TT Surgeon

The boxster is nice but no substitute for a turbo.

perfectlap

it's not intended to be.

A roadster is a roadster. A GT is a GT. A sports coupe is a sports coupe.

Not all drivers are looking for the same thing. Some, like the OP may in fact want both.

phillipj

I have driven the new Boxster at my dealer.. It's an awesome car. I would love to have one..Be a great companion for the TT..

Zeus993

I agree with you. There is not one PERFECT car, in fact many that do many different things very well.

Having said that, and having recently driven the new 981, I prefer the TT. It does MANY things VERY well. IMO...

Maverick1

I've been looking around on the autotrader for a 2007 Turbo and when I checked the carfax most if not all of them had more than 1 owner and some had gone through the auction.
Should these cars be avoided?

aa909

can't comment on the auction aspect but these cars are 5-6 years old and many were originally 3 year leases so 2 previous owners would be expected median at this point.

TT Surgeon

When cars come off lease, dealers generally keep the nice ones for inventory, all others go to auction.
So, generally auction cars are ok.

Macster

Not sure how it works, exactly.

When a car comes off a lease I'm not sure if the dealer has first dibs or if the car has to go to auction. I could believe auction as this would tend to give Porsche a bigger profit what with dealers bidding on the various cars. Still thinking out loud that if the car doesn't go to auction I'm not sure how the price is determined.

I do know -- it is no secret -- that if dealer gets cars on a trade he keeps the cherry cars and wholesales the rest. The dealer looks for a car that requires as little as possible to bring it up to a salable condition.

Also, I know that at least for some cars that come from auction they are not all that good. Dealers were not too long ago short of cars. They were scratching to bring in cars to have something besides new cars for sale. The lots looked down right empty.

I came across a few cars that came in from the Porsche auction but learned they were not all that good and in a few cases the cars were rejected once the dealer (the techs) got through going over the car.

Some were marginal in that while they were in good shape cosmetically mechanically they were in need of attention. Mainly tires, brakes, even in at least one case a clutch.

Trouble is after putting a set of tires on the car, new brakes, and even having to do a clutch job the dealer had considerable money in the car. But the dearth of used cars and the need for cars to fill out the dealer lot had some of these cars staying when in different times they would have never been taken at auction.

Should mention these cars were bought by brokers and these brokers know their cars so they were doing as best they could with what they had to choose from.

As an aside, might add here the few times I've spoken about trading in a car I was advised to do so with the car equipped with good tires. They didn't have to be new but tires that were in obvious need of replacement really put the car in a negative light.

Guess I should make my point and that is an auction car may be nice but it does not have to be nice.

TT Surgeon

Pfs lease cars are different, the dealers do get first dibs through an internal program called MVP, market value pricing. It allows dealers to buy the cars they want from Pfs at a special price. The idea was hatched in 2002 to avoid good cars going to auction, giving dealers and secondarily loyal customers the first shot at certain cars. Stuttgart hates the idea of their cars going to auction in general.
On the other hand, one should be cautious buying an auction car.

MessyMarvin

Correct, the car I bought yesterday was off a 2 year lease so they do not go to auction automatically. I can not imagine a perfect car would ever go to Auction unless it has crazy options, I looked at a few that had Auctions in their past and I much preferred the ones that did not. That is not to say an Auction car could not meet my standards, just saying the ones I saw did not. I was looking for 1 owner cars, just my preference.

Redmist

I bought mine from a dealer that got it at auction. I had 6,435 miles on and was in cherry condition. I've put 10k on it since with no problems except for the battery. The car was not driven enough to keep it charged. It all depends on the particular car. I had a Carfax and PPI done before I bought it; no issues.

aa909

I would add that the decision to send a car to auction may have more to do with dealer inventory vs the condition of the car.

If the dealer has too many used cars on the lot they know how many they can move so it may necessitate a fine car going to auction

Additionally I've see Plenty of off lease 911s on dealer lots in crap shape. So the assumption that dealers only keep the cherry cars is not true

NoPasaran

I traded a 18month old manual Audi TT RS with Sportec engine tune (decatted downpipe included, plus bigger intercooler) and thicker ARBs for a manual 2007Turbo with Sportec tune (software + exhaust) and H&R springs (-1inch ride hight).

TTRS was great in many respects. I've done 186mph on German Autobahn in winter, I went through Swiss Alps with it. Since it was my only car it was a real daily driver, no matter the weather, and it performed beautifully. Was very fast and very easy and comfortable to drive fast, had very nice exhaust note. Only thing I did not like was the standard sport seats (should've had the buckets instead) and the lack of roof hatch.

Turbo is in another league when it comes to speed, steering feel, general driving feel (even slow driving!). It even smells special from the engine compartment! BUT it is significantly more expensive to own and to insure. The frunk is small, the leading edge is low so there is always concern for bottoming out and destroying it. Turbo is also significantly heavier, which is noticeable in the Alps, even with the extra power (+155hp and +160Nm). Also, Turbo is scarier to drive at high speeds (above 125mph) as the steering is edgy and front is very light (compared to engine-loaded front of TTRS).

I love the Turbo though.

phillipj

When I bought my car it had been on my dealers lot for too long.. He was getting ready to wholesale it.. He called me and said come take a look at this car...I bought it for what he paid at auction. My car was perfect with every possible option. Had relatively high miles though.. (38k)

So auction does not mean a sub par car...