Lizard's Lair

Cash-For-Clunkers - 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE

I bought this car new on February, 1985. I had just traded in my old low-rider, a 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix, my first new car. 

Sorry for the poor picture, but it's a fading snapshot on my refrigerator. 

Since then, I bought a 1989 Mazda 626, a 1990 Toyota Previa, a 1992 Nissan Truck, a 1995 Toyota Previa, a 1998 Toyota 4Runner 4x4, a 1999 Honda Civic EX (still own - 150,000 miles), a 2001 Ford Expedition 4x4 (to tow my boat), a 2004 Mazda RX-8 GT (my daily driver - 78,000 miles), and a 2007 Mazda CX-7 (wife's car - 46,000 miles).

Now, it's worth $3,500 for me when I buy my next new car. This has been an awesome car. It's never been in a wreck, but a long time ago, a VW bus ran into me while crossing the border between Tijuana and San Diego. The Border Patrol couldn't do anything about it, since it happened in Mexico, and it's been dented or half-assed fixed like this since. I was in line when 2 lanes merged into one, this VW Bus scraped and dented my drivers door and front fender.

Here's it's better side, yet the faded fender reveals it's other history. The car was almost new, late 1985. I lent the RX-7 to my brother's wife and while driving near her house, she came out in front of a bicycle who rammed into the fender. My cousin did a very poor job fixing it.

2009 Volkswagen GTI vs. Nissan 370Z vs. BMW 128i vs. Mini Cooper S

My newest favorite car! I drove one last night. My son Armando recommended this over the Mini Cooper S I drove last Saturday. I've been flipping between a Nissan 370Z, base model with a sport package, MSRP about $33K, a BMW 128i with sport package, also about $33K, and a Mini Cooper S, about $25K.

I really like the Nissan 370Z. It's got great looks, the strongest engine, and a definite step up from my RX-8. The new Z has 332 hp and can get to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds, that's a whole second faster than my 2004 Mazda. It's weakness was that I would be getting the base model, cloth seats, yet it was in still in my price range. I've lowered that point from the mid $40's. Originally, that's where I wanted to be, but the reality is that I should be in the $20's if I didn't want to strain the budget.

I loved the drive in the 370Z. It's powerful engine with great torque throughout it's power band. Being a two-seater is one of my concerns. I do like driving and the RX-8 always gave me the flexibility of fitting four, which was almost always enough.

Next, I loved the refined overall feel of the BMW 128i. It's inline 6 cylinder engine put out 230 hp, about 10 hp less than my RX-8. It's the smallest BMW coupe, making the back seat room less than my RX-8. For around $33K, I'd get the manual, black exterior and black leatherette interior. My only option would be the sport package, with it's tuned suspension and awesome sport seats.

The BMW 128i has another great thing going for it, it's 4 year warranty is an extra year over all the competition. Nissan, VW, and Mini all have 3 year warranties. BMW also includes free maintenance for those 4 years, including normal wear on brakes and pads. VW and Mini had maintenance packages, but it did not include any coverage for normal wear items, like brakes and wipers.

The Mini Cooper S can be had for $24,850 MSRP. It's got a 210 hp turbo 4 cylinder engine, 0-60 in about 6.7 seconds. It's got teeny back seats, but gets the most mileage, a combined 29 mpg, more than 10 mpg better than my 1985 RX-7 that I will be trading in as part of the Cash-For-Clunkers program.

Price, while always a top priority for me, has never pushed my decisions as much as this car purchase has. I have been quoted from carsdirect.com, $23,612, for a 2009 GTI with the Autobahn package, sunroof and leather sport seats, plus darkened rear tail lamps, which together have an MSRP of $26,829. The invoice cost is $24,990, so I've been quoted $1,378 UNDER invoice!! On top of that is VW's 0% financing for 6 years! Together, with my $3500 RX-7 trade-in, after tax and license, my total financed is only $22,768, that's $378.47 a month. That's a whole lot less than the $500 - $600 range I originally thought I'd be in.

Decisions, Decisions...

What do you think?

2010 Chevrolet Camaro LT1

In my never-ending strive to find the right car, I get a hankering to drive the new Camaro. I've read various reviews on them, but a retro American pony car was never on my wish list, but it's fun to drive new cars, none the less.

