I'm almost leaning towards buying a higher mile, slightly more expensive Boxster from a Porsche dealer... it just seems a little more safe you might say...
I'm not sure what to do... I didn't realize how complicated this process was. i've always bought new cars.

I guess I can see if he's really honest why he might be offended....but....he should get over it. It's not personal, it's business.

My ppi revealed a slight slit in one of the CV Boots. I highly doubt any owner would know that no matter how well they treat their Boxster.

No biggy or deal breaker, nothing that needed an immediate fix, but that could have been a expensive repair down the road if it had not been found during the ppi.

Show him a $2000 earnest money check and I bet he quickly becomes cooperative.

say that 2 times!!! i'd do that w/ my friends & relatives in a heartbeat. you really can't be too careful.....unless you've just got the bucks to burn.

i don't know much about cars. that's why i read/talked for a few years while i worked up the $$$. i found the 986, talked w/ the salesman and negotiated the price minus whatever the ppi lists. when i got thru my ppi, the salesman went and took the ppi list to his mechanic and replaced the front tires. the other things listed on the ppi were 'nit-picky'. so i bought it. after that, i bought a warranty just to cover myself.

I've always done some sort of PPI on every vehicle I've bought... except one. And that one was the one that ended up being a total money pit. After that I even get PPIs on $1500 motorcycles. To me it's just always worth it. If the seller balks, I move on. No vehicle is unique.

The boxster was a little different as it needed it's 60k service soon, so rather than doing a PPI, I just had the 60k service done and split the cost with the seller. We agreed ahead of time that if anything was found wrong we would renegotiate the price and/or he would pay for the whole service less $200 if we couldn't come to terms. Lots of trust on that deal, but it turned out OK.

I would/did buy without - because my two had factory warranty left. I bought the Boxster from a Chevy dealer in CT. It came directly from P-leasing thru Manheim auctions. Shortly thereafter I paid my 'local' Porsche dealer to do a Cert. Inspection ..they did all the checks; just w/o the paperwork. The other advantage of having a little warranty left is: you can buy an extended one w/o hassle. The most recent was P-certified.

I doubt that I would buy a car - with no warranty left - without having someone look at it. ..very especially if this was my first Boxster.

When I sell the Box, I expect to comply with any reasonable request. ..even tho' I'm about 2hrs from anyone who's been under the boot of a Porsche.

j i m

Hi,

Several contributors have chosen to take the risk and not do a PPI. They report no problems, but that's sheer luck of the draw, nothing more.

I don't think it's in anyway an endorsement to ignore this safeguard against buying a Lemon. Getting a PPI is simply the prudent thing to do before committing tens of thousands of dollars. Reject it at your own peril...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Some folks love to gamble!

Babying ruins as many cars as wringing them out occasionally does. A car that's been in sitting the garage for 5 and a half years is just waiting to have problems. And who knows, your friend may not have broken the engine in correctly, or there may be a fault that nobody is aware of.

Get the PPI, it's not a matter of trust, it's liability because you don't want the friendship to suffer if you both learn something you weren't expecting.

For the record, I got a PPI and appreciated knowing what expenses were around the corner (CV boots, water pump under warranty). Also get a compression check if you want to feel good about the engine, I got 150 across the board and knew I had a winner;)

-David N.