gobehemoth

Hi,

I've been reading the forum for quite a while and now shopping for a boxster. Just found a 99' at a local porsche dealer. Super-clean car, only 10k miles on it, 1 owner, all service done at their shop. I've been doing a research and 99 with low mileage are very risky, is there anything you guys could advise? PPI at an independent shop?

Asking price is around 16500, I could probably get it down to 15400.

Thanks in advance,
Alexey

Plyman438

Even with only 10K miles on odometer, that's asking lots of money for a '99 and something 13 years old. For $16,000, you can get a Boxster newer than that and probably an S model also with decent miles on it. Starting in 2000, there were lots of improvements done to the Boxster including the addition of the S model. As for PPI, I would get that done at Porsche dealer unless you know Indie for a fact that really knows what to look for on used Boxsters.

2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster

racer

Does it have the options/features you desire? There were LOTS of the early boxsters made, and after a few years, it seems no two are alike (ie, highly personalized)

While I agree that the price seems high.. and I agree that a Boxster with more miles tends to have fewer problems, what is it about this one you like so much?

If it was my $$, I'd prefer a 2000 or newer, ideally an S.

gobehemoth

Thanks for feedback!

This one caught me with like-new condition of everything inside and out from what i've seen so far. I will be inspecting it in more details tomorrow.

It does have a few features that i like, but do not necessarily need. I'm supposed to get new tires on it too before the purchase.

I will have to work on the price, but i was mostly concerned with reliability. Now, after doing more homework, all those engine failures do not seem to be that much of a wide-spread issue. I put a lot of miles on my cars, so trying to research as much as i can.

KBB is giving the price right around 15-16...

CW-VIESOCK

"KBB is giving the price right around 15-16... "

KBB is way outside on this car. NADA clean retail is just over 10k. I put in the milage and like options (not knowing what they are) and KBB was 16k+. NADA is the one you need to use to get a fair deal. Dealers often quote KBB because KBB is working for them and is owned by AutoTrader.com

If you really like this car and the options make it worth it, give what its worth it to you above NADA book retail and not a dime more. Good luck

gobehemoth

Should i be concerned with the fact that this car has not really been driven at all? 10k miles and everything like new means it has been in the garage for quite a while. Any specific rubber parts, like tires going?

CW-VIESOCK

If the car has been stored out of the weather/sun and not exposed to some kind of source of excessive ozone or wide temperature fluctuations, I would imagine the rubber parts are ok. Pull and twist the rubber pieces and squeeze the leather, if they do not respond like new, you have your answer. The tires, even if stored at optimum temp. and humidity, need to be replace IMO, ASAP. Any leather in the car might have slight dry-rot/drying damage if it has not been given proper care over the years.

You said that this Boxster had been serviced by the dealer selling it, so I would press them for owner contact and their service department should have a fairly good "written" record of milage/use/service over the years. The oil, ideally, should have been changed every year, regardless of use. Everything is suspect without use and service information, from the seals in the brake calipers to the suspension bushings to the air cleaner. Again, it all depends on how the car was used over the last eleven years.

IMS and RMS issues, from what I have read, are more apt to appear on a car that has seen long, (4months) or more, of non-use or irregular service intervals Again, that is what I have read and have no personal experience with those issues. There are as many stories to the contrary as there are to substantiate that claim.

If I were really smitten with a car like this I would negotiate with the dealer a lower price closer to NADA and then have the seal upgrades done on the motor for good measure.

gobehemoth

Thanks a lot for the input, going back to the dealer today to dig on things.

Mark Hubley

What kind of warranty, if any is the dealer offering? If a one-year warranty is included in the price, that is worth something.

However, I will add to what others have said by giving my opinion that if I had $16K to spend on a Boxster I would get a 2000 or later Boxster S.

It seems to be a plus for you that this car is "like new." I think there are a lot of 2000 and later cars out there for sale with 50K miles or less that are close to the as new condition you are looking for. My '99 has 45K miles on it and is in fantastic condition. With a little effort and some patience, I think you can do better than the car you're looking at. Either have them come down about $2K on the price, or keep looking.

txhokie4life

I would avoid the 99's like the plague.

They suffer the worst block issues due to poor aluminum casting.
Other year's not immune -- but the ratio of 99's I here (and seen) vs others
is very high.

With so many others out there -- keep looking.

Mike
(I own or have owned 6 Boxsters)

Macster

Yes.

At 10K miles the car is still a new car, in terms of miles. It is miles a car is driven that brings any problems a new car to the surface.

Tires are scheduled to be replaced on time after 6 years. Remember the spare tire (space saver tire too).

Seals: RMS (rear main seal), the front main seal, the camshaft cover seals (not a seal or gasket per se but sealed via a precision bead of special sealant), injector o-rings, spark plug tube o-rings and the A/C system o-rings to list a few of the seals; can from lack of use dry out and shrink.

When the car is used the seals never regain their original size/shape and as a result they'll leak.

Corrosion in the cooling system can be a concern. The heads/block won't corrode through but the oil/water heat exchanger, the heater core, the radiators, the water pump seals, can over the time suffered from the coolant becoming acidic as its corrosion inhibitors are consumed/degrade from time and pin-hole (or larger) leaks can arise.

If you pay a premium for the low miles the premium evaporates fast as the car is driven and accumulates miles.

Furthermore, you assume some risk that the car will manifest new car 'issues' that will not be covered by any warranty.

Now some owners have driven their cars many times that 10K miles from new and not had any real problems. (In my case, my 02 from new covered 25K miles before teh RMS leaked (which was covered by the car's new car warranty) and then the next problem (AOS -- air/oil separator) appeared at around 80K miles. Others have had similar (even better) experiences, while a few had had worse, much worse experiences.)

To mitigate the risk you assume buying a low miles car you need some break on the price. But whether the seller will even give in to any price break, let alone a price break that meets with what your research will tell you is in the ball-park) is unlikely.

I'm not saying the car is not worth owning. I'm saying it is probably not worth any premium due to its low miles and because it is an early example which could have serious problems, is probably worth something less than a similar car with more miles, enough miles to have some confidence that the issues some of these early cars had do not exist in the car.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Plyman438

Yeah, I would say $12,500 is a fair offer and would leave you $2,500 for any repairs or upgrades. You can get a very nice 2001 Boxster for $15,000, especially in winter when Boxster prices go down a good 10%. A very nice '99 with about 50,000 miles can be had for about $9500 or so. There are always a few that want the moon, but they sit.

2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster

gobehemoth

Thanks for your responses you guys, Ill keep looking.

mikefocke

The desirable changes points are the '00 when the S model was introduced and the '03 when the glass rear window and glove box came into the production.

Don't know where you live (as all car markets are local until you get into real exotics) but I'd look to pay $13.5 for a 60k mile S model with service history and new tires (and not just cra..y ones either) in this economy and season. Best deal I ever got was with 4 inches of snow on the car and the seller motivated. I'd stay away from super low mileage unless the car was from a collector and the records of at least yearly service was there. Estate situations where the car just sat for a while due to medical/legal situations explain how low mileage cars come to exist. Horrible for the car's internals.

Plyman438

Yes, in my research in buying used Boxster, they and any convertible in winter just sit on lots and hardly move unless seller is highly motivated. Then by end of February sales really start to pop and you see lots of movement. Prices usually move up 10% or so as spring starts to slowly pop in more southern parts of country and days lengthen. So now is the time to look and buy used Boxster if you really want one. Greater selection also. On Auto Trader, there are now almost 90 for sale in my price range and location, when in spring that number drops down into 50's.

2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster