tincanman99

I posted yesterday that I am getting ready to buy my first Porsche. Have been out and about visiting different dealers (I am in NJ). I have noticed that almost all the dealers have a glut of Porsches sitting on the lots. Boxsters and 911's. More Boxsters than 911's. They even have left overs from 2004. Strange with it being 2005 already. I figured they would have been gone.

I dont get this. I know when they came out they were very hard to come by and now they are easy to get with the coupe de grace being 2004 left overs. Whats going on here? - is it the economy just sucks or something else.

I noticed a lot of them have like 10K mileage and they are traded (this is on 03s and 02s). Were these just impulse purchases, leases or people had lots of trouble with them? Are they as unreliable as people say. I expect a car to be quirky - after all its a machine. Why does Porsche replace engines with such frequency?

Been having second thoughts about this for a while now this is why I have not pulled the trigger on it.

chris924S

I had similar thoughts.


Chris F.
Montclair, NJ
1988 924S 195K

Tool Pants

When I started Boxstering 6 years ago you ordered a car and waited almost a year. Dealers were not suppose to sell over sticker. So they would take a new car, title it, put 300 miles on it, and sell it for $8,000 over sticker. When I bought my 1997 6 years ago I paid what it cost new, and I was lucky.

Not that way anymore. 2004 US sales were way down so Porsche delayed the intro of the 987 so dealers could get rid of 2004s. When 2 local dealers had open houses for the 987 there were 7 new 2004s on the lot. Discounts of $7-10K were offered for those.

A lot are leased. Porsche leasing gives the dealer the chance to pick up the car when the lease is over.

dennis a from pa

...increased production and many cars coming off lease does that to prices...remember over 150,000 of these puppies were made, when they first came out they were produced in Germany beside 993s. Then they fired up production in Finland...supply up....prices of used down...hey be happy you are buying used you benefit.

Sean

A lot of people buy convertibles (especially two-seaters) as weekend fun cars. If the weather is sunny and it's Friday/Saturday/Sunday, they break the Boxster out of mothballs and go for a drive.

This applies to Porsches in general. I have a friend who, just a few hours ago, bought a 1986 944 coupe with only 31k miles. That's about 1600 miles per year! He says the car looks to have never seen rain.

There are plenty of "garage queen" cars out there....owners bought the car, then couldn't bring themselves to put mileage on it. Which means they are taking perfect care of these cars for future owners to drive and enjoy.

dennis a from pa

...well a car that has only 1600 miles per year might be considered NOT taken car of...It seems these type cars are primed to need repairs...seals dry up, belts rot, and generally lack of use is not great for these P-cars..

I would look for more normal use 7-10 K per year....That being said my 550 SE, less than 1 year old has 18,600 miles...not normal..I can assure you time on my warranty will NOT exceed mileage.

epbrown01

Bruce Anderson wrote in Excellence that the average Porsche mileage is around 7000 miles a year. For most people, a new Porsche is their 3rd car, rather than a daily driver, and driven in nothing but nice weather when they have plenty of free time. It tends to be the 2nd and 3rd owners that rack up the miles!

Emanuel

c4bliss

my two cents... i solld my 2000 boxster for 30K in december last year. I can now rebuy it for about 25K. I sold it for my 911, but my dealer told me the recent glut and price plunge is due to the new 2005 coming out. I have seen boxsters for sale with less then 30K miles for under 25K regular like. Almost makes me want to go buy it back! I miss it so.....

designman

We have to keep reminding ourselves that cars are not an investment. Never were. No matter what the price structure is kiss the money goodbye. If you have a love for the car and have every intention of getting use out of it, you have it made with these price dynamics. Take advantage up front with the purchase and don't worry about depreciation. Some people wind up screwing themselves by not knowing or appreciating what they are buying. To those who do, these cars are priceless.

JFScheck

Take advantage of it and buy yourself a 2003 or 2004!

BobbyB

Low milage Porsches don't seem to be that unusal and most are well taken care of. My 02 has 17K miles in just under 4 yrs of driving - but I enjoy it every time I pull it out. If you are buying a low milage one, just make sure you do a PPI including checking for oil leaks.