It definitely looks retro, like Dodge Challenger a bit. A bit more edgier than a Mustang. It has a high beltline, and when I fist sat in it, I was way too low. Luckily, the seats had a nice manual height adjustment and visibility was not bad, better than a 370Z. I did feel more confined with the seemingly short cockpit. the dash looked retro-ugly and the steering wheel's odd shape turned me off too. It was an automatic with paddle shifters and 3.6L V-6 pumping out 304hp.

Sorry for the glare in the photos from my iPhone, but it was around noon and I was at a bad angle. Anyway, It's got good rear end looks. But overall, nothing impressed me. I guess you have to be a Camaro fan.

Current Glut of 2008 Porsche Boxsters

553 new and used 2008 Boxsters are being currently advertised for sale on AutoTrader.com. The one pictured above is going for $36,792, it has 24,500 miles and a certified-preowned warranty. There are multiple dealers giving at least $10K off a new Boxster.

From the same dealer as the car above, you can get a used 2008 Boxster S for $43,995, it's black, has 11K miles and a CPO warranty.

Ebay had a completed sale on March 3 for a new 2008 base Boxster at $39,000. The MSRP was $53,435, that's more than $14,000 off!

With 2009 models beginning to show up at dealers across the nation, unsold 2008 inventory will be continuosly discounted until they're gone.

Is there a glut of unsold Caymans?

As I've been shopping for a Cayman a few months, my searches always had filters like maximum  price and manual transmission to keep the lists smaller. I usually set my filters to show me 100 of the lowest price Cayman for a particular year. I then wondered what is the real market of all unsold Caymans in the US right now.

My findings are far from scientific and my number gathering is limited to what is advertised on Autotrader.com. I use them, because it's easy to save detailed searches and I keep my top 25 car list on there. Here's my list as of today:

2006 Cayman S - 137 available

Here's the cheapest one, $31,995, 31K miles, Auto

2007 Cayman  and Cayman S - 181

2007 Cayman, 9K miles - $29,821

2008 Cayman and Cayman S (used) - 162

2008 Cayman, 5K miles - $37,900

NEW 2008 Cayman and Cayman S - 549!! I checked it twice.

2008 Cayman, 112 miles, MSRP $50,760 - $8,762 = $41,998

Five hundred and forty-nine, wow! That is a lot of excess inventory. I've seen the Cayman sales for the last few months and they are not good. November and December 2008 sales were less than 100 per month. 2008 new Caymans will available for a long time. The 2009 models will be out in a month or 2 and that is adding to the slowdown, not including the current terrible state of the economy. $8000 discounts are the norm. I've seen $13000 off a low mileage demo.

The day after I made this post, one of my favorite car blogs posted pictures of the world auto glut. The original photos with more information is here.

Caymans on Ebay

High mileage, 40K miles, 2006 Cayman S sold for $30,000 on February 15th.

This low mileage, 10K miles, 2006 Cayman S sold for alot, $39,000 on February 14th.

This 2007 Cayman S with Turbo style wheels and only 4700 miles was sold for $40,100.55 on February 14th

This 2007 Cayman with almost 25K miles sold for a great price, $27,900 on February 10th.

This 2007 Cayman S with less than 5000 miles sold for $35000, February 5th. It was nicely optioned, stickering for $67000. That's a hell of a deal!

This beautiful 2007 Cayman S in Carmona Red metallic, sold for $44000, February 2nd with 4000 miles. Hmmm.

2008 Cayman S, 14K miles - $42,500, sold February 2

  I just put a $29000 bid on this 2008 Cayman S in Oregon. I know I won't get it. It's easily $20K under what they may want for it, but it's fun and if by a miracle, one of my bids turns into a real car, then I'd be ecstatic.

I started looking for Porsches on Ebay this past summer. At first, my maximum allowable bid was $15000, because my account wasn't verified with Paypal yet. I already had a Paypal account from my time with the Hotline server, though I hadn't used it since then. My early bidding was limited so I bid on cars to start the bidding. Often, it's the first dollar or $1000. You place a maximum bid, say $9000, and you can be the first bidder. If there is no minimum, then it starts at a dollar. Almost all cars have an undisclosed reserve price that must be met before they will sell the car. There are no miracles like buying a $25000 Porsche for $1000 or something. The cars that do come through without any reserve get bid on by regulars on Ebay.

A way to what cars are actually selling on Ebay is to do a search for what you want, then click "Show Completed Listings". This will list all the finished auctions with green numbers for sold items. I'd say more than 90% of what I look for goes through unsold. My current search has 211 listings.

