KOTYKB

One of my good buddies has owned a 2015 Boxster GTS with manual transmission for the past two years. He was planning on trading it in on a 991 Turbo but as we all know, the trade-in value leaves a lot on the table. I'm likely going to help him sell the car as a private party sale since he's too busy to handle it. After looking around on AutoTrader, CarGurus, Porsche Preowned etc. there is only one other 981 convertible GTS manual for sale in the country. I wonder how many units they made with the manual transmission, it has to be quite low. He's currently in China right now for work but once he's back in early June, I'll get the car from him, perform a paint correction and ceramic coating, get pictures and list it up.

What do you all think is a fair price for this car, I'm thinking $60-65k considering the dealer was going to take it on a trade in the upper 50's.

garfunkle

go to car gurus and the like and search with filters. When I got my 987.2 manual there were no more than 4 in the country at a time and most were trash.

KOTYKB

Like I said, there is only one 981 Convertible GTS Manual that I could find for sale in the US

Selo

Sold more Spyders than GTSs, I believe. A loaded up GTS was as pricey as a Spyder.

vbb

Unlike with some specialty cars, like the GT3, the rarity of the manual transmission won't increase the value over a similarly spec'd GTS with PDK. In fact, for a dealer, the manual would be harder to sell, as there are less buyers.

Seems dealerships are asking in the mid to low 60s for those with PDK and a few very low mileage higher option models asking upper 60s to low 70s. I have no idea what they are really selling for. Personally I'd be a little reluctant to spend thousands on PPF and ceramic coating when a dealer has already put a high 50s trade in value on it. If they're offering say 58k, and you hope to get 63k, is it worth the hassle and expense?

It's a beautiful car. I just dont believe the fact that it is a manual increases the value.

KOTYKB

I won't be adding PPF, just performing a paint correction and coating (compound, polish, and ceramic coating) which we're talking around $2,500 but when selling a car like this, I want it looking pristine. Dealerships don't go to this length but hopefully private party buyers will appreciate it. I assume an enthusiast will be more than willing to pay around $62-65k, which is a very fair price in my opinion compared to the PDK examples. Also having the manual transmission, it should hold up well in value over time compared to PDK's.

vbb

You're absolutely right that a private party buyer will appreciate the paint correction and ceramic coating, and it'll really pop once that is done. The car will sell, and I predict in the low to mid-$60s like you're hoping for, it's just going to have to be the right buyer. That's the issue with some of the "tweener" cars. The GTs and Spyders generally sell themselves because they're "special" cars. The more basic Boxsters, Caymans and 911s generally sell because they're great values. The high option Ss and GTS can be a bit harder to sell because they're not quite collectibles, but they're also more car than the more basic Ss and base models, so they have to be priced accordingly. I think the manual GTS models of all Porsches are great specs.

KOTYKB

I appreciate the feedback. I won't mind having the GTS in my garage to drive until it sells, maybe I should price it really high and let it sit til "winter" in LA haha. I'll post it up at $65k and be flexible on the price so it moves quickly, my buddy doesn't want it to linger around too long. Depending on the minimum reserve price, I could post on Bring-a-trailer

Here are all the 981 Boxster GTS cars available in the US

hf1

If a dealer is offering 58k, I’d trade it in. Won’t be a breeze to sell it for much over 60k privately. Last winter, before I bought my 987, I passed on a 11k mile GTS for 59k, lowered from initial 67k ask.

Last BaT auction was bid unsold to 56k on a 14k mile 87k msrp car:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...-boxter-gts-4/

Given this recent comp, BaT would probably not allow you a reserve higher than 55k if listed there.

It will sparkle up nicely with just paint correction and detail. The ceramic coating won't make it shine more so I wouldn't invest in it before the sale.

Good luck! Looks really nice in all black.

jwalz1

If I were looking private party, I would not want anything pushing the cost up like ceramic coating because I would just do that myself. I have tried to sell a car private party a couple times in the last few years, one a sought after niche sports car, and one a run off the mill popular Toyota family car and, I suppose this depends on what kind of car market you are in and number of people, but I was surprised how few responses I got for both cars. I sold both and got decent value, but really only had one interested person on each.

The GTS might be rare, but if it is not collectible, I bought a 981 Cayman S two years ago for $55k that had all of the GTS performance options just not the smoked tail light and wheels and upholstery. If I were a buyer, I would prefer a GTS over the S, but I was still able to find an S with all of the performance goodies for less and that was all I wanted. I would have paid more for a GTS, just not more than a couple grand more.

Good luck with the sale.

KOTYKB

The BAT car that was unsold for $56k then posted on Rennlist without selling is somewhat alarming for me. The seller ended up trading it into CarMax which is always your last option... so strange. Now that you point out the Ceramic Coating, you're probably right, it's likely excessive beyond a compound/polish and won't help with resale. I agree that the 981 GTS manual isn't a collectible, hell even a Spyder or GT4 isn't, but its a car that should have a shallow depreciation curve compared to a PDK equivalent.

I appreciate the input guys

hf1

As @jwalz1 mentioned, manual GTS may be rare but it's no more than an S + an options package so potential buyers are cross-shopping and comparing the two. Many may even prefer an S with options that they value more.

KOTYKB

oh wonderful, what would you target to sell this GTS at?

jwalz1

FWIW.....You show a sticker of $80k, my S had a sticker of $81k. It was a lease return with 22,000 miles on it and I paid $55k two years ago, but I bought going into winter we are headed into peak sports car buying weather. I think personally that $61k is about the top of the private party market, but what do I know? You are also in Cali where something like that carries a little more value then here in the frozen Midwest. I am always surprised what I see someone get sometimes. Somewhere there is a guy or gal and that Boxster GTS is exactly what they want and will emotionally shell out whatever you ask, but the hard part is finding that person. I tried to distance myself from emotion in car buying a long time ago because I over paid on a few and made myself just knock it off. Ask $62 and take anything above $58k would be my suggestion. But high fifties on a trade that saves the sales tax is going to be hard to beat outright. Part of the problem is dealer can get some people on the margins financing that private party can't, and a dealer can offer the CPO warranty on a similar car for probably the range you want to ask (up to $65k).

CaymanSinAR

I paid $62K for my $94K MSRP 2015 Boxster GTS in November 2017.