Narrowed to three

[gsy4771]

Something I didn't mention is two of the cars are 4+ hours away and difficult to see. The 02S with 90k is close and I have driven it. Really nice car and the owner is a good guy. The only thing keeping from making an offer are the miles. From what I gather 90k miles isn't high and the car has plenty of life left. This car would give me a $2k headstart on the engine replacement if needed.

I have been looking for a couple months and surprised with the limited choices of decent cars. I do not want to rush into the purchase but this doesn't feel too bad.

So I guess i'm asking for advice on a 90k car. I know I can't buy miles but does my logic seem sound? I'm looking for some member advice because my wife is tired of me talking about it.

[Jgkram]

Like Tom said, buy the lowest miles, best condition car you can find. Shy away from advice that tells you to buy a particular model (S or Base) for any particular reason. There is bias in those comments that may not align with your particular needs. The cars are very close in performance and each will put a smile on your face no matter which you choose.

[garv214]

Personally, I don't let the miles sway me too much. I am also in the market for a Boxster. I have driven some low mileage cars that look like they have been put through the wringer and some higher mileage cars that drove extraordinarily well.

I would go with the car the speaks the most to you and has the best maintenance history versus simply seeking out the lowest mileage car. While its true you cannot "buy back" the miles, well not legally anyways..., you cannot undo abuse that a car has endured either...

Good Luck! Have Fun!

[maytag]

Originally Posted by gsy4771

Something I didn't mention is two of the cars are 4+ hours away and difficult to see. The 02S with 90k is close and I have driven it. Really nice car and the owner is a good guy. The only thing keeping from making an offer are the miles. From what I gather 90k miles isn't high and the car has plenty of life left. This car would give me a $2k headstart on the engine replacement if needed.

I have been looking for a couple months and surprised with the limited choices of decent cars. I do not want to rush into the purchase but this doesn't feel too bad.

So I guess i'm asking for advice on a 90k car. I know I can't buy miles but does my logic seem sound? I'm looking for some member advice because my wife is tired of me talking about it.

It sounds to me like you;re in "Analyzation Paralyzation". I've been there, only one cure: BUY A CAR! :-)

I'm a guy who buys the one I like the most... emotionally.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by gsy4771

So I guess i'm asking for advice on a 90k car. I know I can't buy miles but does my logic seem sound?

Yes, typically a 90K mile car will still have a lot of life left in it. Some mileage constrained components (like suspension) may need to be done a little earlier than a lower mileage car but its not the end of the world.

At this point, I'd say that there is no right or wrong; its whatever you want to do. Each of the three cars has plus' and minus'; you can make as many spreadsheets as you like but at the end of the day, you could "justify" buying any one of the three.

Most importantly, any of those three cars will put a smile on your face every time that you get in the drivers seat (and often you'll get that smile just thinking about it while sitting on the couch).

Originally Posted by gsy4771

I'm looking for some member advice because my wife is tired of me talking about it.

In this case, you have found "your kind of people"! All everyone on this forum wants to talk about are Boxster's, Boxster's, and more Boxster's. We honestly cannot get enough Boxster.

Let us know what you decide.

[gsy4771]

So I ended up missing on all three. I really liked the 03base the most but the seller choose to sell it to a local buyer before I could get to it. One the 02S sold in the mean time and the other owner decided to keep it.

I'm going to look at 04Base, 56k miles, this weekend. It has most everything I wanted and the price seems reasonable. Appears the 30k miles maintenance was done but I haven't seen all the service records. The problem I have is there isn't a great place to get a PPI. There is a local Porsche dealer but they cannot get it in until 18th of July. There looks to be a couple smaller shops in the area but I'm not sure of their Porsche expertise.

Could someone recommend some questions to ask the shops regarding a PPI? I figured I would have them do the following

1. Read the computer
2. Check the brakes
3. Check the suspension
4. Check the serpentine belt
5. Check the hoses for cracking

I know the clutch and IMS haven't been done, the car is priced so I will have those done if I get it.

Is there a special computer needed to determine if the engine has been over-revved?

[mgfranz]

Originally Posted by gsy4771

So I ended up missing on all three. I really liked the 03base the most but the seller choose to sell it to a local buyer before I could get to it. One the 02S sold in the mean time and the other owner decided to keep it.

I'm going to look at 04Base, 56k miles, this weekend. It has most everything I wanted and the price seems reasonable. Appears the 30k miles maintenance was done but I haven't seen all the service records. The problem I have is there isn't a great place to get a PPI. There is a local Porsche dealer but they cannot get it in until 18th of July. There looks to be a couple smaller shops in the area but I'm not sure of their Porsche expertise.

Could someone recommend some questions to ask the shops regarding a PPI? I figured I would have them do the following

1. Read the computer
2. Check the brakes
3. Check the suspension
4. Check the serpentine belt
5. Check the hoses for cracking

I know the clutch and IMS haven't been done, the car is priced so I will have those done if I get it.

Is there a special computer needed to determine if the engine has been over-revved?

There is no special computer needed to see the over-rev count, it's already built into the ECU. I forget the process, but a quick search will find it, and don't worry about that count, the rev-limiter does its job just fine. Last time I checked mine it was ar something like 7000 IIRC

[thstone]

Originally Posted by mgfranz

There is no special computer needed to see the over-rev count, it's already built into the ECU. I forget the process, but a quick search will find it, and don't worry about that count, the rev-limiter does its job just fine. Last time I checked mine it was ar something like 7000 IIRC

Just a reminder - the rev limiter does not always protect against over-revs (particularly on downshifts).

For example, during a 4-2 downshift (where the driver skips 3rd and goes straight to 2nd) if the driver engages 2nd at too high of a speed, then the engine could mechanically over-rev.

The same is true for a missed shift where the driver intended to shift up from 2nd to 3rd but instead went into 1st.

On the racetrack, I've seen over 8K rpm on a poorly executed 5-2 downshift when I let out the clutch just a tad too early at AutoClub Speedway coming off the NSACAR banking at 140mph and braking hard for the 50mph Turn 3 into the infield. Ooops!