I agree on the 987 prices. Most of the cheapest ones are 25k+

 

In my searching that is now thankfully over, I found that the high mileage Boxsters had lots of "hidden" problems that caused them to flunk PPI's. Yes, you can get a 2000-02 for under $13,000 and in some cases under $10,000, but they will need at least $5,000-$7,000 worth of work to bring them up to par. Now if you can do the work yourself and that is few and far between, then yes high mileage Boxsters can be great deal. It seems like many with high mileage Boxsters are parting with them because they do need lots of expensive work, and vehicle is simply not worth the expense anymore. So around 50,000 miles was my limit and settled for one with 54,000 miles. Couldn't find a good one with over 70,000 miles that could come close to passing PPI. You get what you pay for one way or another.

 

Yes, in my 18 months of looking, I would have bought a 987 if I could have found one in $20,000 range with lower miles. Maybe they are available in CA and FL areas where supply is much greater, but not in Midwest area where the supply is less. Even then, I would suppose that one would have to settle for very high mileage 987 to get it in lower $20,000 range. In fact, I would have traveled 1,000 miles+ for a bargain basement 987 with acceptable mileage.

 

+1 on the mileage being a negative rather than a plus for a 20k mile 986. I'd want to see 7k or so miles a year and the records showing which issues have shown up and which ones haven't yet, before shelling out top dollar. I think the ideal find right now is a well cared for car that with engine problems, a frustrated owner who just wants to sell. Pay <10k for the car and have the motor repaired and upgraded, or buy that Gt3 motor, ECU, and harness for sale in the classifieds.