Here's another one:

Check out the Carrera Red interior!

 

I'm the current high bidder at $1000. My maximum is set to $25,500.

Here's one that actually sold December 26, 2008 for $40,800. It's a 2006 Cayman S with only 1328 miles. It's Buy It Now price was $42,900.

 

Do you like Speed Yellow? I don't.

2007 Cayman, 20K miles, Buy-It-Now $31,800, 1 hr to go, bid $28,000

This sold too, 2007 Cayman S, 9K miles, Atlas Grey - $36,900 on December 29th.

Here's a nice 2007 base Cayman in Blue, 16K miles, sold for $31,100 on January 2

Another awesome buy on a 2007 Cayman S in Carmona Red Metallic, 12K miles, sold December 30th for $36,000! Look at the original asking price, $7275 discount, wow.

2006 Cayman S, 17K miles - $33,500, sold December 6

BRAND NEW 2008 Cayman sold January 16 for $43,473!

Boxsters on Ebay

There has been a flurry of Boxster sales on Ebay lately. Here are a few:

This 2006 Boxster with only 13500 miles sold for $22000 on February 8. What a deal! This car was in Las Vegas. Great color combination. Brand new tires too!

Here's another example of what's sometimes seen on Ebay:

OUCH!! That must have hurt. This 2007 Boxster S only had 2000 miles on it, when someone rear-ended it. It's a California car that was sold with a Salvage Title. It wasn't until last year that I found out you can claim "loss of value" on insurance claims. The owner of this car must have felt sick when this happened. Personally, I'd never buy a car like this, unless I owned a body shop. It sold February 5th for $28000. That seems like a lot to me, even though it was pretty loaded, with CD Changer and Navigation.

This red and tan 2006 Boxster beauty sold on January 27th for $22900. Great deal for this New York car. It only had 4915 miles!

This Basalt Black Metallic 2005 Boxster in Texas sold for $23000 on February 2nd. It had 33700 miles.

This 2006 Boxster S sold on February 7th for $32,950. It had 30K miles, loaded, including Navigation.

 

This black 2005 Boxster S with a beautiful Terracotta interior sold for $31400, February 2nd. It had 25K miles. I think the seller came out ahead on that deal.

This 2005 Midnight Blue Boxster sold February 1 for $27500. It was in Boston.

2005 Boxster, 21K miles, sold on January 17th for $29,000... seems like a lot to me.

This Certified Pre-Owned 2006 Boxster with only 9K miles sold for $32,000 on January 17th.

On January 9th, this 2005 Boxster S with 29K miles sold for $28090. This car had been on my lists for months!

A new 2008 Boxster, Black, sold on Dec. 30th for $46800. That doesn't sound like much of a deal. I think it stickered under $52K.

2006 Porsche Boxster, Black with Sand interior, loaded, Nav, Wood Shifter and Brake, sold at it's Buy-It-Now $26,900 on Dec. 31...

2006 Porsche Boxster sold for $25,000 on Dec. 30th.

This 2008 Boxster with only 994 miles was sold for $34,099 on December 22, 2008! An unbelievable bargain. Congratulations to the winning bidder.

Here's another one:

 

This 2005 Boxster with 40K miles sold for $19,400 on December 14, 2008!

UPDATE: The previous purchase  must have dropped for whatever reason. Buyer didn't pass credit probably. It's back on Ebay, same "No Reserve" and it is currently at $18,800 with 2 hours to go! I asked my wife, she said no, but she would go to see the local Boxster that's at $21K with 55K miles.

Another one:

 

2008 Limited Edition Boxster, 5000  miles, sold 12-16-08 for $35,700. The Buy it price was $37,400. Whatever, I hate the color!

Here's another:

2006 Boxster, 36K miles, Seal Grey, Sand interior - SOLD $24,508

NEW 2008 Cayman, 0 miles - $42,473!!

This nicely equipped BRAND NEW base Cayman for over $20K off MSRP. It's dealer cost was $55K!

It sold on Ebay on January 16th. It's opening bid was set at $42373 with NO reserve! One opening bid and one lucky bidder next at $43,473 bought it.

2008 Cayman S, 14K miles - $45,985

$16K off original sticker! One year old. The depreciation hit when you buy a new car is REAL! My last 9? auto purchases have been new cars. I don't think I will buying a new one again.

UPDATE: This car sold on Ebay January 6 for $43500!!

