J.A.ROMO

All,


I'm gladly about to buy my first Porsche. It will be a 2013, 981 Boxster S.


I'm very excited about this since I've been a great fan of Porsche for a long time and now I finally have the chance to buy one... just can't wait to close the deal!


CarMax is where I found it. Honestly I'm not thinking very rationally right now lol so I was wondering if there would be any specifics to inspect during the test drive and after closing the deal with them.


And what do you guys think about getting the CarMax warranty? How much is the Porsche warranty extension? where can I get a decently priced insurance coverage? Has anyone used CarMax to acquire or service a Porsche before?


The car will be ready for test drive by the end of the month so I have a lot of questions right now regarding the buying process of a car like this... hope some of you can shed some light onto them!


I appreciate in advance your guidance!


Thanks
Javier Romo

Suicide Jockey

Javier, congrats on your impending Porsche ownership. You will always remember your first! But before you get too euphoric, make sure you do your due diligence before signing on the dotted line. By all means have the car first inspected by a reputable Porsche mechanic or dealership before committing to the car. It will be money well spent. If the car checks out, then you just bought some peace of mind and if problems are found, well, you just saved yourself a ton of headaches and mountains of cash. Carmax will tell you they do a thorough inspection of all their cars, but don't let that give you a false sense of security. The car needs to be checked out thoroughly by someone who knows and understands these cars.

Another thing I would do is try to take along with you, particularly for the test drive, an owner of a 981 Boxster. Knowledge is power and a current owner will be able to detect much better than you anything amiss with the car that stands out during a test drive. The Porsche Club of America probably has a local chapter in the area where you live. Reach out to them because it's been my experience that members are only too happy to help out someone in your position with guidance and advice.

Good luck! Hope everything checks out and the car passes with flying colors.

Milehigh981

Agree with the above but I don't think carmax lets you take the car for a ppi if I remember correctly. They do have a 5 day money back guarantee though, so you can take it for a ppi after purchase and return if something is amiss.

Post pics of the car and good luck!

terbiumactivated

PPI or not I advise the following: Take the brightest light you have, mag light, plug in is way better if they have it near a power source. Plan on at least one hour looking at every panel and seam on the car, change your angles of visual perspective too, never mind carfax. You look for ANY over-spray, bit of un-removed tape from bodywork, inner fender liner anomalies of fit, look across the paint surface for small prep scratches unresolved or evidence of a spot spray repair. Look for small scratches in the headlights or markers where a DA might have slipped during sanding. Look for new inner fender hardware and worn hardware on the other corners, essentially look for what doesn't fit with the rest of the car condition. All but the most masterful body repair can be located, if there is any it's best to find it before purchase then you can decide whether to negotiate around it or find another vehicle.

Mrg02D

Carmax won't budge on price. Also, when I had a bad dent repaired on my Lexus, the body shop did such a great job that I can't tell at all. The Lexus paint was matched perfectly and the lines all repaired. I was shocked at how it looked like they just reversed time!

As for Porsche extended warranty, you'll be better off getting a CPO car from a Porsche dealer. Far cheaper! Not to mention, much better. The CPO process will replace anything not to their standards, including tires and brakes as well as perform all required maintenance.

Mine is a 2013 BS and they did the spark plugs since the manual called for 4 years or 40k mikes. Mine had 24k miles but was 4 years old.

The CPO adds a few thousand more, but you get a lot for that.

Matt

terbiumactivated

I never said there was not excellent quality body repairs, still I'm confident I could find that repair, my dad owned a dealership more than forty years I've seen a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly. *edit* Just trying to help the guy understand what he's buying not trying to sound like a Richard head. As for Carmax not budging on price, if my dad was still alive he would say "there's always another car, never let a salesman get you to buy on emotions".

Suicide Jockey

FYI, last year the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals out here in California weighed in on the Carmax 125-point inspection report and didn't like what it found:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...st-isnt-think/

Yogi911

I have heard that if you have the carmax warranty and the car is not a "typical" carmax car they actually outsource the repairs to qualified techs (like the dealer). I have never verified this, but if true, i think the carmax warranty is probably a great deal.

Jim137a

Here's my 2 cents worth of advice:

If you can post the link from Car Max here so the members here can see it and give you their opinions on price , condition etc.

Post the VIN # so the members here can help you decifer the VIN so you can see how the car was equipped from the factory. Here's the link for the VIN decoder:

https://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/check-lookup/

Depending on the year of the car you are buying find out the in service date for the car you're looking at, this will help you determine if there is any of the original factory warranty left on the vehicle.

As others have stated I would absolutely get a PPI done prior to buying any Porsche that was not new. Make sure you request an over rev report and a DME if your looking at a car with a manual transmission.

As others have stated bring along someone that has some knowledge of Boxsters and really take your time looking at the condition, fit and finish of the car.

Search the Porsche Pre Owned Car Locator to see what's available:

http://locator.porsche.com/ipl-custo...arch.ipl?cid=1

Personally I chose to buy my first Porsche from a long time reputable local dealer that happen to have the exact car I was looking for - a 2016 CPO Cayman GTS 6 speed car.

