andy7777

Obvious shyster. If the top doesn't close correctly you're looking at a very expensive fix.

You need to decide on your maximum price and work your way from there. A 987.1 (2005-2008) base will be several thousand cheaper than a 987.1 S model. A 987.2 (2009-2012) will be several thousand more expensive in both base and S configurations than a 987.1. But a 987.2 base model has almost as much power as a 987.1 S.

Once you decide on your price band, you'll see that colors and options make a large difference in asking and selling price. As others said, expand your search nationwide. A vehicle can be transported across the country for $2-3K. It may sound like a lot but finding a car with a top that closes correctly versus the lousy one you found nearby will easily offset the transport costs. I've bought 2 Porsches and 1 Lotus sight unseen, and all have been great transactions.

If you find one that looks good online, ask around for a reputable shop for a PPI. This place is a good resource for that. Buy a Carfax report and see what history there is out there on the car.

General rule of thumb, if you find a crap Porsche for sale it will not sell fast, a good one will go in a hurry. If something in your pricerange looks good be prepared to jump on it.

If you buy a 987 and decide you don't like it after all, or the obsession goes away, you can sell a good one fast, a bad one slowly, because most everyone looking for one will have a good idea what you're selling. So buying a good one even if more expensive will work out much better for you in the end.

Good luck!

ZuffenZeus

Crazy is relative. Most people that see us buying 17+ year old sport cars from Germany would probably call us crazy based on their poor reliability rating. My teenage daughter prefers to say... "We're Cray cray!"


I would recommend RUN, not just walk away from that place.


As someone else here on this thread eluded to, "the cheapest Porsche you buy, could very well become the MOST expensive to own". Trust me, I've owned three of this generation and that expression is very true.

That is correct, but there are better cars out there for the right price. Lots of 986 and 987 Boxsters are currently being dumped on the market. Many of them sub $15K range and in decent shape.

If you ever drive a Porsche or any car and the CEL comes on, that tells me that someone has cleared the codes. Do NOT trust sales people when they try to explain away a defect or engine issue. He's biased and all he REALLY cares about is the sale. The salesman probably knew about the codes ahead of time and was hoping to secure the deal before the CEL reoccured. Why? Because in most states a used car sale has little or no recourse when there are problems with the vehicles. It's AS-IS and that means it's YOURS warts and all.

Why don't you share with us the link to the 05 Boxster you mentioned on this thread. I'm curious to see the car in question.

scootr

The best advice you have been given is to stay clear of used car dealers and cheap Porsches in general. If it's a midlife crisis you are lucky. A Porsche is cheaper than a girlfriend, gambling, or boating for excitement. A 987.2 Boxster S was my choice. I searched nationally for almost a year before I found a perfect example at a Porsche dealer about 1200 miles away. I bought the 10 yr old car with 10k miles and 10 service records at Porsche. It had every option and I paid a little too much according to the bargain hunters here but I got exactly what I wanted. 987.2 is the high water mark for the early Boxster and Cayman.
I have bought 3 cars sight unseen and had them delivered. All transports were good experiences. Again my advice is to avoid the cheap transport companies for the best experience.

Dr Peter Venkman

Sincerely, thanks to all of you for helping me get over even being tempted by the quasi-local car. I'm almost embarrassed to share the link at this point, but here you go.

I usually grind decisions like this into dust... figure out my criteria, figure out my price range, figure out where prices are typically, and wait for something to hit my targets. Back to the crazy comment, I was tempted to short-circuit that process here.

One logistical question: If hypothetically, I find a car that's 1200 miles away and i'm trying to buy it sight unseen, how do you coordinate the PPI? Does the shop pick up the car from the seller?

ZuffenZeus

Thanks for the link. Did you run the CarFax and see that it was wrecked. Yep, it's been wrecked.

IMHO, here's an example of a Boxster you need to be looking at ....

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...349893921/NONE

The 2.7L engine has the most robust IMS bearing (6305) and doesn't suffer from cylinder bore scoring.

