They say there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche and still today Nice prize or no dice Boxster is … a cheap Porsche. Could the low price make it an easy startup owned by Porsche? Or it is a rocky road to future spending?
Yesterday’s path 1979 Ford F-250 was certainly an interesting one. On the one hand, there were many comments praising the era of the truck as well as the overall specifications and condition of the large longbed. On the other hand, there was that $ 14,500 asking price that fell short of 56 percent loss without dice. The juxtaposition of praise and passing may not have been aligned, but hopefully that cool truck will still find a new owner.
Speaking of new owners, many of you know that I recently purchased an older Porsche Boxster and am working on the joy and trials of his property to share with all of you.
My experience may very well lead one or more of you to take the “Porsche dive” and pick up your own fairly nimble sports car from the German automaker. If you’re so inclined, then maybe this Porsche Boxster from 1999 is a good place to start. It certainly seems the cheapest.
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The advertisement for this black over Savanna Beige is light on the details, although it does provide some salient information. The photos also tell a story. Here is everything the seller gives in the description of the car:
175,000 miles.
convertible.
In very neat condition.
Runs and drives great.
Looks OK.
Custom exhaust.
Top works manually. No electricity.
Priced right for quick sale.
Clean title in hand.
Okay, so first we find out that the car has been on the road 175,000 miles. That’s a long way for a 986 and you may wonder what the condition of the suspension consumables is and the like. Perhaps to address those concerns, the seller notes that the car “runs and drives really great.” Not just great, but ‘really great’.
The downside is that the seller is tarnishing the car’s aesthetics by saying it only looks good. The pictures confirm that, especially when we come inland. There are some obvious flaws on the outside. Those include some flakes of paint and dents, as well as the absence of both intake grilles and the front side marker lights.
The car is fitted with later 996 headlamps with the more subtly colored turn signal lenses. Some people prefer it. The tailgate carries a Porsche badge in place of the expected one Boxster script. The factory Twists appear to be in good condition, but it does not mention how much life is left in the tires.
At the top, the convertible roof appears intact, albeit with a cloudy rear window. This is all too common with these cars. Less common is the failure of the top electrical mechanism, which is good because it is an expensive repair. That did not work with this car and requires muscle mass from a man (or woman) to raise or lower the roof.
When you lower that top, you see an interior that has seen better days. The seat cover is cracked and broken on both sides foam padding in places and bag change-swallowing holes in others. The rest of the interior looks dirty and needs a thorough cleaning, but at least looks intact. The rubber coating also seems to hold its own.
Other things to note include what is described as a “custom exhaust” and the seller’s claim that the car has a six-speed transmission. We don’t get to see any of that exhaust, other than a two-ended outlet under the rear license plate, but hopefully the modification still retains all the catalytic converters. As for the six-speed gearbox: Uunless it has had a replacement gearbox a later Boxster S, the only way it can have that many gears is if you count backwards.
A quick VIN check reveals this Boxster is not an S and has the 201 horsepower 2.5-liter pancake six under its now manually operated roof. For those of you with your slip in a twist on the infamous IMS bearing problem, you can relax. The failure rate on the 2.5 was about 1 percent, and if this car’s engine blew it would have done it long before it hit 175,000 miles.
The title of the car is neat, and in fact we get to see it in one of the pictures in the ad. That’s a good thing. In other photos we can see that the registration was due in December and the car is still wearing its 2020 tags. That could indicate old snaps, or it could just be that the seller just didn’t want to rebuild a car that’s for sale. Whatever the reason, it needs 2021 tags and – if you live in California, where this car is located – a smog test to get them.
The car will cost you $ 3,500 before all the registration hassles, and that makes it about the cheapest driving and driving (really great, remember) Porsche Boxster in the country. Does that seem like a deal?
What do you think, is this worn but seemingly not worn Boxster worth dropping so often? Or is that actually too cheap when you consider how much more is likely to be spent to make up for it?
You decide!
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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