Automatic Transmission Porsches

I will add some Tiptronic equipped Boxsters and Caymans. I won't keep an eye on these as much as my other lists. Things are starting to get overwhelming. But here are some current Best-In-Price Auto Tranny Porsches.

2005 Boxster, 56K miles, Midnight Blue, Sand interior, Auto - $22,995

2006 Boxster, Midnight Blue, 30K miles - $26,999

2006 Cayman S, 18K miles, Black, Auto, Certifed Pre-Owned - $37,900

2008 Cayman, 6K mil, Tiptronic, CPO - $39,935!

2009 San Diego International Auto Show

A GTR!

An Audi R8!

more pix to come...

2007 Cayman S, CPO - $6000 price drop!

This Slate Grey Metallic Cayman S has 14K miles and it's located in Forth Worth, Texas. It has a Cocoa Brown interior and I loved the color combination. I saved it to my list on January 3, at $45,900. I expected to watch it for price drops, but was blown away with today's listing at $39,900!

2005 Boxster Stripper - $21,995

Update: I went to visit the dealer over the holidays. They were closed and weren't going to reopen until after the New Year. I had my two boys, 18 and 19, with me, as we were spending a beautiful sunny afternoon in San Diego "car shopping". What struck us funny about this car was it's location. The dealer's building and parking lot are next door to a strip joint, Deja Vu Showgirls.

The Boxster also is listed on Autotrader $990 less than it's "sticker".

Take a test drive, get a lap dance?

I think I'll return when they are open and take them up on the "free offer"!

UPDATE: I test drove the Boxster today. It drove nice, engine sounded good. There was a good puff of smoke when he first turned it on. There were minor blemishes throughout. There was overspray on one of the headlights, obviously the bumper or fender were retouched. The dealer showed me the Carfax. He bought it at auction on 12-1-08. He told me a story on how it was bought for his personal use, but his wife just told him they are expecting, so the Boxster has to go. I asked him about an extended warranty, since it was already out of factory warranty. The 2 year "platinum" plan, bumper-to-bumper was $4590, a 2-year powertrain warranty was $2459. Both sounded expensive and made the car even more unfavorable.

My original post is below:

The picture's out of focus, but it is clearly the new Lowest-In-Price 2005 Boxster. I adjusted my search to accept any mileage, and a few popped up. This is "Lowest-In-Price", not the "Best". It has more mileage than any other '05 I've seen. 18K a year average is about twice what I'm looking for. My current car is a 2004 Mazda RX-8. I bought it new in February of 2004. It has 71,000 miles. I've put a lot of miles on it.

It is a local car, so I may go test drive it. I'll let you know.

My previous searches for cars has been with a 45,000 mile limit. It's because, over 50,000 miles, the factory warranty has lapsed. My goal is to get my car either already Certified-Pre-Owned, or get it certified afterwards. I don't think a Porsche is eligible for certification if it's factory warranty has already lapsed.

Car Shopping in San Diego

On a sunny weekday afternoon, my two boys, 18 and 19, drove around Kearny Mesa and Miramar looking at cars. Our first stop was to see a 2005 Porsche Boxster. It's currently listed on AutoTrader.com and it is the cheapest '05 Boxster I've seen. It does have 55K miles, but I was hoping to get my oldest son a test drive.

I went to visit the dealer over the holidays. They were closed and weren't going to reopen until after the New Year. What struck us funny about this car was it's location. The dealer's building and parking lot are next door to a strip joint, Deja Vu Showgirls.

From there, we headed over to the Smart dealer. We saw this Cayman for sale on the way.

It was listed at $49,160, matching it's Kelly Blue Book Retail Value.

There's currently a glut of 2008 Caymans. Base models are going as low as $39K. I've seen many Cayman S in the mid $40K's.

We get to the Smart dealer, it's inside a Mercedes dealer. There were 3 models inside. A base model called fourtwo Pure, $11,590. A mid range, fourtwo Passion, $13,590 and a soft-top convertible, fourtwo Passion Cabriolet, $16,590. The sales lady said I can buy one of the 2008 models on their lot or order a 2009 version, listing for $400 more. She said they'll sell the 2009's at 2008 pricing. I asked what kind of discount I could get on taking a car off their lot, which is already a year old. She hesitated, then said we'd could get $200 off.

Huh? $200! What kind of idiot would accept a $200 savings, when it's costing him at least $2000 in extra depreciation. I left after that.

And now for an experiment:

Ferrari F430 @ Quallcom Stadium

Wow!