Dr Peter Venkman

Thank. How do you think about the 2006-2008 987.1's with the different bearing? Was the more robust bearing good enough that I shouldn't worry about it, or is it still a significant step up in "IMS failure risk" compared to the 2009 & beyond?

ZuffenZeus

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the 6305 bearing found in the 06-08 cars. If you move to post 09 cars with the 9A1 engine, you'll eliminate the risk of IMS failure because those engines don't use an intermediate shaft, but you'll still have concerns of cylinder bore scoring most commonly on cylinder #1 AND those cars are still getting a premium price at the point of sales. Now... The jury is still out on the newest generation of Porsche engines (post 9A1), but the newest engines with SUMEbore have not shown scoring issues and it's speculated that the SUMEbore technology in on the level of durability of Nikasil.

I've made a list of Boxster/Cayman cars in regards to Bore Scoring:

harveyf

Regarding a PPI by the seller, you are a little bit at their mercy. You have not keyed us in to where you live but I sense you are not in a major metropolitan area. Once again, I consul you to consider who your go to mechanic is going to be before you get too far in. You really don't want local talent to be learning about Porsches at your expense. Again, if you were to join PCA and go to a few local meetings (local may be relative depending on where you live), you could get a lot of feedback as to where the good mechanics are. The good ones don't have to advertise!
If you want to try a "buying assistant" you might contact this guy. He searches nationwide for 987 Caymans (in my case) but I expect he can handle Boxsters too.

Mark Togni
Mtogni@msn.com

Dr Peter Venkman

That makes sense on the PPI.

I'm in Tulsa, OK. We have a metro population of ~1,000,000 & the local PCA club meets for coffee about 1/2 mile from my house. I know there are good mechanics in town and I'm not too worried about being able to ID them between the PCA guys and my network... that said, I've pumped the breaks and I'll have plenty of time to figure out the local mechanic angle before I actually buy anything.

scootr

A dealer will take the car to a reasonably close PPI and pick it up or he has something to hide, in my experience. I've done this 3 times and 1 time resulted in a no sale due to items turned up by the inspection... but in that case the dealer got a free heads up as to what his car needed so not a total waste of time for him. Shop nationally, shy away from areas where roads are salted. Buy the best example you can find OR or buy the cheapest closest throwaway car you can get your hands on. Good Luck with the search

andy7777

All this is true,
But Porsches are a funny thing, dealers all over will get them on auction to put a little shine in the showroom. I found my '07 Boxster S at a Buick/Nissan dealer in a small town in Michigan, about 2 hours away. They got it from Dallas where it had been its whole life, sold it to a local guy and bought it back after 6 months because he didn't like driving a convertible, so they sold him a Jeep. It was February, it had been sitting for 3 months, and they were looking to move it back to auction when I called them up, took a look, and made them an offer about $2K under what they were asking. Never saw salt in Dallas, never saw salt in Michigan and now it's a summer car in Maine. I bought it without a PPI except my own ears. I've had the car now for 6 years and its been perfect.

That having been said, I would not get a car from a no-name sidelot used car dealer because they get the cars no one else wants. A dealer who sells new cars is less likely to pull the code-clearing stunt like yours did.

For what it's worth, I've found CarGurus to be a decent place to browse for cars because dealers have ratings on the site and they are quite tied into new car dealers. I think I've seen 987s pop up when they show up as trade-ins pretty often. The local Mini dealer had a nice black base 987 I saw there a couple months ago.

TMc993

True fact...

jbx2

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...e-cayman-s-74/

The Boz Abides

I'd suggest joining and connecting with the local Pcar club in the area and let them know you're looking. Many, myself included, are always looking and are happy to be on the lookout for a car we'd like to own. I think you gain friends and knowledge and benefit from more eyes and ears joining your hunt.

RennHarry

Listen to b3freak; he knows his stuff. Ask more questions here before you buy.
I'm 56 and have the same bug- wife and I are just waiting until we get the last child settled down in college. Then the search for a 987.2 (and a nice driver 928, she doesn't know that part yet) begins.
Cheers