The market for used 981 Boxsters

[michael100]

Hi all,

 

First time post from someone looking to join the ranks of Porsche owners!

 

I am posting because I would appreciate insights into pricing, availability, dealing with Porsche garages, etc, from those who have been in the market longer than I have.

 

I'm looking to buy a used 981 Boxster. Preferably in VIC (for convenience, as I am based in Melbourne). I don't mind manual or PDK, preferred options would include the sports exhaust and sports chrono package.  I have a trade in or private sale to work through, and would pay the balance in cash.

 

My questions:

 

1. In your experience, how open to negotiation are Porsche dealers on drive away prices? My main reference point is that I have previously negotiated 8-10% discounts on advertised prices on low km purchases from BMW.

 

2. In your experience, how miserly are Porsche dealers with trade in values (the potential trade in is a BMW that would realistically go for $50k privately), when you are a serious buyer?

 

3. In watching market prices for used 981 Boxsters at Dealers, what sort of depreciation from RRP/drive away price would you look for, for 2012 and 2013 models with 5-10k km?

 

4. Any other thoughts, issues, that you would recommend I consider? My best current thought is to wait a while, as there are very few examples currently in VIC (though plenty it seems in NSW/WA/ACT).

 

As a live example, what would your target changeover price be for this: http://bit.ly/1igjf17 with a $50k (private sale) value BMW to trade.

 

Any thoughts appreciated, I know I want the Boxster, I'm just not sure what I'm looking at on price, and therefore I should wait a while to see what hits the market.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[edgy]

I don't know much about boxsters, but I think your expectation for negotiation of 8-10% is realistic.

I think your target CO for the example posted would be about the $55-60k region. Those are acceptable numbers to me.

Good luck with your search

[Pauly]

Don't be to shy with looking out of state.

I can't say much about pricing or boxsters. But id try steer away from the private dealers unless you know they have rep, They really treat some cars bad, especially the 80k plus cars. Id stick to Porsche as it would come with their warrantee.

 

Good luck.  

[Mike D'Silva]

kinda off topic a little.. but here is an interesting 981 boxster... Not sure if it belongs to a member here, but I think he will own it for quite some time. 

[SteveC]

1. Discounts depend if the car is cheap already as if it is they will just tell you there is no room to move. There are cycles of discounting the Porsche do as the car is in the showroom depending on the time they have had the car. Otherwise if the car is close to RRP then yes 10% is possible.

2. Porsche will not give you as good a trade in as BMW as they would on sell the car to a wholesaler and not sell the car themselves unlike a BMW dealer. Redbook would give you rough values and aim low in their scale. 

3. Carsales would give you the best indication. 

4. My advice would be stick with Porsche dealers for less surprises. Interstate is fine if you are comfortable with the idea. I am told that Porsche warranty is not valid through second hand car non-Porsche dealers which should be a consideration as well. 

[michael100]

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts so far.

 

I would be prepared to be $5-10k out of pocket on a trade in, compared with a keenly negotiated private sale and cash purchase from a Porsche garage (which is in line with Edgy's comments), but I fear it would be more like a $20k differential if trade in values are taken at the low end redbook price rather than the carsales price (as Steve C suggested).

 

So, I think I'll get on with a private sale before getting in the test drives. I'll provide updates when I get to the Porsche end of things.

[CarreraG50]

I had a mate who was in car sales, this is what he told me (Cayman S happy to be corrected as I understand you are in the industry)

 

Buy at the end of the month (salesman have monthly targets if its been quite they will be keen to deal)

No trade means less hassle for them, sell privately go in with $$$$$.

They also get a commision if they sign you up for finance.

Dont be afraid to ask, you will be surprised how much room they have to move from the advertised price.

Be prepared to walk away, if you are a genuine purchaser they will suss that out, as you walk away they will deal,

if they dont keep walking.

Remember No doesnt alway's mean no to car salesman, if they say NO they are trying to find out how much more $$$ you have to spend.

They wont run out of BOXTERS, if you dont get the first one, just keep looking.

 

Good luck, remember the hunt is half the fun.

[ByronBayChris]

A $50k private sale beemer would be close to $30k trad-in. I know, as I was you a few years ago, looking for 55 and was offered 32-34 by lots of places. Private sale if you want to maximise cash. Dealer trade if you want to minimise hassle.

[gtim]

I'll keep an eye on this thread.  When reading the OP, I almost thought I had written it.  I'm in exactly the same position and looking for exactly the same thing, although I'm leaning towards a Cayman.  I figure I might have to wait a bit before the current models come down in price though.

[Caver]

My next Boxster will be a 981....at the moment....happy to sit and drive the current Boxster until the 981s hit a reasonable price.

[michael100]

By way of update, a few weeks of monitoring the market has led me to a few observations:

 

a) There's not a lot of used 981's on the market yet (less than 25 nationwide).

A number of those are highly optioned (i.e. still very expensive).

c) The ones that are coming to market are typically turning over in two to three weeks (except the pure base model/manual combos).

 

I'm settling in for the long haul...

[SteveT]

It's going to be worth the wait!

[michael100]

Hey all, back for an update on my 981 Boxster search!

 

After another two months or so of watching and waiting, and getting a better feel for the market, some more observations:

 

1. Supply hasn't moved noticeably (i.e. there are still relatively few used 981's coming up - particularly in VIC).

2. Demand is still very strong at prices up to $120k (i.e. pretty much all stock with preferred options - such as sports chrono/exhaust - is shifting within a month of being on carsales).

3. Dealer demos and 2012/3 cars with up to 5k km on the clock are listed for approximately 10% off the drive away price of a new one (per the configurator online), which seems like a bad deal, considering the reduction in warranty available.

 

I have been proceeding with a private sale of my BMW, so as to have a clean negotiation with a dealer.

 

Two follow up questions for those that have been through the process before:

 

1. Is a "Boxster and Cayman event" (which is currently advertised) actually likely to result in more flexibility in prices? The cars listed on the dealer websites are at exactly the same price at which they have been on carsales for a while...

 

2. How long might it take to order a new 981? Are we talking a couple of months, or 6 months plus?

 

Appreciate any input - it's a real process! But I'm enjoying it nonetheless.