thought

Well, I'm backing off of it. I talked to the garage and it turned out that the family is 8 months behind on the parking fees. I let the family know that I'd offer $6000 - the amt owed to the garage and just take over the car. I also let them know that I wasnt negotiating and this was my first, best, and last offer based on research and even showed them the quotes I got to get the car up to date from the service centers. They came back with them saying they are going to pay off the late fees (around $4k), try to fix the title, have someone fly in, do the service, and then "renegotiate based on a updated assessment of the car". I let them know I was retracting my offer and wished them good luck with the sale. I think they felt that I really wanted the car and was just lowballing them and trying to snag a deal.

What I think they are going to find is that they are going to have a hard time hiding the large amount of years the car has been sitting. I ran a carfax on the car and it hasnt been registered since 2012 at 11k miles and is now sitting at 37k miles. They're going to need to explain to the DMV why miles were added when it's registration was not renewed and then have to explain that to any potential buyers.

I finally cautioned them to read up on what happens to a car that's been sitting for that long, especially when running bad gas through the engine. I'm just hoping they dont ruin the car when they do try to restart it. I also told them to google, "986 boxster" IMS, RMS, AOS, and bore scoring so they could have a idea of the questions they are going to be asked.

So if anyone find a 2000 boxster s, silver/blue, 37k miles in the stamford area on sale, make sure you get a deep PPI done, there might be surprises hiding inside. I'll leave the VIN here if anyone wants it.

ZuffenZeus

I think you're wise walking away from this one. While it may seem attractive to buy a low miles Porsche, history has proven otherwise. Ask anyone expert in the industry and they will tell you that Porsches are meant to be driven... that is, exercised regularly. Not sure how it is in other parts of the country, but here in the southeast, people are dumping 986 and 987 Boxsters on marketplace in large numbers. Lots of nice examples for less than $10K.

thought

Yup, the only annoying thing about this whole thing was that I still cant figure out why the fam wouldnt take the offer. No one cares or wants the car and they are now looking to dump more money into it in order try to get a tiny bit more... but still far less than they already paid to let it sit for years. Haha, how illogical it is just makes me scratch my head.

mikefocke

Some understand the cost of risk, others not so much.

Take the total money you might have spent and go looking. Boxsters are a car for a certain time and set of circumstances. Often they have many many owners. You want the one whose most recent owner did a lot of work on a car that could be 27 years old.

thought

I'm not too fussed about the whole thing and I wasnt really looking for a boxster at all. Just seeing it sit there for years and rotting away made me think about it. Just figured that it wouldnt be that hard to get it since it had been there for so long.

Oh well, I still think there is a fair chance they might come back to me later once they realize how much trouble it's going to be to try to sell it. If that happens then at least I'd be able to get a PPI done and I'd still prob offer even less.

Tom R.

I've dealt with estates. I'm wondering if there is a litigious beneficiary, and those in charge would rather **** the money away on storage than sell it for a fair price only to be sued by the beneficiary.

About 30 years ago an elderly widow died. Rain and weather had the side of the house splitting. The public administrator was in charge. In the garage was a Continental Mk II. This was Long Island, by the ocean - lots of rust. A tree was growing in the driveway. You get the picture. I spoke to the public administrator and offered something like $3,000 for the car. I didn't need it, didn't have great storage, but I had put gas in it a number of times when I was in HS, so I figured I would save it. We shook hands over the phone, I said I would get started on it over the weekend. Then they forecasted snow. I called the public administrator to push it back a week. He told me the car was worth more than $3,000, and others were interested. I told him I was done. Six months later the car was still in the garage. Oh well. I dodged a bullet on that one.

thought

What makes it nuts to me is that this isnt the case. The mother is the executer, the rest of the family is in agreement to sell, and they have sold the 2 other cars that the previous owner had in storage already. I think the registration issue with the boxster threw some hurdles their way (last registration renewal was in 2012, owner passed away a in 2019 but put on 22k miles... you need to explain how it got so many miles while unregistered in CT) and they just let it sit and forgot about it. But that issue would be bypassed if I registered in another state.

They actually seem to feel that pouring another 25% of the value of the car in parking fees (on top of the 200% in value they already paid), trying to fix the title issue, flying in from the other side of the country, starting the car, servicing the car, appraising the car, and then trying to sell the car to me is the best way to take care of this issue. After leaving the car sitting since 2019.

Even the people controlling their parking situation have no idea what the thought process is. Doesnt make sense to anyone because whether you are wealthy or not wealthy... the option they are choosing is just the worst possible one.

But your previous situation with the MKII is almost exactly mine. Parking would be a slightly annoying issue, I dont need the car, but I felt that it would be a fun car to save. I just never even got the phonecall handshake part, they are just dead set on getting that 12k in perceived value.

Sorry to keep harping on it but everytime I just try to parse the logic I just cant figure it out. haha

ZuffenZeus

Worth a little more than $3,000 today.

Tom R.

Yes. agreed. It would take only about $60,000 to get to that condition.

mikefocke

What site?

enorab

https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools

KC-CarGuy

Probably wise to walk away. There will always be another one.

Steve Theodore

You were right to pass on that one. Although I get the emotions behind wanting that particular car, not to mention your time invested in trying to make a deal...there were too many risks for you. To buy a Boxster S for $6k and then put over $6k into it would no longer be a great deal unless it was an absolutely dream spec example with colors and options. You can absolutely get a 'good' 2000 Boxster S for $10-15k with no mysteries, or a rough one for well under $10k. There are deals on several online marketplaces (not online auctions) that I hope you can use to your advantage. My own little Boxster S was probably on its way to becoming a parts car itself, but I decided to rescue it for very little money and am working to build it up into a fun race car (not a nice street car). I'm sure you will get a good one!