I remember the first time I saw a Porsche Boxster. It was on a normal weekday evening on my way home from the office. As I pulled up to a red light my headlights fell on the car already stopped in front of me. Metallic Silver, perfectly proportioned, I recognized it immediately from the magazines. The light turned green and I rolled down my windows as it pulled away, to hear the sound of the engine. Ah, Porsches! So unique, so special. Since that night a decade ago there have been a couple hundred thousand Boxsters sold, either in normal or S trim, and they\'re not at all difficult to find for sale. A quick scan through Ebay will reveal several early Boxsters selling for anywhere from $12,000 to just over $20,000, depending on trim level and the condition of the car. The same is found by looking at Auto Trader, and much better deals are often found at seized car auctions such as those found on car-auctions.com or gov-auctions.org. It\'s certainly not difficult to find good examples for sale online in any event. As such, it\'s all too easy to decide that it\'s time to get one for yourself.
One of the first things folks do when looking at a used car is pop the hood. Well this, friends, is the Boxster, and under the hood you\'ll find a spare tire. It\'s best not to act surprised at seeing the spare tire instead of an engine, however, lest the seller think you\'re a rookie. So go ahead and give the tire a cursory inspection and then move on to where the engine is actually located. Said engine is mounted amidships, and a lot of maintenance is done via an access panel in the trunk. Pop the trunk, open the access panel and check for signs of leaking coolant. The cooling systems on the Boxsters, especially the earlier ones, are fairly complicated, and prone to leak if not properly kept up.
Check the engine for oil leakage. It\'s difficult to see the all the engine, however, and you may want to crawl underneath. Many of the early engines were replaced under warranty with oil seepage issues, but all the early 2.5 liter engines are prone to leak around the rear main seal (what sports car isn\'t, though, just check my garage floor), and a few other spots. A little oil leakage isn\'t necessarily a deal killer, but you will want to have a look at the service records to see what\'s been done in any event.
The manual gearbox doesn\'t hold up too well to abuse, particularly if the maintenance hasn\'t been kept up or if the car has seen a lot of miles. Note the shift action, and if it\'s rough then I\'d consider moving on to the next candidate, since repair or replacement of the transmission runs into several thousand dollars. Ah, Porsches!
Check that the top works okay. This is an area where the age/mileage of the car will play a definite factor. I\'ve found that the higher the mileage, the better the chance that the top isn\'t functioning as perfectly as it once did. The car is dead sexy with the top down, and that\'s probably how the car will be shown to you. And it\'s awfully tempting just to spend your test drive driving around with the top down. If you\'re serious about the car, open and close the top several times and listen for any popping or knocking. If the top doesn\'t work well, then you\'ll at least want to negotiate a better price. Replacements, like everything else from Stuttgart, are expensive.
A last thought. The \'97-\'99 Boxsters had a 2.5 liter flat-six engine. In 2000, engine displacement was bumped up to 2.7 liters, which increased horsepower by 16hp. There is a noticeable difference between the two, to me at least. But there\'s also a very noticeable difference in the price, to say nothing of the S variants of any year. So if you want a Boxster for Corolla money, stick with the \'97-\'99 years, and have your potential purchase inspected by a pro before signing the title. Happy shopping and happier driving!
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