or has owned one. 12K is tops with that knowledge. CL buyers will be doing price comparison if the cars are the same color then it is down to miles which for many people 57k is substantial. BTW an IMS or a WP is not a upgrade to most. That being said if it were my car (i have 02 S with the same upgrades and 125k) 12.5k coming off 500 if needed and maybe having to wait for an educated buyer. If a quick sale maybe a KBB price. Remember the 3 prices for your stuff...What is worth, what they will pay. and what you think it is worth. disclaimer.....This is just my opinion. 4th price is what you have in it and that is one you really dont want to know!

Here's some listings here that you should have already seen if you were looking for comparables:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/57912-2001-boxster-s.html
http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/58445-2001-porsche-boxster-s-24-700-miles-meticulously-maintained.html
http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/58687-2001-boxster-s.html
http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/58951-2000-porsche-boxster-%93s%94-l-n-ims-bearing-upgrade-complete-w-new-clutch-rms-aos.html

I don't know the market in your area, but in the Dallas area there are plenty of good looking S models at or below $10k.

If I had posted my original opinion yesterday, it would have been exactly what Tom wrote.

I sense from the way that you wrote your post that you feel that your car is special compared to most of what is on the market, but selling it much above market will take a special buyer. If you are not in a hurry, list it at $14,500. My opinion is that if you go much higher than that, it will be stale and frustrating.

Started at $15k (12/2014), last seen at $9,999 (9/2015):
http://986forum.com/forums/boxsters-sale-wanted/54979-seal-gray-2001-boxster-s-exceptional-condition.html

Yeah my thought on the sale is that it would be a Porsche enthusiast. Someone who knows the significance of the IMS replacement, etc. I am in no rush to sell.

Ok, here goes.

It looks like you have a VERY nice car, well documented car. Given your description, I'd put it in the $11.5-12.5 range to someone who knows what he's looking for. If you simply stick in on CL, expect $10-10.5 at best.

Keep in mind that cost cost of the your worthwhile upgrades depreciate just like the rest of the car. Unfortunately, your piece of mind investment in the IMS and RMS upgrade do not add that value to the price of your car.

What do you think its worth?