2006 Cayman S, 27K miles, Silver - $32,900

The last day of the year brings this nicely priced '06 Cayman S. It's a couple of $1000s under the previous Best-in-Price champ. Here's the seller's description:

Arctic Silver, Special Cocoa Leather, Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package, 3 Spoke Sport Steering Wheel, PCM 2.1, Chrono Package Plus, Preferred Package, Colored Wheel Caps, Self-Dimming Mirrors w/rain sensors, Heated Seats, Bose High End Sound Package $70,465 MSRP..........1 Owner New Porsche Trade-in All the Books and Spare Keys.

2008 Cayman, 8K miles, Meteor Grey - $39,900

There's a lot of used 2008 base Caymans at $40K or less. I will watch this for a while and watch prices drop.

2007 Porsche Cayman S, 21K miles, Silver, CPO - $38,880

This Certified Pre-Owned Cayman S has a great price. It's probably $20K less than it was when new. There is another car with almost identical specs. Just $50 more.

UPDATE: January 12, this car was reduced $1000!

Car Prices in a Terrible Economy

Just like the housing market, a glut of inventory has driven prices down. read here 

I've been in the "market" since the 4th of July weekend. That was way before the worst of the economic news for the automobile industry was presented.

I held off buying as car prices kept falling and the economy kept sliding.

Here are my "stats" based on car prices from my blog to the current state, as researched by me at AutoTrader.com.

July 2008

2008 Red Corvette, new $44,153

2008 Red Lexus IS350, new $39,800

2007 Grey Porsche Boxster S, $45,000 (estimate, forgot to list asking price, $41K offer declined)

2006 Black Porsche Boxster S, $38,000 (one of my favorite cars, almost bought it)

2005 Silver Porsche Boxster S, 21K miles, $43,000 

2005 Black Porsche Boxster S, 14K miles, $41,900

2004 Silver Boxster S, Special Edition, 18K miles, $39,900

August 2008

2005 Blue Porsche Boxster, $32,000 (sold price)

2007 Grey Porsche Boxster, 11K miles, $39,999 (still available in November at $35,000)

2006 Silver Porsche Boxster, 12K miles, $37,900

2006 Red Porsche Boxster, 23K miles, $38,000 (I almost bought it, still available, $36,999)

2007 Red Porsche Boxster, 15K miles, $39,850

2006 Red Porsche Cayman S, $41,500

2005 Grey Porsche Boxster S, $36,200

November 2008

2006 Silver Porsche Boxster, 30K miles, $28,500 (almost $10000 off from lower mileage cars in July and August)

2005 Grey Porsche Boxster S, 41K miles, $29,900 (high miles, but $13000 less than in July)

2005 Silver Porsche Boxster, CPO, 47K miles, $29,991 (high miles, but extended warranty)

2006 Black Porsche Boxster, 20K miles, $30,800 ($7000 less than the red one from August)

2006 Silver Porsche Boxster, 26K miles, $30,995 

2005 Blue Porsche Boxster S, 29K miles, $30,995 (in August, I drove a 2005 Boxster S at a local Porsche dealer, they asked $44,900, yeah right - $45K!)

2006 Red Porsche Boxster, 20K miles, $32,995 (almost bought identical looking in August for $38,000)

2007 Blue Porsche Boxster, 31K miles, $30,500 (high miles, but compare to $40K in August)

December 2008

2005 Porsche Boxster, 43K miles - $21,950
2005 Porsche Boxster S, 48K miles - $25,500
2006 Porsche Boxster, 33K miles - $25,900
2006 Porsche Boxster S, 24K miles - $34,500
2006 Porsche Cayman S, 27K miles - $32,900
2007 Porsche Boxster, 31K miles - $30,500
2007 Porsche Boxster S, 29K miles, $36,960
2007 Porsche Cayman, 13K miles - $32,995

2007 Porsche Cayman S, 9K miles - $36,900
2008 Porsche Boxster, 6K miles - $37,950
2008 Porsche Boxster S, 13K miles - $41,895
2008 Porsche Cayman, 8K miles - $39,900
2008 Porsche Cayman S, 14K miles - $45,985

As you can see, prices have dropped $1000's over the last 5 months. You can easily say they've dropped $1000 per month. That is a real cost of depreciation if I would have bought one before. Only the 2006 Boxster S for $38,000 in July still sounded good after a few months.

