100K on Boxster S to much?

[ZuperJamez]

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my post. I have been doing some research and reading this forum for a couple of days now in hopes of getting some insight on buying a Boxster S. I found a couple of listings of cars that I really like but I am not sure if the price is to high or if I should be concerned about the mileage on these cars. I will definitely be getting a PPI, compression, and trickle down check before I buy. I kinda like the speed yellow color but that doesn't mean everything to me. But I have got to have a MT and it has to be a "S." I'm trying to stay under $17K (ideally $15K) since I am sure I will have to be putting in some maintenance immediately afterward. What do you think is a fair price for these cars? Once again thanks for your help and it's nice to meet my future Boxster brethren. Check out the links below:

Car 1
2002 Boxster S 93K miles wants $20000
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/887107970.html

Car 2
2002 Boxster S no miles listed asking $14,000
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/885537900.html

Car 3
2001 Boxster S 54K miles asking $19,500
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/ctd/883656879.html

Car 4
2002 Boxster S 62K miles asking $18,500
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=250898812&dealer_id=143062&car _year=2002&model=BOXSTE&num_records=25&systime=&ma ke2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&keyw ordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&en gine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&only_price=1&aw sp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipEr ror=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=POR&k eywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A% 3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=pri ceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sor t_type=priceDESC&address=98002&advanced=y&only_pho to=1&end_year=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price= 20000&cardist=35

Car 5
2002 Boxster S 107K miles asking $14,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=253406794&dealer_id=3386618&ca r_year=2002&model=BOXSTE&num_records=25&systime=&m ake2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&key wordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&e ngine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&only_price=1&a wsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipE rror=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=POR& keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A %3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=pr iceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&so rt_type=priceDESC&address=98002&advanced=y&only_ph oto=1&end_year=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price =20000&cardist=31

Car 6
THIS ONE MIGHT BE THE BEST DEAL:
1999 Boxster S (not sure if this is accurate, didn't the S come out in 2000 or 1999.5?) 70K miles asking $16,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=252528287&dealer_id=63378033&c ar_year=1999&num_records=25&model=BOXSTE&systime=& make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&en gine=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywo rdsfyc=&certified=&fuel=&body_code=0&only_price=1& awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZip Error=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&first_re cord=26&make=POR&color=&keywords_display=&page_loc ation=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive =&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage =&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=98002&o nly_photo=1&advanced=y&end_year=2009&pager.offset= 25&transmission=&doors=&max_price=20000&cardist=3 8

That's the best of what I have found so far. If anyone is selling a Boxster S in the Seattle, WA area please contact me. If it was your money which of these cars would you automatically weed out and which do you think might be a good buy? Thanks for all your help and if anyone gets really bored and finds a car for me I would be eternally in their debt!

Thanks,
James

[gregdacat]

Just my 2 cents, but I just went through this process in the Spring. . .

I have always been a triple black kind of guy, but color aside I would go with car 4. It is the newest car with the least amount of miles. Also on the more subtle side it appears the headlights have been de-ambered. I have an 02 and mine still have the fried egg look. That tells me whomever had it before put some money in it and took pride in it's appearance. Therefore it was probably pretty well maintained.

Take her for a test drive and don't be afraid to low-ball him on price. Tell him you have 4 other cars you are checking out. If it is not exactly what you are after do not be afraid to walk away. Maybe you will find something better or maybe he will call you back in a couple of days wanting to negotiate. If you do not find something local be willing to look outside Seattle

When I was looking I did not want anything older than an 02, had to be triple black and like you I was in the 15-17K price range. It took me 4 months, but I finally found exactly what I wanted 325 miles away. I have been happy as a clam ever since.

Good Luck

[blue2000s]

Wow, these cars are loosing value fast.

No one can tell you which car to buy by looking at little pictures over the internet. You have to get into them and drive. Mileage is a terrible measure of the health and value of a car, so it doesn't tell you much. I'm personally leery of a cheap Porsche, especially an S for under $20k, but if you find a tight one that checks out, that's great.

[Lucky]

Good deals are out there.

My 00 S cost me $16.5k a year ago. It had 92k miles on the chassis and 23k on a new engine (a 2005 reman from Porsche). I drove a dozen cars before buying this one.

Some of the ones I drove had less than 25k miles and felt like crap -- tranny didn't shift well, suspension was tired, interior dirty and worn. The best feeling car (the one I bought) -- it was/is peppy, smooth shifting, and cosmetically near perfect -- had the most miles by far but it had been babied its whole time with the original owner.

Don't let high miles scare you... you may be surprised at how good a high mileage car can be and you can use those miles to negotiate a very fair price.

Good luck, be patient, and you are picking the perfect time to be in the market for a luxury item like a Boxster. With enough patience, the approaching winter, and further economic weakness, you should have no problem picking up a very nice S for around $15k.

[RandallNeighbour]

James, I bought a high mileage boxster four years ago and this summer, I had to replace all four wheel bearings, struts, and control arms... basically the whole suspension system on the car. It was almost $4,000 dollars in parts and labor, and I bought all the parts wholesale and had a shadetree mechanic do the labor to install it.

These cars may be shiny, but I wouldn't touch any of them with a ten foot pole.

Save more money and buy a Box S with 25-30k on it and you won't be forced to dump thousands of dollars into it every single year you own it.

I don't mind doing this on my car because I can't afford to trade it for a much newer one and don't want the garage to be boxster-less. But if I had to do it all over again, I would not have bought a $15k car and dumped $18k into it in the last 4 years fixing it up and getting it to run like a newer, lower mileage car.

