Looking at high mileage S. Please advice yea or nay

[husker boxster]

IF you are serious about the car, take it to a professional mechanic for a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) before buying it. The PPI will be the best $300 approx that you will spend. At that age and mileage, you will be surprised what may need repaired or replaced and the cost. Things like struts and bushings will be past their prime. O-rings and gaskets too. Does the AC work? You can quickly ring up thousands of dollars in repairs.

The price is good for an 03 but the mileage and accident history seriously affect the price. There are many people on the forum who have ultra-high mileage Boxsters, so they are capable of making it to that level. But they require proper maintenance to get there and if that maintenance has been skipped, it will be expensive to get it back up to snuff.

No disrespect to mom & pop used car lots, but think about how it got there. Someone probably traded it in on a new car (Porsche, Audi, whatever). The mileage and accident history probably disqualified it from being kept on their lot (along with other things like no maintenance), so they took it to auction and dumped it. It's up to you to find out if there's something else wrong besides mileage and accident.

I mention this because 2-seat sports cars are a lifestyle vehicles. People buy them on a whim and suddenly have to sell them when something in their life changes - get married, have kids, lose a job, or a 2 seater doesn't fit their needs. If you buy this car and realize it's not the one for you, you'll have a very hard time selling it, mostly because of the mileage and accident. So be sure you can hang on to it for a few yrs.

I'll leave the IMS talk to the end. There's plenty of info here if you search. I'm sure you're thinking since it's made it this far, it's not going to be an issue. You have a 90% chance that that's correct, but bearings wear out regardless of poor design. Oil change intervals may be the biggest factor in IMS life length. The good news is if the engine blows up, you could probably sell the carcus for $4K.

The old saying is true: the cheapest Porsche you buy will be the most expensive Porsche you own.