2013 Porsche Boxster
White/Black, 66,443 Miles

Options:
7-Spd w/PDK Manual
Sport Suspension
Bose - Premium Sound
Navigation
Bluetooth
Power Seats
Heated Seats
Parking Sensors

4th Owner

My big concern is the mileage. What big maintenance is ahead ? Timing belt replacement ? What else ?

Would greatly appreciate some opinions on this one.

 

The car has averaged around 15K miles per year. My experience with a Boxster (2002) with "big" miles -- on average around 20K/year -- is the car might not need much in the way of attention beyond the normal services due on time or miles.

No timing belt. Cams are chain driven and these are not field serviceable.

At 66K miles the engine could be coming up on spark plug replacement.

I have no experience with the PDK but it might be prudent to have a fluid/filter service done. Probably premature -- at least according to the factory schedule but I've always been open to an early service for the tranny/diff vs. waiting until the 90K miles or whatever the service mileage is rolls around.

Brake fluid flush/bleed is due every 2 years regardless of mileage.

Engine intake air filter is probably due to be replaced along with the cabin air filter. If there is a serviceable fuel filter I bet it is due also. All of the above unless you have paperwork that shows this was done before and is not due now.

About every 4 years or so I like to have the coolant drained and the cooling system refilled with fresh coolant.

My Boxster's water pump lasted 172K miles. (My Turbo's 120K miles.) The Boxster fuel pump around 200K miles. The Boxster coolant tank around 225K miles.

Not sure about the AOS in the newer models, but I get around 80K to 120K miles per AOS. At 310K+ miles my Boxster is on its 3rd replacement AOS.

Brakes might be close to needing replacement. I get real good mileage out of the brakes and I just can't recall the mileages I've done the brakes in the past. (My 996 Turbo went 120K miles on its orignal front brakes, and the rears have over 152K miles.)

Basically give the car a thorough road test, first a test ride, then a test drive, over a 15 mile route that allows the seller then you to drive the car as you intend to drive it.

Be sure you have the seller do a K-turn with the PDK cold then again once the engine/PDK are up to temperature. You want to be sure the PDK can shift from forward to reverse and back and forth again in a brief span of time with no untoward behavior.

After the test ride/drive then give the car a good used car checkout. Assume nothing works until you confirm it does work.

After all of the above then arrange a PPI. Among other things this gets the car in the air so a close inspection can be done looking for coolant or oll or tranny/diff or any fluid leaks. The brakes and tire condition can be checked. The CV boots can be checked to make sure they are intact.

Be sure the body water drains are free of trash and there is no signs of dampness in the cabin, on the floor under the seats, and the door bottoms are likewise dry.

The radiator ducts should be trash free but if they aren't budget for a front bumper cover removal to clean the trash out from between the A/C condenser and the radiator, a pair of these are at each front corner. Don't forget the center radiator.

OH, forgot about the worth part... I am not market savvy on the prices of these cars. When I want to know or get an idea of prices I visit www.kbb.com and www.nada.com and fill in the blanks and see what numbers come up. The trade-in/wholesale numbers. If the two sites disagree on prices i go with the one with the lower prices. Not my job to reconcile the differences.

Then the car is worth somewhere between its wholesale price and however much the seller is wiling to let the car for and how much a buyer is willing to pay.

Regardless you want to be sure the car is worth owning and you need to do a good used car check out of the Boxster.

 

Thanks Macster.....and the car is in Sunnyvale, CA.
The current owner would not respond to my requests for recent maintenance records.....a very bad sign.
Here is what I asked:


"Can you tell me if this maintenance was done recently ?
1) new plugs,

2) all new filters,

3) serpentine belt replaced,

4) at least two brake fluid flushes,

5) new brakes."

The Carfax showed maintenance records only back in 2014.
Carfax indicated the trade-in value to be only $23,000.
The owner is asking quite a bit more than that.

