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Hello everyone, Jeremy here. I’m looking for some advice from the community: is this 2005 Porsche Boxster S worth buying?
The owner says the transmission won’t shift into 2nd gear. It’s a higher-mileage car (155K), but they claim regular maintenance has been done. I’m fairly mechanically inclined—I’ve owned a 986 Boxster, an S4 B8, and a few other cars—and I’ve been wanting another Porsche for a while. I actually enjoy having a project to fix up, so I’m wondering if this Boxster would be a good one.
What would be a fair price to pay, around $5,000 or $6,000? I’ve already asked the owner for the VIN so I can check the title status and hopefully review more maintenance records.
I would lowball him with a maximum price of 3k. The front bumper appears to be damaged. If the car has an extended warranty, why doesn’t he get the transmission fixed? Probably because the dang warranty doesn’t cover the transmission.
Definitely something going on with the "warranty." I highly doubt it even has any. The owner also said the 2nd gear syncro is damaged, so it needs a transmission no matter what. $3,000 does seem like a fair price for the condition of the car
Assume the warranty wont cover anything you need or will have an issue with, so I think 3k is a good/fair price for a project car. You have to factor either fixing that gearbox yourself or the cost of someone else or replacement. I'd probably walk away if they didn't accept the offer, it'd make sense for them to accept eventually, gl
You've probably heard the old adage, "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche." Keep in mind, with 155k miles, this is probably a $10k car in excellent condition without the cosmetic damage, and deferred maintenance alone (brakes, suspension, cooling system, top mechanism, etc) can quickly eat up thousands of dollars in parts costs.
Last edited by RJ80; Sep 18, 2025 at 02:30 PM.
Reason: removed typo
You've probably heard the old adage, "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche." Keep in mind, with 155k miles, this is probably a $10k car in excellent condition without the cosmetic damage, and deferred maintenance alone (brakes, suspension, cooling system, top mechanism, etc) can quickly eat up thousands of dollars in parts costs alone.
I agree. I’d pass. Find something more worthy of your effort.
You've probably heard the old adage, "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche." Keep in mind, with 155k miles, this is probably a $10k car in excellent condition without the cosmetic damage, and deferred maintenance alone (brakes, suspension, cooling system, top mechanism, etc) can quickly eat up thousands of dollars in parts costs.
Does any 987.1 S go for that at that mileage even in good condition? I haven't seen any that cheap The lowest priced Boxster S I see at 114k miles is $14k.
For reference, there's a auto base 165k miles for $6k and a 143k auto base 2005 for $8k. So a manual 155k mile S, if all it needs is a transmission and a re-paint (maybe a replacement a bumper), I'd say 5k is reasonable, if not actually a steal
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Worth buying this 2005 Boxster S?
