Quadcammer

Hey gang.

First, I'm a moron. This is a 4th car for me, but I intend to track it. I have no real reason to own this car, but they drive nice, look nice, and the price is right.

So,
After seeing the disaster in the "unsellable for $6,900", I figured I would poke around craigslist and see what else I could find.

turns out there was a nice 1999 with 106k miles in the DC area.

Drove down with the GF yesterday, picked it up and drove home. No issues.

So its silver/black, 5 speed manual, with an LN dual row retrofit, fabspeed headers and muffler package, 997 short throw, some carbon interior parts, upgraded dual din headunit, newish clutch and recent AOS.

Car sounds nice and drives really well.

Price paid...$5k

Pics coming.

Only issue is the top light stays on with the top up and there is a light whining from the engine compartment and the top has some wear.

pretty excited.

Macster

A moron? Being a bit harsh on yourself, you think?

Reads like a nice if albeit "old" Boxster.

Don't know about the top light issue. Could be a bad switch and top not being recognized as being closed. Do the windows go up when the top is put up and latched?

Whining from the engine compartment could be a number of things. The Boxster idler/tensioner roller bearings are rather long lived but anything's possible. There's of course the water pump that could be a source of the noise. I'm sure you are aware of the "trick" of removing the belt and starting the cold engine to see if the noise -- whining in this case -- is still present or absent with the belt removed.

With a "recent AOS" that brings up the good old "last thing touched first thing suspected" rule. While the AOS is probably ok the installation is always suspect.

Be sure to check the body water drains for any trash build up.

Best of luck with your new Boxster.

Quadcammer

thanks. Been doing my reading up on the car. Will have to test the top further, but i'm guessing the clamshell microswitch needs adjustment.

Moron is really just because I don't need another car but couldn't resist.

Shawn Stanford

Thanks for posting. I've been looking for an early Boxster to make into a weekend/track car, and it's good to see other folks' experiences with older cars. I see a good number of cars in the $5k-$7k area, so the market is right. I've been trolling CL pretty hard. Maybe right after Christmas, when I know how much is left in the kitty and the market for a convertible should be the softest.

Quadcammer

Honestly, this was dumb luck. A lot of the cars in this price range are pretty crappy. I think I just luckily found a motivated seller. I haven't gotten to dig into the car yet so there may be some surprises, but from my 250+ mile drive, the car seems very solid and has some pricey add ons.

Good luck with your search.

John@Fabspeed

Can't beat that for $5k, nice buy haha. Glad to hear you are enjoying the exhaust

Once you pick up that Boxster, let me know if there is anything I can do to help assist with the track build. Have plenty of go fast bits available, and sources for pretty much anything you need.

Also, noticed you are pretty local in the Poconos...would love to hit the track with you some time, and my family has a house up there off Lake Wallenpaupack. Taking route 390 from to and from the house and Pocono Raceway is superb! Have some pretty good footage of that route...

Shawn Stanford

Hey, thanks for the offer!

I'm in the Wyoming Valley, across the river from Pittston. I see you're in Fort Washington; my son just moved from his apartment in Warrington to a house in Lansdale, so I'm down in that area all the time.

I did a PD clinic at Bertil Roos last fall in my 951 and it was a blast! However, my 951 is so nice that I decided I don't want to beat it up on the track. Plus, I've had it for a few years and I'm ready to move on. I haven't owned a convertible in a while, so a Boxster seemed like just the thing.

Now, I just need to find one!

John@Fabspeed

Get out of here! My wife and I live in Landale lol. My cell is in my signature, give me a shout the next time you're around! I'd love to meet up and chat cars, and I'll give you and your son a personal tour of our showroom and fabrication facility. Small world...

Quadcammer

I'm astonished the more I go through this car. Excellent service records, original manuals with stickers, porsche sunshade, car cover, etc etc.

I feel like I won the lottery here.

Macster

Believe it or not but if I ever decide to sell my 2002 Boxster the new owner would get the full set of manuals; 2 keys with the original valet key; a Porsche outside car cover; orignal window sticker; and a box of service records. Oh and 60lbs of factory manuals.

Quadcammer

I know cars like that are out there, but you typically don't find them while bargain shopping on craigslist, ya know.

Dan87951

You bought all that for $5k? What's the catch? Most of the $5k ones I have seen for sale have had no IMS replacement. That service along can cost thousands. I would say you did extremely well.

Quadcammer

Thats what I keep wondering. I've bought a few used cars now, and I know that there will always be surprises, but so far, after looking at all the cursory stuff, it looks like a very honest car. Little things like the original manuals, full tool kit, extra sunshade, etc give the impression that it wasn't futzed with.

either I got lucky or there is something major missing.

That said, since I DIY anything, even if I have to replace some parts, it should be a pretty low spend.

gfl

Sounds like you are the big winner! As someone (Macster?) said, rule #1 of buying a used car is that there is always another. Wait for the right car.

Really the key is an honest seller - you get the right feeling/ Cars are not perfect, but we can weed out the dicey ones.

G

EMBPilot

okay lets not get too crazy here