BTW: what is the "AOS" ? What is a "PPI" ?

 

too many miles compared to what's out there. Walk away...

 

Ah Sunnyvale. My old stomping grounds.

Oh, sorry about the TLA's... AOS is air oil separator. This device/gizmo is tasked with removing oil vapor of which there can be a lot from crankcase fumes (and returning this vapor in the form of liquid oil to the crankcase) as these fumes are routed to the intake to be burned in the engine. The AOS has a finite life my experience over the years is around 80K to 120K miles.

PPI is short for pre-purchase inspection. It usually is done after you do a thorough used car check out and believe you have found *your* car and just as importantly you believe you can buy the car for a reasonable sum of money. You don't want to PPI a car unless you are real sure you are going to buy it. At least that is my opinion.

Are the numbered items the seller's replies to your questions?

If the brakes were done the discs should not have much of a wear lip. A 1mm lip (on both sides and it is a bad sign of the two lips differ any in their height) is 2mm of wear and that's the wear limit of both the front and rear rotors.

Without some proof the work was done you have to rely upon the word of the seller. He is probably telling you the truth. Maybe he doesn't have the service paperwork but he should remember where he had this done and could direct you to contact the shop for what was done and when.

Wholesale or trade in is what the dealer would allow the seller if he well, traded in the car for another car. Actually more than likely the amount would be less as dealers like to take their numbers "from the back of the book" and not the published wholesale/trade in values.

The seller is of course hoping to get more. No shame in that.

The car may be worth more. I mean we would all like to buy a good car for wholesale but it most of the time doesn't work that way. One doesn't want to over pay for a car either, though. We all want to avoid that.

It would help the seller justify his asking price if he could supply some evidence of what was done and when so a prospective buyer can judge what he is facing in terms of bringing the car up to spec.

That the seller doesn't have this available is not a good sign. Not necessarily that he playing fast and loose with the truth but that he is just not used car selling savvy and is relying upon the car's name and rep to sell it to someone, someone who falls in love with the car at first sight.

I like to fall in love with a car *after* I buy (hopefully) a good car, not before.

(Father-in-law sold cars. But once, well, more than once, but I remember this time he was a buyer. His wife wanted a car and he wanted her to have one. They went car shopping -- in Sunnyvale where they lived. Walked onto a Dodge/Plymouth lot and his wife spotted a nice red Dodge convertible. She let out a squeal of delight and started just gushing over the car. It was a nice looking car, to be sure. My father-in-law with a big grin on his face turned to the salesman and said "I guess we'll take this car." The salesman with a bigger grin on his face just nodded.)

As a buyer you want to avoid paying good to excellent money for a car that is neither and then spending more money to bring the car up to the good to excellent condition for which you paid for when you bought the car.

Remember: Price is not fact only an opinion and while the seller is entitled to his opinion you are entitled to yours. If you can't come together then the car isn't for you. Either the seller is too optimistic regarding the value of the car or the buyer, you, is too pessimistic. The truth I dare say lies somewhere in between.

Last but not least there is always another car. If you are not getting the info you need to make you comfortable about the car, about the seller, if the price is based on your research too high, and without better info you can justify paying more then do not hesitate to walk away. There are a number of cars for sale. Your car is out there, you just have to find it. It can't come to you.

 

re: "Your car is out there, you just have to find it. It can't come to you."
Amen Macster....and I've been looking only at auctions and private sellers.
There's not many in those sources.
There are a TON of them for sale at dealer's however.
But I'm not going to pay their exhorbitant price.

 

Price is not fact only an opinion. The seller, in this case dealer, is entitled to his opinion.

But you are also entitled to yours opinion.

Do your research. Make an offer based on what you think the car should sell for. I have done this a number of times, and managed to buy a number of new (and one used) cars -- from dealers -- at considerably less than the dealer asking price.

I like to point out a good car is where you find it. You should not let some over inflated price (opinion) discourage you from a good car.