Also, the prices I listed were on cars I felt were the VERY BEST deals available around the US. The average price of all the cars available were $1000s more. I'm also comparing them to the very best deals now. The facts are that it still a good reason to hold off on car purchase for as long as it's comfortable, you'll save big bucks from depreciation later on.

UPDATE: I have created a new post, Best in Price - Porsche Boxster, to track prices.
Also tracking Cayman prices here.

2005 Boxster S, 43K miles, Silver and Black - $25,500

Reminds me of the Oakland Raiders. Don't like it. GO CHARGERS!!

2007 Cayman S, 9K miles, Atlas Grey Metallic, Sand Interior - $36,900

This car is on Ebay and AutoTrader.com. It's a brand new ad. I did a double take when I saw the price. It's $1000s less than other Cayman S I've seen. Plus, it's in San Diego. So I drove over to see it. The ad says it's black, but close up it's a very dark bluish grey. I think it's Atlas Grey, but it could be some custom color, since it looks darker than what I've seen before. The car was beautiful. I asked for it to be turned on. My youngest son was with me and I wanted him to hear it. He said the car was "sweet". It's advertised as being sold under wholesale and with a quick look on Kelly Blue Book, kbb.com, it lists at $46 - $49K! I'm leaning toward a Cayman instead of a Boxster now. This is an awesome price for awesome car!

Here's some more pictures...

UPDATE: This car was sold today, 12-29-08, at the Ebay Buy-It-Now price of $36900.

2007 Boxster S, 29K miles, Black on Black - $34,860

A lousy picture from the guys at John Eagle Honda, but a great price none-the-less. I had been tracking this car since November 11, when it was listed for $38K. The car is in Dallas, Texas. I think Florida, followed by Texas are the two best states for low priced Boxsters. It's now my 2007 Best-in-Price Boxster S!

UPDATE: This car was discounted again on January 2, 2009, $2100! It's now $3000 less than it originally listed in November, $37960.

2007 Boxster, 16K miles, Black, Sand interior, CPO - $32,961

This car is near Boston and it's priced $1000's under the next 2007 Boxster CPO Best-in-Price. It has made my other 2007 listings seem overpriced. Low miles and an extended warranty, got to love it.

2006 Boxster, 33K miles, Midnight Blue Metallic, Sand interior - $25,900

New 2006 Best-in-Price Boxster! This car is another Midnight Blue beauty.

UPDATE: Sold on Ebay for $25,000 on Dec. 30th

2005 Boxster, 32K miles, Grey on Grey, CPO - $29,988

This car in Tucson, Arizona is my 2005 Best-in-Price-CPO Boxster!
Great price, but kind of bland looking. What do you think?

2006 Boxster, 32K miles, Red, Sand interior - SOLD $26,700

This car sold on Ebay, December 15, at $1000 less than Ebay's Buy It Now price. It compares well with my Best in Price car.

For more Boxsters sold on Ebay, go here.

2007 Cayman, 13K miles, Grey on Grey - $32,995

The first of my new Cayman price tracking posts.

This Dallas, Texas Cayman, has no details, but it did drop in price to $31,998!

Lousy picture too.

2007 Cayman, 17K miles, Red, black interior - $30,995

I like the look! Except for the Boxster wheels

UPDATE: I've changed my mind on the Guards Red exerior. I don't want one any longer. This car is too close to my current 2004 RX-8 in Velocity Red.

 

My wife's car is the 2007 CX-7, turbo 4 cylinder, dark red metallic!

Porsche Cayman section

I will make a new section on my blog for Caymans. I've driven both Caymans and Boxsters and loved them both. I am leaning toward a Boxster, because I've had a longing for a convertible for a while. Plus, the Boxsters were less money. I've been asked by a Lair visitor to track Cayman prices, so I will put one together and get it up soon. Leave me a comment if you're reading this and have anything to say about what I've done so far, or what you'd like to see.

Thanks,
Manny

2011 Boxster Spy Shots

Compliments of RoadandTrack.com ...

It describes the possibility of a 4 cylinder turbo charged engine will be in the base Boxster. The Boxster S will keep the 6 cylinder...

Reaction?!

2005 Boxster, 40K miles, Silver, Black interior - SOLD $19,400

A great deal! I'm going to browse more Ebay!

2006 Boxster, 36K miles, Seal Grey, Sand interior - SOLD $24,508

Another successful Ebay auction. Sold, December 17, 2008 for $24,508. This is an awesome price! It's my new goal for a base '06. This car Blue-Book Retailed for $33,820.

