I am in the market to purchase a Boxster S. I would like opinions and/or thoughts on the relationship of price vs. mileage. In other words at what mileage point is it worth paying more (if at all in the mileage area I am looking). For example 2 2001 Boxster S. Car one has 35k miles and asking price of $21.5k, car #2 has 42k miles and asking price of $19.5k. Thrown into the mix car #3 with 59k for $18.5k.

Obviously I would negotiate on the price on any of these cars because I think that all 3 are over priced. The reality is the car with the higher mileage is the right color, options and few extras like a hard top, however, I originally planned on getting a car with less than 45k miles. The low mileage car has the right options but is arguably the least desirable color. The middle car is lacking in some options that I wanted like Litronics and heated seats but it is a one owner car and sold by a p-car dealer that sold the car new also. I am waiting on history of the other cars. I would get a PPI on any of them. Assuming they check out what do you think? What are your thoughts on mileage, is 60k too much? How much is 15k miles worth on an 01 car? I am trying to work this out in my mind so any comments would be greatly appreciated. [edit: the 59k mile car is sold but I would still like to hear thoughts on the mileage

Sidebar question on extended warranty plans...do they cover catastrophic failures of the engine like an IMS bearing failure? Not RMS leak but engine total engine grenading.

The background is the car is for my wife and my budget is $20k max for the purchase. The car must have PSM so my options are some what limited. I have been looking for 3-4 months and wanted to have it by May 1st.

 

I would not pay attention to mileage differences of 10K to 20K. There is MUCH more of a difference in how the cars are maintained. I've seen cars only a few years old that are thrashed with the leather all dry and cracked and poor paint condition. Yet, others are meticulously maintained and look like new after 5+ years. You want a car that was owned by a fanatic so that if anything was wrong, it was fixed. Of course, you want expensive options that you desire such as Litronics since they are expensive afterwards.

Another major area to consider is the engine condition, so be sure to get history and PPI. I would pass on the extended warranty. It seems there is about as much likelihood they will pay out as they will go out of business or deny your claim saying it was caused by a pre-existing condition/defect/fault or abuse. They are in the business of keeping their money and not buying new engines. Note that any M96 engine could fail, so you need to be able to mentally/financially deal with it should it happen. In other words, don't strap yourself at $20K. Coming from a Cayman S, you may also want to do a few upgrades.

Common repair items on these cars are: coolant tank leaks, wheel bearings, MAF, air/oil separator, maybe a few others like a spark plug tube oil leak. They are actually pretty reliable. When I say common, for example, I have a 9-year old Boxster S with ~40K miles on it and have replaced 1 wheel bearing and none of the rest of the above, but I did have a leak in the oil filler tube. Coming from a Cayman, they also eat tires.

 

thanks for the thoughts. I am not getting rid of the Cayman S (that is my daily driver). The Boxster is an addition. The Cayman was the first new Porsche I have bought. My prior Boxster, 993 and 996 were all preowned so I condition is the all important factor. However it is nice to be reminded because it is easy to focus on options, price and mileage.

 

Two fun cars in the family! I see