Are Private cars really that much cheaper?

[Guest]

Hi Guys,

Newb with a question.

Have decided to indulge myself and sell my two wheeled death trap, grow up, and buy a sports car. Boxster S was my first (and obvious) choice. I've done lots of searching on the official Porsche web site for approved cars but just as I was about to narrow my choice down to a few cars, I spotted a post on here where it mentions that Private cars can be ££'s cheaper...??

Where exactly would I find such cars, prolific searching on the web doesn't turn up much and Autotrader doesn't have any (ok maybe one or two that are near my spec but they aren't any cheaper than the Dealers).

I'm after a 2005 model (I have some must have's with regard to spec) so being that I have such precise requirements is the official Porsche route my best bet?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Steve

 

[Michael Downing]

Best bet is probably here, boxa.net, pistonheads, and Porsche Post (the magazine for club members).

Best of luck.

 

[Richard Savage]

Steve

Porsche prices are so variable it's almost impossible to compare like for like, however, on the assumption that with a private purchase you would not expect to get any form of warrantee, while with a trade buy you probably would, try offering a trader a cash deal to take it away with no warrantee.

You take a chance, but probably less than you would with a private purchase. A trader has more to loose.

I've made a couple of good purchases that way!

R.

 

[oliver]

There are often some quite good cars in The Sunday Times. But, many private sellers pitch their asking price too high, so you need to know the correct pricing and negotiate accordingly.

Even OPCs over-price their cars by margin to allow for negotiation or more generous trade-in offers.

You could also try a few 'Wanted' ads.

 

[Guest]

OK thanks guys.

I have got a specific list of must haves (19's, BOSE, color) and nice to's (Chrono, PASM, heated seats, short shifter). I have seen the exact spec that would be perfect at a dealer but the big D word does worry me a bit....

Would an independant be a good comprimise?

If the car were to have manufacturers warranty still valid could I buy yearly extensions from the dealer even if it wasn't purchased from them?

Lots of questions I know, but it looks like I'm in the right place.

S.

 

[Guest]

everyone to their own... but its the usual matrix, how long you willing to wait, how much compromise, and of coure money...

I would say if you want it now, good price and willing to comp....private

If you want it now and a little cheaper, OPC approved...

You can wait and afford it, go new and get exactly what you want..

For new I think you wil be waiting until Oct/ Nov at this point for S but can get 2.7 for the summer....

 

[kitchens]

Go the Private way if you are looking to buy a 2005 model as it will still be under warranty so you are getting no more guatantee from an OPC and will be paying a big premium .There are loads about might not all have the spec you want ,but patience will find it's reward ,try Auto trader do a national search and there are a lot about and Pistonheads and as said the club mag is also a way ,by the way I am in the same position as you looking around for the car that suit's me,Good luck .

Brian

 

[Guest]

Yes you can extend the Porsche warranty even if you haven't purchased from an OPC but the OPC will want to check the car over. I think the yearly cost is 700 hundred and something.

 

[Black80XSA]

OPCs will have £7k mark up over the price they paid - they'll claim they've spent £2k respraying the front bumper and a couple of tyres, plus putting the car through the inspection etc. You should be able to chip £2k off the sticker price with no p/ex, maybe more.

Private sellers see the delaer prices and then pitch £1-2k below - what they ask and what they actually get thought are a different thing - if they are p/ex'ing they will be happy to drop £2k from their price rather than lose another £5k selling to the dealer

 

[mojo]

I managed to get over 3K off my Boxster from and OPC but it was their quarter end which may of made a difference.

 

[dawn lang]

If you buy an 05 Boxster you'll still have an amount of warranty left on the car anyway so a private buy is a great idea in my honest opinion.

As an example, i've bought both my boxsters at 18 months old. Both were low mileage and both were overpriced - as you say, about 1k below the dealer price.

In my opinion private is the way to go forward as long as you've done your homework and got the back-up of the Porsche Warranty - personally I wouldn't go for any of the other warranties on the market as they tend to have an upper limit on claims.

Find the car you want, then ask the seller if he would mind you getting it checked over at an OPC. The check is about £135.00 and gives you total peace of mind that the car's not about to fall apart. It will also give you the heads up on any jobs that will need doing in the near future and you can haggle the price on that.

I got £1,500.00 off my first boxster and nearly £3,000 off my S. Makes the depreciation much more bearable I can tell you!

Final tip if you don't intend on not renewing the warranty (this is probably very obvious). Make sure that when you book it in for service you get a date for it to go in prior to the warranty running out. Then you can get any niggles sorted free of charge and not end up with a horrendous bill.

However, I do have to say that renewing the warranty gave me trememdous peace of mind - even though I never needed to use it.

[]

 

[dawn lang]

I've just re-read that and apologise for sounding like a complete shark/Essex pikey!

Nobody will ever want to sell me a car at this rate! []