2006 Cayman, 40K miles, Arctic Silver - $34,800

Best in Price 2006 Cayman S, but it has a LOT of miles for an '06! Only 10,000 miles left under factory warranty.

It has a lot of options though:

• Metropol Blue interior
• Prefered Pkg
• SPORT CRONO Pkg
• BOSE Suround Sound
• 19" 5 Spoke Carrera Classic Wheels
• Bi-Xenon Headlight Pkg
• Leather SPORT SEATS
• Multi Stage Heated Front Seats
• Wheel caps with colored Crest
• Self Dim Mirrors and Rain Sensor
• Aluminum Look Instrument

Even though I would initially shy away from it as my preferred car, it's possible to get an extended warranty for as low as $2000. My price leaders also give or take value away from my other favorite cars.

2006 Cayman, 20K miles, Seal Grey $37,988

Not the Best in Price 2006 Cayman S, but it has more reasonable mileage. It's got a real nice Seal Grey Metallic paint job.

2005 Boxster, 43K miles, Black on Black - $21,950

Right after posting the Carmon Red Boxster with 55K miles, This one popped up. The new Best-In-Price 2005 Boxster. It has 43,000 miles. I'm not a black on black fan, but it's cheap.

This car is in Florida. A huge trek for a car that isn't great. But it is cheap. It's earned mentioning twice.

2005 Porsche Boxster S, 43K miles, Black on Black - $27,777

This car got bumped to Best in Price - 2005 Boxster S! The previous price champ has sold. More miles than I"d like, especially without an extended warranty. The balance of the factory 4 year/50000 mile warranty is still in force. I'm not thrilled with black on black, as it must get hot inside with the top off.

I'd rather buy something else. I'll start looking!

UPDATE: As of 12-25-08, this car has been dropped from Autotrader.com and probably is sold.

Brew House at Eastlake

Fresh IPA! & great food!

2006 Boxster S, 13K miles, Atlas Grey, Black interior, CPO - $37,594

What's cool about this car is the discount from their regular price, $44,991. That's a discount of $7,397! That's awesome! A certified '06 S at $38K matches in price, the previous best deal of my search, the Black and Sand Boxster S that was in San Diego. The '06 models are 280 hp, 15 hp less than the '07s.

It includes these options:

• 19 inch Carrera S wheel
• BOSE® System with Windstop.
• Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package
• Chrome Exhaust Pipe
• Heated Front Seats
• Roll bar Painted Exterior Color
• Sport Chrono Package
• Sport Shifter
• Wheel caps with Colored Crest

 
As you can see in the photo, it's in Orlando.

2008 Boxster S, 13K miles, Black, Sand Interior - $41,895

The first 2008 Boxster S near $40K! Similar S's are $46K - $50K then up with lower mileage. It has the Sand interior which is a huge plus for me too. The new Best in Price 2008 Boxster S! It's $3000 less then the previous price champ, and that car has a pending sale sign on it's current ad. 

2007 and 2008 models are almost identical, upgraded from the 2005-2006 generation, 15 more hp in the S to 295hp, as it gets the engine from the Cayman. Including it's vario-cam technology. Engine size went from 3.2L to 3.4L. The base model stayed at 2.7L, but tweaked an extra 5hp to 245. This generation also has Tire Pressure Monitoring as standard.

This place has a lot of cars!

2008 Boxster S, 8K miles, Black, Grey interior - $44,900

This very well equipped 2008 S model has just gone down $1000. If this would get Pre-Owned Certified, it'd be a great deal.

2007 Boxster S, 8K miles, Black, Sand interior, CPO - $46,995

This was the 2007 Boxster S Best in Price for a Certified Pre-Owned for now. But I just noticed the 2008 Boxster S just dipped below this price.

This was at the top of my list as the best, money not being an object, but it really was too much compared to others to a good value. Bottomline, I would be upset if after all this research and price tracking, I bought something I felt wasn't a great value.

2006 Boxster S, 33K miles, Black, Sand interior - $31,995

First, I hate crappy pictures. With that said, I LOVE the price! $1000's of dollars less than my previous price champ '06 S! This car is in Las Vegas, which makes it a quick flight.

