Buying a Porsche Boxster - Help!
Discussion
Hi all,
Looking to buy my first Porsche Boxster - very excited but want to make sure I buy correctly. I have narrowed down to a 981 and have two I am currently looking at. Need some help deciding. Two options:
1. 2012, 30k miles, manual, basic spec, 4 owners (1 being Porsche initially)
2. 2013, 24.5k miles, automatic, better spec including parking sensors, bluetooth phone, heated seats etc, 2 owners
They are similar cars (look wise) and are similarly priced. However the value on we buy any car of the first car is £5,500 less!! I don't believe values on there but having sold a car recently it appears that all car buyers are using that as a negotiation tool - annoying!
Is there any reasons people can think of why? Are the manuals really worth that much less? Maybe the amount of owners is an issue?
Thanks in advance
Looking to buy my first Porsche Boxster - very excited but want to make sure I buy correctly. I have narrowed down to a 981 and have two I am currently looking at. Need some help deciding. Two options:
1. 2012, 30k miles, manual, basic spec, 4 owners (1 being Porsche initially)
2. 2013, 24.5k miles, automatic, better spec including parking sensors, bluetooth phone, heated seats etc, 2 owners
They are similar cars (look wise) and are similarly priced. However the value on we buy any car of the first car is £5,500 less!! I don't believe values on there but having sold a car recently it appears that all car buyers are using that as a negotiation tool - annoying!
Is there any reasons people can think of why? Are the manuals really worth that much less? Maybe the amount of owners is an issue?
Thanks in advance
The manual car is a year older AND has 25% more miles AND is manual AND has a lower spec AND has more owners. So perhaps not entirely surprising it's valued a fair bit lower.
To answer your question, I've just had a look through AT and yes it does seem that the manual cars are priced lower. Below are the lowest, 25th percentile, median (50th percentile), 75th percentile and highest prices for the 981 Boxster 2.7:
Manual
Min £22k
25th £24k
Median £25.5k
75th £28k
Max £34k
Auto
Min £21.5k
25th £26k
Med £28k
75th £30k
Max £39k
Now, this doesn't _prove_ that a manual box is worth less - it could well be that automatic cars were generally ordered in a higher all-around spec, and it's the other gadgets that push the price up, not the gearbox itself. But it does paint a picture.
It seems that you want to buy a manual, but are concerned that the car you're looking at won't be worth the money when you come to sell. I think the biggest priority is to buy at the right price. If the other manual Boxsters of similar age and mileage are cheaper, then that car is overpriced and you should either do some bargaining (backed by evidence), or look elsewhere. If however the price is similar to other manual cars, then that is the market price and WBAC are out of line. In this case you can buy, and when you come to sell, whatever sellers say, if they don't have any cheaper options for manual cars they will have to come back to your car.
Personally I have a suspicion that the kind of person who buys a brand new Boxster values the PDK higher, but the kind of person who buys a 10 or 12-year old one prefers a manual, and thus the values might cross over in time. This would suggest manuals might depreciate more slowly.
Ultimately, decide what you want, review the many dozens of cars on the market to discern what's a fair price for it, and then look until you find a sound car at or below the fair price.
To answer your question, I've just had a look through AT and yes it does seem that the manual cars are priced lower. Below are the lowest, 25th percentile, median (50th percentile), 75th percentile and highest prices for the 981 Boxster 2.7:
Manual
Min £22k
25th £24k
Median £25.5k
75th £28k
Max £34k
Auto
Min £21.5k
25th £26k
Med £28k
75th £30k
Max £39k
Now, this doesn't _prove_ that a manual box is worth less - it could well be that automatic cars were generally ordered in a higher all-around spec, and it's the other gadgets that push the price up, not the gearbox itself. But it does paint a picture.
It seems that you want to buy a manual, but are concerned that the car you're looking at won't be worth the money when you come to sell. I think the biggest priority is to buy at the right price. If the other manual Boxsters of similar age and mileage are cheaper, then that car is overpriced and you should either do some bargaining (backed by evidence), or look elsewhere. If however the price is similar to other manual cars, then that is the market price and WBAC are out of line. In this case you can buy, and when you come to sell, whatever sellers say, if they don't have any cheaper options for manual cars they will have to come back to your car.
Personally I have a suspicion that the kind of person who buys a brand new Boxster values the PDK higher, but the kind of person who buys a 10 or 12-year old one prefers a manual, and thus the values might cross over in time. This would suggest manuals might depreciate more slowly.
Ultimately, decide what you want, review the many dozens of cars on the market to discern what's a fair price for it, and then look until you find a sound car at or below the fair price.
You can go to Porsche Boxster/Cayman section, many owners out there would be willing to help.
I would recommend to get one with OPC warranty. 981 is fantastic, reliable car, but if things go wrong, absolutely expensive to repair, both parts + labour.
There are a few well-known independent porsche dealers, who have a good reputation...
I would recommend to get one with OPC warranty. 981 is fantastic, reliable car, but if things go wrong, absolutely expensive to repair, both parts + labour.
There are a few well-known independent porsche dealers, who have a good reputation...
I’m not sure if this helpful, or relevant to the 981 so take it or leave it but... In used Porsche world options make or break values. Sometimes few options on a big engined variant appeal to the “purist” over time but in general poorly specced cars are worth much less.
Comfort and connectivity options don’t seem to mean much on the used market; people seem to prize seats, wheels, extended leather and sports options (suspension, chrono etc) much more highly.
From what you’ve said the two you’re looking at are not going to be the higher valued examples in the market, but that won’t stop some vendors trying anyway.
Watch a few with “driving” options, even if priced higher, and see how quickly they sell compared to lower specced cars. That might explain the bid offer spread you’ve picked up on.
Comfort and connectivity options don’t seem to mean much on the used market; people seem to prize seats, wheels, extended leather and sports options (suspension, chrono etc) much more highly.
From what you’ve said the two you’re looking at are not going to be the higher valued examples in the market, but that won’t stop some vendors trying anyway.
Watch a few with “driving” options, even if priced higher, and see how quickly they sell compared to lower specced cars. That might explain the bid offer spread you’ve picked up on.
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