I could have owned a very nice, low mileage and much newer car with a larger motor had I just waited a year or two.

There's no way around this rule of thumb when shopping for a preowned boxster: THE CHEAPEST PORSCHE YOU BUY WILL BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE CAR YOU WILL OWN.

[Brucelee]

Randall's experience is very right on.

When I was dealing, I stayed way away of any high mileage Porsche. The repair costs for things down below are ridiculous.

BTW-the Porsche folks consider the suspension items are wear and tear, in the same category as brake pads.

Funny!

[Spinnaker]

Bought a high milage 2000 S last year (98750 miles on it) in December.
There is a grain of truth in what everone has said. Got it for 16 thousand, but the last owner didn't keep it up. 6 grand in maintenance and repairs so far to get it up to snuff. Saw a low milage 2003 for 10k more at Barrier Porsche last year that would have been a better buy considering all the $$$$ I poured into the 2000 S so far. Would have been nice to get the glass rear window in the 2003.
Its been fun driving it, funny how everyone wants to go for a ride it now. See you on the streets of Seattle some time. Only 160 more miles till it hits 100K!

[HB986]

Originally Posted by ZuperJamez

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my post. I have been doing some research and reading this forum for a couple of days now in hopes of getting some insight on buying a Boxster S. I found a couple of listings of cars that I really like but I am not sure if the price is to high or if I should be concerned about the mileage on these cars. I will definitely be getting a PPI, compression, and trickle down check before I buy. I kinda like the speed yellow color but that doesn't mean everything to me. But I have got to have a MT and it has to be a "S." I'm trying to stay under $17K (ideally $15K) since I am sure I will have to be putting in some maintenance immediately afterward. What do you think is a fair price for these cars? Once again thanks for your help and it's nice to meet my future Boxster brethren. Check out the links below:

Car 1
2002 Boxster S 93K miles wants $20000
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/887107970.html

Car 2
2002 Boxster S no miles listed asking $14,000
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/885537900.html

Car 3
2001 Boxster S 54K miles asking $19,500
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/ctd/883656879.html

Car 4
2002 Boxster S 62K miles asking $18,500
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=250898812&dealer_id=143062&car _year=2002&model=BOXSTE&num_records=25&systime=&ma ke2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&keyw ordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&en gine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&only_price=1&aw sp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipEr ror=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=POR&k eywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A% 3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=pri ceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sor t_type=priceDESC&address=98002&advanced=y&only_pho to=1&end_year=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price= 20000&cardist=35

Car 5
2002 Boxster S 107K miles asking $14,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=253406794&dealer_id=3386618&ca r_year=2002&model=BOXSTE&num_records=25&systime=&m ake2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&key wordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&e ngine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&only_price=1&a wsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipE rror=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=POR& keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A %3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=pr iceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&so rt_type=priceDESC&address=98002&advanced=y&only_ph oto=1&end_year=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price =20000&cardist=31

Car 6
THIS ONE MIGHT BE THE BEST DEAL:
1999 Boxster S (not sure if this is accurate, didn't the S come out in 2000 or 1999.5?) 70K miles asking $16,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=252528287&dealer_id=63378033&c ar_year=1999&num_records=25&model=BOXSTE&systime=& make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&en gine=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywo rdsfyc=&certified=&fuel=&body_code=0&only_price=1& awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZip Error=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&first_re cord=26&make=POR&color=&keywords_display=&page_loc ation=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive =&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage =&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=98002&o nly_photo=1&advanced=y&end_year=2009&pager.offset= 25&transmission=&doors=&max_price=20000&cardist=3 8

That's the best of what I have found so far. If anyone is selling a Boxster S in the Seattle, WA area please contact me. If it was your money which of these cars would you automatically weed out and which do you think might be a good buy? Thanks for all your help and if anyone gets really bored and finds a car for me I would be eternally in their debt!

Thanks,
James

Shoot me your email address. I may have exactly what you are looking for.

[ZuperJamez]

Wow! Thanks for all of the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it. This is more helpful than just about any forum I have ever posted on and no one flamed me for asking a dumb question. You all have given me a lot to think about. Now I am thinking of going for a 2003 BMW M3 with 6 speed 60K miles and custom exhaust, intake, ground control suspension, and two sets of rims and tires (one for track days, one for street). But I still love the boxster and the guy want $20,000 for the M3. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again!

[vath2001]

Originally Posted by ZuperJamez

Wow! Thanks for all of the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it. This is more helpful than just about any forum I have ever posted on and no one flamed me for asking a dumb question. You all have given me a lot to think about. Now I am thinking of going for a 2003 BMW M3 with 6 speed 60K miles and custom exhaust, intake, ground control suspension, and two sets of rims and tires (one for track days, one for street). But I still love the boxster and the guy want $20,000 for the M3. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again!

If you have the money, stay with the Boxster. BMW's are everywhere. And don't forget to check Kelly Blue Book too (KBB.com). It will give you an idea where the price should be.

[freqflyer]

A couple months ago I got a 2004 Boxster S with alot of options through Carmax (I did not believe it either) with 21K on the odometer. It was 23,999 on the internet and 30,999 when I got to see the car with the sticker. Carmax gave me the car at the lower price and I bought an extended warranty for 2000. I am good to 95,000 miles. I would suggest checking them out. One of the others in our Porsche club did the same thing. Tony