2005 Boxster, 31K miles, Black, Grey interior, CPO - $31,988

This car was researched through Porsche's web site. It's $1000's below most other CPO Boxsters. It's lightly optioned:

• 17 inch Boxster II wheel
• Automatic air conditioning
• BOSE® Surround Sound System
• Heated seats
• Power seats
• Wheel caps with full-color Porsche crest

The Porsche dealer is in North Carolina, 2500 miles away. Those  miles were added to the description, as I would drive it home, if I bought it.

2006 Boxster, Midnight Blue, Grey interior, 13K miles, CPO - $36K

This car in New Jersey is my current Best in Price Certified Pre-Owned 2006 Boxster.

2005 Boxster S, Silver, Black interior, 30K miles, CPO - $35K

This Fort Worth, Texas Boxster S comes in $10,000 less than what was being sold just 4 months ago. There was an '05 Boxster S at the local Porsche dealer for $45,500. I told the salesman I felt it was priced high then, but now mid-$30's for a Certifed Pre-Owned S sounds great!

This is the current Best in Price for a CPO 2005 Boxster S!

2005 Boxster, 32Kmi, Black, Sand Interior, CPO - $29,995

A Florida car with the Porsche Certified Pre-Owned warranty. It adds 2 years to the existing factory warrranty, 4 years/50K miles, and bumps the mileage to 100K. It's bumper-to-bumper coverage!

It's my current price leader for a Certified Pre-Owned 2005 base Boxster. On the Porsche dealer's web site, it lists it's "market value" at $39,995 and it's "internet" price at $29,995. I don't know where they pulled that "market" value from, but it sure isn't today's market. Still, it's $5000 under what is listed on Porsche's web site search. That's a good discount from what's listed.

It's in Florida, 2500 miles away. Here's it's options:

17 inch Boxster II wheel

BOSE® Surround Sound System

Bi-Xenon lighting system with washers

Heated seats

Rain Sensor / Dimming Mirrors

Wheel caps with full-color Porsche crest

I'm happy to see this '05 Boxster at such a low price. Too many Porsche dealers still have high prices on their used cars. Porsche's been hit just as hard as anyone else in sales during this current economy. Sales are off almost 50% for November, and Boxster sales are off by 63%, partly due to new versions due in February.

2007 Boxster S, 26K miles, Black, Black interior - $38,992

There is an '07 S that's a $1000 less, but this one has the bad-ass looking black wheels. It's only a hundred miles north of me in Irvine. The current Best in Price 2007 Boxster S! It's price is $999 down from when this photo was taken.
I've had this on my top 25 list only since December 3.

2006 Boxster S, Midnight Blue, Sand interior, 24K miles - $34,500

This New Hampshire Boxster S is my new Best in Price for 2006. The Blue with Sand interior is one of my favorites. It has reasonable miles. It has a Bose stereo, but I don't know much else. A car that's 2500 miles away adds the cost of the flight and drive back. Those miles were added to my description already. It would be an epic trip!

2006 Boxster S, 45K miles, Black, Stone Grey interior - $32,995

One of my favorite things about shopping for these cars, is to find a new low price leader. This car has very high mileage for it's year, but it almost makes up for it in price! This is $1000's under what previous '06 S's were going for. My benchmark is the 14K mile S I almost bought in September for $38K. I doubt this would be a good buy for me. The high mileage will kill it's resale value and there is only 5000 miles of warranty left, maybe 4 months, the amount I drive. It would cost me at least $2000 to possibly $3000 to get it Porsche Certified for the extended warranty to 2012 and 100K miles.

Not worth it. I won't change my Best in Price page for this, until it goes under $30K.

2007 Boxster, 7K miles, Seal Grey, Black Interior, CPO - $35K

An incredibly great price for a Certified-PreOwned Boxster! Very low mileage along with the extended warranty make this car a very compelling reason to be near the top of my best base Boxster. This car has the normal, yet very much appreciated options:

Power Seat Package; Preferred Package Plus; Wheel Caps with Colored Crest; Self-Dim Mirrors & Rain Sensor; Heated Front Seats; Bose High End Sound Package; Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package; and Floor Mats Interior Color.

This dealer is in Southern California, so it's close to home.

2007 was a year of minor upgrades for the Boxster models. Tire pressure monitoring system is now standard. There have been some minor mechanical changes, like the rear cargo area and locations for the oil and coolant refills. The base Boxster got a 5 hp upgrade to 245 and the Boxster S got an upgrade from 3.2 liters to 3.4 and 280 hp to 295 hp. The engines have been updated and match the engines in the Caymans. The 2007 and 2008 Boxsters are essentially the same.