Good luck in your search.

J.A.ROMO

Wow thanks a bunch! all this info is very useful. There are a few techniques I was not even aware of to inspect used cars.

This is the porsche I'm talking about:
https://www.carmax.com/car/13809749

Overall it looks in great shape, the only problem is it has been owned 4 times. Other than that, the milage is great, offered for 47k tho it doesn't match the "approximate" indicated in the VIN decoder someone posted on this forum. Should I worry about this?

Very excited over here, been a long time die-hard fan of these cars and now my hard work has allowed me to buy one makes me feel very happy

Macster

The Boxster S is just a used car so give it a thorough used car check out.

A good starting place is getting a copy of the check list the Porsche techs follow when they inspect a trade in car or one acquired by auction. While you can't do all the things on the list the ones you can do can go a long way to help build your confidence the car is in good shape.

For actually checking out the car my advice is to visit the car cold and verify when the key is turned on the CEL (and other warning lights) come on then go off as the engine is started. With the A/C off -- you check this later -- let the engine idle while you walk around the car checking the body/panel gaps/fits, the paint, brake rotor condition, confirm all the tires are the same brand, type, and are N-rated and not too old.

But you continue to let the engine idle and warm up some. You want to listen for any abnormal noises as the engine idles.

After some idle time have the seller take you on a 15 mile test ride that gives the seller a chance to demo the car as you intend to use it. This should have some stop/go driving, steady boulevard driving, and some on-ramp acceleration and highway time.

Back at the starting place then you switch seats and take the car out and drive the same route and drive the same way.

You must experience the car on the road.

After your test drive if you still like the car then you go through the check list and do what you can.

Open the front trunk lid and with a Torx tool set -- get the set with the security bits (these have a small hole in the center to fit into the screw) -- use the tool set to remove the screws holding the covers on either side of the (center) battery box and check the water drains. If these are full of trash the car might have had water overflow into the cabin.

Put the top in its service position and check the body water drains on either side of the top, one under each clam shell arm.

Feel along the bottoms of both doors for any signs of dampness. Any dampness is probably a door membrane gone bad. This lets water from the wet side into the dry side and water in the dry side of the door is bad enough, but it can then leak into the cabin which is worse.

Water in the cabin is a very serious problem as the security module is located under the passenger seat on the floor of the cabin. Any water in the cabin will almost certainly end up at this module which ruins it.

If the canvas top looks kind of rough, such as would be the case if the rubber sheet underneath was blistering the top needs to be replaced. A genuine Porsche top is $3K or more. An aftermarket (GAHH) is about half that.

Anyhow, after you have done what you can do ideally you then want the car PPI'd by someone who knows these cars. He can lift the car up and check for any signs of any leaks. You might be able to arrange to have the car lifted at the CarMax facility (?) and give it an inspection from under underneath. Bring a bright flashlight!

If so you want to check all hoses, hose fittings, o-rings, camshaft covers, RMS, water pump, CV boots, hydraulic lines, line fittings/connections, radiators, transmission/engine seals/gaskets, shocks, for any leak sign.

I've never bought a car from CarMax but a family member tried last fall. The car checked out was in good condition and passed her road test. The car was priced high but we assumed we could negotiate this but were wrong. CarMax doesn't negotiate price and we walked out.

After I dropped her off at her house she got online and after a few days found a similar car (at a dealer of the brand of car) in another state no less and even after the extra shipping cost (several hundred dollars) felt she got a better deal.

She ended up with the same make/model of car with the same options as the one she looked at but one that was older -- not much, a year or two -- and had more miles. Not lots but more. Still she got this car for a market price rather than a CarMax price.

J.A.ROMO

Where can I get a copy of that check list? is that something I can just go buy from a Porsche agency? Or maybe from TPB? There's time before I actually see the car in person so I'll do my hw meanwhile

Milehigh981

Ok, so it looks like a fairly basic build



PDK, Bose but no full leather, sport chrono or PTV. Regarding the number of owners; hard to say. 4 owners in 4 years and no service documentation would turn me off.
Nice looking car; love those wheels.

J.A.ROMO

The miles are low tho. It might not be that bad.

I've seen cars like this for sale up to 50-60k. The price appears to be fair considering this fact.

What would be the typical maintenance routine for a porsche like this and how often? other than oil change, break pads change, spark plugs & filter check...?

Milehigh981

Yeah, the low miles are a nice bonus. I know these cars change hands often with leases etc, it would just make me wary with a new owner every year. May not be an issue at all.

regarding service:
The oil is to be changed every 10,000 miles or 12 months (whichever comes first). So, i should have been changed at least 3 X since new. The 20,000 or 2 year maintenance is checking diagnostics, change air intake pre filter , change oil (would account for one of the oil changes) and checking lights etc.

Car max is generally fair on the price; I've sold cars to them but not bought from.
If there's records of the oil changes, it's all good. at least one oil change should have been done when the car was CPO'd.