Enrico

928 guy here, but admirer of all Porsche models. Looking at a 2000 Boxster for my wife (me too) and wondering what key points/weak spots I should be looking at/concerned with for car in question....it has 52K miles, 3 owners, clean car fax, appears normal wear, 5 speed manual, 16" wheels, pretty much standard equipment all the way around. Any help & guidance very much appreciated.

Plyman438

Sounds like the Boxster I bought, only mine was a 2001 model and has 17 inch wheels. I'm the third owner. As with any used vehicle, check it out thoroughly inside and out and make sure it has everything it came with including manuals, tool kit, and so on. And of course drive it a lot with radio off and really listen. After warm up, really run it through the gears. Check out the brakes throughly while driving it. Put the top down and up. Check out plastic rear window for cracks and visibility. Look for any oil leaks and clear exhuast. With low miles, sounds like it was garaged in winter. Unscrew oil cap in trunk area and check for mayo and condition of the oil. Check viewfinder for coolant and make sure it's topped up with Porsche pink or Audo G12 which is clear. If you are happy so far and everything looks good, and you love the vehicle, next step is PPI. Make sure the Porsche mechanic and shop let you be there while PPI is done and they can point out any problems and what it will cost to fix giving you some bargaining power. If costs really start to mount, then walk away. I know I was under car with mechanic as he pointed out any problems. RMS, oil pan gasket, oil filler tubes cracking can be problem areas. Oil leaks in general as it's an 11 year old vehicle. Also check date on tires and tire wear. And as the bottom of Boxster is sealed up, make sure it's all intact as it should be and not partially ripped and scraped off as that can be a bad sign. Hope this helps a little.

racer

I liked my Model year 2000.

Check the sticker under the front trunk lid as it will spell out all the vehicle option codes. My 2000 came with 18" wheels, sport seats, "sport desgin" package and some other upgrades.

Be aware that Porsche recommends a 60K mile service (so budget for that), and it seems most have Water pump issues around that mileage mark. Motor mounts will also fail and given age/mileage, consider budgeting for that. Rear tires tend to get about 15K miles.. so how do these look so far?

Enrico

Thanks for the tips guys. Moved off of the 2000 after having a struck a deal, only to have dealer come back and want $1,100 more after his "finance guy" drove the car and would not let it go at the handshake price. Frustrating....told him if his finance guy liked the car so much, he should buy it....goodbye.

Now looking at a 2002 with slightly higher miles (67,xxx). The guys that service my 928 are right down the street from the car so PPI will be quick and easy. Headed to see this one today. Thanks again.

Macster

Keep looking for another car but keep tabs on that 2000. I wouldn't be surprised that not too far into the future you end up buying at your handshake price.

BTW, no F&I would do that. The last thing a F&I guy wants to do is kill a car sale in his office. He'll try to sell you finance, insurance, warranty, etc., but driving the car and then refusing to write the deal cause the car's underpriced... Yeah, right. And pigs fly.

That was just some lame *** salesman 'trick' to bump the price at the last minute thinking he had you hooked sufficently enough that you'd cave in for the bump in price. You handled it perfectly.

I wonder of the salesmanager/GM were even given a chance to say yes or no to the deal? The salesman can't say yes, all he can say is no and then only if he choses not to put your offer in front of his salesmanager.

Sincerely,

Macster.