Hard to sell a Boxster these days

[mach schnell]

Xavier - On my VW - ran a 10 day ebay ad - continually lowering price - in the end - 2 watchers - no bids. Then autotrader - 3 weeks - same guy from some non-profit wanting to match sellers with buyers calls me once a week - no one else. Craigslist - got 1 email - some dealer who had a buyer and wanted my lowest price - i told him to make an offer - never heard back. Samba - got nothing! In fact, since I paid for the Autotrader add to run unlimited, I'm gonna keep it running (even though I traded the car in this past weekend) just to see how long it takes until I actually get an actual call on it. Interestingly, I had actually debated running ads for the 987 thinking it would sell in a heartbeat and I'd make a few grand over what I got when I traded it with the VW - I got the dealer to give me KBB on the Porsche and since I bought it for almost $11000 under sticker, I didn't loose much on depreciation! My thought for selling it outright is that I may have sold it for what I bought it for.

In my opinion, its the market here in soCal - houses aren't selling and cars aren't selling. The 911 I was looking at, although a new addition to the particular dealership, that dealer had some of the same cars he had when I shopped his lot in January before buying the Boxster. The dealer in Newport where I ended up trading the Porsche and VW for the BMW said they've had some of the slowest months ever!

Re: Porscheracer's comments about the Tip - actually, I think in soCal you have a better chance selling a (sports) car with an auto. Although I disagree with the philosphopy of an automatic in a sports car, most soCal drivers prefer the ease when stuck in traffic! I shopped 350z a bit before buying the Boxster and for the life of me couldn't find their top of the line version equipped with a 6 spd anywhere in soCal - dealer explanation - no one wants to shift in traffic!

Have you approached CarMax - if you are already listing it below KBB - you may get a do-able price from them and the car is off your hands!

Anyway - good luck!

[Perfectlap]

climbing interest rates won't help matters either. Mortgage payments will be cutting into people fun budgets!

[xavier405]

Thanks for the quick responses....

I did walk through CarMax and talked about their appraisals. They say they only mark up 1500-2000 on their cars no matter how cheap they got them. So if I am already well under KBB then once they add their markup then it should still be a fair price.

Also it appears that tips are rather popular around here. For the past two years every time I see a Porsche I can't resist but to look in the window and check out the interior color, any cool options, whatever. And I've noticed more than 50% as tips.

Sorry to hear about the other troubles you folks have had selling your cars! Lets hope that a sunny summer changes peoples spending moods.

Any other car sales stories?

Cheers
- Xavier

[denverpete]

I constantly scan the Denver websites that sell Porsches. It's amazing how long some of those cars have been up for sale.

I think the only vehicles which are guaranteed to sell, and sell quickly, in Colorado are Jeeps (Wranglers & CJ's). Those things go so fast here regardless of the season - and for a nice premium. I honestly thought about buying Jeeps out of state and bringing them to Denver to sell for a couple grand profit each.

xavier405 - I feel your pain. I wish I could offer some advice beyond what's stated here.

Good luck!

[porscheracer]

Re: Porscheracer's comments about the Tip - actually, I think in soCal you have a better chance selling a (sports) car with an auto. Although I disagree with the philosphopy of an automatic in a sports car, most soCal drivers prefer the ease when stuck in traffic! I shopped 350z a bit before buying the Boxster and for the life of me couldn't find their top of the line version equipped with a 6 spd anywhere in soCal - dealer explanation - no one wants to shift in traffic!

I live in NYC and i drive a stick. what a rush! i get a around traffic no problem.
everyday feels like i'm autocrossing.
i can't get the same rush with a tip.. I rented a 05 Boxster in France drove from Nice to Monaco and almost feel asleep.

[toddhata]

Give Carmax a try, I just sold my 05 Corolla to them, got the same price I paid for it, minus tax & license, when I bought it 8 months and 14k miles ago. I know I got a really good deal when I bought it, and with the gas prices it kept its value.

I tried Craigslist and Autotrader, only got calls from auto brokers posing as private parties trying to knock off 20% to 25% of my asking price. So I got fed up with it and went to Carmax.

[EPIQTodd]

Hard to sell most anything nowadays - the economy (despite what the Republicans state, and I'm one of them, just a realistic one) is in the dumper, and inflation is a big scare. Consumers know inflation, and therefore spending is down, particularly on big items.

[Marc Gelefsky]

Finally sold the 90 Carrera 2 I had for sale, got less than I thought it was worth.
Oh well.. soft market on 964's I guess.

[CA_Boxster]

I also recommend craigslist.

I bought mine used a couple years ago and I can tell you it's no problem at all shopping the whole country looking for a low mileage, excellent condition Boxster. A LOT of people bought them as 3rd cars and eventually just got tired of them or decided to turn them over and buy a new toy after a few years. Mine was 3 years old, 20k miles and dealer-inspected. This wasn't my only option, either. If I raised my price range by about $2k I would have had all the options I needed to be able to pick a good one.

As a result, I think it could be tough to sell them, especially in CA where there's no shortage of used supply for the people who aren't willing to buy one and have it shipped.

[franz229]

My personal experience selling a Boxster (tiptronic) in Oakland and bay area is not
Very good. It is very difficult to sell in this area. I had mine for sale for 6 months.
I advertised in craigslist and cars.com. Cars.com was the worse. I got a lot
o solicitation from other website offering to sell my cars if I advertise with then
for a fee. I asked the were they got my number, and it was from cars.com.
Most of the people that came at check the car, can’t afford or them
Looking for thrill and drive a Porsche. I soon they ask how much the change of oil or the Maintenance I new is a waste of time. I they never call back or show up.
Some buyer will offer a price below the trading price of the car.
So… I just tired of this game and I went to local dealership and trade in 986 for
A new 2006 987..